SPOOKYTIME WITH SPOONIE

CHAPTER 2 A DAY OF EXPLORING

We left Star after having an incredibly social day, bless her, she was all tuckered out, the pitfalls of being a loner I suppose.

I left a note for her on her dining room table, while she slept, with some more information about the challenges she will face, here at Star Dew Farm.

Dear Star, Caretaker here, I just wanted to say welcome and that I hope you slept well. There are some rules that your Grandfather wanted you to follow and it is paramount that you keep them, should you wish to stay. Firstly, you are not allowed to seek any formal employment. That was his number one stipulation, he really wanted to see how you got on living just off of the land, as he did when he moved here. Secondly, there are certain items that he wished you to turn in to me, that would, in turn, make your life here more varied, interesting and maybe even just that little bit easier. He wished that you would get to know your neighbours as well, he worried about you living in the city, that you spent all your time alone in your apartment, with no friends as such. As you saw yesterday, the locals are a friendly bunch and they will be happy to help you out as long as the favour is returned. And the last thing I will leave you with is that he wanted you to work on your survival skills, the skills that will help you with all the other things he wanted you to achieve, skills such as charisma, handiness, gardening, fishing, cooking and cross-stitching. Well, take care of yourself, I’ll be sure to check in on you from time to time. Caretaker of Star Dew Farm

Well, Star wastes no time getting to work on some of those skills, the first thing she does when she wakes is to find a local fishing spot and start work on her fishing technique. She caught a weed encrusted log with her first try, but she was determined that she would be completely self-sufficient and that meant being able to provide her own food! The fishing practise would continue.

With the next bite, she feels a little more confident that it was something alive and not just some flotsam from the bottom of the lake. Lo and behold, she pulls a large green fish from the water.

Thinking back to the summers she spent here with her Grandfather, she is almost certain that she has caught a bass. This is one of the items the caretaker mentioned in the list attached to his letter that makes up the fishing bundle! So, she is determined not to eat it, but to try again and see what else she can catch.

Her next catch is something that she has never seen before, she thinks that it is some sort of gummy fish? Oh well, she will ask Michael when she sees him next, he seems to know a lot about the local wildlife.

Heading back to the cottage, she realises that she still has some of the fruit cake in the fridge that the welcome wagon brought with them. “That will do for breakfast,” she thinks.

Her next task is to check on the seedlings that she planted yesterday. She is happy to see that they all seem to have germinated. She inspects them further.

“Wait, are those carrots ready to harvest?” She exclaims to no one. Sure

enough, she bends down and harvests a bunch of tiny little carrots.

“It’s not much,” she says to herself, “but it’s a start.” Remembering trips to the village as a child, she wonders if the market stalls still buy produce.

Enjoying her own company after the social whirlwind that was yesterday, she heads out to the bramble patch that she used to explore. If she remembers correctly, there were some interesting plants that grow here that she has never found anywhere else. Her first stop, when she arrives, is to see if the traditions she remembers from her childhood are still in place, searching beside Sophie The Snail, she is pleasantly surprised to find some chrysanthemums in the little hiding place. Checking her pockets to see what she can leave in return, she finds a Taro root and hides it back under the small stone.

No trip here would be complete without the requisite selfie with Sophie herself!

She is sure that she remembers her being a lot bigger, oh well, she supposes she is a lot bigger than the last time she visited this sacred place.

Talking of sacred places, she takes a wander over to the ruins of the Isle of Volpe. She remembers picking wild mushrooms here with her Grandfather and also a delicious berry called a “chocoberry”;

she was never able to find any of these ingredients in San Myshuno.

She enjoys an afternoon of wandering around the old ruins, finding all of the places she used to hide when she was a child.

On her way home as the sun starts to set, she notices a flock of birds in an old hollowed-out tree, she remembers singing to them when she was little. So she tries it again.

The little creatures seem to appreciate the song and she enjoys their company.

She arrives home at dusk, to find another local standing on her stoop. She introduces herself and he reveals himself to be Derrick Moody, one of her Grandfather’s closest friends. She invites him in and they reminisce about the old man until Star realises how hungry she is.

She politely shows Derrick to the door, asking him to pop round whenever he likes and heads to the fridge. She is sure she remembers Michael stuffing something into the fridge while she was chatting to her other neighbours, and sure enough, she finds a delicious looking homemade cottage pie. She heats it up in the oven and settles down to the most delicious meal she has had in days.

Feeling satisfied that she has done a good day's work on the farm, and explored some of the village, Star heads for bed with hopes for another fine day tomorrow. She is really hoping that those chocoberry bushes she saw earlier will be ready for harvest!