castle on the hill
“it isn’t much,” alex said sheepishly as he presented his castle to the rest of the town who turned out for the contest. most of them didn’t know what they were supposed to be looking at. the best description, though, was probably “lumps.” a few of them took more identifiable shapes, like rectangles and pyramids, but overall they were nothing more than a cluster of lumps.
“it’s stardew valley,” he explained, pointing out different landmarks as he spoke. “that’s supposed to be the forest, and that’s the path into town. the general store. ben’s office. finley’s house.” his voice trailed off. he was too bashful to continue.
when he looked back up at the crowd, he wore that same sheepish smile and perhaps the faintest trace of a flush across his cheeks? he wasn’t much for attention, and his nerves struck harder with something like this. the valley meant so much to him and everyone here, and he could only hope he did it justice.












