The Runaway: A Stardew Valley Story

Water Logged

"Who are you supposed to be?" The blonde at the door stands with eyes narrowed and a fist on her hip.

"I'm the new farmer, Junox?" I try to hold back the fear in my voice.

This girl is scary. I can feel her undressing me with her eyes. At least when men did it in the city, they liked what they imagined.

"Gross, you play in the dirt all day?"

"Uh?" Am I supposed to answer that?

"Haley! Good Yabba, would it kill you to be a little nicer to the new girl?" a voice that I recognize from the bar calls from behind the wall of curves and pink. Emily pokes her head over Haley's shoulder. "Holy crap! Junox! Where is your rain jacket? You will catch your death!"

"It's just water," I say weakly.

"Well, it's dry inside so get in here!" Emily laughs. She eyes the firewood as I carefully dry my feet on a colorful entryway rug. "Nice, we have firewood, Hales!"

Haley rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. "It's all wet now. We'll have to wait for it to dry."

"And that is not Junox's fault," Emily tuts. "Every piece of wood is going to be wet thanks to this rain, but now we don't have to chop anything when it's dry."

In the back of the room, a TV set as old as the one in the cottage hums faintly. It casts a faint glow against the padded couch and chairs. Haley passes it as she disappears behind a closed door in a huff.

"Do you mind setting the wood in the kitchen?" Emily asks with a smile. "I'll run grab the payment!"

She doesn't wait for my response before heading towards another closed door. I drip water onto an old carpeted floor with every step toward the kitchen. The TV is turned on so low that I don't make out what the reporter is saying until I'm a few steps from the kitchen.

"...Joja Corporations continues to remain silent on the disappearance of Joy Hornsby, fiancé of Joshua Jones, son of CEOs and founders. Authorities have not confirmed any relations to the disappearance of Mia Gibbens or the tragic death of Neil Gibbens earlier this week."

My fingers go numb.

The wood in my hands tumbles to the floor. First one piece from the edge of the pile, then the whole load. The photos on the screen show a woman with intricately woven hair and dark eyes. I recognize her immediately even though I never learned her name.

Those are the same dark eyes that screamed at me from across the house. They were so big and defiant when Neil brought her to the house. Those eyes haunted me each lap I was forced to...

Oh Yabba, they've probably put my picture on the news too! I have to get out of here. I have to—

"Junox?" Something touches my shoulder and I recoil. Emily's face is stricken with worry when my head snaps towards her.

Shit, did she see my photo on the screen?

"Is everything alright?" she asks.

"Uh..." Lie, I tell myself. Lie like your life depends on it. "I-I saw a bug."

Emily watches me with a critical expression for half a beat more. I try not to imagine what's going through her head. Maybe the Jones family put out a reward for my return? Even a tiny bit of their wealth would set someone up from a place like this for years. Why would this stranger owe me anything anyways? This world is not—

"Oh my Yabba!" Emily exclaims and... and laughs? "Don't let Haley hear that!"

"Haley?" My voice is raspy even over the roar of blood in my ears.

"She hates bugs," Emily says between fits of laughter, "but you, farmer girl, better learn to love them. Worms just might become your best friend!"

"Worms," I repeat dumbfounded. I remember something about them from a book on soil. Maybe just a picture though.

When Emily calms down long enough to stand up straight, she pushes a wad of cash toward me. "I'll clean this up. You head on," she says with a smile like the one in the bar.

My ligaments move in stiff jerking motions as I accept the payment on autopilot. I want my mouth to utter a thanks, but I'm too stunned. Whatever happened to Mia is lost in the flurry of my panic. I hear the jingle for Krispies Krisp Korn Chips as the broadcast is replaced by commercials. I should be safe now. My heart should slow down now, but I still can't speak.

Emily notes my hesitation and mistakes it for lingering fear from the nonexistent bug. She offers me a smile, and I'm starting to wonder what makes the people of this town so happy. "Man, you sure don't like crawlies. Why don't you go on and head home? And take a warm bath, so you don't catch a cold, okay?"

I nod, but the muscles of my neck are rigid. My feet move slowly, and I swear it's like I'm walking through mud. I hear Emily bid me goodbye from the end of a long tunnel, but it's not until the door slams shut behind me that my instincts kick in and I run.

Rain pelts my forehead, cheeks, and mouth. It stings my eyes, but I keep going. There is no safety in the cottage if someone knows who I am, but I have nowhere else to go. I have no one to turn to if things go wrong this time. Grandpa will already be a suspect from my parents.

The cobblestones are slippery, and my treadless sneakers slide across the wet sidewalk. I don't actually trip, however, until the path turns to dirt. If my hands sting from catching my fall, I don't notice. I'm distantly aware of the weight my clothes have taken on under the rain or how my hair is now plastered to my skull.

Just keep going.

Do not stop.

My body is so tired that my gait can barely be considered a run. Every breath is like trying to talk after screaming for hours and hours. The burn in my chest is the worst I've ever felt, but I don't even slow down to unlatch the gate. The lock buckles and trembles with the shaking of my hands. When it finally swings open, I hear myself release a cry.

Up the stairs, Joy. Up the— I am not Joy!

I rip the door open with another burst of fury. The cottage is dark and still as I slam the door shut and collapse against it with all of my weight. Choking in gasps of air, I pull my wet knees against my chest. Warm, salty water drips from my cheeks to my chin, and I wait in darkness and silence.

I wait for him to take me back.