The memory came at a damn good time.

All of my days were shit, but this one was especially shitty. The same shit happened constantly, but some days, it made me feel shittier than others.

The memory was like a sudden flush of that toilet in my brain.

Hadn't I gotten something from my grandfather? Something about a cottage or something in another town?

What happened is that I sat in my cubicle, typing away as usual, when out of nowhere, it dawned on me that that envelope was a thing. How long had it been? I had no idea for so long that thing existed!

Like a wanderer stranded in the desert thinking they saw a city in the distance… I frantically whipped open my drawers in search of that envelope. I knew I'd kept it here somewhere, but that's all I knew. Of course, there were lots of freakin' envelopes; I was in a freakin' office job, doing office things. I lost a bit more hope each time I saw some corporate address or something on each envelope.

Finally, in the final drawer I searched, there was a plain white envelope sealed with purple wax. Without a second thought, I tore it open and read what was within. A letter, to start.

"Dear Rachael," it read. "If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. I've enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Cyan Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life."

This wasn't happening. I lowered the letter and stared into space to give my mind a quick moment to figure this shit out. A… new place? That would've changed literally everything, so it couldn't have been possible. Either that, or it was an option, but it would've involved so many tedious steps and so many unresponsive people that nothing would ever come of it. Just like every good option that came before it. Realizing this, I returned to reality and continued reading.

"This was my most precious gift of all," it read. "And now, it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my dear. Good luck. Love, Grandpa."

Wait. If the deed was here, was everything else taken care of? Was the mortgage all paid? Did I still have to pay for utilities?

I quickly peeked behind the letter to see something that did in…deed (heh) look like a deed.

…Those concerns would have to wait, I decided. Finally, some light had been let into my life, and I had to pursue it with everything I had.

Right before I closed the envelope, I noticed that in the mental frenzy I was going through, I had completely forgotten to read a whole page of the letter. Maybe that would provide some answers! So I turned to it.

"P.S.," it said. "If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?"

Well, that was great help.

I'd be sure to honor the request, though. I was getting the fuck out of this gray metal enclosure called an office, out of that box I called an apartment, and out of this city I called a "home."

…"Real connections with other people," said Grandpa. That's perhaps what drove me the most to take the leap.


Author's note: If you know me as a fanfic writer, you'll know that in the past, I had always updated fanfics on a weekly basis. Well, uh… no more for now. For reasons related to my productivity, I'm going to be doing things differently for a bit; I'll constantly be working on writing this fanfic, almost like I would work on a novel, and post chapters as I finish them.

I'd also like to note that a few details will differ from what's canon. Not cool with that? This isn't the place for you.

Author's warning: It's perfectly possible I'll lose all motivation or something, or something in my mind will change, and I'll quit this entirely. It's happened way too many times before, as you probably know, and I DEARLY hope it doesn't happen again. But you know… I have faith this time. I really do. Just wanted to make sure y'all were aware of the chance.