Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Harvest Moon.
AN: Merry Christmas everyone! This is a present for Moonlit Dreaming!
It was very quiet in the Mineral Town library, aside from the clock behind the black haired girl. Its gentle tick-tock sound was always very soothing to her. The Reading Tower, as she had called it, was the place to go if you wanted to read a good story, or if you were a new farmer. There were many books on how to grow plants and how to raise animals.
The problem was, which saddened Mary a lot, was that not too many people came to the library. Doctor Trent came by every Wednesday, usually to look at medical books. Jack, who came to town last year, also came every once and awhile.
And then there was Gray, the apprentice blacksmith and grandson of Saibara. He would stop by the library everyday, except when when it was a Monday. The young man was pretty grumpy at his work sometimes, but as soon as he was at the Reading Tower, his features would light up. He would always ask if there was a book she recommended, and was always willing to lend an ear when she talked about stories that she wanted to write.
Mary gulped nervously as she looked down at the book in front of her. She had just completed it a couple of days ago, and had been meaning to show him. But she could never find the right time for it. She was also slightly nervous. What if she showed her story to him, but he didn't like it? She almost didn't know if she could handle that. However, his opinion meant more than anything to her. With a small sigh, she put the book out of her sight.
The little bell over the door rang, and she looked over her shoulder. A smile formed on her face when she saw the young man standing there. "Hello, Gray!" she called happily.
"Hey, Mary," he greeted back. He was smiling right back at her, yet he looked nervous about something. He lifted his hand and tugged on the rim of his blue hat.
"Is there something wrong?" Mary asked curiously.
The blacksmith was a little surprised at the question at first, but he quickly shook his head. "Oh, I'm fine," he remarked as he stepped closer. "It's just… I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Goddess Festival with me tomorrow."
The librarian had to admit, in all of her wondering and worrying, she had completely forgotten about the Goddess Festival! She couldn't stop a small blush from entering her cheeks. "I would love to go with you!"
"Great!" Gray replied as a look of relief filling his face and his smile widened. "I'll come to pick you up at nine and we can go together, if that's alright with you."
"Yes, that's perfectly fine," Mary agreed, nodded her head. As she did, an idea formed in her mind. Maybe she could show him after the festival was over? She knew that she could wait until a later time, but she didn't want to wait too long if she could help it.
Now it was the blacksmith's turn to give the girl a puzzled look. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing really," Mary fibbed as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"If you say so," Gray remarked. He watched curiously as the girl nervously reached up to her glasses and fiddled with them as though they had gotten crooked somehow. However, at least to him, they looked perfectly fine before she even messed with them. He could tell that something was clearly bothering her, but he decided that prying wasn't the best idea. She would let him know when she was ready to talk about it, he was sure.
The clock suddenly chimed four times behind the pair, which caused both of them to jump because neither of them were expecting it. Mary looked at the clock and slowly nodded. "It's four o'clock," she murmured. She knew it was time to close the library for the day.
"Yeah," Gray muttered. He suddenly shook his head as the black haired girl looked back in his direction. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier. But Gramps wouldn't let me leave until I finished my training."
Mary looked over Gray and a look of worry crossed her face. His jumpsuit looked dirtier than normal and it looked like his left hand was bandaged, probably to cover a wound or a burn. She knew that it was commonplace for him, but she couldn't tell if he even liked being a blacksmith sometimes. Sometimes he would complain about Saibara's treatment toward him, and how training was going.
"It's okay," she said at last. "At least we'll be spending a lot of time together tomorrow."
Mary smoothed the pink dress that she was wearing, feeling a little more nervous than she had any other time she had done this. She knew the reason had nothing to do with the festival though. She had been used to participating in this festival for a few years now, and she loved learning about new things.
She was dressed in the usual pink dress and flower tiara that all of the girls wear on this day. Mary was not allowed to wear her glasses, but that was fine. She actually didn't need them to see all the time. She used them mostly for reading, and when she wanted to write. But she also felt weird without them, which is why she would normally wear them even when she wasn't reading or writing.
The black haired girl quickly made her way across her room and over to the stairs. She stepped down carefully and after waving good bye to her parents, who would be joining the festivities later, she made her way over the library. There was one more thing she needed to get.
"Hello, Mary!" a voice called from behind her.
Mary gasped, a startled expression covering her features as she turned around and saw that Gray had come up behind her. "Gray! D… don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly. "I was just coming down to pick you up, and when I saw you… well you know."
Mary nodded slowly, and shuffled her feet. "Um… I have something I need to get. I won't be long."
Gray watched her curiously as she unlocked the door to the library. She went inside and a couple minutes later, she returned holding onto a leather bound book. It didn't look like any of the books he had seen on the shelves, and it caught his interest.
Mary noticed and looked at her hands and sighed. "I… I forgot to put it in a bag so you couldn't see it yet…" She took in a couple deep breaths to calm her nerves before she held the book out to him. "I was going to wait until after the festival, but I think I can show it to you now. This is… this is for you. It's my latest novel."
Gray accepted the book from her outstretched hands and looked it over carefully. He carefully opened up the cover to its first page, and his blue eyes widened a little at what she had written. Of course, it was too big to read the whole thing right now, but he could read a little bit of it.
"Is this what you were so nervous about yesterday?" he asked as his eyes scanned the page.
"Y… yes," she said slowly. She reached up to straighten her glasses, forgetting that she wasn't wearing them right now.
Gray could see why it must have been nerve wracking before, but he couldn't stop a smile from crossing his face. From what he could tell, the story's protagonist was a young man who came to town to become a blacksmith. From what he was able to skim, it seemed that he was having problems because the man he was apprenticing under was harsh and strict. But even when things were looking down, there was a girl who told him never to give up, and to believe in himself more.
The apprentice blacksmith smiled as he closed the book, and kissed the girl on her cheek. "I think this is a wonderful present. Thank you!"
"Y… you're welcome," Mary answered, shocked at the young man's reaction. "But… you don't have time to read it all now."
"That's true, but I'll have plenty of time to look over it later. I can tell you put your heart into this though!" He reached out with his bandaged hand and gently touched hers. "And thank you… for being there when I need it the most."
"Y… you're welcome," she repeated, unable to find the words she wanted to say. She was just glad that he didn't say anything bad about what she had written. Of course, he might give her a critique later on, but she knew that she could trust his judgement if he did.