Liminal Space | A Stardew Valley FanFiction

Chapter 3 - Then

Tall blades of grass tickled my feet as I ran outside, warm sunlight shining into my eyes and blurring my vision with a hazy orange glow. The air was sweet and scrumptious; I breathed it in until my lungs were full enough to explode.

"Callista!" Grandpa's laugh echoed throughout the farm, the sound surrounding me and wrapping me into a warm hug. "Come here, birthday girl!"

The field opened into a clearing, where Grandpa was knelt by a pile of dirt that covered his hands and boots and the hem of his overalls. I could see sunflower-printed fabric in the gap between his pants and his feet...Sometimes I was sure he was made of magic.

"You know, someday—when you're big and tall—this farm will be all yours." He smiled, pulling me onto his knee.

"I am big and tall!" I protested, giggling and kicking at his shins.

"You're right," he sighed, pretending to fall backwards. "I should just give it to you now."

"It's okay! You can keep it, Grandpa!" I proclaimed, tugging on his shirt.

"Why thank you, Miss Callista." he chuckled. "You are so generous."

He was digging a hole—a small one—and patting the soil around it until it was smooth. I joined in silently, my tiny handprints mixing and molding into the ones he'd already left behind.

"What are you making?" I whispered.

"We are planting a tree," he smiled. "An apple tree."

He showed me a sapling wrapped daintily in burlap, tied to with a thin, rope bow. Tiny branches stuck out at all angles, like arms reaching towards the sky.

"I used to take your mom to the orchard, when she was your age," he smiled sadly, placing the sapling in my hands. It was bigger than them both. "Your mom and dad got married in that orchard, and they, well—" he gulped. "Now they get to live there—beneath the apple trees—forever. For the days we can't visit, we can have a little piece of them here, with us. That's how we can honor them, my love."

"Honor them?" I asked, unwrapping the seed and gently placing it into the dirt house we made.

"To honor someone is like giving them a big thank you," he said. "We want them to know how special they were—are—to us, and that they are with us—" he poked my chest. "—in our hearts, always." I nodded.

"I miss you," I whispered to the sprout.

"Hey," Grandpa said, scooping me up again. "They'll use this tree to watch over you. As you grow, so will it. You're both just babies—it'll stay with you forever."

"I'm not a baby, remember?" I pouted, jutting my bottom lip out and crossing my arms. "I'm five years old now!"

"Ah, yes, how could I forget?" he smiled, placing a kiss on my forehead. "You're a big, tall, grown-up. But...do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"This tree is still a baby, okay? It needs you. Can you take care of it?"

"Yes, Grandpa," I grinned. "I will honor it."