Chapter One
The wind bleows my hair into my face as I walk into a quiet valley. Forget-Me-Not Valley, I believe. That name is familiar, the whole place seems familiar. Maybe Dad had taken me here long ago, before I could remember.
I look around, to see a farm and it's field, a waterfall, and a river draining into the sea. I walk over a bridge to see what appeared to be an Inn, some houses, and a marvelous beach.
I gasp as memories of laughing, running in the sand, and playing the water flow into my mind.
I run to the beach as fast as I can, still not able to get there quickly enough. I stop once I slip and fall onto my back in the sand. I soak in the sun and salty air, remembering a time long ago.
"Huh, you really are your father's daughter." A gruff voice says out of my line of vision. I jump up, and turn around to see an old man with sun-darkened skin, and a tatoo of an anchor on his right arm.
I smile as I remember who he is. "Been a long time, eh, Uncle Taka?" I ask the old man. He gives me an old man smile. the kind where the wrinkles on his face move with the movement of his mouth.
I walk over to him and give him a big hug, he looked liek he needed one.
"I've missed this place... The beach... the waterfall. I forgot about it, but I remember everything now. i even remember riding Goldy around the valley!" I sigh, a whistful look in my eyes. Goldy, the pony I had when I was a kid. He died long ago.
"That's good. I would've been hurt if you didn't remember me." He said. Takakura isn't my real uncle, just my Dad's od friend that I grew up with. "Where's Aunty Ella?" I ask, refering to Uncle Taka's wife. "I really miss her. I remember she was the only one who tried to make me a proper young lady! But I was always in the dirt, helping you and Dad..." I reminisce, but trail of as I see the sad look in Uncle Taka's eyes.
"What's wrong?" i ask him, worried.
"Oh...it's just that...Ella's in a better place, like your dad..." He looks to the sky as he says this, as if looking for heaven.
"O-oh! I'm...I'm so sorry1 I didn't know..." I apologize profusely, feeling very awkward.
He gives me another old man smile, and says: "It's okay, really!"
We stand there for a moment, the roaring ocean winds filling in the silence.
"Would you like to see the farm?" He asks out of nowhere. I'm actually a bit surprised by it.
I smile faintly. "Yeah, I would..." The farm! Dad's farm! i wonder what he had named it. He would nev er tell me. Whenever I asked he just smiled and put his index finger up to his lips in a "hush hush" manner.
"Lilly?" Uncle Taka breaks my cotemplation as we enter the farm. "Welcome to Petal Farm."
I gasp as I feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes. The farm, I remember it! And Dad, he named it: "Petal Farm"! That's why he never told me. He wanted for me to wait until he was gone for me to know how much he loved me.
"My farm..." I whisper. No, not just mine. It's our's. Dad's and mine.
"You can change the name if you like... I never saw the signifigance of "Petal Farm". Uncle Taka says, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
"No...It's perfect." I say, smiling through my tears. "Absolutely perfect..."
