Hi! My first long-fic... I'm not very good at them, but I think I'll give this one a shot...

Note: I totally suck at titles. So ya... this one's kinda... weird, and I really couldn't think of a lot of others.

Anyway... on with Chapter 1!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

With Life Comes Changes

Chapter 1-Change of Scenery

I knew something was coming... He had that look on his face... it made me nervous. His usually exuberant brown eyes were now reflecting a different emotion; sadness, pain, regret. I was silent, as I closed my eyes, and waited for something that I really did not want to hear.

"Claire..." he said softly. "I... I can't..."

I opened my eyes, and just stared at him.

"What are you talking about...?" I whispered.

Kai just shook his head. "I'm sorry Claire... I can't do this anymore... it's hurting you more than you realize," he said softly.

"Nothing's hurting me!" I said, my voice cracking, knowing that something bad must be up.

Kai caught my gaze. "It's hurting you more than you realize it to," he repeated. "I... I have to leave more often now Claire. I'll only be here for a week each year. I was born to travel... and family won't hear otherwise."

I looked warily into his soft brown eyes. "So I... I won't see you until next year?" I asked softly.

His gaze intensified, as if trying to communicate something crucial. "Claire... I'm saying it's bad for you to deal with this. It will eventually hurt you... even if you don't think it will. You... you deserve someone that can love you to the fullest, not someone like me that moves around too much and barely has time to think about the topics of relationships..." he said gently, but still intense. "So... I think it'll be a good idea to not see each other from now on."

"I-!" I stopped short. This meant... that... he didn't... want me anymore...? I stared into his eyes, but I found no contradiction to what he said.

He continued to watch me as the information slowly sunk in. For about the two years that we were together, he was leaving me...

"K-Kai? I... why? I-I don't care! I love you..." I whispered.

He looked silently at me, his brown eyes reflecting my sorrow.

"Claire, it's better this way, trust me... you wouldn't see much of me anyway, and while I'm away, you'll just get heartsick in this city here. It'll be better for you to move on, forget it, and find someone else that doesn't constantly have to move around... someone that can love you more than I can..." he said wistfully.

"But... but Kai! I... I can't find anyone else! I... I already found you! I don't need anyone else! I'll go with you! Don't... don't leave..." I said in a panic, my voice breaking at the end.

"I... I have to go Claire," he said. "Take care of yourself." He caught my gaze one last time and held it there. I stared into those brown eyes... until he slowly turned, breaking his gaze, and walked away, swiftly.

I stared after him, tears streaming down my face. I didn't have the energy to move forward to stop him, the pain was too much. I toppled over to my knees, and stayed immobile there. I didn't really care if anyone found me; I needed to be alone...

I jolted up from my bed, eyes flying open. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. They were slightly wet... I had that dream again... (or would you call it a nightmare?). It was like an exact replica of what happened on that day... and it hurt... a lot. Since when do people have dreams that match reality to the fullest anyway? It wasn't even missing his purple bandanna, and had the perfect tone and colour of his eyes and voice... I sighed. It was just a week after that it happened. I know that I probably should be a bit better now, but I wasn't. I pondered... for two years we were fine... why did he leave me so suddenly...? He always said it was because he was moving too much around anyway, and I would get my heart broken eventually because of his constant departures. Pain rippled through me, and I cringed against my bed. I couldn't think about this... it hurt too much.

I bit my lip, trying to ignore the fierce ache in my chest. Maybe I'll get over him one day, like he said, but I don't think it will be anytime soon. I forced my thoughts to another subject before the pain could intensify.

I wasn't doing so well, in reality (putting the love aspect aside...). I had no job, the city that I lived in caused painful memories to trigger, and I was living in my parent's house. Pretty bad. I sighed deeply and stretched. I slowly rose out my bed and glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning. I sighed again. I didn't want to go back to sleep, so I got up and did my regular morning routines. By the time I was finished, my parents were awake and lively downstairs.

"Hi Claire. Did you sleep alright?" My mother asked me cautiously.

Ever since he left me, my parents were usually quiet, and left me alone, so her spoken concern surprised me.

"F-fine," I answered unsteadily.

"You know..." my mother said quietly. "You've been pretty... depressed about the whole break-up thing."

As I opened my mouth to protest, she quickly continued.

"Not to say that you shouldn't be. Everyone is always fairly upset about things like that," she said quickly. "But I was thinking... do you think the change of scenery would be good for you?"

I just stared at my mother blankly. What was she saying?

"W-what?" I asked.

"You know... a change of scenery. Different surroundings, different buildings, everything different," she said quietly. "Different people as well."

I stared at her, until the realization sunk in. I think she wanted me to move out. To get out of her house. Ugh... why did everyone want to get rid of me lately!? What did I do!?

"You want me to move out?" I asked flatly.

"Um... well... sort of," she replied. "Look, Claire, I'm not kicking you out or anything. I just thought that... you know, after Kai left-" Just by saying his name, a wave of pain washed over me. It wasn't has rough as usual though. "-you just looked so sad, the wave of depression never left you. Even now, it's still there. I just thought that... you know... if you got away from here, the place that he left you, you might get over it faster. It might be easier for you." She shrugged, looking down.

"I..." I honestly didn't know what to say or do. My mother clearly stated that I could stay if I wanted to, but a new change of scenery sounded oh-so-tempting. I really needed to get out of here in a way...

"I think I might just do that," I responded quietly.

She looked surprised. I think she honestly wasn't expecting this answer. She was probably expecting no answer, considering that I hadn't been saying much lately. The idea sounded fairly appealing though.

"I-I'm glad I could help," she said in a shocked tone. She cleared her throat, and composed her voice. "So, if you're moving out... where are you going?"

That stopped me. I wasn't really sure where I was going. My decision was so impromptu, I never really thought about that yet.

"Uh..." I cast my mind around for a couple of towns. There was always Flower Bud Village... Forget-Me-Not-Valley, and Mineral Town... I voiced my options to her.

"Oooh..." she said excitedly. "How about Forget-Me-Not-Valley? I heard that it's really nice there, and the scenery is beautiful. The sky is clearly seen as a brilliant blue... and there are plenty of trees!"

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes my mom could act so childishly. My eyes wandered over to the stray newspaper on the table. I scrutinized it closely. What caught my attention was the word, "Mineral Town".

"A Mineral Town Notice (for people that obviously don't live there)

Attention tourists, and/or people that need a comfortable place to live! We have one here! We have a huge plot of land here, ready for crops to be planted and harvested. Barns and chicken coops are also included. You will also be provided with a lovely home, conveniently placed near the shops in our quaint little town!

If you are planning on moving out of your town/city, come by here, and proudly reside in our wonderful little town!"

"Mineral Town seems like an okay option," I told her in a quiet voice, and showed her the newspaper article.

She nodded, and then said, "You'd be acting like a farmer though. Would you like to do this type of work?"

I nodded. It would be good to get my mind off of some topics. Farming would be an excellent outlet. I needed something to keep my hands and my mind busy.

"Alright then. I think I'll go look for some traveling information about it. We've been there before on holidays... I'm sure I still have some brochures..." she said, obviously trying to help out.

I shot her a quizzical look. "We've been there before?" I asked.

"When you were really young. About a year old, I think. You probably won't remember."

I nodded. I didn't remember anything about Mineral Town from my early childhood.

She grinned, her eyes gleaming exuberantly as she rushed out of the kitchen. I smiled a small smile. My mother was always so childishly excited when it came to different towns and such...

I got up and quickly made myself something to eat. As I sat down and ate, I gazed out the window forlornly, and wondered how my future in Mineral Town would be... how small was it, exactly? Was it small enough that everyone there knew each other? I wasn't so sure... and the farm work? I guess that would be okay... you need to get up early, but lately, I've been waking up early anyway. Animals... would actually be pretty cute to take care of. I've always wanted a dog too, but I couldn't get one here because my dad was allergic.

A few hours later, my mother found me lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. It was now one of my favourite pastimes... it seemed... I was thinking... not about... what hurt me, but about farming, and Mineral Town.

"Claire?" she asked tentatively. My attention shifted to her as I adjusted my body to face her.

"Hm?"

"I have some brochures here if you want them," she replied, placing them on my desk, and then swiftly left the room, to obviously give me some peace and quiet to myself.

I walked over to my desk, and glanced at the brochures... I didn't even know that they made them for that place... it didn't really matter though, my decision was already made. I pushed a lock of long blond hair out of my face and around my ear as I grabbed a brochure and flipped through it. My eyes passed over what it said, but I wasn't really reading it. My mind was far away... thinking.

A week came and left, and I was off to Mineral Town. I've already said my farewells to my parents, and was walking towards a dock, holding a medium sized suitcase, along with a large bag, and a purse. I didn't have that many possessions-only a few overalls, shirts, jeans and some formal wear... I only wore them when I had to though. If there was one piece of clothing I despised, they were dresses. (Even though I did receive a few of them for birthdays...)

I strode swiftly towards the dock, where a series of small boats were waiting. I was slightly surprised... shouldn't it be just a bit bigger? I shrugged off the idea as I asked the person on the boat if this one led to Mineral Town. It was the affirmative answer.

I stepped onto the boat cautiously. There seemed to be no one else boarding so he started to guide the boat out of the city that I lived in. I probably won't be seeing it for a while, so I gazed the land that was slowly fading out of sight as the boat moved at a moderate pace towards my destination.

"Hey..."

I looked up at the sound. It was the man that was driving the boat that was speaking.

"You're the girl that bought the farm, aren't you?" he asked.

"Um... what?" I asked. I wasn't paying attention.

"In Mineral Town... that's where we're headed. Did you buy the farm there?" he repeated his question.

"I... did," I answered, puzzled. Why would he want to know?

My emotions must have shown on my face, because he chuckled, and said, "Sorry. My name's Zack, I'm the postman and shipper for Mineral Town. I was just curious. Your name is...?"

"Claire," I answered him.

He nodded. Then he burst out in more questions.

"Are you a good farmer or something?" he questioned me.

"Um... I haven't really... done anything like that before... I just wanted to move to a new place... so farming seemed alright," I commented quietly to him.

He looked at me with a quizzical expression.

"You know... the farm there; it's not in great shape. It was abandoned a few years ago. We've been trying to get someone to buy it for ages..." he remarked.

"I... didn't know that," I said softly. Great, there were probably weeds and everything junky just sitting on that "huge plot of land". Ugh. Way to go Claire.

He suddenly grinned.

"You fell for that newspaper thing, didn't you?" He chuckled to himself quietly.

"I..."

"It was just a really bad advertisement to get someone over here," he chuckled. "Obviously, it worked on you."

I flushed and looked down. Great. It seemed that Mineral Town was full of gossip. I was probably known as "Claire, the-one-who-fell-for-the-newspaper-trick". Gah... my bad luck never failed to come to me. I thought for a bit. The farm couldn't be that bad... could it? I guess I would just have to work twice as hard to bring my farm back up to the normal standard... if it was that bad.

Zack's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I really shouldn't be laughing... but if you think you can handle it..."

I just stared at him. A moment late, I realized he was talking about the farm. He frowned.

"Never mind, we're almost there," he spoke quietly.

And through the fog, I saw a small, quaint town com slowly into view.

"It looks nice," I commented to him, trying to alleviate the tension that suddenly settled in.

He smirked. "That's Mineral Town for ya," he said cheerfully.

Our small boat eventually reached the dock of Mineral Town. The beach seemed lovely from here.

"We're here," he said quietly. "Uh... here's a map... if you need it. You'll probably get used to this small town anyway, but just in case," he told me awkwardly. I took the map, thanked him, and started taking my small luggage out of the boat.

I stepped out onto the sand, map and luggage in hand, ready to start another part of my life here, in Mineral Town.

Well... there's the first chapter. I feel like I wrote the ending to this chapter really bad... Heh... and I'm not the best at newspaper articles either. It was probably bad.

Anyway... I hope that you (for the people that actually read this far) enjoyed it... and thanks for reading. :)

Some ideas for the next chapter(s) would be nice, as I really don't have that much of an idea on what's going to happen... I have my few vague ideas, but that's about it. XD

Reviews are loved, and greatly appreciated. :)