Chapter Text
i’ll have to talk to the Wizard about this.
—
Spring 24
Year 1
—
Michael’s first month was almost over. his farmland was almost entirely cleared, and he had two hens to his name: Trixie and Bell.
he awoke to a knock at his door at promptly 6:00 am.
he quickly threw on a shirt and some old shorts before answering the door.
“good morning, sorry for waking you,” Marnie smiled, looking down at her leg.
hugging her pant leg was Jas, her niece. she giggled, “...hi.”
“well, hi there, you two. to what do i owe the pleasure?” Michael put on his best chipper voice, trying not to make them feel bad for waking him up.
“well, Jas, why don’t you tell Farmer Michael what you found?” Marnie encouraged the child.
“i was in the forest around the ranch and i found a puppy!” suddenly, there was a large golden retriever by her side. “aunt Marnie said we couldn’t keep him because we don’t have the room, but you have a big farm, so i thought you might want him,” Jas grinned.
“that’s so sweet of you, kid,” Michael pat her head. “i love dogs, and i’d be happy to take him in. does he have a name?” he looked to Marnie.
“nope! we thought we’d give you the honors.”
“how about… Toby!” Michael exclaimed.
the dog barked enthusiastically.
“i guess he likes it!” Michael smiled, getting on his knees to give the dog some belly rubs, which he gladly accepted.
“well, that’s settled, then. take good care of him like you do those chickens!” Marnie yelled as she and Jas turned to leave.
“will do, miss Marnie!” Michael waved. “now, what do we do with you,” he smiled down at his new friend.
Michael decided to leave Toby at home because he didn’t know how well-behaved he would be for the festival, which he had almost forgotten about.
he dressed in his usual white t-shirt, blue jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat, choosing a blue bandana for the day.
as he entered the festival, he made his way towards Pierre’s stand.
“what’cha got on the market today, Pierre?” Michael rested his arm and leaned on the counter.
Pierre smiled, “well, i’ve got a special item, just for you,” he proceeded to pull out a large scarecrow resembling a farm girl from behind the counter.
“woah, this is awesome! i’ve been meaning to get a scarecrow. how much for it?”
“only 2,500g,” Pierre grinned.
it would surely put a small dent in his budget, but he needed a scarecrow, and this one was very nice…
“i’ll take it,” Michael handed over his money.
the sun was overhead, beating down on the citizens of Pelican Town.
Michael was leaning against the fence with his scarecrow when he was approached by Abigail.
“hey, Michael,” she smiled, “i see you made a new friend,” she pointed at his scarecrow.
“yeah, her name’s Lily, quite a beauty, isn’t she?” he hugged the scarecrow to his side, making Abigail laugh, pushing the farmer’s arm, “you’re too funny.”
there was a long silence before Abigail spoke again, “so, um, i was wondering if, maybe, you wanted to, um–”
“hey, Abby! we’re dancing together, right?” Sebastian came up beside her, interrupting her train of thought.
“oh, um, yeah, of course, Seb!” she gave him a sad smile, but if Sebastian noticed, he didn’t say anything.
“great! i’ll see you out there, then!” he walked away.
Michael took a deep breath. he knew she was about to ask him to dance, and he thanked yoba Sebastian saved him from having to turn her down.
for one, he was a terrible dancer. plus, he had only ever been the girl in a dance duo. even if he was a good dancer, however, he was very much not into women. but, he would really rather not share that with the other townsfolk. at least, not yet.
“sorry, i forgot was i was going to ask,” Abigail look down and rubbed her arm, “i’m going to go see what Sam is up to, i’ll catch you later.”
“oh, okay then. bye,” Michael waved as she practically ran away.
“hey, farm guy,” Alex approached, slinging his arm over Michael’s shoulder. “what was your name again? Max?”
the farmer rolled his eyes, “Michael.”
“oh, sorry,” Alex shrugged, keeping his arm in the same place. “so, who are you going to ask to dance? i saw you and Abigail getting chummy,” he winked.
“oh, i’m not dancing. not really into that sort of thing,” Michael wriggled his way out of Alex’s hold, trying not to blush furiously at the mindless attention the man was giving him.
“oh, come on, there’s gotta be a girl you’ve got your eyes on,” Alex smirked.
“no, not really,” Michael looked away, quickly becoming uncomfortable.
“really? not even Haley?”
“i didn’t give that a second thought, i thought you two were dating.”
“what?” Alex exclaimed incredulously. “hell, no! we’re best friends, she’s like a sister to me.”
“oh, sorry for misinterpreting.” so i might have a chance, Michael smiled to himself before remembering that he was, in fact, a man, and Alex was possibly the straightest person alive.
“well, i’ve got to go practice with Haley again before she freaks out about not being the flower queen, even though she always is,” Alex laughed. “i’ll see you around, farm guy!”
Michael threw a hand up, waving bye to the man as he jogged off.
the dance was nice. Michael’s only concern, though, was getting his new friend back to the farm.
it only took him about 30 minutes.
once he reached his crop field, he set the scarecrow next to the fence, grabbing a shovel and digging a small hole for the figure to sit.
“there! Lily’s looking nice, don’t you think, Toby?” Michael turned to his furry friend who came barreling towards him, barking.
“how’s about we get you something to eat, Tobes? and me, too.”
—
Summer 1
Year 1
—
Pierre’s wasn’t terribly busy so early in the morning, so Michael made his way to the shop, stepping through the doors at 9:01.
“good morning, Pierre! happy summer!” he smiled.
“ah, Farmer Michael, here to buy some summer seeds i presume?”
“you know it.”
“what exactly are you looking to buy?”
“an assortment of everything you’ve got will suffice. and throw in some fertilizer, i’m running low.”
“you got it.”
the bell to Pierre’s rung as Michael waltzed out of the shop. Welwick’s Oracle said the spirits were very displeased, but that would not stop Michael from making the best out of the first day of summer!
the rain had started soon after Michael had gotten to work in the field. he forgot to check the weather the night before. his boots and knees were covered in mud, but he had already started the job and couldn’t bear to stop halfway through.
he stopped around 1:00 pm for some lunch: a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a field snack, as he couldn’t afford much else.
Toby pawed at the door.
“no, Toby, you can’t go out in the rain. i’m not drying you off from the mud outside.”
the dog just whimpered, continuing to scratch at the door.
“...fine. but only because you’re so cute,” Michael opened the door, allowing the dog to run freely into the mud.
“idiot,” he smiled, following Toby outside.
the rain seemed to have gotten worse, and the wind was picking up.
“alright, Tobes, let’s get you back inside.”
“Toby?”
Michael leaned his head back in frustration of not being able to find his dog. feeling the rain on his skin, he stayed there for a moment longer, daring to open his eyes and look up at the deep gray clouds.
just then, a large bolt of lightning struck the farm. well, more specifically, struck the farmer .
Michael fell to the ground with a crash of thunder that shook the farmhouse, scaring Toby back to his owner.
only Toby found his owner laying in the mud, unmoving.
the dog barked and licked and nudged, but the man before him did not wake.
owner on ground. not moving. needs help.
Toby ran through the mud, past the bus stop, into town, barking all the way.
he only stopped when he saw a person.
person can help.
the man in the green jacket stood at the dog pen, watching the rain until he heard a dog barking that wasn’t his. he turned and was greeted by a golden retriever who he was sure he had seen with the farmer a time or two.
“did you get lost, bud?” he leaned over and pet the dog.
but he didn’t stop barking.
“what is all this fuss about?” Marnie came out of the saloon to check on the ruckus. “Toby?” she inquired.
“if Toby is here, then where’s Michael?” she turned to Alex.
“haven’t seen him. his dog just came running and barking.”
“oh, dear… i hope everything’s alright. maybe we should go check on him.”
“i can go,” Alex offered, “i don’t want you caught in this rain.”
“that’s very kind of you, Alex,” Marnie smiled.
“come on, Toby,” Alex jogged towards the farm.
the rain picked up, harder still. Alex decided to let Toby into the farmhouse so he wasn’t caught in the storm.
“farm guy!” Alex called out, wishing he could remember the man’s name for once.
“farm guy!” he called again.
“farm–” he looked ahead and stopped in his tracks. there, covered in mud, was the farmer, lying in the middle of his field.
“oh, yoba…”
Michael woke up to the bright fluorescent lights of the clinic.
“ugh, what happened…” he tried sitting up.
“not so fast, Michael,” Harvey put a hand on his shoulder. “you’ve got to stay in bed for a bit longer while i figure out if there’s any damage done. do you recall anything that happened today before this moment?”
“um, well, i went to Pierre’s and bought some seeds in bulk for the season, then i went back to the farm and started planting. i… didn’t know it was supposed to rain. but, i had already started, and i didn’t want to leave a job half finished. i remember going in for lunch, letting Toby out despite my better judgment, and when i called him in, he wouldn’t come. last thing i remember is looking up at the clouds and then some sharp pain in my face that shot through my body, and now i’m here.”
“well, by the looks of your face, i believe you were struck by lightning. you’ve got a nasty Lichtenberg figure over your eye, also known as a lightning scar. thankfully, you seem to have a working memory. now, i’m going to test your vision, is that okay?”
“yeah, sure,” Michael absentmindedly agreed, reaching up to touch his face, feeling the raised and irritated skin over his left eye, only to realize… he couldn’t see his hand.
“um, doc?”
“yes, Michael?”
“i can’t see my hand,” his voice was shaking.
“hmm,” Harvey shone a light in front of Michael’s left eye, “can you see this light?”
“sort of? i can tell there’s light there, but i can’t see the flashlight or your hand.”
“how about your right eye?” Harvey moved the light to the other eye.
“yoba, that’s bright. yes, i can see that one,” Michael squinted, covering his eye.
“interesting. well, Michael, it seems to me as if you may have lost almost all vision in your left eye. whether this is permanent or not remains to be seen. i don’t believe i’m well enough equipped to give you that information. if you would like, i could take you to a doctor in Zuzu City?”
“no! no, i… i don’t believe i could afford that at the moment,” Michael rubbed his neck in slight embarrassment. “how about we just wait and see what happens? if my vision doesn’t come back soon, we can assume it’s… um, gone forever, i guess.” the weight of the situation finally seemed to settle in.
“oh, yoba, i’m blind! how am i supposed to do my job? i’m going to go broke, i’m going to have to move back to the city! i’m going to have to work at Joja again. yoba, damnit!” Michael began to spiral.
“hey, calm down, farm boy. it’s going to be alright.”
Michael jerked his head towards the new voice, “Alex? what are you doing here?”
“Alex found you face first in the mud. he said you were out cold, so he picked you up and brought you here.”
“oh, um… thanks.”
“don’t thank me, thank Toby and Marnie. Toby came running into town barking like a maniac, and Marnie was the one who suggested someone go look for you to make sure you were alright.”
“well, you still offered to find me, and you took me here. so, thank you,” Michael smiled, and for some reason, that made Alex smile, too.
—
Summer 2
Year 1
—
during his time at the clinic, Michael found out one more thing that would put a wrench in his work: his right leg stopped working. Harvey assured him that this was normal and most likely temporary, but he didn’t know how long it would last.
Michael sat at his kitchen table, wracking his brain trying to figure out how in the world he was going to continue his job without one eye and one leg. his depth perception was gone, which would make things much harder, and he couldn’t walk around to water the crops or feed the chickens. he could try and make automated sprinkler and feeding systems, but that would cost thousands that he didn’t have to spare.
he couldn’t think about it anymore. it was all too much. he grabbed his crutches that Harvey had offered him while he tried to find a more permanent solution like a wheelchair, and began his trek to town.
he stopped by Harvey’s clinic first to thank him once again for the help.
“no problem, Michael. it’s my job,” Harvey smiled.
then, he made his way to Evelyn’s house to let her know her flower request would be filled a bit later than anticipated.
“hi, Mrs. Evelyn,” Michael greeted.
she turned from her cookie baking session to respond, “oh, honey, Alex told me what happened. don’t you worry about those flowers, i didn’t need them anyway. how are you feeling?”
“as well as i can be, i guess. i’ve spent all morning trying to figure out how to get my work done with one eye and one leg,” Michael laughed, although it wasn’t a genuine one.
“have you thought about asking someone in town to be a farmhand?”
“the thought crossed my mind, but i don’t have the kind of money to pay someone well enough for the work they’d be doing,” he sighed.
“i’m sure you’ll find someone, honey,” Evelyn smiled before returning to her cookies.
as Michael turned to leave, he heard the squeak of a door further back in the house.
“i could help, if you’d like.”