Hey, this is my first fanfiction in a while. This stars my favorite character from Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, Daryl the Scientist. It takes place 15 years before the game, and is basically my interpretation on everything. Facts are used as they are known.

Chapter I: A Flower inWinter

I stepped along the path that led from Mineral Town, looking around at the scenery of Forget-Me-Not valley.

It was small, and not particularly spectacular, but it was a nice enough place, with a beach within walking distance from any point of the valley. I saw the building I would be renting out; a small one story placed upon a little ridge on a hill. Not ideal, but I could work around it.

As I headed in that direction, I was stopped by a young girl of about 19 or 20. Her blonde hair was strikingly bright, and was held back in a ponytail.

I stared at her without blinking for a minute: a habit of mine since I was young. It tended to scare most people off and leave me to my precious solitude.

She didn't seem to notice.

"Hello! Are you new to Forget-Me-Not valley?" She asked me, and then began talking again without waiting for my answer.

"My name is Vesta. I run this farm right here," she gestured, "with the help of my younger brother." She pointed towards a thin boy of about 11 years old, chopping wood.

"I inherited from my father."

I wondered where she was going with this, but nodded politely.

"Here, I'll give you a tour of the valley." She offered, smiling largely.

The tour lasted longer than I had hoped. And considering I hadn't wanted the tour at all, I refer to the whole thing.

I had finally managed to grab my bags and run into my building, double bolting the door. I was breathing deeply, savoring the darkness and the privacy. I had spent the majority of my life in the darkness, and had come to associate it with safeness. When I was in the dark, my mother couldn't find me.

I took off my glasses and began polishing them, frustrated in myself for thinking about my mother again. I began to pull things out of the large cardboard boxes and duffel bags I had brought and stacking them on the floorchemicals, beakers, test tubes, a laptop, and my college diploma, which I stuck in the corner.

There wasn't much in the house when I walked injust a table and a beaten down old sofa. I didn't mind, I fell asleep on the couch half the time I was in college, staying up late to finish papers.

After I had unloaded everything I had brought, I sat down on the threadbare couch and stared at the wall without blinking. I don't know how I sat there, unblinking in the darkness.

I unlocked the door at 10 PM. After a few moments deliberation, I opened the door.

I must have forgotten about the ridge, because as I walked I suddenly just felt air under my foot and went sprawling along the grass.

"Uwaaa!"

My cry was surprisingly loud, and I felt my glasses separate from my face as I toppled over.

"Owwwwwww," I felt around blindly for my glasses. I was off to a bad start already, and I hadn't even blown anything up yet.

"Do you need some help?" A voice to the left of me asked. I stood up shakily.

A blurry figure moved forward and slid my glasses onto my face. For a moment, I saw large, caring eyes, framed by spectacles like my own. It was a girl. Long blonde hair fell down onto her shoulders, and she smiled. My cheeks grew hot.

She's beautiful.

"What are you doing out so late?" She asked me.

I couldn't answer. I turned around and ran back into my house, double bolting the door again. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I sat down against the door, and fell asleep like that.