Chapter 8

Just as Jennifer said it would, rain falls over Mineral Town the following morning and lasts all day. Yuto believed that the rain is only a coincidence, until he turned to the weather channel and found the weather forecasters as confused as he is. They predicted a bright sunny summer day yesterday. Yuto is impressed by Jennifer’s ideas, and now truly believes in the Harvest Goddess and her powers.

As Yuto looks out his window to witness the rainfall, he sees Jennifer outside standing in the crop field with her arms spread open. She smiles cheerfully as she feels the goddess’ blessing rain on the land. She is soaking wet, but she doesn’t seem to care about it.

Yuto grabs an umbrella and rushes out to meet her. He stands next to her holding the open umbrella over her, but she shows no interest in escaping the rain. Her eyes are closed and she is breathing deeply enjoying the sound and smell of the rain hitting the fertile dirt. Yuto sighs then says, “you know, you could come inside my house. If you stand there, you might catch a cold.”

Jennifer turns to him then opens her eyes, “I am perfectly fine. I am always bathing in the blessing of nature, even in rain, snow, or shine. I will not fall ill, I promise.”

Yuto giggles, he knew Jennifer would say something like that. All she ever talks about is mother nature, spiritual energy, and the goddess. He knows that Jennifer enjoys living outdoors, but he wishes that she would act a little bit normal. So he reaches his hand out to her saying, “I know, and I trust you. Why don’t we go inside and eat some breakfast? We should take the day off today, so lets enjoy ourselves.”

She nods happily, then takes his hand. They go into Yuto’s house where he gives her a towel to dry off. Jennifer has been into Yuto’s house before, but this is the first time she takes the time to look around. Every time she was inside the house, all they did was talk about business and plans for the farm.

As Yuto is serving breakfast, Jennifer looks through his collection of manga. All the collectibles he own was brought from his hometown. She pulls out one of the manga titled Kanon volume 1, then flips through the pages. As she turns the illustration filled pages, she chuckles as she remembers that she used to see the books being sold in her hometown. She puts the manga back where she found it, then starts to look through his collection of anime DVD’s. Yuto owns an LCD TV with a DVD player built in. She imagines Yuto sitting in front of the TV watching anime or reading manga on his time off. Even though their interests are very different, Jennifer finds Yuto’s personality to be rather cute.

After breakfast, Jennifer spends the rest of the day looking out of the window of the house. She finds the sound of rain drops hitting the window to be relaxing and refreshing. She then looks at Yuto laying on his bed flipping through his favorite manga. Yuto has been working very hard since they met, seeing him at rest puts her soul at ease. She can only hope that they can save Mineral Town so he can have more days like this.

Yuto and Jennifer head over to Saibara’s forge the following day. Saibara hands over the tools which look brand new with it’s brown copper coloring. The tools feel noticeably lighter in Yuto’s hands. Yuto is very impressed at Saibara’s skill and attention to details. He couldn’t wait to try them out at the farm.

Back at the farm, Yuto tries out the tools on the damp fertile earth to see how well they perform. His hoe is much sharper, able to cut through the dirt easier and quicker. His hoe can till twice as much dirt while only using half the stamina as before. The watering can can hold more water which saves the trip back and forth from the watering hole. The spout is wider allowing him to water three crops at once. His ax and hammer are lighter, yet durable enough to clear out larger stones or stumps. Even the sickle is sharp enough to cut weeds easier with little resistance. Just a single swing of the sickle can clear as many as three tufts of weeds in a single swoop.

“These tools are amazing!” shouted Yuto swinging the sickle around. “And these tools are made of copper. I wonder how good they get when they are made of something better.”

Jennifer giggles at Yuto’s excitement, he looks like a child getting Christmas presents. “I’m so glad. Now you can do more work without collapsing from exhaustion every day,” she said.

Yuto nods cheerfully, he can’t wait to see how much work he will be able to do before he hits his limit now. He continues to till the soil around the field until he has enough prepared soil to plant the rest of his seeds. Despite the improved tools, he still nearly runs out of stamina bu the time he is done tilling. He then takes a break at the hot springs to recover his energy while Jennifer starts to plant some seeds on the freshly tilled soil. Later that afternoon Yuto grabs his cooper watering can, and waters all the seeds around the field. He completes the job in record time with plenty of energy to spare.

They finish all the planting and watering by three o’ clock in the afternoon. If he had never upgraded his tools, the work would have taken several more days to finish. Now the harder part of the job is finished, and he can simply water every morning and clear weeds until harvest. The day is early, but there is still some work to do. As Yuto wipes the sweat off his brow, he looks over to the stable, barn, and coop. He imagines how much more work he will have once he fills the barn and coop with animals. For now he will need to clean them up and get ready for that time.

“Lets take a break,” said Jennifer.

Yuto nods in agreement. They both meet up at her tent where they sit around the unlit campfire. Yuto pulls out a sandwich and starts eating. Jennifer pulls out a chocolate bar from her bag, then breaks off a small piece to nibble on it elegantly. Yuto then looks at Jennifer curiously. Since they met, Yuto hasn’t seen her eat much other than snacks she makes with stuff she forages from the ground such as wild fruit and nuts. Occasionally, Jennifer would eat some breakfast with Yuto in the morning. He had no idea that she also eats chocolate like a normal girl. He thinks about her a bit more, then realizes that he doesn’t know her too well. He feels bad considering that she is volunteering to help him around the farm.

After he finishes with his sandwich, he decides that maybe it’s time to ask her some questions. He doesn’t want to but into her business too brash, so he decides to start with something a bit more casual. “Hey Jennifer, the other day when you asked the goddess for rain, you spoke in some language I couldn’t understand. What language was that?”

Jennifer finishes nibbling on her chocolate before answering, “I was speaking to the Harvest Goddess in her native tongue. I believe that we humans call it ‘The Ancient Language’. Despite the goddesses having their own language, they can understand any and all languages around the world. I believe the Ancient Language was the first spoken language humans ever spoke.”

“Wow, that’s incredible! Actually, everything you do is incredible. Where did you learn how to speak that language?”

“Me and my friends back in my hometown studies the old ways in which people lived many centuries ago. The old days before cities were created, and everyone lived off the land in villages. We once lived along side mother nature farming, fishing, or hunting. We crafted a life while giving thanks for nature’s bounty.”

Yuto smiles while imagining a world like that long ago. He imagines a time without internet or manga or television, and everyone was more in tune with nature. It’s a world he would rather not live in, but he feels that Jennifer would. “I see. So I assume that you are also from a small village?”

Jennifer shakes her head no. She then looks down at her half eaten chocolate remembering a different time of her life. A time where she didn’t live in a tent outside in the wilderness. A time she lived a more modern life.

“You see Yuto, I grew up in a large city raised by a wealthy family. My parents were business leaders, and we lived in a large house with all the privileges anyone can dream of. But growing up, I’ve always hated how modern we lived. We consume, discard, abuse, and complain when we don’t get our fill.

“One thing I had a lot of growing up was a lot of books. I took a keen interest in history books and the old ways of living. A time when we all rode in horse drawn carriages instead of cars. When people lived off the land and were more grateful for nature’s bounty. Life may have been difficult, but everyone was happy. I was envious of the people who didn’t need much to be happy.

“Of course, other children my age would find me unusual. I didn’t have many friends growing up, but I was content with my books. I wished I could live like the people in the old days, so I spent a lot of time in parks and nature reserves. I would place my hands on the trees and feel their energy. I could tell if each tree was happy, sad, or in pain.

“When I was old enough to attend high school, I met with other girls who believed the same things I do. There was five of us who felt the connection to nature. We were like sisters who worshiped the power and blessing of nature. We would spend our days doing research the spiritual energy of nature and shared our findings among ourselves. We grew closer to each other the more we learned about the world we live in.

“Some people has compared us to a group of nature hippies or Wicca. To be honest, I’ve felt that way as well. We would spend our weekends camping in the woods to connect with the earth, fire, wind, and water. We meditated to become spiritually aligned with the trees and the animals of the forest. We even learned how to make medicine with nothing but herbs and anything else we forage. I loved every moment of it.

“My favorite thing we did was to recreate old festivals forgotten by time. In the old days, villages used to worship and honor mother nature. On the eighth day of spring, we all made our own spring goddess festival. We would make our own goddess costumes, then dance in the forest. We did it in the name of the goddess of the harvest. Those days were the best times of my life.”

Jennifer takes a deep comforting breath after telling the first part of her story. So much has changed since she left her hometown. Yuto can also feel a breath of comfort in her story. She is far from home helping him in his farm, while receiving no payment for her help. Despite all that, she is happy and proud where her life has taken her.

“How did you end up in Mineral Town?” asked Yuto.

“As my high school days were coming to a close, me and my sisters decided to study nature together. But something mystical happened to me which would alter the course of my life. One night, I was sleeping in the forest with my friends, then I heard the voice of the goddess herself. She was crying, telling me that our world is in grave danger. Us humans have lost our connection to nature, and the planet is beginning to die. At first, I believed it was only a dream. As the day continued, it felt too real to be a dream.

“I told my sisters about it, but they dismissed it at first saying it was only a dream. But a dark eerie wind passed us, it was the life energy of the planet beginning to fade. It was a cold and chilling energy that resembled death, my sisters didn’t know what to do. I knew what I had to do, so I said farewell to my family and friends to follow the goddess.

“I packed my tent and whatever I could carry, then started to follow in the goddess’ direction. I couldn’t always hear the goddess, but I can feel her leading me somewhere. I traveled on foot, walking through many cities, towns, and villages looking for something. I’ve passed through many dense forests, open fields, through rivers and around lakes thinking about how can I help this world before it’s too late. I have seen the changes of our world, and how the people who live in it lost their connection to nature.

“I have seen dead and abandoned farms which were taken over by large machines and factories. Villagers became workers, and children no longer play outside. Trees has been cut down to make inexpensive and disposable furniture. The water is being polluted for profit, but we are so preoccupied with our modern way of living to notice. Even our modern farms use gas, oil, pesticides, and other chemicals to pollute the land that grows our food.

“I have traveled for many seasons. Summers and winters has passed, I have walked through rain and snow following the lead of the goddess. After so much time traveling the land, I found myself in Mineral Town. One of the last communities who live by the old ways. The farm here was abandoned because it’s last farmer had passed on. But the goddess assured me that the last farmer is coming to claim the farm. So I camped here in town waiting for your arrival.”

Jennifer looks up at Yuto and finishes, “when you came to my tent, I knew that it was you that the goddess asked me to meet. I am sure that you must have felt it before we met, am I incorrect?”

Yuto thinks about what she said for a moment, then realizes that she is right. The day he arrived at Mineral Town looking for Tony, he felt something strange coming from the animals. The eagle who circled over his head, the animals that looked up to him, even the butterfly that led him to her tent. Everything that Jennifer has said or done up to this point proves that there is a goddess that watches over nature. If he has never met her, there would be no way he could believe it otherwise.

“I believe you,” Yuto said in a comforting tone. “It was hard at first, but I trust you. The goddess needs both of us to protect Mineral Town. I don’t know how, but I will do my best. I hope you will be here helping me.

Jennifer nods happily. After they finish their break, they go back to work with a new found trust with one another. Using Jennifer’s connection to nature and Yuto’s hard work, they will do everything they can to protect the farm and Mineral Town.