Harvey stared into his glass of wine, the burgundy liquid swirling lazily as he swirled it around in circles. The hum of chatter from the bar was muffled in his ears, and the soft clinking of glasses seemed distant, as if they were all a part of someone else’s world. His mind wandered, not quite as sharp as usual. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much to drink, but tonight... tonight felt different.
They’d come into Pelican Town just a few weeks ago, but it felt like they'd been here much longer. Harvey’s fingers tapped nervously on the rim of his glass. They had a presence that he couldn’t quite shake, something that felt... impossible to ignore. They were so different from the others. So… alive in a way that made his chest tight, even as his thoughts blurred with the effects of the wine.
He’d watched them from his clinic window that first day—riding into town on that old rusty cart, the kind he hadn’t seen in years. That first impression—no, that first moment—had caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected them to be so... real. So full of energy, ready to take on the world, and yet, somehow... gentle. It was in the way they smiled when they introduced themselves. In the way they looked at the townsfolk with curiosity, even when they were clearly a little lost.
His thumb ran along the edge of his wine glass. Maybe it was the way they’d mended the farm in just a few short weeks. It made him feel small. Here he was, the town doctor—always with a solution, always prepared—but there was something about their effortless determination, the way they had immediately dived into the world of farming, like they’d been born to do it. The thought of it made him feel... old.
But the wine, oh, it made everything hazy. He could hear the laughter from across the room now, and it seemed so far away. It was easy to imagine himself laughing with them, sharing stories and letting his guard down. But no, that wasn’t who he was, was it?
He sighed and took another sip, feeling the warmth of the wine spread through him. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, he thought, as his thoughts turned back to the new farmer. They had an energy about them that even he, with all his careful planning, couldn’t control. It made him feel something between frustration and admiration. Something he didn’t know how to name…
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