Chapter 1

The snow has melted, and the warm air spreads through the land. Spring has arrived in the small yet distant Mineral Town. There is an abandoned farm that was once thriving with life just a few years ago. It's field used to be populated with crops growing on the dirt or grass for animals to graze on. This field now only has stones and branches scattered around from storms and neglect. Grass and weeds has overgrown across the field and the old buildings.

A young man enters the farm to look around. He gasps as the farm he once knew is lifeless and dead. The wind causes his dark hair to billow while the cool spring air caresses his tan skin. Luckily, his gray hoodie and long jeans keep him warm. The air feels familiar, but the farm changed so much since he last visited. So many thoughts are going through his mind as he takes in the cool yet depressing state of his childhood memory.

"What happened?" he asked himself. He wants to find his old friend, but he can clearly tell that he is no longer living in the farm.

As he takes a look around the abandoned field, a short man in a red suit walks into the farm and finds the stranger trespassing through the farm. He walks up to the stranger and yells, "excuse me? Who are you? This farm is closed, no visitors allowed!"

The stranger looks back and answers, "I'm sorry. My name is Yuto, I cane to see a friend of my family. His name is Tony, he ran this farm. Do you know where he went?"

"Oh, I see. You're Yuto, I heard about you," answered the man in red. He then walks into the field and looks up into the sky, "I'm Thomas by the way. I'm the mayor here in Mineral Town. Our friend Tony passed away a few years ago. This farm has been empty ever since."

"Yuto gasps then tilts his head down sadly. "I guess that's why we haven't heard from him. I didn't even know he was ill."

Thomas looks at Yuto and asks, "if you don't mind me asking, how did you meet Tony?"

Yuto takes a deep breath, then explains, "I was about ten years old when our family met him. That summer, my folks decided to visit this town for vacation. We stayed at the inn back then, and I was really bored. So I got separated from my family and wandered off into this farm. I was lost, then Tony found me. He reunited me with my family, the invited us to see the farm. I went to see the farm every day that summer. There were a lot of animals for me to play with, and the field was filled with corn and tomato plants.

"When that summer ended, we exchanged addresses so we can keep in touch. I wanted to come visit sooner, but things got busy and we never had the chance. The letters stopped coming, and eventually my dad asked me to check on Tony. We had no idea he had already passed on."

"Interesting," said Thomas. He then pulls out a letter from his chest pocket and hands it to Yuto, "I found this in his house when I was cleaning up after he died. It's addressed to you."

Yuto accepts the letter and opens it to read the contents. In the envelope are three hand written pages and an official document. "What does it say?" asked Thomas.

Yuto lowers the letter and answers, "It's Tony's final letter to my family. He was telling us that he was getting sick and not to worry, because he had a great long life. If we had gotten this earlier, we would have known he was gone."

"Seems like there's more," continued Thomas.

Yuto holds up the document and answers, "He left the farm to my family. I have the deed right here."

"I see," said Thomas. He then turns around to look at the blue sky once more before continuing, "makes sense that he would leave the farm to you. He had no one else to leave it to. He had no children or any other family that I am aware of, so you and your parents were like his only family." He then shakes his head and sighs sadly, "Tony is deeply missed here in Mineral Town, he was the last farmer after all."

"The last farmer?" asked Yuto.

"You see my boy, true farmers are now extinct since Tony passed away. Other farmers around the world has been replaced my huge machines and trucks. Nobody farms by hand anymore. Tony was a very important part of our community, we don't know what are we going to do without him." He then leaves the farm saying, "well, the farm is yours now. Do what you wish with it."

"Yuto looks back at him and whispers, "geez, that was pretty cold." He then turns his attention to the empty field. He then kneels down and touches the soft fertile dirt saying, "sorry Tony. I should have visited sooner. You'll be missed old friend, now I'll have to break the news to mom and dad back at home.

"Yuto stands up and decides to take a walk around the farm. As he walks past the coop, he remembers a time when he chased the chickens with a twig. He then walks past the barn and recalls it being filled with all types of animals. After circling back to the field, he stands in the center with his fists resting on his hips as he says, "maybe I should take over. If I do, then I'll be the last farmer! Wouldn't that be cool?"

Suddenly, Yuto gets the odd feeling that he is being watched. He turns around to face the old farm house, and finds an eagle perched on top. The eagle is staring at Yuto, looking deep into his brown eyes. Yuto stares back wondering why a wild animal is watching him so intently. After a few minutes, the eagle spreads it's wings and takes off circling around Yuto. As it flies over Yuto's head, he doesn't break eye contact with it in case it decides to dive and attack him. After a few minutes, the eagle flies off into the mountains to the south.

Yuto's curiosity takes over, so he decides to follow the eagle into the mountains to the south. After passing over the bridge to cross a river flowing on the border of the farm, he takes a look around the lightly wooded area. To the left is a cabin and the local carpenter chopping lumber. To his right, he finds the hot springs surrounded by bamboo plants. There is no sign of the eagle, but he feels some type of aura lingering in the air.

Yuto walks to the hot springs and takes a look around. Nearby is a waterfall and a pond that looks ordinary, but he can feel a strange presence in it. There is also a cave behind the waterfall which must be filled with minerals to gather. As he walks around the hot spring, a loud roar surprises him. He looks over and sees a large brown bear hiding in the bamboo. The bear does nothing but stares at Yuto. The feeling he's getting from the bear feels eerily similar to the eagle back at the farm. Before long, the bear turns around and walk away.

As Yuto sighs a breath of relief, he notices that the sun is beginning to set and the day is ending. He then moves on past the hot springs into a wide clearing with a huge lake in the middle with a small island poking out of the water. He fished in the lake with Tony as a child, he remembers him calling it Mother's Lake. The water reflects the orange sunset as it descends into the mountains.

Yuto climbs up Moon Mountain, another place he used to visit with Tony as a kid. At the summit, the pale full moon shines brightly. He stares at the moon, bathing in it's mysterious light. This feeling is different than back at home since the night sky is harder to see over there. He finds the fool moon and the spring mountain air very pure and relaxing./p

As the grass rustles behind him, Yuto turns around to learn that he is not alone in the mountain. A small gathering of animals both great and small look up to him. Their eyes shine bright under the full moon as they all stare at Yuto wondering what he's going to do. He looks back at them, wondering why so many wild animals are drawn to him. He takes a step towards them, but they all scatter back into the darkness of the forest.

Yuto goes back into the farm and falls asleep in Tony's old home. The next morning, Yuto walks out of the house and takes another look around. He had a full day to think things over. Tony is gone, and he feels that Mineral Town needs a new farmer to run things. He then looks at the morning sky and declares, "Tony, I'm going back home and pack all my stuff. When I come back, I will be Mineral Town's newest farmer!" He then jumps and cheers for himself excited to start his new life journey.