a stardew story

I am awakened by the gentle touch of a butterfly on my arm. Though it's only six in the morning, the warming rays of the sun seep through the window, revealing all the glittering colors on the butterfly's wings. I smile and start to get up. The butterfly flaps its wings to perch on a nearby houseplant.

I could follow my daily routine with my eyes closed. First, I look for Shane, my partner. He's standing near the fridge and looking down at something on the counter. I approach him slowly and cough, not wanting to startle him. "Oh! Emily, you're awake!" he says, a smile curling the edges of his mouth. I step towards him and he meets me halfway for a tight embrace. "Here, I made too many pepper poppers. You can have the rest."

"Thank you!" I reply, mouth watering at the sight of the full to bursting peppers stuffed with all types of steaming cheese and bacon. "I'll eat these later." Probably as I'm about to pass out in the mines, I think, but I can't tell him that.

"I'm going out today," Shane says as I'm putting the dish into the fridge.

"Okay! You're going to the saloon, right? I'll meet you there tonight!"

I turn to see Shane's beaming smile. "I'll save a drink for you!" he exclaims as I wave goodbye.

The farm chores await me. As always, I bring my horse Nikki with me. We always take care of the farm together. The crab pots are full of snails and trash. They're all stuffed in my pockets before we head to the coop and barn to let all the animals out. I watch them chomp happily at the grass before heading to the slime farm. Even with the slime ring that makes me invincible to slime attacks, I don't think I'll ever get over the way their sticky bodies feel on my legs. I water their pans and collect their slime balls as quickly as I can before going to the greenhouse. There, I check if any of the crops have finished growing. Neither the ancient fruit nor the fruit trees can bear fruit yet, so we ride back to the selling box, where almost everything in my pockets belongs. Everything else but my tools goes into the storage shed.

By then, it's already early afternoon. The rest of the day is free for me to do as I please, so I decide to let Nikki have a rest in her stable and walk to the town square. There might be a new movie showing at the movie theatre. Along the way, I talk to everyone I see, including Evelyn, who shows me how her flowers have sprouted to reveal vibrant purple and blue tulips, and Leah, who tells me about her savory breakfast of mushrooms and herbs. The theatre isn't showing a new movie, but I decide to watch The Brave Little Sapling again. It's a heartwarming story about a little sapling who tries their best to become a tree. The movie puts a smile on my face, and I'm still smiling as I head over to the saloon. When I enter, Shane is sitting at the bar. He's saved a seat for me, so I head over and tap his shoulder to let my presence known.

"Hey, Emily! Here's the drink I promised." He slides a glass of juice in front of my stool. I sit and clink our glasses together.

"To our farm!"

We sit and chat for a little while about Shane's chickens, how Marnie and Jas are doing, and how my crops are doing. Other people come up to the bar too, and Harvey talks to us about our upcoming checkups. When we finish our drinks, Shane and I get up to dance with Robin and Demetrius. The saloon is warm and cozy, the light chatter of the residents of Pelican Town and the clinking of glasses filling the background noise. When it's 10:00 PM, Shane and I decide to head home. We've been trying to get more sleep, especially since the spring season is almost ending. I'm always more busy once a new season is starting, mostly with the replanting of crops.

When we get home, Miso is dozing on our bed. I pat her gently on her head before slipping under the sheets. Shane does the same, and we sleep peacefully through the night.