Mirroring the Endless Night | Elliott x Female Farmer |

12. Autumn Follies

Maria's eyes fluttered open, being greeted by her dimly lit bedroom. Sticking her arm out towards the nightstand, she'd managed to find her phone despite the lack of light and flicked the screen. The numbers '5:52' flashed back at her, and she hummed. ' Managed to get up before my alarm, nice,' she sleepily thought.

She opened her phone momentarily to turn off the alarm so it wouldn't blare within a matter of minutes. Just as soon as she opened her messenger to see if she'd missed anything overnight, a shuffling sound was heard behind her as the bed shifted.

Suddenly, memories of the previous night flashed through her mind. The storm, her panicked state of mind, Elliott running to aid her, and the fact that he'd spent the night after cleaning up her mess. Her face flushed red, though she couldn't pinpoint if it was due to the embarrassment of her actions of the fact that she'd slept in the same bed as him.

She tilted her head back, only to see him still sound asleep. Though there wasn't much light, she could see that he was still sound asleep. His hair was splayed around his head like a halo, and he'd made himself very comfortable within the mass of blankets and pillows.

As carefully as she could, she slipped out from beneath the covers and quietly padded across the bedroom, grabbing some clothes out of her dresser before entering the bathroom. After quickly washing her face and brushing her teeth, she tied her hair up and changed into a flannel button up and denim shorts.

Exiting the bathroom, she folded the clothing she'd worn to bed and set them down, before finally leaving her bedroom and gently shutting the door behind her. Orion curled up on the love seat, fast asleep, which was normal for the feline at this time of morning.

She resumed her regular routine, turning on her coffee maker and letting the brew prepare itself as she flicked on the television to tune into the early morning news. A pair of bleary eyed local reporters spoke about various stories as the farmer bounced around her kitchen, making toast and two fried eggs.

Once her coffee was ready, she leaned against her counter and ate a makeshift breakfast sandwich, sipping on her caffeinated pick-me-up as the sun began to slowly rise outside the window. As she chewed away she made a mental checklist of all she'd have to do today; buy all her new crops from Pierre, de-weed the field she'd measured out for planting, pick up a pick-axe upgrade from Clint, and if she had the time she'd swing by Robin's to discuss whether or not the carpenter could visit the farm and examine the old cattle barn and see if it could be rebuilt (though she very much doubted she'd be able to fit in the last one).

Once she was done with her mini-meal, she chugged the last of her coffee before depositing her plate and mug in the sink and turning off the television before finally stepping outside to greet both a new day and season.

It was only when she stood on her porch, basking in the first rays of sunshine, that she realized the carnage that last night's freak storm had left behind.

A handful of trees had been knocked over due to the strong winds, leaves and grass were scattered across the ground as far as the eye could see, and there was a hole in the roof of the coop where some of the shingles had been knocked out of place.

"... shit," she muttered, biting down on her lip nervously.

The coop would have to be dealt with first, and she'd have to put in place some kind of makeshift solution until she could have Robin properly patch it up. After spending a few minutes digging through the shed besides the farmhouse, she found an old blue tarp that luckily wasn't tattered.

Grabbing a ladder, she trudged over to the side of the coop and set it up, climbing up on top of the roof and peaking inside. Luckily the damage within the coop itself was minimal, her biggest concern would likely be water damage to the wooden floorboards.