Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest Moon franchise or any of the characters in the series. I am just writing the story. Also, I took my own liberties with the characters and their back stories. All the ideas used in this story are mine, it is just the characters and universe that are not. Thank you.

Chapter 1

"Finally!" Bo shouted as he scooted the minecart forward with his foot and it rolled rather smoothly. He never thought he'd get this old piece of junk to work, but here he'd finally done it! He carefully stepped into it and pushed himself a few feet to make sure it could still roll with the added weight, then stepped gleefully out and sprinted to the shop.

"Dale!" he yelled,swinging the door wide open. "It works! I got it to work!"

Dale squinted his eyes and stroked his mustache thoughtfully as he stared at Bo, whose chest was heaving raggedly from the excited dash he'd just made. After a few minutes of ponderous grazing, his eyes widened and he stood and started walking toward Bo, arms outstretched. "The minecart?" Bo nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, my boy!" Dale exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders firmly. "Good work, really,excellent job!" He then pulled Bo into a large hug, and upon releasing him said, "Take it on a trip down to the town, see how it works. Take the rest of the day off. I'm so glad!" With a reassuring pat on the head, he sent Bo back out the door and into the sunny spring day.

Take the day off! Bo had never heard Dale say something like that, even to Luke! He was back at the cart and sitting down in a heartbeat, flying down the tracks and toward the town quicker than ever before, the wind rustling his sandy hair and the sunshine warming his smiling face. He was at the town much faster than he'd anticipated, and he found himself somewhat disappointed that the ride had not lasted longer.

He stepped out of the cart and walked past the graveyard. He looked away from it uncomfortably, wondering why the cart had to let him out by such a gloomy locale. He picked up his pace until he reached the plaza in front of the church. Typically there were not many people found in the church area, and this day did not prove to be any different. He looked around the empty area at the fringe of surrounding flowers, and had started to walk across to get a good view of the sea when he heard a faint noise coming from behind him.

He turned around to see a small black cat following after him, mewing softly as it approached. He knelt down to pet its head and admire its soft delicacy. "Hey, little guy," he whispered, barely audible. "Pretty rough out here all by your lonesome, huh? Yeah, I know. I know how you feel."

He'd always felt a sort of connection with the stray animals around town. They didn't have anybody waiting for them or anybody taking care of them. All they had was themselves. He wished he could take one home with him, but he hasn't the slightest clue how to care for an animal. Before he got too attached, he stopped petting the cat and stood to continue walking toward the beautiful view that was waiting, ignoring the louder cries of the cat and its insistence at his heels. After a while, it gave up its pursuit and sauntered back over to where it had been, lying down to wait for the next passerby.

Bo looked out over the sea from his excellent vantage point near the cliffs. He thought the sea looked especially beautiful at this time of day when the sun's rays were so unhindered by clouds. He loved the way all the little diamonds danced along the waves, gifts from the sun on such a fantastic day. Most people liked the fading romantic hues cast by the sunrise and sunset, hushed tones that spread over everything softly until they disappeared, but he'd always preferred the way the sun gave everything it had to the sea in the middle of the day, and the sea returned it fully to show the sun its own beauty. That, he felt, was much more romantic than the subtle oranges and reds crawling across the purpled waters in the evenings.

As Bo stared out over the water and marveled at the spectacle before him, he heard a muffled thud followed by a series of the same muted sound far behind him. He turned slightly to see what the source of the noise was.

He saw a man walking purposefully but softly toward the cat, his swift steps stirring up the stray leaves on the pavement without making much noise at all. As Bo watched him, he noticed there was a certain carefulness to his stride, and a practiced ease that suggested he'd spent years walking in this unobtrusive manner, gracefuland strong, yet nearly silent. The man, around the same age as Bo, had sleek hair that moved with the wind from every step and held both hands behind his back, something concealed between them. As he drew nearer to the feline, he hunched his back and bent his knees gradually more until he was kneeling on the ground beside it.

At first, Bo thought he meant to scare the poor thing away and briefly panicked. However, after a few more moments, he realized that couldn't possibly be the man's intention. Bo could see, though he was at a bit of a distance, that there was an overwhelming gentleness to the man's features. His eyes were soft and rounded, and his mouth had a natural gentle slope upward at the corners that was always suggestive of a smile. Even his manner of walking screamed gentleness, his light footsteps not marking deeply on the ground and his quiet speed designed not to bother anyone. Bo was sure that if he were closer he'd see wrinkles lightly imprinted next to his eyes from frequent laughter and abundant smiles.

As the man knelt beside the cat and looked down at it, his shiny hair slid forward smoothly. He moved his hands around to the front of his body to reveal the can of cat food he'd been hiding. The cat sprang to its feet happily at the man pulled the tab and opened the can. When he set it down and the cat started eating, he smiled, a broad, genuine smile that lit up his soft features and added to their gentleness. He pet the cat softly while looking down at it under a frame of thick eyelashes.

After a few seconds of watching the scene, Bo whispered to himself, "Guess we're not so alike after all."