A/N: Okay, this is going to be my first fanfic with characters from Grand Bazaar. I hope you all like it, because I'm going to add a twist into the Harvest Moon stories that I don't think ANYONE has tried before! Please read, and thank you! No, I do not own Harvest Moon. If I did, you can bet that I would not have the main girl character dressed in all pink. *shudders* So don't sue me and enjoy!

Winter 1st, Tuesday

Lloyd

I open my eyes and blink to my blurry surroundings. Blindly, I reach over to my bedside table and fumble around for my glasses. My fingers brush up against the familiar cold edge of the arm of my glasses. Quickly, I pick them up and place them snugly on my nose.

The world around me snaps into clarity. My bedroom seems to jump into existence around me and as always, I'm startled by how amazing the world looks when you can see.

With a yawn, I climb out of bed. I don't have to check my alarm clock as I head to the bathroom for a shower; I knew it was six in the morning, the same time I always woke up at.

Once I'm in the shower, the steamy water wraps me around in a blanket of warmth. It feels so good; especially since fall had ended and the harsh winter weather had decided to settle in. But I do have to get out.

Outside the shower, I saunter back into my room to change. Barely ten minutes had passed since I woke up; but it hardly mattered. Time passed slowly in this little town.

With a leisurely pace that I would never have allowed myself in any other city, I change. My traditional robes I put on smell a bit like lavender and it reminds me of home. With a slight smile, I think fondly back on my youth as I continue to change. I have a beige shawl that I wrap around my shoulders and matching moccasins that I slip on my feet. As a finishing touch, I place my blue turban on my head.

In the mirror, my black and blue robe seems so familiar even though to most people it would seem foreign. Because it was. I was from a foreign land; and Zephyr Town was like no place I'd ever encountered before.

I have a red sash around my turban that used to be my mother's. She gave it to me when I left home nearly ten years ago.

Remorsefully I turn away from my pale skin, raven black hair and amethyst eyes that reminded me of her to head into my kitchen for breakfast.

My schedule was the same as it had been since I moved to this town in Spring of this year. It got a little repetitive at times, but it was peaceful. And the bazaar was something I really looked forward in the town. It was the reason I decided to stay here.

I take some leftover chicken out of the fridge. It wasn't the best breakfast in the world; I knew that. But it was food and I didn't have fun else. I'd have to make some more money at the bazaar this week so that I could buy some food.

I've managed to finish my meager piece of chicken when the door to my quaint little log house flies open. I can hear the bang from the kitchen where I'm washing my dishes.

"Come in." I yell out to the person as I hear the door shut behind them.

"Sorry Lloyd." The familiar optimistic voice calls out to me. "But you're always up at a quarter to seven! I didn't think it would be a big deal."

I gently shake my head as I dry my hands on a towel after placing the cleaned dish back in a drawer. With the towel still in my hands, I walk out into the main room where Anita is gazing admiringly around my house.

She turns and smiles at me, her wide grin only highlighting her deep chocolate brown eyes that contrasted with her strawberry blonde hair. Anita wore a hot pink sweater over a plain white t-shirt with gray pants and purple sneakers. There was also a vibrant purple hat askew on her head. A yellow flower design decorated the hat, as well as a single white feather that poked out of the top. Personally I thought it was an odd way for a farmer to dress; but I guess I couldn't talk.

Confidently she places her hand over her rucksack that hung by her side. "Your house is so amazing! I can't believe you've really traveled to all these places." Anita gestures to all the little trinkets I have adorning my house.

I smile at her. "Thanks Anita. But you tell me this every day. Don't you get tired of it?"

This makes her laugh for some reason. "Of course not! It's true every day! You're my best friend; it would be rude of me not to compliment you."

That makes me chuckle. "You best friend, eh?" Wonder if she'd say the same thing about me if she knew the truth…

"Of course silly." Then she reaches into her rucksack and pulls out a small gold coin. Anita tosses it into the air and I catch it with a practiced hand.

I turn the coin over in my hands, smiling to myself at the intricate designs on the small object. My face has a huge grin plastered over it when I look up at her. "You don't have too keep giving me these gifts every day you know?"

She grins. "But I love seeing your face light up like that. Everyone deserves to smile like that."

"That's why you give everyone in town a gift every day, right?"

"Precisely!"

We both start laughing. It was true; Anita was my best friend in Zephyr town, but I still hadn't told her my secret. Hell, I hadn't told my own parents my secret. I don't know if I could tell anyone.

She walks over to me and hugs me for a second. I hug her back; both of us knowing that the hug was nothing other than a gesture of friendship. The whole village thought we were falling in love; but we weren't. I knew that Anita had a crush on the artist Angelo on the outskirts of town. And I…well, it just wouldn't happen.

"Well, I have to go visit everyone else. And I have to make sure I catch Freya, Ivan and Claude before they go to the city for work! It is Tuesday you know."

With that little reminder, Anita bounds happily out of my house and into the winter snow. I shake my head slightly when the door slams shut behind her from the force of the wind. She was just a little ball of sunshine that girl. But without her, the town would never be the same.

For the next couple hours, I go through my catalog of stuff at my house for the bazaar on Saturday. Most of the stuff that I plan on selling would end up being a bunch of different ores that I had a friend ship to me. There was no mine around here, so these ores are very valuable and sell for a lot of money.

Around noon I leave my house. I knew I was supposed to go into the city today to pick some stuff up; but I really didn't feel like it. I had to go on Wednesday anyway, so I'd go then.

My feet take me to Joan's Zephyr Café. Normally, I'm only here on Friday's so both Marian and Joan are surprised to see me.

"Lloyd!" Marian cries as she runs over to peck me on both sides of the cheek. She didn't mean anything by it; that's just how she was. Besides, she was about ten years older than me and…she was a girl. So I don't care.

"Lloyd? What are you doing here?" Joan asks me from beside her counter.

I smile. "Just stopped in for a bite to eat."

That makes them both laugh. "One order of Paella coming up!" Marian tells me as she walks into the back kitchen.

I smile as I sit down in one of the cute little chairs. Joan was Marian's grandmother and together they ran the little café. Both were blondes with soft brown eyes and both had an old age style of dressing that clearly marked them as family.

It was very moving to me that Marian already knew my favourite food and was willing to make it for me. That was a good thing about small towns. The community was so close knit; everyone knew just about everything about each other. But this only makes it odder that no one had found out my secret yet…

"Here you go Lloyd!" Marian gently places my dish in front of me; jolting me out of my morbid thoughts.

"Thanks Marian." She waves it off like it was nothing and sits down beside me. "Do you mind?" She asks me, her face flowing with warmth and security.

"Nah, go ahead." I nod as I pass her a fork. We both dive into the meal together without either of us saying a word for a minute.

Then she speaks. "So how're things with Anita?"

I chew my food slowly; savoring the delicious bite as I ponder her question. "What do you mean?" Is my answering question as I take another bite.

Her face scrunches up while she thinks; her mouthful of food forgotten just before entering her mouth. "Aren't you two dating?" Then her food goes into her mouth at the same moment that I nearly choke on mine.

"D-dating?" The complete horror of it all comes crashing down on me and I shudder in utter distaste. "Ugh no. I don't think of her like that at all! We're just friends."

She chuckles lightly. "That's what they all say." Then she pats me lightly on the back and sets down the fork. "But I believe you. Sorry I asked."

Marian gets up from the table and leaves me to finish my meal in peace. But I feel like I've just lost my appetite. The mere idea of me dating Anita made me want to vomit. It's just gross.

Disgusted, I slap down some cash for the food and then jet out of that house. Still slightly disturbed, I head back to my house near the waterfall.

The first person that comes into my sight is Sherry. I smile and wave at the girl standing near the crashing falls. She catches sight of me and waves back.

I walk up to her easily after crossing a small bridge. She looks over at me and smiles, dimples appearing in her cheeks. Her bronze eyes were alight with laughter and her radiant orange hair tumbled down her back in waves.

Sherry was dressed in a very easy blue dress with a strawberry necklace that used to belong to her mother. It reminds me of the sash I have wrapped around my turban. She also had a blue hat placed atop her head, all adorned with little white flowers.

"Lloyd, I thought you were in town today?" She asks me as she turns her gaze back to the waterfall.

I shrug carelessly. "I didn't feel like it."

Sherry turns her head towards me and raises an eyebrow. "Is the traveling merchant really getting lazy? I don't believe I can believe what I'm hearing!"

I just chuckle; by her tone, I can tell that she's joking but that she still wanted an answer. "I don't know Sherry. I am going to the city tomorrow, so I thought I'd just take the day off."

She laughs. "This coming from the person who always complains about how nothing ever happens in this town." She shakes her head and continues to laugh under her breath.

I sigh. "Because it's true! This is a sleepy old town when the bazaar isn't in session; and that's only one day a week!"

Sherry shrugs now. "That's just how this town is. I wouldn't change it." Then she pats my shoulder. "I'm going to go meet Antoinette at her house to talk about some stuff."

With that, she leaves me with a wave.

I sigh and kick a pebble into the river, letting the sounds of the roaring waves wash over my body. It was rather calming, and I was glad that the water didn't stop flowing even when the ground hardened and snow started falling.

Deep in thought, I gaze into the depths of the water and speak quietly to myself as the air around me turns bitter and the sky darkens. "While I wouldn't change this town, I wouldn't say no to a little excitement."

I turn my head towards the sky; not surprised at all by the starry night sky that greets my eyes. While this town moved slowly, time moved fast if you just got lost in the flow of things.

My feet trudge through the thin layer of snow as I drag myself across the short ridge to my house. Inside, warm air greets me and I thank whatever god there was that I had put the air conditioning timer to start earlier.

I traverse the hard wood floor to my bedroom. With my mind completely off in another world, I undress and toss my robe into the laundry. I had a bunch more outfits exactly like it. However, I do take my mother's sash and place it gently onto my bedside table.

After turning off all the lights in the house, I climb wearily into my bed. It had been my first lazy day; and I was exhausted. Not a good thing.

I take my glasses off to place them on the bedside table for the night. The world becomes fuzzy again and I shut my eyes to stop my head from hurting. The darkness around me is very relaxing and I find myself being quickly lulled to sleep.