Hopefully this chapter's long enough! I hope you enjoy it, and there's more to come~ Just note, though, that I haven't played this specific Harvest Moon game in a while, and some personalities might be off. I tried the best I could though!

"Hi, Claire! Welcome back!"

Grabbing a chair from the corner, I dragged it over to the mermaid-filled tub. Straddling the wooden chair, I sighed and rested my head on my hands. "Thanks."

"So how was the wedding?" Leia rested her arms on the tub's edge, her tail slowly moving back and forth in the water. Her blue eyes stared at me expectantly.

"It was beautiful!" I replied, diving back into the events from a week ago. My cousin Chelsea had invited me to her wedding on Sunny Island, where she ran her own farm. I had accepted and taken a boat there right away. "Who would have thought a wedding would be so moving? Chelsea's so lucky!"

Leia giggled. "I wish I could go to a wedding!"

"You will one day!"

"I'm a mermaid, and nobody knows about me except you and Daryll."

"You can come to my wedding, then."

Leia's eyes lit up, and she leaned towards me. "Really?"

"Really! But I probably won't be married for quite a while yet."

"I'll wait!" She smiled in delight, then went back to our original subject. "So who did your cousin marry again?"

"A guy named Vaughn. He was quiet, but I could tell he really loved her."

"What did he look like?"

"He had silver hair and violet eyes. He wasn't bad looking. Chelsea's lucky."

"Do I hear some jealousy in your voice?"

I looked away from her quickly. "No! It's just…we're around the same age, and here she is already married! I don't even have a boyfriend yet!"

Leia smiled and slipped back into the water, floating on her back with the tip of her tail poking out. "Who's the one that always says that patience is a virtue?"

I chuckled. "Me."

"Exactly. So keep to your mantra, and wait. You'll find that special someone! I promise!"

I smiled back at Leia. "Now I know I will! A mermaid's promise has to come true!"

She laughed, and I laughed with her.

Looking up at the ceiling in thought, the mermaid wondered aloud, "I wonder what it's like to love someone."

This caught me off guard. "You've never had a special someone?"

She shook her head. "No." Pause. "Well, I had a childhood friend I'd hang around with all the time, but I don't know I liked him in what you would call 'love.'"

"So, like a friendship love?"

"Yeah."

I gave her a good, hard look. "You miss him, don't you?"

A sad smile answered. "Yeah. I wonder if he's looking for me."

"Why don't you just go back to the ocean? You don't have to stay here with Daryll. You're all healthy now."

"I know, but I feel like I owe Daryll for saving me. The only way I can think of repaying his kindness is cooking for him."

I looked at her sadly. "He helped you because he wanted to. I doubt he was looking for anything from you in return."

"I know, but…" Her voice trailed off in thought. After a few moments of silence, she shifted and looked at me. "What about you? Do you have a childhood friend?"

I frowned. "I…don't know. Let's see…" I thought hard. "I didn't always used to live here. I lived in another town like this. There was this one boy…I don't remember his name for the life of me, but I remember we used to play together a lot."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

I shook my head slowly. "I don't…but I do remember his eyes. I remember thinking how strange they were. They were a light, light blue, almost a turquoise."

Leia sighed in delight. "That sounds beautiful."

I nodded. "Yeah. I haven't seen him or even thought about him since he moved."

"He moved?"

Another nod. "Yeah."

Shifting once more in her tub, Leia looked at me with a smile. "Do you think you'll ever meet him again?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. It's been years, and he probably forgot about me, like I forgot about him."

"You didn't forget. You just weren't thinking about him."

"I forgot, Leia. I don't even know what his name is!"

She huffed. "You were young! Of course you wouldn't remember every little detail! But that fact that you can remember a little bit of him or him in general means you didn't forget!"

I laughed lightly. "I guess you're right."

She leaned towards me, her eyes shining. "Wouldn't it be romantic if you ended up marrying him?"

I laughed.

"C'mon! It would be! Don't deny it!"

"I never said I didn't think it was! It's just way out there!"

She looked at me sideways. "You never know what's in your future! Remember, you grew up believing mermaids were legend, but here I am now, one of your dear friends!"

"You're right! But I still doubt I'll see him!"

Waving a finger at me, she said quickly, "If you don't believe, it'll never happen."

Getting up from the chair and stretching, I returned the chair to its corner. "Sorry Leia, but I promised to give Lumina some Relaxtea Leaves. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Alright. I have to make Daryll dinner anyway. Have a good night!"

"Same to you!" Heading up the steps and out the front door and saying a quick goodnight to the scientist, I started for Lumina's mansion.

Glancing up, I judged the time to be around 9, 10 o'clock. "I'm up later than usual," I mumbled, stepping my way through the small, quiet town. "Hopefully Lumina's still awake." Walking up the long, paved path to the house, I noticed a dark, faint figure walking towards me. I called out, "Lumina?"

The figure stopped, then came running up to me, the dark form morphing into the petite Lumina. "Claire! Hi! What're you doing here so late?"

"You asked for Relaxtea leaves, right? I got them, and since I was already out and about, I thought I might as well drop by."

She smiled delightfully. "Thank you! I'm actually on my way to the bar to see Muffy. Want to come with?"

I thought for a moment then replied, "No thanks. I still have to feed Chase and Dusk."

We started walking down the path, our footfalls the only echoes. Lumina spoke to break the silence. "Is Dusk still teasing Chase?"

"Yeah. Poor dog. The cat just won't leave him alone!"

She laughed. "That's a normal relationship between cats and dogs."

"Don't I know it," I sighed.

"They like each other though. I can tell. At least, I know Dusk likes Chase."

"You and your weird cat connections."

She chuckled and said simply, "I like cats."

"A little too much. You're gonna be that crazy old lady with a thousand cats!"

She giggled but didn't say anything.

Stopping on the path that led to the bar, she turned to me and smiled. "Thanks for walking with me."

"Oh!" Digging in my rucksack, I pulled out the wrapped tea leaves. "Here, before I forget."

"Thank you!" Taking them delicately, she repeated her thank you. "I'll see you later, then. Have a good night."

"You too, Lumina. Night!"

Going straight home, I fed the dog and cat and lay in bed, strangely awake. My mind wouldn't stop going to me and Leia's conversation. It would be romantic if I ended up meeting and falling in love with my long lost childhood friend, but that wouldn't happen in a million years! "That only happens in sappy movies," I whispered to no one in particular, turning over on my side and staring across the room. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of what that boy's name was, what we used to do, what he was like, or anything. Frustrated and beyond sleeping, I jumped out of bed and decided to visit the Goddess Pond.

Walking up the glowing blue path, I passed the Sprite tree and reached the pond. Standing there, I let the fresh air and glittering water clear my mind and calm my frustration. Letting out a deep breath, I stared out across the pond. "This place has gotten its magic back ever since I saved the Harvest Goddess." Pausing, I decided to try my luck. Going to the fields by the pond, I picked a flower and laid it on the surface of the water. Putting my hands together, I said aloud, "Goddess, I don't know if you can do this or not, but I'd like to…" I hesitated, but continued, "I'd like to see that boy again. The one I used to play with when I was a little."

I waited, but as I expected, nothing happened. Sighing, I plopped down by and watched my offering float through the water. Collapsing onto my back, I stared up at the night sky, twinkling stars greeting me. "Damn you Leia. Now I'm thinking like the lovesick girls in movies!"

Sitting up in a huff, I stood and stretched. Letting out a deep breath, light shuffling behind me made me turn. I was expecting Lumina or Rock, but there was no one there. Confused, I called out, "Who's there?" Silence answered. Trying again and getting the same result, I rubbed the side of my head, feeling stupid. "It was an animal, Claire, you idiot."

Yet, there was a nagging feeling that what I heard wasn't an animal. Not being able to shake this feeling, I decided to head quickly home. Halfway down the flower lit path, however, I stopped and looked back at the Goddess Pond. Something was tugging me, telling me to go back. "I must be more tired than I thought," I mumbled, shrugging off the feeling and this time making it back home without turning around.

It took forever to fall asleep, but before I knew it, my alarm was going off and I was rolling out of bed. Going through my normal routine, my mind was stuck to last night. A part of my mind was screaming at me for not staying, and the other part was confused. Why did I have a nagging feeling to go back? It was just the Goddess Pond, for crying out loud! I've gone there thousands of times!

Watering the last crop, I filled up the watering can and set it by my house, ready to be used the next day. Heading into town, I ran into Lumina, who seemed to be looking for me.

"Hey, Claire! I have a question."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Have you ever heard of the infamous thief Phantom Skye?"

I tilted my head. "Phantom Skye?" I paused. "It sounds familiar." It really did. The name poked at something deep in my mind.

"He's a thief that sends his victims a note the night before the theft."

"Cocky one," I commented.

She giggled.

"Why do you bring it up?" I asked.

"I heard Grandma and Sebastian talking about it this morning."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I wonder why he sends his victims a note."

I sighed. "That's what people with big egos do. They think they're indestructible and can get away with anything."

Laughing, she replied, "I guess so. It's still pretty interesting to think about."

"Why don't you just find him and ask him yourself, then?"

"Are you kidding me? That would never happen in a thousand years! And besides, if I ever did happen to meet him, I doubt he'd tell me."

I shrugged. "You never know."

She gave me a knowing look.

"What?" I laughed.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes through your head."

"All I said was you never know!"

"Yeah, about me asking a thief why he sends a note!"

I shrugged again and looked at her innocently.

Shaking her head and laughing, she said, "I'm going to go visit the Goddess Pond. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Later!" I stood and watched her leave, my mind rushing with thoughts. Why were Romana and Sebastian talking about this Phantom Skye? This town didn't get much gossip, even with the few people visiting Mineral Town. As far as I had been here, no theft had ever occurred. "Wait…" I whispered, the light bulb lighting up. "Did Romana get the note last night? From Phantom Skye?" That was the only obvious thing I could think of.

In that second, I made a snap decision. That night, I was going to check up on the mansion. Not only was I curious about this 'Phantom Skye,' but I was curious to know why that name 'Skye' sounded so familiar. I knew for a fact I had never heard of the thief, but yet that name left a mark.

"Alright," I mumbled, moving my feet towards Daryll's place. "It's a plan."