A/N: Woo! I'm back! … Why do I hear crickets chirping? Whatever! I hope you all enjoy! I am leaving out a few details from the game mainly just because I can and I find them hard to work into my story. So sorry Harvest Goddess and her 101 sprites and the whole 'mission' to find you guys. Also, I own nothing. I'm not going to be saying this again. Period. So… Enjoy! Oh, one last thing: The very beginning is basically just a summary of the protagonists' earlier life. It isn't as boring as you may think though and it is very short. So… please enjoy!

"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself," is one of my favorites quotes. I was a particularly brave child if not that, then daring. I would jump from chair to chair in the dining room and then fall with a thump onto a sofa. I would always go out late on Halloween with all of my childhood friends and only laugh at all of the decorations and 'spooky' costumes. I once ran into a stable when I was barely two feet tall and pet a bull. Thank goodness he was a sweetheart and instantly loved me and that my father quickly pulled me away with a scolding. Then again… That was the past. This is now.

Now I am twenty four-years of age. I am older, and wise beyond my years. I haven't been in my home- town in ten years.

Ever since I lost my father to illness, it was my mother and I from then on. My newly widowed and heart- broken mother was to frail to look after her late- husbands farm and I was much too young. Family and friends offered support, but we were much to proud, scared, and broken to accept it. My father had so much life, kindness, and wisdom. Even after he became ill… But we had no choice but to travel away from our home to the big city for our small country home was becoming more and more hard to live in.

We adjusted slowly, but surely. My mother was always a strong woman and tried her best to raise me right. Her heartbreak never faded, but she never put any of her grief on me. I was her only daughter, and her only family. We had to help each other now, and putting stress and grief on me would not help us.

Those ten years now, were a blur. I had made friends, joined sports teams and drama clubs, and finished high school with all honors. I was motivated and wanted to do well. I was young and happy.

I never wanted to leave my mother as she had gotten older, but she had always dreamed of me going to collage and bettering myself. She was getting older fast and I wanted to ease her pain… but I had to do this for me.

I went to a moderately "good" collage and graduated with honors and with many life long friends. I was the happiest I've ever been by the time I was twenty two- years- old. I started medical school straight after which has always been a dream of mine. I wanted to stop the pain of losing loved ones. I wanted to help people and save their families grief. I didn't want what happened to my father and to my family, happen again.

I went nightly and worked part time to help pay the bills. I was busier than ever, but I was still happy, confident, and prepared.

Then she died. She told was having trouble breathing, so she drove to the hospital. I was working in a local coffee shop when I got her call on my cell phone that she was checked into the hospital. I left work immediately and took a taxi to the hospital; my breath hitched the entire way. My face was pale and I felt that I would pass out.

"Mrs. Hairpins?" I asked a nurse at the front desk of the hospital. She pointed to a door on my right and I ran as fast as my scrawny legs could carry me.

"Jolyn Harpins?" A doctor called out. I spun around quickly, and stared at the man who called my name.

"Yes," I squeaked. I was nervous and confused, but I was never completely scared until he gave me a look that must be programmed into his brain. A seldom look that showed sympathy yet still professional.

"We did everything we could Miss. Harpins… I am so sorry," He said bowing his head in respect.

"No… She can't be… NO!" I screamed. I never had felt so alone in my life. Even when my dad had passed away, my mother held my hand. When I fell down on a slick side- walk, my mother picked me up. When I broke up with a boy friend, my mother gave me a hug… Now… Now all I had was an aging doctor stare at me. Mocking me.

"She fell into cardiac arrest. We did all we could. She did not suffer at all… But she did leave you this." The doctor handed me a letter and I stuffed it into my pocket. (A/N: Don't worry, this is impossible. Cardiac arrest is, but you cannot suddenly die or go into cardiac arrest the second you have repertory issues. I just used this case. The more you know, right?)

With tears in my eyes, I stared at the man, "I wanted to be a doctor all my life. But I can never do your job. I can never tell a human being that there life will change forever and t-that they have no one… I just can't." I was openly sobbing now. The first and last time I ever would cry in public. My eyes and head burned and I felt dizzy. I started seeing double vision from my tears. I took a deep breath and suppressed at deep sob.

"You are right." I stared up at the man, his eyes seemed to glaze over and almost appear glassy. "Not everyone can do my job. Most do it to save people and make a difference… But some cannot handle the grief they give others when they fail. Once again, Miss. Harpins, I am sorry for your loss." And with a queer nod, her walked away.

"This is the worst birthday ever." I said with a bitter laugh. People stared at me with pity in their eyes and deep scowls on their faces. I felt sick from staring at them. I was a proud girl. Much to proud for my own good. I took a deep breath, picked myself up, and signed every form I needed to. No one gave me a piteous glance or concerned look for the rest of the day.

So that's my story. Sad isn't it? No matter, but I hope that explains my situation a little bit better. Now I'm on a small boat that was probably never washed very well back to my home- town. I never had forgotten about it. It was I was born and spent fourteen years in. And besides, no one can forget "Forget-Me-NOT-Valley."

I awoke to the sound of a horn blowing. I never knew I fell asleep, but I picked up my few bags and was on my way down the docks and onto the beach. The sky was a cloudy blue but the peaking sun reflected off of the sky and onto the ocean, making it sparkle. A man with squinty eyes and graying jet- black hair put a hand over his bushy eyebrows to block his eyes from the glaring sun. I finished walking down the dock and stared at the man with a small smile on my face.

"Jolyn… My God…" He said with a rare proud smile.

"Hi uncle." I said back still unsure what to do next. He engrossed me into a hug. The man stunned me; he was never one to show affection. I embraced back, but he quickly let go.

"Come on Jolyn… You have much to do. But first, why don't you get settled in?" He offered as he took one of my bags for me as we walked down a familiar dirt path.

"Okay then Taka, but please call me Joy." I corrected.

"Ah… Your old childhood name, speaking of which, do you remember much about this town?" He asked quietly. I smiled. Same old Takaurtura; only older and a lot more melancholy.

"Of course!" I exclaimed.

"Well… Things have changed… Samantha left Grant a single father of one, Jillian went away to collage, Tim went away on a trip around the world to bring Ruby back some fabulous spices, we have a new member to our community also. She goes by Nami Xin. You'll meet her later though." Taka summed up.

"Wow! I had no idea so much happened. Poor Grant! I never cared for that Samantha… And I never knew they had a child," I said bitterly. I honestly never really cared for Grant either, but I never thought his pushy wife would leave him! "Jillian left, huh? That's too bad… I miss her. I used to babysit her when we were younger. You must miss her, huh?" I said.

"I do." He said softly as his eyes showed a faraway look as he thought briefly of his daughter. I smirked. Man of very few words.

"Tim left? That's too bad. Ruby must miss him," I said remembering the tuby Asian couple vividly. "Nami? I guess I'll have to meet her for myself." I finished up smiling at him cheekily.

"Hmph. Here's your new… rather old home." He said bluntly.

I took a deep breath. It was exactly as I remembered it. The out side was made of wood and bricks and the inside still smelt of firewood. I held back a tear, as memories washed over me like waves of the sea.

"I'll leave you be. Tomorrow we start at dawn. Set your alarm clock tonight. Good- bye Joy… Take time to re acquaintance yourself with the town. They are expecting you from the letter you sent us.

"Okay uncle. Good- bye." I said sweetly. He gave me a rare smile and left, mumbling something about my mother and I looking just like her. That made my face brighten up slightly and I sighed letting old memories wash over me once again.

I idly took out the very same letter I my mothers' doctor handed to me only a few weeks ago.

My Joy,

I am not sure when you will receive this letter, but I find myself slipping away slowly day by day. I have always wanted to follow your own dreams, but mine has always been for you to take over your fathers' farm. I know that must sound absurd to you and very random, but I must tell you. I knew you loved it there and it will always be your home. I know neither of us really and truly wanted to leave it. No matter how much we liked the city, we will always love the country. I am with your father now, and we will be watching over you. So don't worry. Whatever choice you make, we will support you. Now go live your life Joy. Have no regrets and live your life.

With Love,

Hannah Harpins

Your Mom


"You were right as always mom." I murmured with a smile.

I unpacked quickly and left the cottage feeling good about my choice. To honor my parents' wishes.

"I'm going out to town Taka. See you later." I called to my father's best friend who was working in the field.

"Be back by dark. You need a good nights sleep… Oh and…" His voice became thick as he sauntered over to me. "For another reason, you must never go out late alone… The town isn't as safe from when you were young." He said with fear trickling down his voice.

"What?" I asked dumbstruck. What could go wrong in a town like this?

"A lot," he said reading my thoughts. "We have been having… strange encounters." He said softly.

"Like ghosts?" I asked excitedly.

"No." He said sternly. "Well… He calls himself a "phantom" but most of us just think he's a mad man." Taka said.

"What?" I asked dumbstruck again.

"He calls himself the phantom thief. He steals and robs the town of our possessions and runs off into the night. None know his name, but we all receive a letter before he strikes."

"Isn't that stupid?" I asked dumbly.

"You would think. But no, he just has an ego. I have heard that he puts you under a spell and runs off. No one has gotten hurt, but I don't want anyone taking any risks. So be careful." He said in a fatherly tone.

"Yes sir." I said nodding and walking off, feeling very nervous.

I was approaching the Inner Inn while humming a relaxing tune to calm myself. Was Taka right? Was their a mad man roaming the village and pillaging their belongings? Ha! That rhymed. Just then, in the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of sliver run past me and into the forest. "I' must be losing it." I said laughing at my hallucination. I sighed and continued my "quest" for the inn.

"Joy!" The older Asian woman called out to me as I walked inside then glomped me in a huge hug.

"Ruby. Let the poor girl go." A stoic voice called out.

"Oh! So sorry dear! By the way, this is Nami." She said introducing the red haired girl.

"Sup?" The girl asked taking out her hand for me to shake.

"Nami… You look so familiar." I said racking my brain.

"Real name's Nami, not Naomi… That ring a bell?" The older girl smirked.

"Oh! That's right! Your mom was a friend of my moms'. I used to always call you Naomi on accident when you came to visit. Wow, you grew up!" I said staring at her.

"Yeah… Just turned twenty- five." She smirked.

"'Hey babe, 'member me?" A blond boy walked into the room and asked.

"No…" I said joking.

"It's meeee. Rock Inner!" He said his feelings hurt.

"Wow. You dyed your hair." I said plainly. He did look better this way, his dark brown hair made him look a lot less… exciting. He looked even less like his parents now, if that was even possible. Never the less, he was still definitely not my type.

"Yup! You like it?" He asked giving me a puppy dog stare.

"Sure." I said offering him a smile. Rock was always a weird one.

We made small chit-chat and I was on my way to the bar. I said hello to Gustafa, Marlin, Griffin, and Muffy there.

"Wow Jo! You got so pretty!" Muffy spoke sang. I smiled at my old friend.

"The same to you." I giggled. "I never expected you to go into business with Griffin though…" I said remembering that the two of them hated each other. When they were younger. Griffin would pull her hair, and Muffy would always stomp on his feet for some strange reason. Not even just when they were younger, up until the both of them were about twenty and eighteen (When I left), they still cursed each other out and get on each other's nerves.

"Well… After we got married…" Griffin was cut off.

"Wait WHAT?" I asked stunned at my flirtatious and quiet friend's. Muffy was the last person I would expect to settle down, even if she always was looking for love. And Griffin… as mean as it sounds, I'd always thought he'd never get married.

"Yea… We always had a love hate relationship… but as we got older we realized that we were being stupid. Then after my gramps passed on, I had an opportunity to take over the bar. Muffy had just come back from the city. Poor thing had her heart torn and just left her job due to lack of respect." Griffin started to blush.

"Aw! Congrats you too! I wish I gave you my address. I would have loved to know earlier." I said inspecting Muffy's nice ring. It wasn't very lavish, but I can tell Griffin went out of his way to get her "the perfect" ring.

"Marlin!" A soft voice said strongly and suddenly.

"Celia!" Marlin called back after putting his drink down. Gustafa made a small whistle.

"Poor guy." Gustafa took another swig of his drink and started to strum his guitar. Gus has always been… different. He was a quiet and thoughtful kid. His parents would travel a lot and bring him along so he wasn't in town often, and he officially left town as soon as he turned fifteen, which was a year before I left. He never wanted to pursue music, like Griffin always said he would, but he never did leave his guitar down. His clothing was always a little strange, but now he just looked like a

Leprechaun trying to hid his lucky charms.

"Vesta needs you too- Oh my God!" Celia called out to me. I shook away my strange thoughts and hugged her.

"I missed you!" I said happily.

"Ditto! Wow you grew." She said staring up at me. Celia was always a great friend. Very sweet and kind to all.

We all caught up for a while and I still giggled when I heard Gustafa became a hippie. He still called it a nature activist, but I still laughed. I wasn't surprised that Celia and Marlin still worked at the farm with Vesta. The three had a talent in growing crops. I was always good too… but much to young to do an entire field on my own.

I bid my friends fare well and chatted with more villagers, they all seemed to miss me, and I started to feel right at home again. Just as if I never left. It was a great and exhilarating feeling. After chatting with Vesta, and received ten bags of spinach seeds (which are my favorite), I was on my way to the dig site.

I sighed at the calming scenery of the waterfall and the colorful fish swimming by. Why did I ever leave this place? I wandered over to the cave and called out to the two people working.

"Hullo?" I called out.

"Joy!" A blond woman with stunning purple eyes called out. She dusted off her green tank top and embraced me.

"Good to see you too Flora. I still see you have the British accent. (A/N: /shrugs/ it fit!)"

"Haha. Yes I do. I return home every now and then, so it is still very much intact. But anyways, I'm an archeologist now!" She added happily.

"Well of course! You always were so good at that." I cheered for her. "You're parents taught you well, my friend." I said remembering her parents were scientists.

"Hello Joy." A very proper voice called out.

"Hi Carter." I said to the much older man.

"Professor? You remember Joy… right?" Flora asked her boss.

"Of course. How can I forget the girl who set my lithograph on fire." He said chuckling.

I blushed, "H-Hey! I was nine!" I defended myself as Flora giggled.

"You were twelve and you know it. I knew I should have watched you closer. I mean, come on though. I believe I asked you to burn the silver ore." Flora said chuckling still.

"Ahem. No matter girls. It's all in the past now. Just don't give the girl matches." Carter said rolling his eyes slightly.

"Ah. Okay then. Well, I still want to say hi to Lumina. I'll try to say hi again soon." I said as I started for the door.

"Come whenever you can! We shall be here." Flora said waving.

"Hm." Carter mumbled a goodbye.

I sighed when I realized that the sun was starting to set. I needed to say a quick hello to Lumina before it got to late. As paranoid as it sounds, I was starting to become more and more afraid of the mysterious thief.

After idly wondering around, I reached the familiar villa that I used to play in. Excited, I sauntered my way inside and was greeted with beautiful music. Lumina's small hands fluttered gracefully across the keys. I watched amused and impressed for a little while. After she finished the piece, I began to clap.

"Bravo." I said smiling at her shock.

"Jo!" She shirked excited. I winced as the younger girl embraced me tightly.

"What is all this now?" An elderly butler asked coming into the room.

"Hello Mr. Sebastian." I said happily.

"Why lady Joy, my have you grown." The man said showing me a crocked smile.

"Are you finished with practice for the day Lu—Jolyn!" Another elderly person said happily. Ms. Romania happily walked over to me.

"Hello." I said softly.

"Why Joy, haven't you grown." She said politely.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Are you enjoying the valley again, Jo?" Lumina asked with big honey colored eyes. I smiled at my younger friend.

"Yeah… I missed this place so much. I'm very happy to be back. Takaurtura has been really awesome. We're going to start farming tomorrow." I said proudly.

"Well, good for you dear." Romania cooed.

"Have fun farming, we don't mean to kick you out… but the phantom…" Lumina started.

"Please don't scare the girl, Misses." Sebastian said sternly.

"Yeah… I should be going. Goodbye everyone!" I said walking out the door. I soon felt the cool spring night air engulf me. The air smelled of pink cat flowers and sweet orange grasses. I took a deep breath and tried to remember this moment.

Just then, a man sauntered up the steps to the villa. He had striking teal eyes and sliver hair that almost looked blond. His eyes lit up when he noticed me.

"And what do I owe this pleasure of being in the presence of this beautiful maiden?" The man asked in a silky smooth voice. I almost had to do a double take. I stifled a chuckle as I stared at the strange man. Despite his sliver hair, he couldn't be older than I was. He wore a leopard pattern shirt and violet tight pants. Try as I might, I couldn't remember him.

"A-Are you talking to me?" I asked still taken back.

"Do you see any other beautiful angels around?" He asked winking.

"Are you for real?" I asked. He had a hurt look on his face, so I quickly changed my words, "I mean, I'm just… Sorry. That was rude." I admitted.

"Haha. No need for apologies. My name is Skye, by the way. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?" He asked sticking out his hand for me to shake.

"Jolyn… but everyone calls me Joy," I answered shaking his hand. I started to let go, but he grabbed it softly kissed it lightly. Which was something that always creped me out, but strangely, I didn't mind it when he did it.

"Maybe we shall meet again… Joy." He said giving me a 100-watt smile.

"Perhaps. It's a small town." I answered deciding that maybe he was maybe a new resident Taka forgot to tell me about.

"Hey! Aren't you that famous thief that tells his victims before you strike?" Lumina asked storming out of her villa angrily.

"Ah. Don't let accusing words and anger spoil your beauty." Skye said with half lidded eyes.

"Oh. Um… I-I!" While Lumina was stuttering and blushing, Skye snatched the music sheet she was holding from her and started to run off into the night. It all happened so fast, neither of us had time to blink.

"Farewell!" He called out to us while he sprinted.

"Come on!" Lumina said determined to get her sheet music back. She ran in front of me and kept running.

"Hey!" I called trying to keep up with her. When we both made it to the bottom of the steps, we sighed and realized Skye could have been anywhere by now. He was gone without a trace.

"The phantom thief strikes again." Lumina pouted as she climbed back up the steps.

"S-Skye is the phantom thief?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Skye? He told you his name? He never tells anyone his name." Lumina said surprised.

"Go figure. He seems like a real jerk though." I said more embarrassed and ashamed that I let him converse with me in such a polite manner, and me to stupid to realize that he was the notorious phantom thief! I shivered at the thought of what he might have done if Lumina didn't come out that when she did. He could have hurt me.

"I don't know… He seems pretty harmless… And very pretty. Did you see him? He was gorgeous!" Lumina said slightly swooning.

"Whatever Lou. I'm going home. Goodnight." I said still very shaken up.

"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself." I tried convincing myself. I took a deep breath and ran into my house, jumped over a shrub, slammed the door and locked it tightly behind me and panted while running to the fridge. I shakily poured myself some water. Within a night, I still tried to hard to believe in my philosophy, but thoughts of the seemly charming and innocent man actually being a villain… I wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading up to this point. Drop a review if you like. Flames are welcome, but you have to have a good reason. If you just say, "That sucked," then be prepared for me to ask why. I tried very hard not to make it rushed, so there you go. I was a little annoyed at all of the main girls either swooning or being sarcastic to Skye. So, I made a proud girl that got the crap scared out of her. Hehe. Oh! And Samantha and Tim are from A(n)WL. Samantha and Grant were married then, but in HMDSC, they never really said Grants wifes name, so I used hers. Tim was Ruby's husband, but it was said Tim went on a trip in the game, so I put that inside. Jillian was my own idea. Taka has a daughter, but we never knew what happened to her, or her name… So I used this. If you read everything on the page… Then you are amazing.

THE A/N's WILL NEVER BE THIS LONG AGAIN! Sorry you suffered.