Mirroring the Endless Night | Elliott x Female Farmer |

9. Sweet Summer Child

"You laid an egg!"

Maria had been in the middle of the routine she'd developed for summer mornings; wake up at six, fill Orion's water bowl, make a quick breakfast, water the crops, and once the chickens have been given time to wake up she'd go in the coop to check on them and fill their troughs with food and water.

Today however there was a surprise awaiting her. Two eggs had been left upon the bundles of hay and grass she'd put inside the nest box, a simple one Marnie had taught her how to build ("Oh it's simple really! Just get some slabs of wood and hammer them together to make a box, leave one of the sides open and fill it with some hay, the chickens will wanna lay in it like it's a bed since it'll certainly be cozier since that wood floor. If you're lucky you'll start getting those morning eggs in no time!").

And sure enough, there they were. They were small of course, it was to be expected for the girls' first lays, but Maria was proud nonetheless. "Ladies, these look wonderful. Impeccable timing too since it's my birthday, I'm going to pretend you two knew and this is your guys' gift to me," she explained, placing her hands on her hips and looking down at the two birds.

Cygnus merely chirped in response and dashed off towards the food trough, no doubt ready to stuff her beak with feed. Corvus on the other hand stepped closer to Maria and pressed her little head against the farmer's leg, cheeping sweetly before leaving to walk outside of the chicken door that Maria had opened minutes before.

After cleaning up after the two chickens and carefully collecting the two brown eggs and placing them in her basket she headed back to her own farmhouse, continuing to check off items on her mental to-do list. She'd budgeted out that due to her recent harvest of melons she'd soon have enough for that house upgrade she so desperately needed. All she had to do was sell one more harvest of hot peppers, which her current batch would be ripe in just two days' time, and she'd be set. She could survive off of fish she caught for another while until she had the spare reserves to buy meals from Gus at the saloon again.

She was more than excited for the upgrade as well. She needed more space, a kitchen, a fixed bathroom, and air conditioning. Yoba, did she need air conditioning. The summer air was not letting up and the weatherman had forecasted that a heat wave would be coming within the next week meaning somehow it was going to get even hotter.

After checking on the crab pots she'd put in the pond in the southern part of her farm and preening the stalks of her blueberry bushes she retired into the farmhouse. It was nearly noon and the last thing she wanted was to be a sweaty, exhausted mess before the birthday party Leah was throwing her.

Leah had been planning a get together in the saloon this evening, all in Maria's honor. Though she hadn't been told many of the details, she could only assume a majority of the town would be there, especially since it was her first birthday in the valley. All she'd been informed of was to show up at five o'clock sharp, no sooner, no later.

The farmer was excited, after all the last time she'd had a party of her own was when she was in her early teens. Yet, she couldn't help feeling a tad disappointed whenever her thoughts wandered off to what awaited her in the evening. She knew why she was feeling this way, she just didn't want to admit it.

Elliott wouldn't be there to help celebrate, and she felt so incredibly selfish for being upset that he was away. She'd been mentally bickering with herself ever since he'd left the day before, half of her brain argued that it was okay if she was sad he was gone, while the other persisted that her being upset over his absence was selfish and a disregard of the fact that he was gone for a good reason.

She knew neither argument was totally correct, but she still couldn't help that nagging feeling of guilt that settled in the back of her mind.

They'd said goodbye the day before, Maria was actually quite surprised to see her writer friend stood at the entrance of her farm with a small suitcase in hand.