Mirroring the Endless Night | Elliott x Female Farmer |

3. Egg-related Festivities

It was mid-spring, and the heavens had graced Maria with a cooling sprinkle of rain. Water didn't pour down from the sky, instead it drizzled down, bringing a smile to the farmers face as she leaned over her newest harvest, digging up fully grown cauliflowers from her field.

"Orion! Look at these, aren't they just gorgeous?" she exclaimed, lifting one of the biggest cauliflowers and turning on her heel to face who she'd been speaking to.

The person in question was Orion: her new cat. She'd received him just two days ago when Marnie swung by with him swaddled in a blanket. Maria was more than happy to accept the tom cat, admiring his steely blue eyes that contrasted with his dark brown and black fur.

Currently, Orion was sprawled out on the house's front porch, sunbathing in a spot which protected him from the light rainfall. Upon hearing his name be called he lifted his head, just barely acknowledging Maria's presence before rolling over and ignoring her once more.

"Very nice. Thanks for the support, buddy," Maria sighed, hoisting the cauliflower into her basket to take to Pierre's shop. Majority of the time she'd leave her earnings in the produce box at the edge of her farm to be retrieved at night, but she was saving up for an upgraded fishing rod that she wanted to purchase by the end of the day, so she'd go and sell them now.

Rolling up her flannel sleeves, she grabbed both baskets full of fresh vegetables and lifted them up, shouting a goodbye to Orion over her shoulder before trudging down the dirt path to head into the town center.

Two months ago, a walk like this while carrying at least fifty pounds would leave her feeling sore all over, but living on the farm and tending to the fields had garnered her some muscle mass. Nothing incredibly different at first glance, but she certainly noticed the toning her arms had gained.

She'd noticed a slight loss of fat at her waist, which had slightly upset her at first since she was quite the fan of her curves, but she figured that trading a little curvature for a little muscle wasn't the worst that could happen to her.

After about ten minutes of walking she'd made it to the town plaza, offering a smile to Jodi and Caroline as the two mothers passed her, no doubt having their daily gossip session. She also saw Evelyn, the grandmother of another young man in the town, tending to flowers near the saloon. The elderly lady set down her watering pail and waved a frail hand, and all Maria could do was lift her baskets of cauliflower and widely grin, hoping the woman would understand her hands were too full to wave back.

When she heard Evelyn chuckle sweetly, she assumed she got the message, and continued on her trek to Pierre's. Upon standing in front of the shop's door, however, she came to a sudden revelation.

With both hands preoccupied with very heavy baskets, the rope handles of which were beginning to dig into her skin, and she knew that having to put them on the ground only to pick them up again would hurt.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise?"

Maria quickly tilted her head back, a smile spreading on her face once she saw a familiar auburn haired man walking down the stone path her way.

She and Elliott had crossed paths a handful of times since their first meeting in the saloon all those weeks ago. They happened upon one another in the forest while Maria had been foraging for spring onions to snack on, and she teasingly mocked the disgust that Elliott weakly attempted to hide at the sight of the dirt covered root vegetables. Their next meeting was at the beach while she'd been setting up crab pots that Willy had loaned her, and the two managed to bond over their shared love of seafood (she made sure to note that his favorite meals were lobster and crab cakes, maybe once she had a kitchen installed she could cook either for his birthday in autumn). She'd also attempted to keep up with her Friday visits to the saloon, both to socialize with other townspeople, and get the occasional drink with Elliott and Leah (Elliott had happily introduced her to Leah, an artist who lived in the riverside cabin south of Marnie's ranch).