Another Perfect Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with the games and merchandise from Marvelous/Natsume. Otherwise this story is my original work and any similarities between it and any real people or events are coincidental. Please note that this story is based off of the Harvest Moon: Back to Nature and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town video game titles.

AN: This chapter is dedicated to Khajiit. Thank you for the encouragement; I couldn't ask for a better friend.

Prologue: No One

"Played follow the leader
Keeping my steps in time
Counting on the wonder ahead
I leave the pain behind."
-Guster, "Perfect"

What is this? Bright, too bright… Am I dead?

Jack tried to sit up and immediately felt dizzy.His head swirled and incoherent images flew past his eyes. The brightness was soon transformed into a cornucopia of colors, spinning through Jack's thoughts as well as his vision.

It was a huge relief when his consciousness finally decided to be kind to him and go on vacation.

"He's fine, though. He's going to live," said the woman, toying with the silver rosary around her neck. She had that haunted look of hastily-gained age and mind-tearing stress which doctors commonly associated with serious cases like these.

"Yes, he'll live. He's stabilized anyways, but these last two days were long ones. I must warn you that he will not be the person he once was." Dr. Shepherd rarely had to deal with suicide attempts, but the few he done in the past had taught him more than he ever wanted to know about the subject.

The woman reacted well to his stern attitude. "I know. But you're sure it was a suicide attempt…?"

He shook his head absently. "We can't be sure, but it would seem like it. His drug screen indicated opiates from cocaine usage in his stomach, though not as much as it could've been." Shepherd sighed. "Think of it as a cry for help. Are you and he particularly close?"

She looked down for a second. "Closer than he is with his parents. Before they separated, I would let him stay with me in my apartment when their household was getting a bit… tense." She stopped toying with the rosary. "Family life has been a bit insensitive to him. I flew in from London as soon as I heard, though."

He nodded in agreement. The parents had been contacted immediately by the police, but he had yet to see any other visitors for the boy besides his aunt. At least she seemed to care enough to end her vacation prematurely.

There was a moment of silence before the boy's aunt spoke again, a bit tentatively. "Is it okay if I see him yet?"

"Yes, you're his family. He's been waking up sporadically, so there is a possibility that you might be able to speak to him for a few moments. However," he continued, gesturing. "I suggest you not bring that into the matter at the moment." The doctor nodded towards the silver rosary.

"What..? Oh!" She nodded in comprehension. "I see what you're saying. Don't worry, I'm not going to beat him over the head with the Bible; he's old enough to look out for his own soul." She gave the rosary a light twirl. "Besides, I don't have the right to preach to anybody. I wear this more for myself than anything."

"Alright," replied the doctor, smiling but not really understanding. "Let me also remind you not to be alarmed by the NG tube inserted into his nose. Also, the nurse is monitoring his blood pressure and I would ask that you not be alarmed if his condition suddenly de-stabilizes."

"What do you mean de-"

"Just a general warning," said the doctor, cutting the woman off. "He has a family history of high blood pressure."

Faces floated across Jack's mind, his friends who had been with him the entire time. The entire time. They wouldn't let anything happen to him. His friends…

I just need more money. Just a little bit more, and they'll keep watching out for me. All of them…

More faces, dark ones. Each one covered in shadow, like someone was closing the shutters on the door into Jack's own mind. Each one grew darker until he couldn't see anything left, but then…

Then the voices. Too many at once for him to make out. And the world! It shook and trembled! He gasped-

"Jack! Christ, what's happening to him?" he heard someone shout.

Aunt… Melanie?

The darkness took him again.

One month later

Jack sat in the back seat of Aunt Mel's burgundy Oldsmobile, lost in thought. Melanie could see him in her rearview mirror and was slightly alarmed at his unchanging expression.

He had been released from the Henry Ford Hospital several weeks ago. Melanie had used the opportunity to get him away from Detroit, deciding in a spur-of-the-moment decision to bring him back to her home in Saginaw.

That instant he had a stroke had troubled her dreams for weeks afterwards. Apparently, the cocaine had elevated his blood pressure level, which was already unusually high (hopefully from his dad's side of the gene pool and not her sister's, she would think to herself). He was stabilized about an hour afterwards, but Doctor Shepherd had insisted he stay hospitalized for another week.

In Saginaw, they had talked about Jack's future. A little bit, anyways. Jack had toyed with the idea of community college, but that was quickly flung out the window one day when he was going through some of his old belongings.

Melanie had forgotten about the farm. The old man. Most of all, the letters. Those were probably the only constant thing about Jack's life so far.

Jack wanted to move Mineral Town. Although her maternal instincts knew she would miss him, Melanie also knew that he was old enough to create his own future. Denying him his ability to live his life was quite beyond her inherent emotional strength.

So here she was, driving him to the West Coast (California, actually, not too far from Wine Country) where a ferry awaited to take him to his new home. It had been a hard four days of driving, but she was more than willing to do it.

"Jack, you've been really quiet," she said in a desperate bid to break the silence. "Not having second thoughts, are you?"

He looked startled for a second. "What- No, no, I'm doing this. Don't worry." He smiled. "I've just been thinking how lucky I am."

This time it was Mel's turn to be startled. "What do you mean?"

"Well…," he replied dreamily, which was a very unusual tone for him. "I've got a life to bury behind me, but I've just been handed a new life. A chance to start over again." He let his head fall back against the seat. "I've known a whole lotta people who didn't get second chances."

Melanie was so surprised by the direction of this conversation that she almost swerved into the other lane (which would've ended this story a lot sooner as it would've put the Oldsmobile right in front of an oncoming Jeep). She had avoided asking him about his possible "suicide" attempt and had saved him from the mental/therapy ward at the hospital; this was the closest they had come yet to discussing it.

She waited for him to continue.

Grassy, rolling hills passed them by through the window, overlooked by a deepening red sky that reflected off of the green-gold grass. Jack noted this beauty and seemed to drink it in.

"Aunt Melanie…" He began. He hesitated, then thought better of stopping and continued. "I'm sorry I tried to kill myself."

It wasn't the revelation that affected Melanie so much as the way he said it: in his normal voice. A bit sadder and less vibrant, maybe, but still so casual… and blunt.

He didn't wait for her to speak. "Thanks for everything, Aunt Mel. For raising me, for… for…" He seemed to get choked up over the last few words, but Melanie thought she caught them. These words, however, are much too precious to reveal here.

Melanie felt tears come to her eyes. "It was worth it."

Jack never did say why he tried to kill himself, but he seemed to recover from his mushy state by the next morning when they reached the "ferry's" dock.

"That would be a tug boat," Jack said in disbelief. "And it looks like it just finished chasing Moby Dick."

Melanie had to admit the old "ferry" had seen better days… well, decades, really. Its hull was patched in several spots with sheets of metal and the bow was lined with old Goodyear tires. But she was too happy to see Jack back to his "cheery" old self to pay unnecessary attention to his comments; they'd already shared their emotional moment in the car.

"It's the only ride over to Mineral Beach. Oh, and the captain's name is Greg, in case you have to talk to him or something." She saw the captain leap onto the lonely wooden dock before them.

He was a dark-skinned man with thick, but slightly curly, grey hair. His clothing reminded Jack of a an old western flick: he was wearing boots, blue trousers, green vest over a light blue cotton shirt, and a straw hat tied around his neck to complete the look.

"This is the one I'm taking?" His voice seemed a little rusty, like it wasn't used too often. At least it didn't have a Southern "twang" like Jack had imagined it might.

Melanie spoke before Jack could send off one of his smart-ass remarks. "Yes, this is the one. About your payment-"

"Give 'em pop cans," Jack muttered with a grin. Melanie kicked him.

"About your payment, would you mind a personal check of, oh-"

"Are you trying to insult me, ma'am?" Greg honestly looked a little hurt. Melanie, confused, simply shut up so he could speak. It took him a few seconds.

"Ma'am, in my mind this is a favor to an old friend. Now I usually don't do this sort of stuff at all; I bring goods and supplies and anything else that the good folks of Mineral Town mail order, not people. That ferry closed years ago when the resort near Forget-Me-Not-Valley went down the hole." His mouth suddenly turned down from an angry straight line to a sad frown. "Still, Ben made me promise to bring the kid Jack back to the farm when the time came. I mean to keep that promise."

"And where does your pay-"

"For free, ma'am. Ben was my friend and I owe him more than I can say." Greg shook his head and began walking back down the dock to his tug boat. He looked so old.

Before hopping back over the tug boat's railing, he turned back towards Jack and Melanie. "All aboard, son."

Melanie quickly grabbed Jack's wrist as he started towards the boat and stood on her toes to kiss him on the forehead. "I'll write you," she said.

Jack nodded and followed the old man aboard.

There's no looking back now. I told Aunt Mel what she needed to hear, and now she's free from me.

I know I'm going where I need to go, but why do I feel so lonely…? Just like I did before. Even surrounded by all those people, friends…But no one came. Not one of them came to my hospital room, not one of them bothered calling me in Saginaw. No one…Even after I gave them everything.

Why do I feel so alone?

…Because no one is here, that's why.