The melodic grind of wagon wheels through the rocky dirt provided an ideal setting for my mind to wander. My gaze drifted from the road to the streaks of pink clouds above, gently guiding my thoughts on a meandering journey as I was lost in the beauty of the evening sky.
My mind, as always, turned to the farm. It was the early weeks of spring, the busiest time for a farmer, but so far, it had gone rather smoothly. My thoughts drifted from the large herd of livestock I’d amassed, to the ever-growing flock of chickens that seemed to double every few weeks, to the flourishing crops that I’d toiled over since the first chilly days of spring. They’d be ready for harvest in a few short weeks.
Eventually, like they always did, my thoughts coalesced around the thing that brought me both the most stress, and the most joy in my life—my family, and the home we’d built together.
Thinking about my family now wasn’t a melancholy return to the nostalgic, albeit lonely, years on Earth. I hardly ever thought of my own mom and dad, and never of the people back in Phoenix. Thoughts of family now consisted of the people of this world, and the profound sense of belonging I’d cultivated over the past five years. It had all begun on the hallowed grounds of my Grandpa’s old farm, a place that had seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of my existence. A small smile graced the corners of my mouth as I remembered how much I’d originally hated it, and how badly I’d wanted to get back to my dull life on Earth. What had I been thinking?
“Are you humming that song again?” Woods asked, shaking me from my musings. The sprite was seated next to me on the driver’s bench, glaring up at me. In the years I’d known him, he’d gone through significant life changes, including being corrupted, but he’d always remained his usual, grumpy self.
“Huh? What song?” I’d been so lost in thought, I hadn’t realized I’d been humming anything.
“The one about the roads. Please don’t sing—”
“Country roads! Take me home!” I belted out, unable to control myself. Woods slumped next to me, accepting that he was going to be serenaded for the next four minutes by the John Denver classic, performed by yours truly.
Even though he didn’t show it, I knew he liked the song too. I’d heard him humming it earlier. That’s probably the reason it was stuck in my head now. He had only himself to blame. As I neared the final chorus of the song, I saw a hint of a smile on his face, though he turned away to pretend to look at something else to hide it from me.
Just as I finished the outro, we pulled onto the well-worn dirt path that traced its way to my farm from the south. I reflected on the entire day spent laboring amidst the task of felling trees for firewood. The uncharacteristically cool spring had depleted our reserves. Mindful of the still regrowing forest that surrounded my farm, Woods and I had ventured southward to fell the trees that were much older than the ones I’d planted a few years prior.
We were greeted by the warm lights emanating from my farmhouse, where voices could be heard within. A face with ruddy cheeks briefly appeared at the window, small hands pushing aside the lace curtains before disappearing. Seconds later, the door burst open, revealing a toddler wearing only a diaper, a mess of wispy brown hair atop her head.
“Lucy!” I called, sliding off the driver’s bench to meet her before she could make it to the porch stairs. I scooped her up, tossing her into the air easily. Her giggles filled the air, and I brought her close to me as I stepped through the door. The warmth and light of my farmhouse enveloped me, as well as the tantalizing smell of something delicious baking.
“Hey hon, I’m home.” I called into the house. I heard Leia’s muffled voice from one of the back rooms of the farmhouse, greeting me in return, the words lost between the walls.
Reed, Holly and Flint were all sprawled in the front room, all looking exhausted. I chuckled. I knew exactly why. The sprites not only helped me with various tasks on my farm, like taking care of the animals and helping me tend to my crops; on days I was away, they helped Leia with our daughter, Lucy.
“She has so much energy.” Reed said from the couch, his eyes halfway closed as if he could drift off to sleep at any moment. Holly nodded in agreement, mirroring Reed’s exhaustion as she sat against the couch on the floor. Flint lay face down on the rug in front of the couch, unmoving.
“Is he all right?” I asked after a few seconds. Holly and Reed nodded, and Flint gave me a weak thumbs up from the floor.
“Lucy requested pony rides all afternoon." Holly explained, "and Leia wouldn’t let us use one of the actual ponies, so Flint had to step in with his animal form.”
“It was all day.” Flint commented, his words slightly muffled by the rug as his face was still pressed into it. “Over and over, all she said was ‘Again! Again!’. Who taught her that word anyway?”
I heard Woods chuckle from behind me, and Lucy wriggled out of my arms, running to the sprite as soon as her feet touched the floor. Lucy loved Woods. It used to really bother me, but I realized quickly it was the one time that Woods got to play the fun uncle role instead of the stern father. That role had now passed to me, and I’d realized why Woods was always so bossy. Being a dad was hard work. Harder than being a farmer, that’s for sure.
I glared at Woods as I saw him hand Lucy a cookie, though I couldn’t suppress my smile. “I thought you said you didn’t have any more cookies.” I’d asked him before we returned home if all the cookies Maple had baked were gone, and he’d told me they were. Liar.
Woods shrugged. “I didn’t have any left for you. Only Lucy.”
I rolled my eyes, but my mood brightened as Leia walked into the kitchen of the farmhouse, giving me a tired smile.
“Long day?” I asked, to which she simply nodded. “I’ll put the kids to bed tonight.” I added.
Leia stepped closer to me to give me a hug. I didn’t let her; instead, I grabbed her and dipped her in a swooping kiss, making her laugh and all the sprites present groan with mock disgust. Lucy giggled again, running over to us and covering both Leia and I in chocolatey fingerprints. Leia, still laughing, melted into my embrace as I pulled her upright and close to me. I buried my face in her long dark curls, curls that she’d passed onto our daughter.
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After a few seconds of holding my wife close, I looked past her into the hallway, searching it. When I didn’t find who I was looking for, I whispered in Leia’s ear “Where’s Charlie?”
“He’s still mad at you for this morning.”
“Ah.” I released Leia, kissing her forehead before I walked toward the back bedroom of the farmhouse. “I’ll go talk to him.”
Charlie, my son, was four. He displayed an uncanny manifestation of the stubborn traits typical of the Rockborn clan. Despite Leia not sharing any blood ties with the dwarves in her family, Charlie seemed to effortlessly adopt these resilient characteristics, stubbornness being his most active trait. I knocked on his door, opening it after a few seconds of silence.
“Hey kiddo.”
Charlie glared up at me from his bed.
“Did you have a good day today?”
He shook his head, keeping silent.
I sighed. “I’m sorry I wouldn’t let you come chop firewood with me. It’s dangerous off the farm, and I just want you to be safe.”
Charlie gave me a flat look. “Nothing out there is stronger than you, dad. I could’ve come with you, and you would’ve kept me safe.”
I paused. While it was flattering that my son thought I was the strongest thing out there, I knew that simply wasn’t true. I wasn’t even the strongest thing in this house when the sprites were inside. I didn’t tell Charlie that though. Instead, I walked over to his bed and sat on the small mattress next to him. He propped his head on his hands, his glare fixed on the floorboards in front of him.
“I need someone here to protect mom while I’m away. Lucy too. There needs to be a big strong man on the farm at all times.” I offered, trying to inflate his tender four-year old ego.
Charlie rolled his eyes, something I’d never seen him do. He must’ve learned that from his mom. Or Holly. “Mom and Lucy have the sprites. They’ll be fine for one day, dad!”
I chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. For being four, he could always easily outsmart my logic. He definitely got that from his mother.
“What do you say we go fishing tomorrow, just you and me?”
Charlie perked up at this. “By the river?”
“Sure. We could visit Uncle Rowan and Auntie Renna too, if that’s something you want.” Charlie nodded, his usual animation returning to his face. I ruffled his dark brown curls, some of which were tucked behind his slightly pointed ears. Neither of my kids looked particularly like me, their mother’s elvish genes dominating their features. I didn’t mind though. Charlie had the same freckles dotting the bridge of his nose as Leia did, and Lucy had the same iridescent blue-violet eyes that I found so captivating. I was glad my kids took after her more than me. They were better off for it.
“Can I come?” I heard the familiar voice of Clay coming from under the bed. Leaning over, I checked underneath the bed frame to find not one, but three sprites hiding. Clay, Rock and Ivy were all under the bed, staring up at me with wide eyes.
“Why are you guys under here?”
“We’re hiding from Lucy.” Ivy said.
I squinted, seeing a fourth creature hiding under the bed with the sprites. “I thought I said no chickens in the house.”
The chicken, as if knowing it had been mentioned, began clucking. Charlie laughed, and the sprites crawled out from under the bed. Clay led the chicken out as well, looking sheepish as he did so.
“This chicken is different. We’ve been training it to be a house chicken.” Clay answered, and Charlie nodded. I looked between them, trying to appear stern.
“No chickens in the house. Take it to the coop.” I said after a few seconds. Clay’s shoulders slumped and he walked to the door, the chicken following closely behind him. I was surprised, it did seem like the bird had been trained to do so.
Clay turned back to us before he reached the door, as if remembering something. “Can I still come fishing with you guys?”
“It’s up to Charlie, I don’t mind if you come. You can’t visit the carpenters with us though.” I answered.
The townsfolk still didn’t know about the sprites and their involvement with my family. I knew some of the had their suspicions, especially after Charlie had told Rowan and Renna about his special friends on the farm that could change into animals. Leia and I had tried to play it off like they were imaginary friends, but it was difficult to tell if they bought the lie.
Charlie nodded, and Clay left, leading the chicken down the hall. The other sprites, Ivy and Rock, followed, waving to Charlie and me as they left.
“Should we go see what mom’s made for dinner?” I asked, turning back to my son. He nodded, holding his hands up for me to pick him up. I did, easily hoisting the four-year old up and over my shoulders, eliciting a laugh from him as I carried him into the kitchen.
***
“You and Leia need to have more kids.” Woods said, breaking the silence that drenched the porch of my farmhouse. Everyone, including Lucy, Charlie and Leia, as well as all the sprites, were asleep inside. Only Woods and I stayed up this late now.
“Believe me, I try to convince her every single night.”
Woods snorted, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to the velvety night sky dotted with millions of little lights. Lately, this had been our nightly routine: sitting out on the porch until it got too cold to tolerate, then retiring inside. It was nice. I’d built a couple of rocking chairs for this exact reason. Sitting on the porch doing absolutely nothing is majorly underrated.
My farmhouse had undergone drastic changes in the last five years. At first, I’d added an extra room just for the sprites, but shortly after we were married, Leia and I started having kids. We’d added an extra bedroom for Charlie, and two years ago, another room for Lucy. Renna and Rowan had eagerly helped with the renovations, and of course Renna asked every time she saw me when we’d be adding another bedroom to the farmhouse.
“Is Finn going to visit anytime soon?” I asked. Woods’ brother Finn had left the farm a few years ago, joining the band of southern sprites. He’d occasionally come to visit, but it had been a few years. He hadn’t met Lucy yet, who was almost two.
“I’m not sure, I think he’s pretty happy living with the southern sprites. Hopefully they’ll visit soon. I know Flint misses Fern.”
I nodded, turning my attention to the expanse of pin-prick stars above us. It was nearing the temperature where I usually turned in, my breath frosty on the night air.
“Do you think the farm will reach level ten this year?” Woods asked.
I thought for a moment. I’d levelled the farm up to level nine two years ago, where it had frustratingly stayed, despite my best efforts. It seemed the final level would not be won so easily. “I’m not sure. Hopefully. I still have the forest stone, I’m just waiting to be able to place it.”
Woods nodded, though I knew he wasn’t entirely satisfied with my answer.
“Are you worried? It seems like ever since Corruption disappeared, things have been good.”
Woods nodded, drawing his mouth into a line as he met my eyes. “I’m just concerned about the balance of magic.”
“I know.” I smiled. Woods hadn’t changed a bit since I first met him. “I’ll get there, and we’ll bring back your goddess.”
Woods nodded, turning his attention back to the night sky. A shiver ran through me, and I stood.
“I’m going to head inside, see you tomorrow, Woods.”
He grunted in reply, not turning his gaze from the stars above.
Trying to keep my footsteps as quiet as possible, I walked through the silent farmhouse. Faint snores could be heard from some of the rooms, and I did my usual rounds of checking on Charlie and Lucy. They were both asleep in their beds, snuggled in their blankets and pillows. Finally, I retired to my own bedroom. Leia was already asleep, exhausted after wrangling the kids all day, even with the help of the sprites. She stirred when I crawled into bed next to her but didn’t wake.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face, knowing I was the luckiest farmer alive.