Chapter 1: A New Beginning

It was the first day of spring. As I walked down the winding forest mountain path a gentle burst of fresh clean invigorating wind caressed my skin and blew small strands of hair around my head. All of the former traces of winter had melted away with the dawning of the warm new sun and the start of a new season. Butterflies gracefully fluttered in the breeze and honey bees buzzed overhead. The lush green rolling banks, on either side, were beautifully decorated in all variations of colourful wild flower. The towering pine trees stood proudly as they circled the forest, on all sides, and cast ever lengthening shadows across the ground. The grass blew placidly, in the tranquil spring breeze, sending the serene smell of wild chamomile and lavender to my nostrils in the process. I inhaled deeply, I couldn't help but being humbled by my beautiful surroundings.

As I walked down the path I couldn't help but to unwind and let my mind wander. I had traveled quite a way from my home, in the city, and was in the process of making my way to a small town called Echo Village. I was to go there to revive my father's old farm that had fell into disrepair. It was my coming of age present, my chance to get out into the world and to be an independent adult, my father had told me. A chance to embark on a new life experience and to create new opportunities. I wasn't so sure about that myself. I know my father loved his ancestor's farmland and missed it dearly, he had given it up when he met and fell in love with my mother. My father moved to the city to marry and to be with her. I hadn't expected to be moving away from home to start a farm of all things. However, when my father had told me he had had a twinkle in his eye and a huge grin plastered on his face. I couldn't find it in me to refuse him or to let him down, to break his new found happiness. The prospect of the farm being passed on, and brought back to life, awoken a light inside of him. I think that maybe he realized that there was a chance that I could fulfill his old dream when he never seemed to have a chance to do so. So there I was trekking through the wilderness, leaving everything behind, trying to convince myself that perhaps the prospect of working on a farm wouldn't be too bad after all.

As I was pondering the path widened out into a clearing as I came out of the shadows of the proximity of the trees. A small cry escaped my lips as I spotted a hunched-over dark unmoving figure, blocking the path, in front of me. Frantically, I ran over to see what it was and I hoped my first thoughts about the still figure weren't true. As I quickly got closer it became quite unwelcomingly clear to me that my fears, about the situation, had indeed been confirmed. An elderly man lay passed out unconscious on the road in front of me. As I knelt down next to him I blew out a sigh of relief as I realized he was still breathing slightly; by the shallow small rise of continuous movement that came from his chest. After I had gently rolled the man onto his side I retrieved my water-bottle, from my rucksack, so that I could carefully splash some cold water over his face.

The stranger suddenly let out a startled gasp, as though the water that had touched his skin were poisonous, and his eyelids snapped open. The stranger's storm grey eyes met my own, large midnight blue ones, with a look of shock and bewilderment. He shrank away from my unexpected proximity as he lurched unsteadily to his feet from fear and confusion.

Now that the stranger was stood up straight, standing in front of me, I could get a much better look at him. He had a long slim slender face with a long pointy nose to match, he had a grey pointed beard to go along with his large curling mustache, he had small round eyes covered by grey bushy eyebrows, he had a thin mane of shoulder length shaggy uneven grey hair, and most peculiarly he wore a pointed battered light brown pilgrim hat with a buckle around the front and with a notepad and pencil sticking out of it.

As I stood there cautiously watching him the man began to unsteadily sway slightly on his feet. I quickly steadied him, and offered him my support, whilst I pulled him over to sit-down on a gnarled weathered tree trunk sitting just off the path.

After a while, with the help of a little rest and water, the man seemed to have finally begun to restore a little of his health. A little colour had reappeared back in his cheeks, he seemed to have regained a better sense of balance as he could sit up straight without his body swaying, and he seemed to be a little more coherent and aware of his surroundings.

"Uhhh... where am I? What …. happened to me?" the man croaked in a gruff voice as he looked up at me.

"I found you passed out unconscious on the path" I calmly explained, as I stared at him, half expecting him to start swaying again at any moment.

"Ah now I remember." The man replied "I was searching for some food and collapsed due to the heat"

The man observed me with a grateful smile as he added "It looks like I have you to thank for saving me. I appreciate it."

I averted my eyes embarrassed as I said "You're most welcome. I couldn't very well leave your there now could I?"

"No, I suppose not." The man said with a small smile as he continued "I can't say I've ever seen you in these parts though."

Of course not, I silently thought, we're in the middle of nowhere. Keeping my thoughts to myself, however, I replied to his unasked question by stating that I was indeed not from around these parts but had instead traveled a long way from the city to be here.

The man looked at me contemplatively as though he had just connected two dots together in his head and that somehow that connection had something to do with me. I inwardly squirmed under the stranger's continuous gaze as he said "I hope you won't take offense if I've got this wrong, but are you Rachael?"

"Yes." I replied automatically quite taken aback.

"Ah you are!" The man exclaimed enthusiastically, seeming not to notice my astonished expression, as he continued "Did your parents tell you about me? I'm Dunhill."

An invisible light-bulb flickered on in my mind at the mention of his name. A knowing look replaced my confused expression as I suddenly realized who he was, with that my worries about the stranger were swept away.

"Yes, Dunhill." I acknowledged as I added "My father has told me so much about you."

As Dunhill observantly looked at me he stated "There's such a strong family resemblance, it caught me of guard." With a warm friendly smile he added "It feels like I already know you."

I couldn't help but blush a little, at his forwardness, even though I could understand the meaning behind his sentiment. For any person who simultaneously knew me and my father it would be quite instantly clear to them just how much we looked alike. We had the same midnight blue eyes and light golden blonde hair. In my case, however, my hair fell just below the bottom of my back and stopped in a fringe that fell just above my eyes. I had the habit of impatiently blowing it out of the way whenever it fell in my eyes. However, I had also inherited some of my less prominent features from my mother. I had inherited her heart-shaped face, her soft features, and her petite frame.

I knew that Dunhill and my father had known each other for a very long time and had built a very strong friendship. I knew the pair had been extremely close when they had lived together in the same town. I knew from the endless stories my father would fondly tell me about the shenanigans the pair would get up to. I could clearly see that neither time, distance nor absence had hindered that friendship in any way. Perhaps when Dunhill looked at me he couldn't help but to be reminded of my father and to recall the moments that they had shared. I would venture to say that It felt like I knew him a little already too. I felt comforted by the knowledge that I may have already gained a friend before I had even reached the town.

I looked down, and gave Dunhill a shy smile, as I replied "I'd dare to say I feel I know you a little already too".

Dunhill's friendly smile just grew wider, pronouncing the wrinkles around his kind eyes. Dunhill said "Well I have known your folks for a long time. They sent me a letter actually saying you were coming."

I snapped my head up to bluntly stare at the elderly man. It just seemed he had more and more surprises to throw at me, the longer our encounter grew, I had a feeling this one wouldn't be the last either.

"What do you mean?" I questioned him. "Well, what did it say?" I could feel the curiosity leaking into my voice as my features twisted with anticipation.

Dunhill stood up from the tree trunk and came to stand over me. Dunhill's friendly smile morphed into a straight line as he looked down at me with all the seriousness of an interrogator. I began to sweat, to shrink back from him, as my thoughts ran wild. What could have possibly been in that letter? I thought to myself.

After what felt like longer than what it could have actually been Dunhill looked me dead in the eye and said "Only that they were sending me an extremely hard worker, and that I should make use of them however I pleased!"

I stumbled back from him in shock, almost tripping over a fallen branch in the process. My cheeks began to burn with embarrassment as I worked on righting myself. I pathetically tried to gain back whatever dignity I could. Standing up straight I managed to splutter out " E..E..Excuse me!" as I tried to look him in the eyes.

To my utter astonishment Dunhill all of a sudden dropped his serious demeanor and started to loudly chortle, bending over slightly in the process. My cheeks burned even deeper as I thought he was surely making fun of me, it seemed he had completely recovered from his dizzy spell. I squared my shoulders and crossed my arms as I glared at him. I was just about to give him a piece of my mind when he managed to stop laughing enough to say " Hah hah hah I'm just joking."

I didn't know whether to be irritated, relieved or amused at this revelation. Dunhill wiped a tear from his eye as his laughter slowly faded to an end. I was still trying to form some sort of response when Dunhill turned and started walking down the path, waving his hand behind him. I stood rooted to the spot with surprise as I blankly stared at his retreating figure. As he continued to walk away he turned his head back to call over his shoulder "Aren't you coming? The town is this way. Follow me."

I shook my head to try to clear it out of the confounded state it had been frequently forced in and out off throughout my interaction with Dunhill. Not quite managing to achieve this I managed to at least move my numb legs forward to follow after him. As I walked faster to catch up I shook my head again as I thought about what such a peculiar man Dunhill was. I smiled to myself a little as I thought I liked him all the more for it and I was looking forward to being able to interpret his odd character further. With that thought I carried on following Dunhill down the path to Echo Village, to my new home and to my new life. I had a sudden comforting feeling that perhaps this new beginning wouldn't be so bad after all.