Regret Came Too Late

The people of Northbrook had long been hardened by la.

Even if the world forget about them, they knew how to fend for themselves. They'd hail the gods on makeshift carts to sell in the neighboring city

It wasn't enough to make them rich, but in kept food on the table. Hard work was just part of the deal.

But this year, the relentless downpours had caught everyone off guard. No one had been prepared for the sheer force of the storms.

dece kept her stance low-key, and even when

she was injured, she didn't make a fuss. The gathered fruit farmers exchanged glances, hesitating Then, a few younger ones finally booke the

"Three days. Just three days, She's a streamer. Maybe she really can help "

The others still looked uneasy, but in the end, they nodded.

Mandy red or tocheck Grace's injuries, but she shook her head. "I'm fine."

a chance. Her entire back was

belonging to some of the younger farmers and stepped inside, issing instructions as she went.

personally inspected the orchards and found that Northbrook apples are sweeter. We're switching the shipment to Northbrook apples. If they're okay with that, we'll ship. If n Mandy frowned "Why send that message? We've got over to thousand orders lined up. If we

pushing them our of the circle of prosperity like a bunch of bandes. "And now if they let their apples ride on Southbrook's reputation, it's no different than groveling Like they said, they'd rather let their apples for on the

in this would clung stubbornly to their

Northbrook. Their elders never bowed their heads. Naturally, neither

wasn't such a bad thing. At least they weren't like the people of Southbrook, who repaid

no idea how disgusting they were decades ago. People died because of them. Even

university. But instead of chasing a cushy city job, he chose to come here, determined "It was his idea to start growing apples in the first place. Back then, Brookfield wasn't split to Southbrook and Northbrook yer. But then a Southbrook

and kept getting promoted, rank after

wanted to set the record straight, but the chief told them to let it go. As

our apples. The chief went to negotiate for our rights, but before the meeting even started, he

given up