Chapter 2

A week had passed since Yuto left Mineral Town. A moving truck pulls into the farm, then Yuto jumps out and takes a breath of the familiar fresh air. He then unloads the truck and moves his belongings into the house. He then bangs on the back of the truck so it can pull off to return where it came from. Satisfied with the move, he walks into the house to start unpacking.

The house has all the essentials Yuto needs to live comfortably. There is a large and comfortable bed, and the dresser is filled with Tony’s old clothes. He can fit Tony’s old clothes comfortably, but he decides to wear his usual clothes instead. He feels that in the new age, Yuto should wear whatever he feels comfortable wearing to do his job. Tony’s overalls are too traditional for his taste. He does find Tony’s old rucksack, which he decides to use.

The house is also equipped with a full kitchen for cooking. All the cooking tools are traditional, but in good usable condition. Yuto is not a great cook, but he knows enough to take care of himself. He knows that if he grows enough crops, he’ll be able to practice cooking more often. He checks the fridge, but finds no food. He’ll have to buy some sooner than later.

Near the entrance is a tool box where Tony’s old tools are stored. They haven’t been used in a while, but they are usable. He remembers the old days when he was a kid and Tony was still alive. He may have never used the tools before, but he has seen Tony use them. With practice, he will be able to restore the farm to it’s original glory.

After getting familiar with his new home, Yuto opens up his boxes and takes a look inside. He pulls out his collection of manga and anime and begins to fill the bookcase. He then sorts his collection of trading cards and leaves them in the night stand next to the bed. He removes Tony’s old box TV and replaces it with his flat screen digital TV. He connects his DVD player to be ready to watch some movies once he had some time off.

Last thing he unpacks his cell phone. He knows that Mineral Town is far away from any city, and no cell towers for hundreds of miles. The phone won’t work, but he feels that he still can use it for apps that doesn’t need the internet such as the flashlight and calculator. He wishes that he can at least get some type of internet, but Mineral Town is too old fashioned to have it.

After he is done unpacking, he looks around the house and smiles. It now looks more like his room back in his hometown. His stomach begins to rumble, which is a reminder that he needs to get food into the house soon. He decides to take a trip through Mineral Town and see what he can get to eat.

He walks around the quiet sleepy town taking in the sights and sounds. The town is quieter than his home town which he finds to be pleasing and relaxing for a change. As he passes the buildings one by one, he finds a group of middle aged women chatting and socializing. He asks them for directions, and they guide him to the old inn he stayed at back when he was a kid.

The inn hasn’t changed since he was a kid. Still old fashioned, yet warm and welcoming. He enters the inn where he meets the owner Dudley and his daughter Ran. Their menu is very limited since they haven’t gotten any food from the farm. He does order the omelet, which Yuto finds rather tasty. After chatting with Dudley and Ran for a while, he promises to restore the farm so that they can have a more diverse menu.

After Yuto finishes eating, Dudley points him to the local grocery store so he can buy his daily essentials. In the store, he meets the owner Jeff and his daughter Karen. Their selection is limited, but there is enough to get by. They have seeds to grow at the farm, and other simple foods like rice and flour to make rice balls and bread. Jeff also explains that he used to sell crops from the farm, but his inventory dried up soon after Tony died. Yuto assures him that he will have fresh produce for him to sell soon enough.

Yuto takes his food straight home. He knows that he should visit and get to know the other residents of Mineral Town, but he decides to wait for another day. He is young, and he believes that nobody is going anywhere anytime soon. He will need to get to know the villagers one day at a time.

Back at the farm, Yuto places all the food in the fridge. He then takes a long deserved stretch which relaxes his muscles. He knows it’s time to start farming soon, and he needs to be ready. “Well, these crops aren’t going to grow themselves. Time to get started,” he said psyched to get started.

Outside the farm, he finds a jazbay grape tree growing just outside his house. He goes over and picks a bunch of grapes to savor the smell before he enjoys the fruit. He plucks a single grape with his teeth, and bites the sweet fruit. The sweet nectar causes him to shiver with delight, he knows he will love living at the farm.

Suddenly, a butterfly flutters in front of Yuto’s face. He stares as the butterfly does a mysterious dance to get his attention. After a few minutes, the butterfly flutters away heading towards the mountains. It doesn’t fly far before stopping to dance once again. “You want me to follow you?” asked Yuto. The butterfly continues to dance until he walks towards it. It flutters further away leading him to the mountains little by little.

Yuto is intrigued by what the butterfly is doing. He continues to follow the butterfly out of the farm towards the mountains to the south. It flies past the hot springs and towards Mother’s Lake. He continues to follow the butterfly around the lake and towards a tent on the west side. The butterfly floats above the tent, then flies off into the sky once Yuto arrives.

Yuto looks up as the butterfly vanishes into the sky, then at the tent that he was led to. He doesn’t remember a tent set up at the lake a week ago. He assumes that someone must have gone camping recently. The tent is big enough for a single person to live comfortably. There is a fragrant smell of burning incense coming from inside. He has no idea why he was led to the tent, and he has no intention to go inside.

Just as he is about to walk away, he hears someone say, “come in.” Yuto looks back in shock. He is not sure if the voice is talking to him or someone else in the tent. He tries to walk away, but the voice says, “please come in, we have so much to discuss.”

He wants to leave, but he is curious enough to find out who is calling out to him. He is nervous, but he takes a deep breath and enters the tent. Inside the tent, he finds a young girl sitting in a meditation position with her eyes closed breathing in the fragrant fumes. There are embers of herbs and flowers filling the tent in a light fragrant haze. Her blonde hair is as long as she is tall. She is dressed comfortably warm with a shawl over a hippie top, jeans, a sash around her waist, pink sneakers and a wool knit red and black hat. Yuto can’t tell if she can see him or not.

“Please sit,” said the young girl. Yuto is confused. She acts like she has been expecting him, but he has never seen her before in his life.

Yuto sits down in front of her and waits for something. After a few minutes of silence, he lets out a light cough and asks, “um, excuse me. I don’t mean to be rude but, who are you?”

The young girl opens her eyes to reveal her sparkling amethyst colored eyes. Yuto blushes as he notices how attractive she is. Her long wavy hair that rests on the ground she sits on, her smooth creamy skin that glows with the light, and her wide catlike eyes that resembles an Egyptian goddess. Her accent is that of a noble, but she dresses like a hippie of the 1970’s.

She smiles at Yuto and answers, “my name is Jennifer. I am a traveler led by the Harvest Goddess to meet you.”

“The Harvest Goddess?” he asked.

Jennifer nods and continues, the Harvest Goddess is the guardian of nature. She resides in the trees, in the animals, in the fire, wind, and water. She speaks to me, and she says that this world we share is dying slowly. We were destined to meet this very day to help heal our world before it’s too late. You have been chosen to be nature’s shining star that lights the night sky. Protector of the animals and vegetation alike. Yuto, you are nature’s champion.”

“Wait, how did you know my name?” asked Yuto. He then thinks for a moment and says in a sarcastic tone, “I get it, you must be some type of shaman who can talk to the animals and stuff. Or maybe a medium who can tell my fortune with tarot cards or something like that. I’m sorry, but I am not interesting in your little magic tricks, but I would like to know how you trained that butterfly to lead me here.”

Jennifer sighs and answers, “I can tell that you do not believe me. Very well, I will show you the goddess herself.” She then grabs her satchel and grabs a handful of dried ground herbs and sprinkles it over the burning embers before her. As the mixture burns, a light purple haze fills the tent with the smell of lavender and chamomile. Jennifer then closes her eyes once again and says, “now close your eyes and breathe in the essence of the forest. The goddess wishes to speak to us.”

Yuto is skeptical, but he decides to try it out anyway. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. The purple fumes makes him feel a bit dizzy and slightly ill. His mind wanders into a dreamlike state where he is transported to a mysterious indescribable place. There, she sees a beautiful woman in a green and blue dress. This great faerie with green hair wears a tiara and holds a magic wand. Yuto wants to move or speak, but he can’t do anything but listen.

“Please help us,” said the goddess. “You two are our last hope. Mineral Town is in grave danger. If Mineral Town is destroyed, then our world is doomed. Please help me Jennifer, please help me Yuto!”

Yuto quickly snaps out of his trance once he hears the goddess say his name. He breathes heavily wondering what happened to him. Was everything he seen an illusion? Or did he really meet the goddess? Jennifer smiles and says, “I’m sure you met the goddess. Do you believe me now?”

Yuto rubs his temple as he answers, “I think I saw her. She said that something is happening to Mineral Town. What’s going on?”

“I’ve just arrived here, so I am not aware of what is happening to this land. I figured that you may know since you live in this town,” answered Jennifer.

“I just moved here too,” answered Yuto. He then remembers the mayor’s cold and dismissive attitude towards Tony’s farm. “If anyone knows what may be happening to Mineral Town, the mayor definitely would.”

Yuto quickly picks up his rucksack and rushes out of the tent. Considering that everything is going according to the goddess’ plan, Jennifer closes her eyes and continues to meditate. “Now our destiny begins.”