Disclaimer: I don't own the game Harvest Moon or the story line to the previously mentioned ^_~

Authors Note: The first few chapters pretty much follow the story line of the prelude and the first

day of the game. After that it kinda veers off into my own thing...don't worry ^^;; My guy's name is Jake...I dunno why, he just kinda looks like a Jake to me, lol ..(Also, sorry if the story is all "choppy"...it wasn't that way when I typed it)

Jake stood in the town square, listening to the villagers reminisce about his grandfather. He had

received the call just days before, saying that he was extremely ill. Jake had gotten there just in

time to hear his dear old grandpa's last murmurs before he fell into eternal sleep.

He had spent meany a summer at his grandpa's farm just outside of Flower Bud Village, being his

grandpa's "special helper". He would feed the animals in the morning, water and harvest the

vegetables in the afternoon, and in the evenings he and his grandpa would sit on the riverbank

and fish, just the two of them. But Jake's visits had become less and less as he got older, finally

coming to a stop when he was 12 and was too busy with work and friends to make the long trip

to the country. Now, eight years later, he wished his visits wouldn't have ended.

All of the villagers had come to the Sending Off ceremony, and as Jake stood off to the side of

them all, he listened to them talk of how fond they were of "the old farmer". Slowly he made his

way through them and over to the mayor.

The mayor shook his hand. "It's nice to see you again, Jake!...I'm sorry about your grandpa. He

was a good man." Jake nodded. "You can go have a look around the farm if you wish, and get

any of his possessions that you would like to keep." the mayor concluded, patting Jake on the

back.

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The farm was pretty run down. As he looked at what had used to be a bountiful field of vegetable

plants and flowers, Jake could hardly believe all of the tall weeds, boulders, and dead tree stumps

that now dominated it.

His father walked up behind him. "I'm sorry I'm late...your grandpa's

already...?" Jake nodded. "Oh..." His father looked down in disappointment. "Did he say anything

before he went?"

Jake nodded once more and looked up at the sky in thought. "I wanna run the farm." he said

finally.

"Come on, Jake...do you have any idea what kind of commitment that is?" his father asked. "This

place needs serious work...it could take years!"

"Then I'll work for years..." Jake said bluntly. "I want to get this farm running like it used to. For

grandpa's sake."

His father sighed. "Okay, I'll go talk to the villagers and see what I can do. I'll be back in a

while."

Jake watched his father leave, then looked ver at the stick built doghouse that was in front of the

cabin. "A doghouse?" he asked to himself. "Grandpa had a dog?" He whistled and looked around

a bit, only to see an old tan and white dog trot up to him. He smiled. "Hey doggy...what's your

name? ..Hm, no tags, huh? How about we call you Sammy then?" The dog wagged his tail in

approval. "Alright then Sammy! ...Let's check out the farm a bit while we wait for dad to get

back."

His father returned a couple hours later. "It's all set! Although I can't say they have much faith in

this farm getting restored."

Jake looked up from repainting the doghouse. "I can do it. Give me three years." He gave a nod and pet Sammy.

"You're sure you want to do this?" his father asked wearily.

He stood up. "I"m positive. Besides, I kinda like this place better than the city."

"Well...do what you think is right." His father hugged him. "Good luck."

He smiled and hugged back. "Thanks...I'll do my best, don't worry."