Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Harvest Moon.

AN: This is for the Village Square contest, which is Childhood this time.

A gentle sound filled the little boy's room, a steady beat… tick, tock, tick, tock. The sound was being emitted from a small treasure that had been given to the young boy long ago. He kept it with him at all times; it was a gift from his father who'd left earlier that year.

Rick was still young at only eleven years of age. And even though his father was gone, he smiled to himself as he remembered a promise that his father, Rod, had made to him before he left. He'd sworn that he would always come back on the more important days. These included the birthdays of his children and of course, his wife and Rick's mother Lillia.

The kid with the long orange hair continued to smile as he rose from his bed, listening to the gentle sound coming from the watch. He was not going to let anything get him down today! He glanced at the calendar and remembered his father's promise; he knew that his father was going to return today! It was the 27th of fall… his birthday!

After he got dressed, the young boy headed downstairs. He was only about halfway down when he heard the calls coming from his sister and mother, "Happy Birthday, Rick!"

"Thanks!" he said happily. He looked over at the gifts on the table. He then turned his attention to his mother. He couldn't help a slight frown when she coughed a little bit. "Are you okay today, mom?" he asked.

Lillia gave her son a reassuring smile. "Yes, I'm fine. No need to worry about me, Rick. This is a time to be happy, after all!" She moved forward and gently wrapped her arms around the young boy. "It's not everyday that my son turns eleven years old after all!"

"Mom!" Rick cried when he heard Popuri's giggles. In one way, this was a little embarrassing. But then again, it's not like she did it in front of the entire town.

The pink haired woman chuckled before releasing the boy. "Now this is your birthday, Rick, so remember to have fun!"

"I will!" Rick exclaimed. Then a thought crossed the boy's mind, so he added, "Um, Mom, do you know when dad will show?"

The mention of her husband caused Lillia to slowly shake her head. "I'm sorry Rick… but I got a letter from your father yesterday. It seems that he's far away and I'm afraid he won't be able to make it. He does wish you a happy birthday though."

The boy sighed softly, doing his best to hide his disappointment. He was hoping to see his father, but if it wasn't possible now, then he couldn't worry about it. There was nothing that could be done about it after all. But that didn't make the disappointment any easier for him to handle.

"I see," he muttered sadly.

Lillia gave her young son an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Rick, should have told you much sooner."

"Oh, no, it's okay!" Rick fibbed, putting on a fake smile. "I know dad is trying hard to find that Desert Rose for you! So why should I be upset?"

Tick, tock, tick, tock. The soft sound of the watch continued to echo its tiny mechanical little noise. Time was going to march on whether his father was there or not.

The remaining days of fall transitioned into winter. It grew colder and snow blanketed the ground. All of the other kids were happy making snow angels or snowmen. Some even made snowballs for fighting. Yet, Rick couldn't seem to get in the mood.

Karen noticed the look on Rick's face, and walked over to him. "Hey, Rick! Do you wanna play with me?"

The young man gazed at the girl in front of him. They had been very firm friends for as long as he could remember, although lately, he'd noticed that she'd been asking him to play with her even more than usual. "I don't really feel like playing today. I'm just here to keep an eye on Popuri."

Karen tilted her head, her green eyes showing confusion. "What's the matter, Rick, you've been so depressed lately? You've been keeping to yourself and haven't been playing with anyone."

Rick sighed a little. He thought about sidestepping the whole thing, but he knew Karen, she was going to pester him until he said something. He figured he may as well just answer and get it out of the way. "Well… my dad wasn't able to come to my birthday a few days ago," he said softly. "He promised he would come back… and he didn't."

The blond haired girl didn't know what it was like since she still had both of her parents at home. Rick knew that to be true, and almost didn't think Karen would understand. "So, you're upset that he broke his promise?" she suddenly asked.

Rick's blue eyes widened and he slowly nodded. He didn't think of it in that way until she'd pointed it out. It wasn't just because he didn't come home. He had promised to come back for his birthday and he didn't show.

"Yeah, I guess that's it."

"I'm not sure I know how you feel being far away from your dad. But, I'm sure he didn't mean to break his promise. My dad always feels bad when he breaks his, so I'm certain it is the same for your dad."

The blue eyed boy nodded at what Karen said. He knew that was true. Sometimes Jeff made promises, but he wasn't able to keep them. Whenever those words were broken, he would be so apologetic and he always came up with ways to make up for his mistakes.

Rod had broken his word, but he must have felt just as bad as Jeff had. Besides, it was just one time. There would be other times when his father would be able to show. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Karen."

Just then, he felt a wet snowball hit him on his right shoulder. While he had been busy thinking, his friend had picked up some snow, made a snowball and threw it at him. He looked over and saw Karen giggling.

Rick finally smiled as he picked up a bit of snow and threw it at Karen. Laughter filled the air as the two played happily in the snow.

Tick, tock, tick, tock… time continued to march onward.

Birds chirped in the springtime warmth. It was the nineteenth and Rick knew that today was his mother's birthday. He was certain that today his father would not break his promise. In fact, he was so sure of that after wishing his mother a happy birthday; he went out to care for the chickens like normal.

The boy found it hard to contain his excitement. He truly missed his father and he was certain that he would finally get to see him again. He decided he had to get a gift for his mother to celebrate such a happy occasion.

Rick checked his pockets to see how much money he had on hand. It wasn't a lot, but he'd been saving the money that he had been given by his mother for taking such good care of the chickens in his father's absence.

He realized that he only had 100G, but he was sure it would be enough to buy a gift for his loving mother. He took the usual path to the supermarket and allowed himself inside. As soon as he did, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Why hello there Rick!" Jeff called. "Are you here to play with Karen?"

"Not right now," Rick answered with a smile. "I'm here to buy a gift for my mom. It is her birthday today."

Jeff nodded his head and smiled. "Yes, that's right it is. I think it is a very sweet of you to do something like this for her."

Rick looked a little embarrassed, but chose not to say anything. He looked around the store, and at first, nothing caught his eye. He was just about to give up when he saw a small statue of an angel. It was so beautiful to look at, yet it also seemed very delicate and sparkled under the lights of the store. As soon as he saw it, he knew it would be the perfect gift!

"How much for that?" he asked as he pointed to the statue.

Jeff walked away from the counter and looked at the little angel that Rick had pointed to. "That is such a lovely little statue. It will cost you 110G."

Rick's face fell a little when he heard the storekeeper say that. "I see. I only have one hundred though…"

The storekeeper looked thoughtful for a moment, and picked up the angel statue. "I'll tell you what, since you are such a good friend of Karen's, and since it is your mother's birthday, you only have to pay what you have. I can cover the extra."

"I… I don't know if I should," Rick replied softly.

Jeff smiled a little. Rick probably was saying that since he was taken advantage of quite a bit these days. Even Duke kept trying to leave the store with a running tab, and not pay anything. "Don't worry about Rick."

After thinking about it for a moment longer, Rick finally agreed and handed over all the money he had. With that, Jeff wrapped the package up and handed it to the young boy, warning him to be careful not to drop it because it was fragile. With a promise to be careful, Rick turned and headed back for home.

He got there just as quickly as he had left, and put the package on the table for his mother. At that moment, he heard his mother murmuring in a sad tone. The only thing he heard was 'Rod.' That one word, with his mother's voice, was all he needed to hear to show that his father had once again failed to show.

Tick, tock, tick, tock… the sound continues from the watch and time continues to go on.

The rest of spring came and went and heat of summer rolled in. What summer also brought was a young boy who was staying with Zack. Rick scowled a little at the thought of Kai. That boy was about the same age as he was, yet for some reason, he always bothered him.

But this particular summer day was the third, and that was his sister's birthday. Even at Rick's young age, he'd heard the term 'third time's the charm.' So he was positive that it would be this time for sure that Rod would show up!

This time, he chose to wait for the ferry to show. He'd left quite early in the day, leaving a note for his mom, so she wouldn't worry as much. The sun had not risen all the way yet, but it was still quite warm out.

Rick found himself impatiently pacing the beach, leaving his footprints in the sand with each step he took. He walked back and forth with his hands behind his back and his head lowered. How much longer would it take for the ferry to show?

As soon as he thought that, a ship could be seen coming on the horizon. Rick's little face just lit up as he watched the boat come closer to shore. He knew it in his heart, this time for sure! He kept his eyes on the boat until it finally reached the pier. A sailor jumped over the side, and used a rope to secure it.

The first one the young boy saw to leave the ship was a young boy with tan skin. He tried to ignore him, but he soon found that was going to be next to impossible. "Hey there, Rick! Good to see you again!"

Rick quickly felt as though Kai had spoiled his mood, turned to face the other child. "Why don't you leave me alone, Kai?"

"Hey, no need to be like that," Kai said as he placed an arm over Rick's shoulder. "All I said was hello and this is the response I get?"

Not in mood to answer Kai's question, Rick just shook his head. "Never mind, did you happen to see my dad? He should have been on this ferry too."

"Your dad?" Kai repeated, looking a little confused. Then his black eyes sparkled with realization when he remembered that Rod had left last summer. "Oh yeah, your dad is looking for that Desert Rose, right?"

"Yeah, and he promised he would come back on important days. And today is an important day."

Kai smiled, not even having to think about what Rick meant when he referred to this day as important. "Yeah, it is Pi's birthday, isn't it?"

Rick wanted retort when he heard Kai mentioning that nickname, but chose to ignore it. "Yeah, it is."

"I'll bet she wonders why I haven't seen her yet," the other young man said thoughtfully. "I know I'm a little late this year, but…"

Rick was in no mood to find out why Kai was so late arriving. He realized in his head how mean it sounded, but right now, he didn't care. "Kai, what about my dad? Did you see him on board or not?"

"Oh right." Kai removed his hand from Rick's shoulder and shook his head. "I'm sorry Rick, but I didn't see your dad on this ship."

Tick, tock, tick, tock… time continued onward. But to Rick, at that moment, it felt like something more, yet time marched on.

Summer passed and of course Kai had to leave, much to Popuri's dismay. Fall came and went slowly, and it was Rick's birthday once again. But unlike last year, which had been nice and sunny, it was in fact, raining. But it matched his current mood perfectly, so he didn't care right now.

During this whole year, he'd had high hopes for his father's return. He wanted to spend time with him like he always did. But a full year had passed from when this expectation had started. And this time he knew, the young boy of twelve knew… his father was not coming.

Standing at the top of Mother's Hill, the rain fell on his body, drenching his clothes and hair, and putting raindrops on his glasses. Though it was hard to see from far away, Rick's own tears streaked down his face.

"Y… you liar," he seethed. "You said… you said you would come back. You promised!"

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

The sound from the watch didn't seem so gentle anymore. Even though it was the same sound, it seemed to mean something different to the young man now. Each sound he heard reminded him of nothing but pain. It almost seemed like it pounded in his heart.

He could feel it in his veins too. A feeling he never expected to have. He never felt anything like it before in his life.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

Time almost seemed to slow down, like in slow motion. It wasn't really true, but that was how it felt like to him. Each second almost felt like an eternity, standing here on the earth.

Tick… tock…

Finally, the feeling in Rick's heart hit breaking point. He could no longer hold it back. He clenched both hands into fists, closed his eyes and raised his head to the sky. "I hate you, dad!" he screamed at the top of lungs.

At that moment he fell to his knees, allowing the anger to course through him. He held it in for so long, but now it wasn't something he could hold back. And he realized how much he began to hate his father.

Time seemed return to its normal pace. The tick tock sound was something Rick could no longer stand, at least, coming from this watch. He had to put it away, where he wouldn't have to worry about hearing the sound ever again.

And finally, it would be silent. But even then, time would march on, just like it always had.