iron valley: journey to the old farmhouse
winter 8
today started off well enough. i woke up, said goodbye to aunt wanda, and loaded my bag onto my bike, bound for the train station. unfortunately, i got a flat along the way, which took way too long to fix, which made me miss the train (of course). i ended up hanging out at the train station for a few hours reading a book i picked up from a little free library nearby. it was short, and i managed to finish it with enough time to return it before the next train arrived.
the train ride itself was uneventful. i grabbed some lunch from the café car and spent most of my time staring out the window and watching glimpses of the city receding.
finally in iron valley, i grabbed my bike off the train and began pedaling toward aunt wanda’s old house. i didn’t get very far before a penguin flagged me down, saying he had heard about wanda’s niece coming to swap places. we got to talking, and lavender—aforementioned penguin—explained that he had lived here since he was born. he’s the groundskeeper at the old iron mine. sounds like the place really slowed down in production a couple of decades ago, which would explain why the town’s economy has suffered.
i had intended to get to cleaning once i got to the old farmhouse, but about five minutes into that i found an old photo album of aunt wanda’s. there were so many photos of my dad that i just couldn’t pass up taking the time to look at them, especially the later ones where my mom—and later, me!—start to come into the picture (pun intended).
once i realized how loud my stomach was grumbling, i put the album back and started rummaging through the cupboards for something to eat. let’s just say there weren’t a lot of options, but i managed to cobble together some enchiladas! they weren’t the best i’ve ever had, but they got the job done, and now i’m pleasantly full and ready for a good night’s rest.