Seasons of Change

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Spring, Day 5

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell

May awoke to the sound of her stomach rumbling. It's only been five days, she thought. Only five days. How could she give something a true chance after only five days? As always, she was up with the sun. Through squinting eyes, she stared at the morning light with disdain as it seeped its way uncaring into her house and then falling onto her face.

The hunger was the hardest. It was constant and unsympathetic. It roused her early in the morning and kept her from sleeping late at night, a constant, empty gnawing from deep within her she couldn't satisfy. To be frank, May had no money. No money, and it had only been five days. She hadn't started with much, having left her little shared apartment in Zuzu City so quickly, but what little she had, she spent on parsnip seeds. She needed those crops so, so badly. She never knew just how terrifying it could feel to have her livelihood be completely and totally reliant on 40 little seeds she planted in the ground just three days ago.

With a bone-weary sigh, May urged her aching body upwards and slid off her bed. The floorboards of the cottage ached and whined underfoot, much like May's body did. She wasn't sure she had ever been this sore in her life, and her work was far from done. The past three days had been much of the same, a routine of waking up, watering the crops, clearing out what she could of the farm, and spending the rest of her afternoons fishing with the old rod Willy had given her. That rod so far had proved to be an absolute life saver, as it was her only reliable source of food at the moment. She kept every fish she caught. May stumbled towards the door and swung it open with a rust induced squeal. The sun's light enveloped her fully and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to adjust. It was hard work and after three days, May felt like only she was actually able to see the progress that was made at all.

The area surrounding the crops was much more clear, first to allow space for all 40 seeds that were planted, and then some extra walking room to ensure no weeds could damage them. After that, May had painstakingly carved out three paths out of the many trees, limbs, and stones that littered the farm to allow for easy access to walkways leading north, east, and south out of the farm. After a bit of exploring, she learned that north of the farm led into the mountains where Robin and someone May came to know as Demetrius, Robin's husband, lived. East of the farm was the main town, and south of the farm led to a large forest with a lake that May had yet to explore much of. To anyone else, though, the farm must have looked just as cluttered as the start. The thought alone made May's heart sink. It had only been five days. She couldn't judge herself off of the progress that was made in only five days.

The porch steps moaned suspiciously underfoot. With a hand to her hip, May grabbed for her watering can and walked with purpose to the small pond on the most eastern side of the farm. Dipping her hand deep in the water, she mentally prepared herself for the several trips that this would take to water each and every single parsnip sufficiently. One thing that May could take some pride in is that with the lumber collected from around the farm, she had figured out how to fashion together a few chests to store the materials she had been gathering. She had only made two so far, one for raw materials like lumber and stone, and the other to store all of her tools when she wasn't using them. She had never taken herself as much of a pescetarian, though she supposed she didn't have much choice. She could only pray the payload from these parsnips would be good enough to get her started.

May licked her dry and cracked lips, tightening her first on the now much heavier and more full watering can. The parsnips were starting to look much more mature now, appearing only to be a day or so away from harvest. May's arm swung in a wide arc as she entered the crop patch and began the long process of watering, already lost in the monotony. Her path went from plant to plant, slow yet methodical, when looking ahead of her, she noticed something... off. A discrepancy in her otherwise neat and orderly plants. Where a large green sprout should be was instead a black mass that appeared to be... moving? May dropped the watering can and rushed forward.