Enjoy life, for you only have one

Disclaimer thingy: I do not own harvest moon 64, but I have played it often! Yay me!

Ch.1: A tragic loss

Spring 1st. That was the day I got the call from my father. The call that would change my life forever. I was in the city, enjoying the sweet life when I got the call.

"Hey Dad, what's up?" I asked him.

"Jack, you have to come to Flower Bud Village right away. Your Grandfather's dieing." He told me quietly. I could tell by the way he spoke that he was crying.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." I promised him. I went over the helicopter that went to Flower Bud Village.

"Hey, listen, I need to get to Flower Bud Village immediately." I said.

"Sorry kid, but my shift just ended." The guy who flew the helicopter said.

"No, sir, you don't understand. My Grandfather's dieing there, and I need to get there as soon as possible." I pleaded. There was a long pause.

"Oh…Ok." He said as he reluctantly got into the pilots seat of the helicopter.

"Thank you so much sir." I thanked him. He just waved his hand, motioning to get in the back of the helicopter. About 2 hours later, I was on the familiar beach of Flower Bud Village. The grainy said was still the same bright, white yellow it had been 16 years ago. The brown dock was starting to turn grey with age. At the entrance to the beach, I saw my father standing there, waiting for me. I rushed over to him.

"Is he…?" I asked.

"No, not yet. He's waiting for you." He said. His eyes were filled with sorrow. The tears were still rolling down his tanned cheek. I nodded to him and we walked out of the beach and into the familiar town. All of the shops looked the same, but I wasn't concentrating on the town, I was concentrating on getting to my Grandfather before it was too late. I raced up the steps leading to the town square. I looked around to find my Grandfather lying on a bed in the middle of the square. Old Ellen, a very good friend of the family, The Midwife, gosh, I can never remember her name, and the head carpenter, a great and cheery guy, were all standing around him. I ran to my Grandfather's side.

"Jack…Is that you?" Grandpa's words were fragile, yet strong.

"Yeah Grandpa, it's me." I said. The tears were rolling down my cheek fast.

"Jack, promise me one thing."

"Yes Grandpa?"

"Enjoy life. Enjoy every second of every minute. Enjoy the good and make the most out of the bad things in life. Enjoy it, for you only get one." His words of wisdom filled my heart with sadness. He breathed his final breath. We all stood there a while longer, crying our hearts out for a great man. Then the head carpenter and Dad carried his body to the graveyard. The Midwife and I helped Ellen down the stairs and to the graveyard. The hole was already dug when we got there.

"I'll help lower him." I managed to say. I took my position and lowered my Grandfather into the ground. Tears were falling from my eyes and heart uncontrollably at this point. Then we filled in his grave.

"Bye Grandpa….I'll miss you." I whispered, rubbing my tears away. While the others went home, Dad and I went to the bar and asked if we could spend the night.

"Sure! Stay as long as you need to!" The bartender said cheerily. We found a spot on the ground to sleep. The last thing I remember about that day was the sound of the rain crying for Grandpa. That night, I had a dream.

"Jack…Where are you?" My Grandfathers voice cried.

"I'm here Grandpa!" I called to him.

"Jack, take over my farm. The farm was once great. Now you need to make it great again."

"I'll take over the farm Grandpa! Anything for you!" I told him. Then I woke up. I woke up my father and told him we needed to go. He nodded his head and we left. I wasn't paying attention to the town. I mean, how could I? My Grandfather had just died, so I wasn't really paying attention to anything at the moment. The tears were coming back, so I rubbed my eyes and ran towards Grandpa's old farm. The gate was old, but still the same. I opened the gate and we went inside. All over the field were stumps, boulders and weeds. The chicken coop and barn were empty as well as the silo. The little old house hadn't changed a bit. Dad and I walked into the old house.

"Abby!" I cried as I ran over to Grandpa's old dog. I remembered Abby from when she was a pup. Megan, the other dog, had 6 puppies, but we only kept Abby. Megan died only a month after Abby was born. I missed that dog so much. While I was gone, I had missed Abby as well.

"Do you think we should sell it, or bulldoze it down?" Dad asked me once we were off the farm.

"Neither. I'm going to take over the farm." I told him. Dad looked quite surprised.

"I thought you wanted to stay in the city for the rest of your life?"

"Tell you what. You came back in…3 years on… say the first of summer. If I've turned the farm around, I can stay. If I haven't I'll go back to the city with you. Ok?"

"Ok." Night had already come, so I said good-bye and went inside the house. I took Abby outside and said good-night to her. I went back inside and lied on the bed. I laid there for a long time and went to sleep looking forward to the next day.