Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or settings from Harvest Moon: Animal Parade/Tree of Tranquility. Blah, blah, blah; sue me.

My entry for the Pumpkin Equinox prompt. First prompt I've ever done! Hypers! But it's about high time I gave it a shot. SHOT. Get it? This is a three-shot. Disregard. Thanks for reading, everybody!

This story's titled after one of my favorite songs by Galileo Galilei. I don't mention them much because their music is very personal to me, but… I'm putting myself out there this time and working with something very close to home.

Note: Even though I'm positive their heritage was primarily influenced by the Chinese culture, I couldn't pass up the chance to say 'baasan.' Forgive the weeb within me.

Based on real events. Because I didn't know what to do with how I felt after I got home.

Circle Game

When Jin stepped out of the shower, he wasn't expecting a big day ahead of him.

He wasn't used to beginning the morning this way. He usually bathed at night. It was a good way to unwind when his mind and body were pent up after working all day at the clinic. But as he had missed sleeping, too, his other nightly habitual had also gone by the wayside.

Jin's bare feet were instantly chilled against the cold tile floor as he stepped up to the counter. He had lost track of time under the hot water, and the mirror was fogged over in steam. He passed a hand over the condensation, swiping it away in streaks at eye level.

rap, rap, rap

The mirror betrayed his all-nighter; the fluorescent lights of the bathroom making the bags under his eyes glaringly obvious. He didn't even have a good excuse for them. He hadn't been working into the wee hours of the morning. Just… thinking. Tinkering. Cleaning. Restless. Insomnia? Well, he was the doctor, so he should know.

It was a gloomy time of year. Not exactly warm and not exactly cold, but it was cool enough that he was still suppressing shivers after leaving the comfortable sanctity of the hot shower. The weather in town was sort of stuck in between. In a transition phase. He felt like he could relate to that feeling of being pulled back and forth in limbo.

Jin stood there in the middle of the bathroom, taking in his haggard appearance. His reflection stared back at him with a pensive frown and a small stitch between the brows, standing a little too tall in front of the comparably undersized counter clad in his bath towel. His usually immaculate ponytail was left hanging in long, wet tendrils over his shoulders.

Whatever this was, it was a foul mood. His half-lidded doppel seemed to appraise him through the glass, dark circles beneath shrewd irises. He felt like he was in a rut, but he couldn't find a way to get out of it. There was this lingering drag weighing on his shoulders.

"Stress… perhaps…" he mused aloud to the hollow, echoing emptiness. He slowly rubbed his eyes, watching the light distort behind his lids as he pressed down too hard. Shaking his head, Jin took up the toothbrush and paste, wondering what lay ahead for the day.

rap, rap, rap-rap

He ought to do something… but he was conflicted. Time and effort for what? What purpose would planning anything serve? The long run was a dead end. It always was these days. Nothing would change that.

Mouth frothing with toothpaste, Jin spat in the sink and ran the water out of the faucet. He replaced the toothbrush in the jar and watched the white foam swirl in the tiny whirlpools curling down the drain.

Was it really… all a waste?

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

It was the first time Jin heard the knocking, the third attempt more violent and impatient than the previous efforts to gain his attention. Jin quickly turned off the tap and swiveled to the door. "…Sorry?"

"Jin!" His grandmother's muffled voice came through the grain. She sounded as fed up as her knocking. "Good heavens, what are you doing in there? I want to speak with you."

Jin looked at the mirror as if seeking confirmation from his own eye contact. He was still in a towel. He spoke unsurely to the door. "…Now?"

"Yes, now!" She demanded.

Knowing not to keep her waiting, Jin scrambled for his discarded pajamas left on the floor. Tossing the towel, he pulled up the black sweatpants and tied them tight. He wriggled into his oversized long-sleeved shirt and freed his hair with a twist over his shoulder, grabbing the door knob and turning it at the same time.

Irene was looking down her nose at him when he opened the door. Even though her grandson had grown much taller than her, she always had a knack for making him feel like he was a head shorter. Her hair was perfectly coiffed into a bun at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing her nicest tan slacks. Jin's eyes gravitated to the purse on her shoulder.

"Jin," Irene announced his name with authority, making it clear she was 'telling' and not 'asking.' But her eyes swam with a sense of uncertainty. "We're going out today."

Jin blinked at her. Realizing he had been slouching against the door frame, he straightened his posture to his full height. He couldn't disguise his quizzical gaze, but he flubbed a little late and tried, rubbing his eyes again and attempting to appear casual about her unusual request. "But what about the clinic?"

Irene sniffed matter-of-factly, never looking her grandson in the eye as she fiddled with her shoulder strap. She spoke quickly, defensively. "We're closed. No one's in here anyways, and I need to stretch my legs. Take me around town… please."

The tacked on plea was a surprise to him. From where it originated – humbleness, sincerity, sadness – he couldn't tell. Jin paused a moment in thought on the matter before he gave her a quiet smile. "Of course. When would you like to go?"

"When can you be ready?" Irene countered, looking a bit more like herself as she critically eyed his unruly hair.

Jin passed his scraggly bangs over his forehead. "I won't keep you waiting."

Irene still had an air of urgency, but she was sated. With a curt nod, she made her way down the hall towards the front lobby to wait for him by the door. Jin watched until she disappeared around the corner, and he closed the door once again.

Turning back towards the mirror, Jin held a hand to his chin in thought. He didn't see this one coming. But then again… He quirked his eyebrow at his reflection. Maybe this is just what they needed?

As promised, it wasn't long before Jin made himself presentable and joined his grandmother in the main lobby. Their workplace also their home, there was no real escape from the stress of the day to day. But they didn't have much choice as they constantly had to be available at a moment's notice, being the only practitioners of medicine in their little burb.

Irene had been sitting, waiting patiently for him to join her. She slowly rose from her chair in the waiting area and gave her bun a reassuring pat at the back of her head. Her movements were awkward, and she was suspiciously quiet. Jin watched as she took up her shawl from the coat hanger, wondering what she had in mind this time.

Though he wasn't quite ready to go out himself, Jin pocketed his keys and moved to help his grandmother with her shawl. She accepted his assistance as he spread the old knit around her bony shoulders, and she expertly tied it with ease from years of habit.

"Ready?" Jin prompted, his hand hovering by the light switch. He had turned the open sign about already, and that had felt odd, like he was breaking the rules. But he supposed they were.

"You're not. You need to cover up more," Irene nagged, looking his loose attire up and down. It was slick but much too bare for her tastes. "It's still cold, you know. The wind will get you."

He found it funny how she phrased that. Like the air was just lurking, waiting to give him a cold if he left his head uncovered. Jin smiled and took up the scarf she handed him, ushering her out of the door.

Jin was always considered the go-to guy for precautions and the local health guru, but he knew that Irene was really the primary consultant in the bundling and nagging department. After all, she practically taught him everything he knew. Jin would have chided her ninny badgering, but he didn't have the heart to argue. So the olive green scarf was wrapped about his throat, the tassels on the end blowing every which way as they walked.

Jin cinched the string and wound it once, twice, three times around his hair and made a neat knot. His ponytail in order, he tugged on the ends of his cream colored pullover to more suitably rest along his waistline as he followed his grandmother. In truth, it felt like he was chasing her more than anything with her quick pace and the way he lagged behind. Twice already she had called for him to keep up from over her shoulder, and they had only just locked up and left Choral Clinic.

The sky was overcast, but the world was still bright and smelling fresh from the breezy sea. The wind was strong, but it came in gusts and wasn't a constant struggle to walk against. The air was alive and clean and crisp, brown leaves tumbling around in the corners and crannies between the clustered shops and businesses of town.

"Mm… the weather's on the brink," she said, as she had been thinking along the same lines. She was speaking more to herself, mumbling as her eyes drifted to the briny sea. "It's close. This time of year… Any day now, and it'll all change over."

"Mmhm," Jin idly hummed in agreement, his hand jingling the keys in his pocket absent-mindedly, not really hearing the annoying clink.

Irene's footsteps slowed to a stop, and she watched as Jin approached her with both hands comfortably in his pockets. He realized she had halted and looked up at her like she had asked him a question. She held out her arm. "Take my hand, Jin."

The request was one only a grandson would answer without embarrassment, and it immediately took Jin back to when he was a boy. Her hair was a deep chestnut when the habit started. She'd hold out her hand, just as she was doing now, and Jin would reach up to take it with his own chubby fingers. Crossing the street. Walking to church. Leaving school. They were fond memories. Memories of the woman who had raised him.

Jin's smile was a little distant as he was wrapped in the nostalgia, taking her wrinkled hand in his own strong one and giving it a reassuring squeeze. He noted it was cold as they fell into step. "Where would you like to go today?"

"Just around," Irene answered vaguely. She used his proximity to her advantage to link their arms, using him for support as they walked. Though she didn't always look it, Irene's back troubled her, and it was often painful for her to walk any kind of distance further than across the room. She'd never admit it though. Her pride was too great.

He looked down at her at his side, and something in him stirred. Something melancholic. But also… a little hopeful. He didn't picture his day looking like this, no, but he was surer now more than ever that this was the best way to spend this leisurely Friday.

Then around we will go, Jin silently promised. He looked away and held his head high, just like his grandmother taught him, before she could notice the shimmer in his eyes.