A single person arrived in Stardew Valley unannounced on a bus. He really didn't want to come here, but life in his country had changed things. As the vehicle stopped, he walked forward and made his way towards the front as the driver smiled and let him off with his belongings.

Upon arrival, the lone stranger found himself alone on a sidewalk with a fork in the dirt road. To the left was a path into the town and to the right was a path to a small patch of land affected by the sheer amount of vegetation. Hopefully, he wouldn't be living there of all places.

He walked towards the town with only his backpack, suitcase, and duffle bag weighing him down. His shoes clicked against the cobblestone road as he entered the town in the middle of the day. Unlike the busy streets of the cities, this place was quiet and relaxing to the ears. Yet, he was not able to find anyone outside. The young man walked throughout the town in hopes he could find anyone who could direct him to the mayor.

Out from his left, he could see the symbol of a medical building adjacent to another as a man walked out of its door. The man in the glasses paused for a moment as he took notice of his arrival. "You're new in town. What brings you here, sir?"

The stranger put as much effort into the language as possible. "Where… Mayor… Lewis…"

Once the first mention of the person's name was revealed, the local immediately adjusted his glasses over his mustache. "You're looking for the mayor?" His hands pointed over to the doors beside the clinic. "He's in Pierre's shop."

"Thank… you…" It was hard trying to speak this tongue, but it was better than complete silence.

"You're welcome." He said as he nodded his head. "Since you have so much stuff on you, I think I should introduce myself. My name is Harvey, I'm the doctor of Pelican Town."

He struggled to try and speak. "D-Doctor. Thank… you… doctor."

"No problem, get inside before he leaves."

The newcomer nodded his head before he entered the store. When he managed to get through the door with all of his belongings, he saw the old man finish his conversation with the store clerk. As he approached him, Mayor Lewis stopped in his tracks and took a quick glance at him. "Excuse me, you're not from around here, are you?"

What was the phrase again? Rather than struggle with the language, he shook his head as his reply. It was somewhat distressing that he was resorting to head nods, but if it worked he would not have complained about it.

Mayor Lewis was an elderly man with glasses and a greyed out mustache resting over his mouth. Yet, he appeared to be fine for someone without a cane as he walked up to him. "Let's take this outside, Pierre would prefer if his customers didn't have to navigate around us." The duo moved out into the outside village as several more townsfolk arrived and walked past them, expressing their greetings and respect to the mayor on their way in. "From what I can tell from the bags, you might be staying here for a while, but for how long?"

The foreigner held up his briefcase to him and gestured him to hold it. As the mayor held his briefcase, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled letter in hand. "Ded… know… you…"

"Who, exactly?"

"You'll know." He answered before taking back his briefcase.

Lewis did his best to unwrinkle the paper, but as he unfolded it, his eyes widened at the words it contained. "This letter, it came from your grandfather! When did you receive this?"

"Recent… You know what this means, yes?"

The mayor looked up at him. "It appears your grandfather is letting you own his farm. It's been a long time since he's lived there, but I think he'd appreciate it if you stayed there. Let me get the keys, it's back in my house."

They arrived at the farm, but the stranger was appalled by the current state it was in. The farm only existed in name only and what remained of it was now covered in trees, grass, and debris were strewn across the entire land. Somehow, he felt a pang of regret coming here to accept his grandfather's gift, but there was no backing out of this. He walked onto the dirt road as his shows crunched into the dust and looked at the only thing left unchanged - the wooden cabin.

Mayor Lewis stepped forward and unlocked the door as he opened it for its new owner. "I know this place hasn't been kept for, but I suppose it's a blessing that the land is still fertile to grow crops. I've got a place for you to get rid of this stuff so you can make money out of it while you're cleaning up if that gives you any comfort. Say, what's your name?"

After taking a quick glance at the surrounding farmland, he was one step away from entering his new home. "Alexei… name is Alexei."

"That's an odd name. Where are you from?"

"Not from… continent…"

He nodded his head in acknowledgment. "I see. Well, I won't press the issue since you're going to be busy with this. Welcome to Stardew Valley, Alexei. If you have the time, please meet with the rest of the nice people in the town. They'll want to know their new neighbor." Then he departed from the cabin with his keys hanging from the door.

Time waited for the local to finally leave Alexei alone as he put down his bags and briefcase on the ground. He walked up to his bed and rested his back upon the mattress, but unlike the facade, he revealed his true emotions and thoughts about this situation with his accent still present. "Damn it, why did I come here?"

He sat upright as he grabbed his briefcase off the floor. Although his backpack and duffle bag contained his necessities, this contained his personal life from his country. Alexei opened it up and took a good look at his photographs and papers - some important for his finances and legal work while others were merely there for sentimental value.

The young man saw a photograph of him and his father hiding behind a passport with an eagle and coat of arms. As he brushed the passport aside, he grabbed the photo from his briefcase and remembered his disagreements with the man. His father was a well-established man in his government and he would always have men keeping an eye like him wherever he went. Alexei knew that he had no jurisdiction here and this was done out of pragmatism and spite, but for all those emotions, he truly had no ill will against him. "You don't have to worry about me, I'll be alright."

That night, the Stardrop Saloon was filled with everyone from across Pelican Town. Normally, it would have been a night to relax and unwind from the usual chores and jobs everyone had. Yet, this was not a normal night as the mayor had taken the time to announce to everyone about the newcomer who had taken residence in the old Bakersfield farm. "Everyone, quiet down, I have something to say." The old man began. "I'm sure you all know that the old farm used to belong to a friend of mine from long ago. He's long gone as we all know it; however, the man who lives there is his grandson. Now I don't know how my friend was able to keep this a secret, but we should welcome our new neighbor with open arms. He'll be coming tomorrow, so I expect everyone to be on their best behavior."

One of the girls amongst the crowd in the bar had raised her hand. "Lewis, what's his name?"

The mayor began to scratch the back of his head. "He's not from Ferngill Republic - that is for certain. So his name is going to be different, but we'll call him Alex for short. Of course, he'll correct you for that, but I hope everyone is understanding about that. If you have any more questions, Alex can answer all of you tomorrow."

When everyone returned to their usual tables and cliques, the girl who had asked the mayor rejoined her drinking buddy. "Whoever this guy is, he sounds interesting. What do you think, Elliot?"

The blonde man sitting beside her had taken a few sips from his beer. "I don't know, but it would make for an interesting mystery novel. A strange man arrives in a town and several young characters investigate who he is. Perhaps he is a murderer who is hiding away from his criminal deed?"

She laughed at the idea. "That sounds like an excellent idea for a story."

"Perhaps we shouldn't be making jokes about our neighbor, Leah. Maybe he might be a murderer hiding away?"

The redhead shook her head. "You really think something like that is going to ever occur in this town? I'm not insulting your creative spirit, but even reality has its suspension of disbelief."

"You're right, but it would make for a good story," Elliot replied. "How about we drink to creativity?"

"We can do that." Agreed Leah.

Author's Note: I was brainstorming some ideas on what I could do for a Stardew Valley fanfic. I know it's not much, but I do have some detailed thoughts to make this story good.