SimmedUp Magazine - Issue 14 - October 21

CHAPTER 2
A DAY OF EXPLORING
We left Star after having an incredibly
social day, bless her, she was all tuckered
out, the pitfalls of being a loner I suppose.
I left a note for her on her dining room
table, while she slept, with some more
information about the challenges she will
face, here at Star Dew Farm.
Dear Star,
Caretaker here, I just wanted to say
welcome and that I hope you slept well.
There are some rules that your
Grandfather wanted you to follow and it
is paramount that you keep them,
should you wish to stay.
Firstly, you are not allowed to seek any
formal employment. That was his
number one stipulation, he really
wanted to see how you got on living just
off of the land, as he did when he
moved here.
Secondly, there are certain items that
he wished you to turn in to me, that
would, in turn, make your life here more
varied, interesting and maybe even just
that little bit easier.
handiness, gardening, fishing, cooking
and cross-stitching.
Well, take care of yourself, I’ll be sure to
check in on you from time to time.
Caretaker of Star Dew Farm
Well, Star wastes no time getting to work on
some of those skills, the first thing she does
when she wakes is to find a local fishing
spot and start work on her fishing
technique. She caught a weed encrusted
log with her first try, but she was
determined that she would be completely
self-sufficient and that meant being able to
provide her own food! The fishing practise
would continue.
With the next bite, she feels a little more
confident that it was something alive and
not just some flotsam from the bottom of
the lake. Lo and behold, she pulls a large
green fish from the water.
Thinking back to the summers she spent
here with her Grandfather, she is almost
certain that she has caught a bass. This is
one of the items the caretaker mentioned in
the list attached to his letter that makes up
the fishing bundle! So, she is determined
not to eat it, but to try again and see what
else she can catch.
Her next catch is something that she has
never seen before, she thinks that it is some
sort of gummy fish? Oh well, she will ask
Michael when she sees him next, he seems
to know a lot about the local wildlife.
He wished that you would get to know
your neighbours as well, he worried
about you living in the city, that you
spent all your time alone in your
apartment, with no friends as such. As
you saw yesterday, the locals are a
friendly bunch and they will be happy
to help you out as long as the favour is
returned.
And the last thing I will leave you with is
that he wanted you to work on your
survival skills, the skills that will help you
with all the other things he wanted you
to achieve, skills such as charisma,