Cecilia heaved out a sigh of relief as she settled into her seat on the bus, despite facing down a four hour trip. It was final, she couldn't go back to Zuzu now. She let her head rest against the window as the bus pulled out of the station and made for the highway. It was as if an enormous weight had been lifted off of her chest and for the first time in a long time she could take a deep breath. She tightened her grip on her bus ticket to Stardew Valley and the envelope bequeathed to her by her grandfather, containing a letter and a deed.

"If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change."

Her mouth quirked into a sardonic smile, that would be one way to put it. A sense of serenity began to wash over her as the scenery changed from urban to rural and dense woods closed in around the road. The increasing distance between her and Zuzu city actually made quitting her corporate job and abandoning everything to take over her deceased grandfather's farm in a small town seem less insane. Anything to get away from it all. Gradually, she dozed off, the humming of the bus lulling her to sleep. A few hours later she jolted awake and cleared her eyes just in time to see a green highway sign that read "Stardew Valley 0.5 miles." She gathered up her backpack and stuffed the letter and ticket in the front pocket.

The bus exited the highway and onto a small road. Cecilia's heart started beating faster and harder, and for the next ten minutes studied the forest rushing by. With a lurch, the bus stopped and Cecilia jumped to her feet. She took her duffle bag off the rack and slung it over her shoulders before grabbing both suitcases and disembarking from the bus. The scent of wildflowers hit her the second her foot touched the pavement along with the whine of cicadas and chirping of songbirds. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the setting sun.

"Cecilia Reed?" a woman asked.

"That would be me," she replied.

A middle aged woman with ginger hair and practical clothes extended her hand to Cecilia and gave her a firm handshake.

"I'm Robin. Mayor Lewis sent me to show you to the farm."

"That'd be great," she replied, having never seen the farm, let alone been to Pelican Town before.

"It's just up the road. Do you need help with your bags?"

"No, I've got it. Thanks though."

Cecilia followed Robin to an east west running dirt road and turned into the sunset.

"Town is right down the road the other way," Robin said, gesturing behind them. "It's not very big but there's quite a bit to do."

Cecilia just nodded, unable to focus on anything besides the farm - her property - getting closer and closer. They passed a weathered, wooden sign that read "Night Owl Farm," and then they were there. Cecilia stopped, letting her eyes slowly sweep over the land that she could now call her own.

It was a disaster. Thick woods consumed the northernmost area and dense shrubbery and grass covered the south. Huge boulders and fallen trees littered the entire section she could see. A destroyed building of some kind lay just beyond the rundown cabin in front of them.

"Oh, well, that's… going to take quite a bit of work."

"You can say that again," Robin said. "But there is some good soil beneath it all."

Cecilia wasn't sure what she had been expecting but she wasn't particularly surprised. Grandpa had passed away when she was a child, nearly fifteen years ago, of course, the farm would be a wreck. But it was so bad. She'd be lucky if she got any crops planted before spring ended. Robin walked up the three stairs onto the porch of the cabin before knocking on the wooden wall.

"The cabin has held up pretty well though, just by the look of it. Could use a bit of a patch job though."

Surprisingly, all of the windows were intact and the damage was limited to some chipped planks and a hole in the porch by the empty firewood stall. Then, an older man with a gray mustache emerged and closed the door behind him.

"Ah, Cecilia! So good to see you! I hope you had a good trip, it's quite the journey out here."

She shrugged, "it was uneventful."

"I'm Mayor Lewis," he said, giving her a handshake.

"Nice to meet you."

"Everyone in town is asking about you, it's not every day that someone new moves in. It's quite a big deal!"

"Everyone?" She asked, trying to squash the nervousness in her voice.

"Of course! Several of them knew your grandfather, even. They'll be excited to see the Reed family return to Stardew Valley. You're a part of its history."

Cecilia didn't know how to respond. She'd seen herself as an outsider coming into the town, she'd never considered that the residents would view her as a part of Pelican Town in any way.

"The house seems to be in good shape still," Lewis said. "It's very rustic."

Robin scoffed, "rustic? That's one way to put it. Crusty might be more apt."

Cecilia chuckled but Lewis glared at Robin.

"Don't listen to her, she's just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of her house upgrades."

"Lewis!" Robin exclaimed but didn't have a follow-up.

"Anyway, you must be tired from the long journey. You should get some rest."

"Yeah, I will," she said, her eyes wandering out to the derelict field.

Silence fell over them for a moment as they examined the wreck of a property, Robin eyeing the cabin and Lewis and Cecilia trying to picture the disaster before them as a functional farm. Lewis having significantly more luck, having seen the place when it was at its best.

"Oh, before I forget," Lewis said, walking over to the large, wooden box next to the house. "I can take anything you want to sell to Pierre's at the end of the day from here in my truck. No sense in you lugging your crops into town on foot."

"You'd do that?" Cecilia asked.

"Of course, your grandfather and I had the same arrangement," Lewis replied.

"Um, sure, that would be great."

Was that something that people just did around here? She half expected him to whip out a stack of contracts for her to sign and then haggle over payment. But he didn't, that was the end of it. Robin must have been able to sense her shock and confusion and put a hand on her shoulder.

"This is a pretty tight-knit town, you should try to get out and meet everyone soon. I'm sure they'd love to meet you," she said with a comforting smile.

"Everyone?" she asked again, dumbly.

Lewis chuckled. "It's not exactly a large town."

"That it is not," Robin added.

Cecilia scuffed the dirt with the toe of her shoe. "I'll definitely try."

"Well, I'm sure you want to get settled and poke around without us breathing down your neck," Robin said. "If you take the path north of your property, I'm about a mile away. Don't hesitate to come by if you need anything."

"Of course, thank you," she replied, not sure how else to reply to such a motherly comment.

"Well... good luck!" Lewis said.

With that, Lewis and Robin left, leaving Cecilia alone with her property. She probably should get some rest, but the compulsion to get something done ate at her, especially with all those weeds and rocks lying around. She opened the cabin door and was overcome with the smell of stagnant air and mothballs. The inside was in slightly better condition than the outside, a little worn but nothing extreme. She set her bags down and began looking around. There was a bed, an old box tv, a fireplace, and a chair. Bare bones but it did actually have a rustic charm to it. After walking further inside she noticed a chest tucked beside the fireplace. Inside was several old farm tools that seemed functional after a few test swings.

"Thank you, Grandpa," she said, glad that she wasn't starting completely empty handed.

She turned back to start unpacking and noticed a small, wrapped box sitting just inside the door. A tag stuck off the top with a note that read 'here's a little something to get you started - Mayor Lewis.' Inside were fifteen packets of parsnip seeds. She hadn't even been to Pelican Town proper yet and she was already experiencing that fabled small town hospitality. Now with a clear task at hand, she grabbed her tools, pocketed the seeds and went back outside.
Only fifteen seeds didn't require a ton of space but everywhere was covered in weeds, rocks, and branches. She took the hoe and attacked an area twenty feet from her front door, tilling the top twelve inches of soil, just like all the farming books said. After planting the seeds she made a pass with her watering can.

The sun was almost entirely below the horizon when she finished, the impending darkness was probably the only thing keeping her from putting in more work. The sounds of crickets filled the air and a slight chill crept in. She could no longer see across the whole field and she had to admit it was a little creepy, just her with all of this empty space that anything could hide in. She shuddered before gathering her tools and going back inside. The house really wasn't any less eerie with night setting in and the only lighting coming from a floor lamp. But there was a sense of calm about it all. The horrors here were strictly imagined.

She peeled out of her clothes and grabbed her toiletry bag and a towel before heading for the bathroom.
Maybe I should have checked the water heater before taking all my clothes off.

She turned the knob on the shower, which would need a thorough scrubbing, and after a moment of air being forced out of the pipes, warm water sprayed out. A quick shower later, she was tucked into bed, consumed by the stale smelling sheets. She made a mental note to buy new ones tomorrow.

The house creaked and groaned as it settled, regardless, Cecilia started to wind down, sleepiness washing over her. Being alone was nice, just worrying about herself. She contemplated which crops she'd buy tomorrow as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning she awoke with a jolt, heart pounding. A nightmare slipped through her memory like water in a sieve. It took a second, but she realized she wasn't in her apartment in Zuzu, she was in the cabin at Night Owl Farm. Still alone. She sighed and leaned back against the headboard, letting her heart rate return to normal. Her watch read 5:30 a.m., waking up early wasn't the worst habit to retain from working for Joja. She rolled out of bed, ready to get outside as soon as possible. After brushing her teeth and eating bagel, she put on her boots, pants and a button up shirt and marched out the front door.

The first order of business was to clean up all of the debris scattered around; rocks, branches, weeds. She poked around the back of the house, looking for anything that could help and came across a rusty wheelbarrow.

"Nice!"

She dragged the wheelbarrow out to the field and parked it by the parsnip crop.

"Time to get to work," she said.

She worked up a decent sweat by the time the space was clear and was dripping by the time she got the thicket of pine trees chopped down. Her chest swelled with pride at how much she had accomplished before noon. But she immediately deflated once she realized her workflow was about to be interrupted by the need to go into town and buy more seeds. If Lewis was to be believed, the townspeople were excited to meet her which would likely eat the rest of the day. She shook her head, if she was truly committed to living in Pelican Town she couldn't be negative about meeting all the locals. Lewis and Robin were plenty nice, no reason to think the other residents couldn't be like them.

After a quick shower and change of clothes she found herself marching towards town. She had no idea how much seeds went for so she brought what was probably an excessive amount of cash. The dirt road changed suddenly to a cobblestone street lined with lamps. Through the trees emerged a line of shops and a paved square. She noted a clinic, Pierre's General Store, and The Stardrop Saloon in the immediate vicinity. A group of three young adults, probably around her age stood in the square, talking. The guy with the spiky, blond hair noticed her and waved.
"Hey! You must be the new farmer!"

"Yeah, that'd be me," Cecilia said, walking over to them. "I'm Cecilia."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sam," he said. "And this is Abigail and Sebastian."

The other two gave her polite waves.

"Have you seen much of town yet?" Sam asked.

"Nope, I just got here."

"We can show you around!"

"Sam, town isn't that big, she doesn't need us to show it to her," Sebastian said.

"Come on, Seb, she's new, we've gotta make her feel welcome!"

"That's alright, I really should buy some seeds and get back to farming. I've got a bunch of work to do."

"But you just got here! At least let us introduce you to everyone," Sam insisted.

Her practically empty crop field gnawed at the back of her mind, but it would be pretty rude to refuse. Not to mention how much easier it would be to meet the rest of the town with a local.

"Alright," she said.

"Great! Let's introduce you to Marnie first. She sells farm animals."

Sam immediately started off to the south towards the river and Cecilia, Abigail, and Sebastian scrambled after him. He made a right turn down a residential street. Cecilia smiled, maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

A few hours later and Sam had introduced her to almost everyone in town. They'd covered the whole area, from Marnie's farm, to the museum and blacksmith's shop, and Robin's shop. Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian came with her to Pierre's where she bought what was probably too many seeds and a fresh set of sheets.

"Thank you so much," Cecilia said.

"You're very welcome. It's nice to have some new business," Pierre replied.

The group walked back outside, stopping in the place that they'd first met.

"So why did you move out here?" Sam asked.

Cecilia's heart skipped a beat and then she told herself that she was being stupid, of course people were going to ask.

"I had a uh, bad job in Zuzu city. My grandfather told me to come out here if I got tired of it all."

"That's exciting," Abigail said. "To just pick up and move, starting somewhere new."

"It is, if a little nerve wracking. I have to make my living on crops now," Cecilia said, eyes going wide as she fully realized what she had committed to.

"Speaking of, we should let you get back to work," Sebastian said.

"Yeah, I guess. You should come back to town tomorrow," Sam said.

"Sure, I will once I get everything planted," Cecilia said sincerely.

She had a good time with them and actually wanted to come back to hang out with them. But the niggling feeling of work to be done had been eating at her all day; the seed packets were burning a hole in her backpack.

"Well then, we'll see you tomorrow," Abigail said. "Maybe we can go to the beach then."

"Yeah, that sounds great." Cecilia waved at them and turned to leave.

"Head's up!" Someone shouted.

Cecilia turned just in time to catch a gridball right in the face. Pain erupted in her left eye and nose and she dropped to a crouch, covering her face with her hands.

"Owww!"

"Cecilia! Are you alright?" Sam shouted.

"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off with a now bloody hand.

"Alex! Watch where you're throwing that!" Abigail scolded.

"Sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength," a new voice said, not sounding all that apologetic.
She looked up at the reckless ball hurler to find a very handsome, tall, brunette man looking down at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice nasally.

Blood dribbled down her lip into her mouth, which she spat back out.

"You should go see Dr. Harvey, no telling if that messed up your nose. I've got a pretty strong arm," he said.
Cecilia could only glare at him. Did he really just say that after hitting her in the face with a gridball?

"It's just a nosebleed. I'll be fine."

He offered her a hand but she ignored it and stood on her own, keeping her head tilted forward to let the blood drain out.

"What a way to introduce yourself to the new farmer," Sebastian said.

"Ohhhh, you're the new farmer?" he asked.

"Yep, Cecilia Reed," she said, extending her not bloodied hand.

"Alex Mullner," he replied, meeting her with a strong handshake.

"Nice to meet you," she said, not able to muster up much of a friendly tone. "I have to get going though. I have a lot of work to do."

"Come on, just let Harvey look at you. Better safe than sorry," Alex said.

"It's just a nosebleed."

"And a black eye," he said, bringing his face very close to hers and gently touching her left cheek with his index finger.

She jolted back, "excuse you! I said I'm fine."

"You should get some ice on that, if you leave it, it'll swell up," he said.

He grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards the clinic.

"Hey!" she shouted.

He dragged her inside, ignoring her protests. Her heart hammered wildly at this stupid guy she barely knew manhandling her.

"Alex, what's going on?" a man wearing a white lab coat asked.

"I accidentally hit Cecilia with a gridball, could you check her out?"

"You hit her with a gridball? I told you to be more careful," the doctor said in an exasperated tone.

Cecilia wretched her wrist out of Alex's grip. The doctor gathered up several supplies before stepping out from behind the counter.

"You must be the new farmer. I'm Dr. Harvey."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Cecilia."

"Let's get you patched up, just have a seat over here."

Cecilia sat down in one of the chairs and tilted her face up, feeling blood drip down her chin. Dr. Harvey quickly wiped her face off with some soft cloth.

"Hold this on your nose, I need to get you an ice pack for that eye."

Harvey left the room, leaving Cecilia with Alex who was staring intently at her.

"You can go, I'm fine," she grumbled.

"I don't know, I got you pretty good," he said.

Cecilia folded her arms and pointedly looked away from him. She couldn't stand to be under his direct attention, it made her feel trapped. Thankfully, Harvey returned with an ice pack and handed it to her. She put it on her bruised eye to which it brought immediate relief.

"How does that feel?" he asked.

"A lot better."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a closer look," Harvey said.

"Sure," she replied, tilting her head up.

With gloved hands, Harvey gently prodded the wounded part of her face. Faint pain radiated under his fingertips but she refrained from squirming. Alex peered over the doctor's shoulder, watching closely. Cecilia focused her attention up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.

"Nothing seems broken," Harvey said. "Just keep ice on it to keep the swelling down."

"I can do that, thank you," she said, standing up.

"And Alex," Harvey said before giving a deep sigh. "Try not to hit people with gridballs."

"I got it, I got it."

"Don't hesitate to come back if you get any other injuries."

"How much do I owe you for this one?" she asked, gesturing to her face.

"Don't worry about it, consider it a welcome to town gift."

"Oh, thank you. I really appreciate it," she said, a warm, fuzzy feeling flooding her chest.

"No worries, I hope to see you around under better circumstances," Harvey said, adjusting his glasses.

"Me too, thanks again."

Cecilia waved as she walked outside, Alex following behind her. Her face throbbed even under the ice pack. Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian were still waiting in the square.

"Are you alright? Did Alex break your nose?" Abigail asked.

"No, just some bruising," Cecilia replied. "Nothing bad enough to stop me from getting some work done."

"I guess we should let you head home," Sam said. "You'll come back tomorrow though, right?"

"Of course, Cecilia said before finally turning to walk to the farm.

"See you guys later."

"Bye, Cecilia!" Abigail said, waving.

She glanced over her shoulder, accidentally making eye contact with Alex. She jolted and walked a little faster. But her nerves settled quickly, thinking of all the work ahead of her.

AN: Hopefully, Cecilia will make fewer mistakes than I did my first time playing Stardew Valley.