The Journal of a Farmgirl
by
Emily H. Anderson
A Starlight Valley Fanfiction
Spring 1 Year 1

So much is going on in my life that I decided it would be prudent to start keeping a journal. Something I could look back on and read after the dust of life has settled. Something I could use to remind myself of the many hardships of life I've overcome and I've undergone and passed through. So, I'll be starting with the most basic bits of information, my name and age. My name is Emily, I'm nineteen years old, and I just moved to rural Maple Village from cosmopolitan Mineral City. My late grandfather, the late Mr. George Hinds owned a small farm here and his dying wish was for me to have it and see if I could not make a go of it.

The farm is in, if I'm honest with you terrible shape, the fields, there three of them total, one small one, that one is located right beside the old farm house, a medium size one that located in the center of the property and last but not least a larger one that located at the far end of the property at the foot of a small hill. The smallest of the three is the only plot of land that is in usable condition now. The medium one is choked with weeds, briers and thistles. Once the weeds, briers and thistles are removed it could be brought into usable condition. But that will require a lot of work and a lot of money. And the third and largest one is covered with shrubs, bushes, and reeds that need chopped down and hauled away. Or I could burn them.

Anyway I checked with the bank, the farm despite its rough shape is not in debt, though the taxes amount to around six thousand four hundred gold per year. Something to keep in mind. Also while I was doing some cleaning around the house, I discovered scattered about a dozen or so small catches of coins. Grandfather I know did not trust the bank to hold onto his money, though he kept some in his farming account. All told I discovered a baker dozen catches of coins. Add this money in with my small inheritance I could finally claim from my late mother, graduation money from my old master and finally half of the late mothers estate from my estranged father, and my life-saving and well that means I can lay my hand on close to eight thousand gold right now. 

The clerk at the bank told me the land the farm sits on is valued at four hundred thousand gold that includes the house and the old barn that is about to fall in and the possible mineral rights to any gold or silver that is located in a cave at the edge of the property?!  Yes it seems there is a small cave located at the edge of the property. It seems I'll have to explore this one day. Anyway if push comes to shove, I'm sure I can always sell the land and pay off the taxes with the profits from the sale of the land and return to Mineral City.

Now, I should tell the reason why I decided to leave a somewhat settled life in urban, thriving Mineral City and move all the way out here to the ends of the earth. Well to simply put it, I wish to start my life over here in this rustic little settlement. Had I stayed in Mineral City, I'm sure I would have been forced to live a life that would have been nothing more than a lie. You see I feel that while I have the body of a man, I have the soul and heart of a woman. I have never been comfortable being pushed into the role of being a man. Indeed the thought has always filled me with an uneasy sense of trepidation.

Indeed just thinking about it causes the fountain pen in my hand to quiver a little. I must however steady my hand and force myself to remain calm and collective otherwise I shan't write one more straight line. Anyway despite the feeling of being born in the body of a man but having the soul of a woman, I have by no small miracle of the Goddess Demeter completed my apprenticeship. You see, after my mother died from the Fire Fever when I was twelve, my now estranged father apprenticed me off to the town's blacksmith.  For the last seven years my Master Rowan, the most famous blacksmith of Mineral City has taught me the trade of metal working. While providing me with a small amount of pocket money and bits and pieces of formal schooling.

It was expected that once I finished the contract and graduated by passing an exam board set by other master smiths I would either open up my own forge or move in with him and take on an apprentice of my own while saving money to open my own forge. Anyway, I knew I could not  live the life I wanted to in Mineral City. So I took a flight here to rural Maple Village. Here I'm sure I can live as the Goddess Demeter meant for me as a woman. Anyway it is late and I have much work to do around the farm tomorrow. My farm is about three leagues from the town. And thankfully a narrow gauge railroad has a halt nearby my farm. And if I'm to be honest, I would need to go into town tomorrow. So goodnight friend.

Spring 2 Year 1

I started toward the halt as soon as there was light enough to see by. Having neither horse nor bike, I will be forced for now to depend on the train. The walk to the halt took around twenty minutes. The path to the halt from my farm is nothing more than a dirt path, as many of the roads in this section of the valley are nothing more than goat trails and dirt roads that I'm told often turn into deep mud holes when the rains of summer and winter come. Since I was going into town, I decided to dress in my best set of clothes. My outfit for my maiden trip into town included a simple, home homespun cotton skirt, dark blue in color that fell only a few inches from the ground. Tucked into the waistline of the skirt was a white lace up blouse, I included a straw seed hat and for my hair I wore it pulled back tied back with a pretty blue ribbon tied at the base of the bundle. Brown lace up leather boots completed my outfit.

Of course I would need a knapsack, to hold some small items. And walking stick, and with all in that hand I started toward the halt. I reached the halt a quarter of an hour. The halt was nothing more than a wooden platform with a little shelter the roof of the shelter was tin. I had an hour weight before a weird  engine that looked like to me wooden box on iron wheels with a cow catcher on front.

This weird box shaped engine was pulling two old railroad coaches that seemed to be covered in dust and looked shaggy. A man in a shaggy blue uniform told me a ticket into the village and back to halt would cost me around forty gold. I handed off forty gold pieces and took a seat by a window.

It took around half an hour for the train to make its way from the rural halt to the main station. The main station in Maple Village is easily the most ornate building in the village. The building was red brick and flat clay roof tile. Surrounding it was a wrought iron fence. 

The station is also part of the main shopping plaza, in the center of the plaza there was a concrete two tier fountain that was pumping cool, clean water. The plaza was cobbled and was surrounded by small shops. Beside the train station is an inn, a kind old world style in, one made of wood and stone instead of concrete like the inn's in Mineral City.

The first shop I decided to visit was the town's general store. “Forget-Me-Not Mercantile '' the kind of general store of the village. The store was a very old fashioned general store with all the products being located behind a wooden counter. I had to go up to the counter and talk directly to the shopkeeper tending the shop, an old, balding man by the name of Sean O' Sam. And using my finger I had to direct him to the goods I wanted to buy. And well I had a mini shopping spree.

I made quite an order too.

Four pounds of flour, two pounds of cornmeal, three pounds of salted pork, thirty pounds of charcoal, six pounds of salt, two gallons of cooking oil, a fishing rod, a hoe, a scythe, a shovel, a hammer, three pounds of fresh beef steak, thirty pounds of crushed ice for the ice box, two pounds of sugar, three gallons of kerosene, a lantern and last but not least an radio to keep up with the outside news. All that came to a whopping two thousand gold! And that just the start, I then confessed that I had no way of caring all of this back he smiled and promised to deliver it by noon tomorrow. I told him my address and he promised to send his son over tomorrow morning.

And so with my business completed with Sea I left, my coin purse feeling a lot lighter than it did a mere minutes ago. The next order of business was well, to check out this other business that was located across the square. This business was called “The Cat's Eye Boutique” and it reminded me of the upscale boutiques we have back in Mineral City. The owner was a woman by the name of Poppy. 

The inside of the boutique was very fashionable and the floor was carpeted. I found the owner was very knowledgeable about current fashion and how to piece together outfits. She was more than happy to guide me as I ventured into the world of fashion. From “The Cat's Eye Boutique” I brought two white lacy bras, and two lace, a wonderful evening gown, ruby red in color, sparkling too, a pair of matching red leather shoes, a another skirt this time, shorter this time falling just below my knees, a few hair ribbons.  I noticed toward the back there was a small salon where one could have their hair cut and styled.

I inquired about it and Poppy said it was closed for now as she lacked a stylist. But Poppy told me that she had written to her niece who was about to get her diploma from a beauty school in Mineral City and she should arrive in the village before the annual Spring Festival on Spring 15th. And that if I wanted my hair cut and styled I should check around Spring 12th. Anyway I had the last bit of business, I placed an order for a black cocktail dress that should arrive by Spring 10th.

My shopping spree there set back another two thousand cold. Again I asked Poppy if she could have my goods delivered to my house. And she promised to have them at my house by no later than noon tomorrow. Anyway after I'd finished clothes shopping, I had just enough time to get something to eat before I had to rush to catch the tram.

Spring 3 Year 1

After a long, brutal campaign I finished cleaning the cottage and getting everything in order. Sean Arrived around noon and as he promised he would help me stock the ice box.  Poppy arrived a quarter past after the noon hour. After both Sean and Poppy left, a man by the name of Keen arrived and he showed me a few things around the farm. It seems in front of the house there were two wooden boxes. One of the boxes is painted a bright red and the other is painted a frosted blue. The blue box he told me is for fresh, perishable items. You know items like milk, eggs, cheese, berries, and fruit. 

The wooden box that is painted red is for non perishable items, such as ores, found in the various mines, gems, crystals, wood, and such. I was puzzled but then he explained to me that my late grandfather had hired him to run the stuff he collected from around the valley to Mineral City. 

He would then sell the stuff in Mineral City to the local guilds, and return with the money, keeping ten gold for every one hundred gold generated in sales. He told me, all items must be put into the bin by at least five in the evening since he liked to make an early morning trip and he normally returned by four the following morning. And I should get the money from the sales, minus his fee by five that morning.

He said that anything that could be found in the valley could be sold. Including the many different kinds of fish that swam in the rivers and ponds. In fact he pointed out to me that many of the fine restaurants in Mineral City prized the high quality fish that could be caught in the Turtle River. They also prized the farm fresh dairy and fresh from the garden produce the various farms and holding produced.

Spring 4

I decided to do some early morning fishing. I wanted to see if what Keen said was true or not, and much to my surprise as soon as I cast my line into the water, I got a bite! After several minutes of wrestling I landed a nice size trout. I decided to keep fishing and after a few hours I'd landed around thirteen nice size trout and a few fresh water bass. I carried those home and placed them in the blue bin. 

For lunch I had a few slices of salted meat that I fried in the skillet with a few farm fresh eggs I got from a neighboring farmer. A slice of toasted bread rounded out the meal. I then returned to my fishing spot, a small wooden pier.

My second time around, I hauled in several more trout, some bass, and a few perch. Into the blue box they went along with a basket full of blueberries and berry berries I managed to pick on the side of the road. Now I wait to see what the labor of my day was worth. Hopefully I'll get some money, my shopping spree from the last few days has really put a dent into my cash flow.

All the fish and berries I shipped yesterday netted me around nine hundred gold coins. Not as much as I was hoping for but still a pretty good sum of money. It would have been around a thousand but of course old man Keen had to take a hundred gold as his handlers fee for selling my stuff.

I also shipped some more stuff. Today I found an orchard of wild apple trees, and a few wild pear trees. The ground was scattered with apples and ripened pears. With my basket in my hand I started to pick up the apples and the pears and straight into the blue box they went. I passed the whole of the day in this manner, going back and forth filling my basket and knapsack with apples and pears. I hope to earn a lot of gold from the harvest as I've picked the ground clean.  As I was making my fifth trip to the appear and pear trees I noticed that just up ahead of me was the sound of water rumbling in the distance.

Anyway I followed the sound of this rumbling water for about a half of a mile or more till this most beautiful waterfall came into view and the pool that formed at the base of the waterfall was clear as crystal. It was brimming with fish. Also I noticed sparkling at the bottom of the pool were dozens of large, golden coins, and hidden in the mud I could see the outline of what I'm going to assume are jewels. I don't know if the local's have been using the pool as some short of wishing well or not. But I made a mental note to return to the pool and see if I could catch some fish from it.

Spring 6 Year 1

This morning I woke up to find a pay packet of eighteen hundred gold waiting on me. A fair amount of gold and more than enough to cover what I spent these last few days. According to my personal ledger I've earned around twenty seven hundred gold. A note was also left for me, informing me that the apples and pears were of the highest quality and fetched around eight gold pieces.  I don't feel comfortable keeping this must gold on me, so I'm planning on going back into town tomorrow and open an account with the local bank. I might also rent a room at the inn and enjoy a little taste of wine and sample the local meals. 

To be Continued.

Disclaimer: Starlight Valley is a parody of Harvest Moon, a slice of life farm/farm simulation game that belongs to Natsume Inc. In no shape or form am I claiming ownership of said series. Starlight Valley is only found within the totally fictitious world of Emily H. Anderson, who is a character  of Rebecca H. Coleman, who is also a character that lives in the world of Sunflower. Sunflower is a thirty something trans author who lives on the ends of the earth.