Author's Note: Hello everybody! I'm glad that you're here right now reading my new fic. This is technically a sequel to my previous Harvest Moon story that I wrote years and years ago for Magical Melody. Don't let that send you running the other way, though, because reading the other story is definitely not necessary to read and understand this one. The characters and settings are completely different and it is set many years later. Anyway, I hope you stick around and give this story a chance. Go ahead and read it. Reviews are always welcome. Thanks for being here!
I could be anything that I wanted to be. My mom had always told me that. I could be anything that I wanted to be. I didn't have to follow in anybody's footsteps. I didn't have to meet anybody's expectations. There was no pressure. Even though farming ran in my family and I'd spent my summers helping out at the old family farm back in Flower Bud Village, I wasn't automatically expected to fall into that kind of a life. So the day I decided I was going to become a farmer, it was a decision that was made by me and only me. That's the way it's always been, though. I make whatever decision I make for whatever reasons I see fit. That's never going to change. Sometimes, though, you can meet that one person out there who can almost bend the fabric of reality around themselves and squeeze their way into somewhere you never thought they could: your heart. And that person can suddenly become that reason that you do whatever it is that you do. It happened to me. And I never saw it coming.
I was a young thing, only twenty-two at the time. Yet I felt so old in comparison to the twelve year old I had been ten years before. Looking back, those thoughts of mine were ridiculous. I was a young woman and my whole life had been ahead of me. I didn't know what being old was. All I knew was that the life I had been living was the wrong one. And I didn't know exactly what life would be the right one. But it came to the point when I finally had to stop over-thinking everything and make a decision.
That decision was what led me to the two towns. Bluebell and Konohana. Two beautiful little towns that were so different and yet both filled with the same kind of warm and caring people. This is where my story began. This is where my life began in earnest.
Bright and early one morning, I opened my eyes. Sometimes I woke up a little confused by my surroundings. Sometimes I was surprised to realize that I was on my own in my own home that was definitely not the place where I grew up. Nor was it some dingy apartment that I could barely afford. So this was what it felt like to be an adult, right? This was what it was like to be an independent, self-sufficient woman? Epic.
I threw my legs over the side of my bed and immediately got to work doing what I needed to do to get ready for my day. I came out of the bathroom while brushing my teeth and groaned. The flowers in the basket had wilted. I went back to my bathroom to spit and rinse. With my toothbrush returned to where it belonged, I went over to the basket and disposed of the dead flowers. I always liked to keep fresh flowers in my house. And that, unfortunately, meant that I had to go to the only place where I could get a bouquet: Cam's Flowers.
As I fed my pets and played with them, I dreaded my inevitable encounter. As I tended to my livestock, I still dreaded it. As I watered my fields and harvested some crops, I kept on dreading it. After shipping everything off and heading into town, I let a sigh escape me. I didn't want to go to Cam's Flowers! Cam didn't like me! He hadn't liked me since the day we met. I could remember that day as if it were yesterday. I had been visiting Bluebell from Konohana on that fateful day. I'd figured I'd get the lay of the land in case I ever decided to move there. It was positively charming, this town. I'd found it absolutely adorable. Konohana was a wonderful place as well and I loved living there, but Bluebell had grown on me very quickly.
Eventually happening upon the town square, I had taken a seat in front of the big statue that was situated right in the middle. The breeze had blown the scent of something beautiful to me. I sniffed and then swept the area with my violet eyes, trying to locate the origin of this smell. And that was when I saw him. He was standing there in the midst of his shop, surrounded by these beautiful flowers of so many different colors. The sunshine seemed to single him out from everything else and highlight him, giving this young man a golden glow. My heart had instantly done this. . .this. . .boom-clap thing. I had never been one to take stock in love at first sight. In fact, I could confidently say that I had never been in love before. Ever. And I knew it was certainly not love, but I had definitely felt something that moment I saw him.
He had looked over at me and made eye contact for the briefest of seconds before quickly looking away. In fact, he'd turned his back on me completely and went about tending to his flowers. That blatant dismissal wasn't enough to deter me, though. I'd thought that perhaps I'd imagined things. Maybe he hadn't seen me, but rather had been looking past me. And so I'd walked right on up to that table and cleared my throat to get his attention and introduce myself.
When he turned around he'd had this kind of blank expression on his face and his emerald green eyes had pinned me to the spot. They were beautiful, probably the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen. And boy those eyes were cold. Talk about a chilly reception! I hadn't imagined his dismissal after all. Talking to him hadn't been much better and I left there feeling a little angry and defensive. I'd done nothing to him, yet for no reason he seemed to not like me. And that was when I resolved not to give him the time of day. If he wanted nothing to do with me then fine, that would be his loss.
Of course, however, there were those times when being around him could not be avoided. Such as those times when I became in need of a bouquet. I went back into my house to put a few things into my rucksack and then I made my way toward Bluebell. One thing I absolutely loved about living in this small town in the middle of nowhere was the scenery. I reached the end of my driveway and turned left, passing the church and making my way to town. The carefully tended flowers I passed along the way were beautiful and I made a mental note to say something to Rose about the wonderful job she was doing. Too bad she didn't do bouquets as well. . .
"Howdy, Lillian!" Georgia called to me from beyond the fence where she was keeping an eye on her and Grady's horses.
Lillian. I liked the sound of that one name being unaccompanied by another. Back in high school, everybody had liked to call me Lily Raye for some reason. Raye was my middle name and it was a name that had been passed on in my family. I liked it, but I never saw a need for it to be tacked onto the first one as if it were an extension of it. Even my dad had started calling me that sometimes. I resolved that after I graduated and transcended into adulthood, I would go by one name. Lillian. Like a normal person.
"Good morning, Georgia! How are you?" I asked her with a smile as I leaned against the fence. She walked over to meet me with a smile of her own.
"Oh I'm just peachy. There's nothing quite like being able to watch such beautiful horses on a lovely day," she drawled with that accent of hers that I thought was as sweet as pie.
Georgia was a horse enthusiast, much like Kana was over in Konohana. Even her bedroom showcased her love for her most beloved creatures.
"How is Evie?" I asked, feeling a little sad even saying the name. Evie was the pony I had made my journey into town with. She was the pony I had spent so much time trekking the mountain between Konohana and Bluebell with. She was the pony I had woken up and tended to bright and early every morning for a whole season. The time had come, however, when I'd needed a larger horse to help me get done the things I needed done. And so I'd traded her for Levi.
Georgia seemed to pick up on my feelings because she gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before she answered. "She's the picture of health. And she's adjusted just fine. You won't have to worry about her not one teensy little bit! If you want to see her, though. . ." she trailed off, looking toward the barn where my Evie was bending over to nibble on some grass.
"No, no. That's fine," I assured her. "I'll come say hi to her another time. I have a lot to do today anyway. I'm just relieved that she's doing so well. Oh! I almost forgot," I said, taking off my rucksack and sitting it on top of the fence so I could dig through it. "I brought you this."
Her face lit up when I presented her with the container that held the fried rice I'd prepared the previous night. "Oh, why, I just love fried rice!" she exclaimed as she took the gift. "Thank you! How thoughtful."
"You're welcome," I told her happily as I closed my rucksack and put it back on. "Oh, I made that last night so you'll probably have to heat it up. I know I'm not a great cook yet, but I've been working on improving my cooking skills for the cooking festivals."
I really had been working hard to improve my cooking skills. For some reason, I felt the strange need to get the approval of Pierre, the gourmet who judged the cooking contests. . .One of these days he would eat a dish that I made and declare that it was as delicious as if it had been made by the Harvest Goddess herself!
After Georgia and I said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways, I went over to Jessica's Livestock to fulfill a request I had taken on yesterday. I still had three days left, but I had the materials assembled now so why not just get it over with? When Jessica saw me, she joked about there being a rivalry between our two farms. Sometimes I wondered if they were really jokes like she said they were. She was a nice woman with a lovely and kind family, but sometimes I really did have to wonder. . .
I had just left out the house and was walking toward the town square when Ash spotted me from by their barn. He was waving me toward him so I shrugged and hopped the fence. "Hey Ash, what's up?"
"That's what I'd like to know," he spoke as I came to a stop before him. "You were walking by looking like somebody stomped on your foot."
I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. "What. . .Oh." I had literally just been pondering my trip to Cam's shop. I let out a sigh and figured it was no use not telling him about it. "I need some fresh flowers for the house."
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "So what? You need to go see Cam?" When I nodded, he continued. "What's so bad about that?"
I scoffed and pointed in the general direction of the aforementioned Cam. "Seriously, Ash? He hates me."
"Cam doesn't hate you," he rebutted. "He's just. . ."
"Not my biggest fan, that's for sure. I'm okay with it, though. Really, I am. If he doesn't like me then it's his right not to. I know he's your best friend so he can't be all bad." I cut him off before he could respond to that. "Anyway, I have stuff to do before I go home for the day. You know, I have to keep on my toes if I'm going to one-up your mother in this whole rivalry thing we have going. I'll see you later."
He chose his battles wisely since he dropped the subject of Cam and laughed at my commentary on his mother as I walked away. Ash was a good son. He was devoted to keeping their farm running smoothly and he was a doting brother to Cheryl. I wondered how he did it, keeping his family together the way he did in the absence of the husband and father that was no longer there.
Coming to a stop in front of the request board, I saw that Rutger had posted a request that was due that very day. Him and Rose had this adorable tradition of getting gifts for each other and turning that whole day into a date for the two of them. Rose tended to post requests for things she could use to make them a lovely dinner. Rutger, however, tended to prefer to buy his wife bouquets of flowers. Today's request was no different.
"One red bouquet coming up," I mumbled as I took the request off the board. Well, it appeared I now needed two bouquets from Cam's Flowers.
I glanced ever so slightly to my right toward his shop. I could easily see him from where I was standing and let out a small sigh. Why in the world did he have to be so handsome if he was going to have such a bad personality?! I finally turned fully in that direction and made the walk on over, giving myself little pep talks inside my head along the way. I was all like 'You've got this, Lil.' and 'You can do it! Don't let him ruffle your feathers with his acerbic attitude!' There was also 'It's not your fault he's so laconic!' Stuff like that, you know?
He gave me that same blank expression he always did when I made it over there and not for the first time I had to wonder just what went on in that head of his.
"Cam," I spoke coolly, giving him a curt nod.
"Lillian," he replied, his voice smooth like honey yet just as cool as mine had been.
"I'll be needing some red roses today. I'd appreciate it if you would make me a couple of red bouquets with them."
"Will that be all?" he asked me, making sure that he had all the instructions he needed before he got to work. My response was another nod of my head. He collected the flowers he'd need and immediately got to work.
He worked carefully, yet confidently. He also worked quietly. An awkward silence had fallen between us and the longer it dragged on, the more awkward I felt. I had some inner turmoil, fighting with my own self over whether or not I should attempt some small talk with him even though I was about 99.5 percent sure it would not be reciprocated. Right when I thought I wouldn't be able to take it much longer, he turned back around.
"Here you go," he said as he handed both bouquets over.
"Thank you," I said as I handed over the amount of money he was asking for.
With that said, I flipped my hair over my shoulder and swiftly walked away, telling myself not to look back at him in the process. I failed. It reminded me of the time when my mom told me not to touch the oven or my hand would get burned. I was just too curious and couldn't stop myself then like I couldn't stop myself now. I couldn't stop myself from sneaking one tiny little glance over my shoulder at him as I headed toward Town Hall. I expected for him to be looking at some flowers or off into the distance somewhere. I had even expected to see his back completely turned to me yet again. To my surprise, though. . .he was looking at me, too.
Disclaimer: This is a blanket disclaimer for the entire story. I do not own Harvest Moon or any of the characters associated with the franchise. I am but a humble fan who had a story to tell.