/Author's Note: The HM fandom is often quite awesome, and one member of the fandom put together a hack of the Harvest Moon GBA games to allow you to play as the opposite gender and woo same-sex bachelor(ette)s! I'm sure I don't need to explain why this is important and awesome and should be adopted into actual HM games. The hack got me thinking of the Mineral Town bachelorettes, their mindsets and dynamics, and how they might act in such a situation, so I got to writing! These are short drabbles, ultimately, but hopefully they'll offer some insight into the minds of our lovely Mineral Town ladies! End Author's Note/
Tales of True Love
…Mary…
The fledgling farmer struggled to take a step without tripping over the debris littering the once-thriving fields. He
The pen stopped, leaving a smear of bled ink. Mary lifted it to her forehead, scratched the skin underneath her ebony bangs, and blinked at the ink-assaulted page. Something was off. Something.
The door of the Mineral Town Library swung open, pulling her unceremoniously from the world of her writing. She snapped the notebook shut instinctively, and looked up to greet the patron – only to realize that she was face-to-face with a stranger.
"Hi there! I'm Claire." Her hair was blonde and straggly, her eyes popping with fervor, and her outstretched hand muddied and rough. Mary shook it and tried for a 'nice to meet you' before instantly tumbling over her words. If she could speak as well as she could write…
"Oh, don't get your hopes up: I'm not much of a reader." Claire laughed unabashedly, "I was just making the rounds, introducing myself. I'm the new farm owner."
It took a few seconds for the words to register. Mary had expected a –
"Boy, it sure is hot today." Claire pulled at the collar of her severely outdated flannel shirt, revealing glistening lines of sweat along her collarbone. "I'm too delicate a flower to be out and about in the sun like this," she winked, obviously not believing a word of it. "There's no guarantee I'll remember this place exists – again, not much of a reader – but feel free to stop by the farm sometime! I, um, didn't actually get your name…"
"Oh… M-Mary." Said the librarian.
"Then, see you around Mary!"
She left, leaving a lingering smell of dirt and sweat and livestock in her wake. And a lingering streak of red on the face of the librarian.
Opening up her notebook again, Mary sat down and began to edit. There was a simple change she had decided to make; immediately the words flowed from her pen ceaselessly.
The fledgling farmer struggled to take a step without tripping over the debris littering the once-thriving fields. She was ready to start a brand new chapter of her life.