Sunshine and Shadow Acres [A Stardew Valley Fanfiction]

Chapter 1: Arrival

              I'd always dreamed of returning here, to once again bask in the shadows and magic that gripped the valley. I don't know why it had taken me so long – how I had gotten so lost in my life. The bus came to an abrupt halt and I glanced out the window to see Mayor Lewis and Robin standing there, waiting. I smiled fondly at the few memories I possessed of Robin. She'd always been incredibly kind to me. In some ways, she had been more of a mom than my own mother before she passed.

I quickly made work of grabbing my things and deboarding the bus. I was the driver's last stop and I could tell they were getting annoyed with me. "Thank you," I murmured softly to them as I stepped off. Only seconds later did the bus doors slam shut and the bus lurched forward and quickly out of sight. I rolled my eyes but refocused on the people who were waiting for me.

"Adeline," Robin said in a near squeal as she vaulted towards me. I barely had time to brace myself for the crushing hug she proceeded to wrap me in.

"Hi," I breathed out as I made an effort to return the hug. I hadn't seen Robin, or anyone in this town, since I was nine. I barely held onto memories of playing with Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail, and always bugging Shane. Shane was a few years older than me, but I'd always idolized him, in a way.

"Let her breath, Robin," Lewis stated, and Robin reluctantly released me.

"It's been a long time, buttercup," she said, and my heart melted. It had been a long time since someone had called me something even remotely comforting in the way she just had. "Let's get you to the cabin. I've done a lot of work on it the past couple of months, since you let me know you were thinking about coming. It's still... a work in progress, for sure," Robin said as she wrapped an arm around me and started to guide me to the farm.

The farm was incredibly overgrown, but I'd been prepared for that. The land hadn't been touched for the better part of ten years, since my grandpa died. My mom was already gone and there was no way grandpa would've left the land to my uncle or brother, so I was the only choice left in the end. My uncle Jeb was in jail and my brother had been an abusive trainwreck his whole life. Jesse would never even come out to visit him, anyway. I, however, tried to spend as much time as I could on this land. My grandfather taught me many things in my summers spent here. The land was teeming with magic, he'd even told me stories of a wizard who lived in a tower at the edge of Cindersnap forest. I thrived on the stories and the magic of this place until my mother died, and then I was doomed to never return until I had needed an escape and made the decision to move to the place that had been my sanctuary as a child.

"Okay, so I got downstairs in working order. The upstairs, the basement, and the cellar are all blocked off and completely unusable at the moment. I did manage to get the bedroom, bathroom, and main living space in working order. Unfortunately, your grandfather wasn't one for electricity, so I had to wire that through. I couldn't get you a full kitchen for the time being, but I did get you a minifridge that you could use and a microwave. We'll have to look into further upgrades down the line," Robin started rattling off. Robin had always been so passionate about her work, and it was nice to see it hadn't changed. As a child I would try to be her little helper sometimes when she'd be working on projects and Sebastian was busy.

"Thank you," I whispered to her and pulled her into another hug.

"Oh!" she exclaimed but then wrapped her arms tightly around me. "No problem sweet pea," Robin whispered back to me, and I smiled.

"We should leave you to get settled, huh?" Lewis asked and I nodded as I pulled away from Robin. "I left you some seeds to get started in the morning, by the way," Lewis added before the pair of them wandered off. I sighed as I dropped all of my things off inside. Tonight, I'd get as unpacked and as settled in as I could, and tomorrow? Tomorrow the real work begins.