Summer 3

The baby was born today! I'm very tired and can barely write, but I feel this must be written down. His name is Maxwell, and he is absolutely beautiful. I went into labor about 11 last night. I couldn't ride Willow to the clinic and Chase was no good with horses, so Charlotte took her horse Cookie to get Irene. Charlotte was back in no time, and I am so proud of her. He was born around 11 this morning. Twelve hours of labor is a lot, but I couldn't be happier to have a new boy in the family. Chase was ecstatic. He started crying when Maxwell was born, which he doesn't do often. I'm exhausted. I need to rest.

Summer 7

So much has gone on in the past few days. Max has been the perfect baby. He rarely cries, sleeps a lot, and just seems to always be super happy, which gives me time to spend with Anissa and Renee on my front porch. They have been telling me what's been going on while I've been with Max.

"Yesterday, I saw some men in black suits going into the Town Hall." Anissa stated.

I sat straight up. "What did they do?" I asked.

Anissa bit her lip, looking worried. "They went to talk to the mayor."

I gave a suspicious look toward Anissa. There was something she wasn't telling us.

"What about?"

"They want to buy Castanet."

Renee looked utterly horrified. "But- no… Did Hamilton say yes?!"

"No," Anissa said. Both Renee and I breathed sighs of relief. "But I don't think this is the end of it." Anissa finished.

There was a bit more tension as we talked more and more. It turns out, Toby said something to Renee about men standing on their farm a week ago. Anissa said she heard the same thing from her father. This worries me. Why won't these men leave us alone?

Summer 13

The men didn't take very well to their offer being declined. Not well at all. They now resorted to playing dirty.

They poisoned Marimba Farm's fields.

They've been killing off Cain's prize cows.

They even killed Renee's horse.

These horrible people. There is no doubt in anyone's mind it was them. When someone in town gets mad at another, they just avoid each other until they get over it, but these people are ruthless. They made another offer to the mayor today. He declined, and now they're angrier than ever. We need to watch out.

Summer 17

These foul creatures. May the Harvest Goddess curse their every breath. Let me start by saying what happened last night.

The sun was setting as I was putting my animals back into their barn. Then I saw Anissa and her family running up my path. I knew something must be wrong, so I ran out to meet them. The next thing I knew, Anissa was in my arms crying while her whole family stood beside her, tears in their eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

Anissa took a few breaths before starting, "I-I was sitting on the porch with Van. About to head home to Jin." She paused to look me in the eye. "Then they came. They- they set the fields on fire. Brought a giant crane with a chain and a ball on it." She nearly couldn't finish, so she had to scream the last bit out. "THEY DESTROYED MY HOME!"

Fresh tears came pouring out. They brought a wrecking ball. They destroyed my best friend's house. They set her fields on fire.

Craig spoke up. "Renee and her family went to alert the mayor."

I was nearly crying myself. "Get inside my house. I'm going to see what I can do."

They all filed inside: Anissa, Van, Craig, Taylor, and Ruth. I went and got Willow.

"Come, Fergus." I said. My Pyrenees bounced up and ran alongside me and Willow as we galloped to Flute Fields. Fergus has been with me since before Chase and I met, and I love him with all my heart

When we got there, all hell had broken loose. Animals were running with their fur on fire, the fields were ablaze, the house in shambles. Then I remembered something.

In those fields was the Yellow Bell.

"The Bell!" I yelled. If the bell was destroyed, the Harvest Goddess would die again.

Fergus was faster than me, so before I could dismount my horse, he was off in the fields.

"No! Fergus!" Tears welled in my eyes as I heard a distant whimper.

"Fergus!" It felt like ages since he'd gone in there. Fear filled my stomach. What if he didn't come back?

He came back to me, bell in his mouth, but he wasn't ok. His hair was singed off, cuts all over him. His skin was blistered and burned. As he limped to me, I knew what was happening. He dropped the bell before looking into my eyes. They looked as though they were looking straight to my soul.

He only was like that for a second before he collapsed and I watched him breathe his final breath. I screamed. There was nothing else for me to do. I picked up Fergus, still sobbing, and rode with him back home. In that moment I realized something.

It is possible for a human to hate.

Hi! This story is still not over. It's just getting started. Follow or favorite, or just leave a review. I really like to know how I'm doing. Thanks-Beetle