A New Day

A Harvest Moon fanfic by Rena Tsuki

…The sun rose slowly, shedding a golden glow on all it touches…

A boy, 19 or so, sat on the highest part of the cliff, knees drawn to his chest, eyes empty with emotion. He remembers just a few hours ago…

"Karen, you're drunk, come on, gimme that glass of beer, you've had too many already" Jack said as he attempted to snatch the glass away from his drunk girlfriend.
It's been almost a year since he moved here and he couldn't believe how lucky he was, not only did he get the rundown farm up and going, he managed to befriend people in town, most of all, his girlfriend, Karen, the daughter of the vineyard.

She was… How could he describe it? Simply wonderful from every angle. He loved her, he knew it was silly, that he's just 19 and doesn't know what he's talking about but he knew, he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He loved her smile, her blush, the way she dances under the moonlight, the way she always got angry too quickly, the way her hair seems to shine under the sun. Yep, he was in love with the fiery vineyard daughter.

Clearing his thoughts to the matter at hand, and that was to get his girlfriend home safely and sometime before the morning. It was New Year's eve and he had come to the bar to spend it with Karen, and as usual Karen drank too much but her stubborn nature would never let her admit it.

"Come on, ya gotta save some stomach for tomorrow morning!" he tried again, hoping
that she'd buy it. "Ya Ya, Ya right let's go" if Jack hadn't done this so many times he honestly wouldn't know what she was saying, but he was just thankful she stopped drinking.


"Okay, see you guys later!" he grabbed Karen's hand and waved to everyone else in the bar. They had all witnessed this with the usual amusement, even though they had seen this occur on a regular bases, but perhaps it was just something about watching those two that made them feel happy.

Jack and Karen walked slowly in silence, just enjoying each other's company. As they got closer to the Vineyard, they both took smaller, slower steps, the moonlight shone around Karen, and Jack wondered again at how much of a goddess she looked. But everything has its end, they finally got to the entrance of the Vineyard and sobering all of a sudden, Karen turned to face Jack and pecked him on a cheek before giving him one of her smiles and saying "I'll see you later Jack" and walked into the house.

Dazed from the brief kiss, Jack just stood there with a goofy grin replaying her smile over and over in his head. But he was snapped out of his daydream by a sudden shout that came from inside the house.

"NOOOOOOO!" it was Karen.
Worried, Jack rushed inside and found Karen's parents, Kai and a very angry Karen.

"Miss Karen, I don't understand, haven't you always said you missed the city?" asked a
confused Kai.

"Karen," Her mother spoke, eyes shining with hope, "Now you can chase your dreams
of becoming a dancer and you father has finally found a job he liked, as an actor." She paused, eyes turning moist with tears, "And mama has always wanted to go back to the city, where all our friends are."

"WE. ARE. GOING." Karen's father said with unusual calm, emphasizing every word.

"But I…" Karen started, looking at Jack. True, it was her dream to become a dancer and the only way she could do that was to move back to the city, but what about Jack? She was pretty sure he liked her, and she like him too, maybe even loved him, why is it that out of Jack and being a dancer she could only pick one? How could she possibly choose between her lifelong dream and the love of her life?

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, even without turning around she could tell it was Jack. He was the only one who could make her feel like this. Yes, I'll stay, she thought, I'll stay.

"Go? Jack murmured softly.
How could he let her go? He asked himself, she was everything he wanted there was just no other girl for him.

"Why?" a very surprised Karen slowly turned to look at him, with just a bit of sadness. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "Because I love you." Yes, that was the reason, he loved her, he wanted her to have the freedom she always longed for so much, how could he keep her here? He so much wanted her to stay but what could he give her? He was a farmer and she wanted to be a dancer, he couldn't give her a stage, or an audience for her to perform, he couldn't make her famous. No, he would let her go because he was the only thing holding her back.

"I love you." Jack repeated, much firmer this time.
"Come on," he said, grabbing her luggage,
"I'll walk you to the ferry." They walked in silence, behind the rest of Karen's family, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Come on Karen, the ferry's leaving soon."
She looked at Jack, and hugged him. Neither one saying a word, he watched as she walked onto that ferry, out of his life. She walked without turning back, onto the ferry, out of his life.

Thinking that Karen would not see him, Jack finally slumped his shoulders; his heart sagging as he walks dejectedly away from the beach.

Karen saw the scene with a broken heart, and what she saw shattered the broken pieces into tiny minuscule fragments…
"WAIT!" She called out to captain, "I wanna get off!"
"I'm afraid that's not possible miss…WAIT! You can't do that!!!!" but it was too late. She already did.

Jack had gone straight to the cliff, where he and Karen spent so many memorable moments together. He did it. The single most stupid thing in his life and he did it. He let go of his happiness so she would find her own. Now all that was left of him was just an empty body without a heart.

"Slackin' off again Jack?" A familiar voice asked teasingly.

No, I must be dreaming he thought, but still he slowly turned around..

There she was! Soaked from top to toe, locks of wet hair clinging to that beautiful face.
Well, aren't I gonna get a welcome back?" she said, smiling teasingly, "Y'know how hard it was to swim that far?"

Jack said nothing, just hugged her fiercely, "Don't you dare try to get rid of me again Jack," Karen said, mockingly angry, "You know it's not gonna work."

He laughed, face still buried in her hair, she smelt of the ocean, and he could feel something warm and moist escaping his eyes but disregarded it.

The most important thing was that she was back.

The End

So didja guys like it? I just got this sudden inspiration listening to a song and I just HAD
to write it down. Please review minna-san, I'd really like to hear what you thought of this.
Agrigato (lots and lots of it) ^_^ seeya all later!