Herbal Love
Author's Note: So sorry for the long wait for this sequel to "Medicinal Love". If you're new and you haven't read "Medicinal Love", I highly advise you to go read that one first. Like seriously. Anyway, so my excuse? Life gets in the way, but since I'm done with finals, I should be working on more with this. I don't have everything plan out, so I can't say when the next update will be. Hopefully before the end of this year. Enjoy! (By the way, this is unedited.)
Chapter 01
Date: unknown, Year 07
It has been about five years since Claire had arrived to Mineral Town. And…it has also been five years since Doctor had changed. Elli doesn't know the exact details really. Every time she questioned the doctor what the matter was or what was bothering him, he would always replied:
"There's nothing wrong with me."
Yet, Elli could see that he was lying. There was something that must have upset him, and that something must have been related with Claire's sudden departure. Every now and then, she would catch him staring deeply at a white piece of paper when he thought she wasn't paying attention to him. These acts happened less and less as each year goes by, but she had caught him on multiple occasions reading that same paper during Winter 04.
'Winter 04….' Elli repeated that date in her mind. That was the date when everyone had found out that Claire had left Mineral Town. If she could recall, there were mixed reactions about Claire's departure. Manna was devastated for poor Rick who had suddenly lost a potential wife (although Rick had clarified numerous times that he and Claire were just good friends). Most of the people in town were indifferent, mainly because they did not get the chance to personally know Claire and she was only here for such a short time. Karen was probably one of very few, if not the only one, who was pleased to see Claire gone. Elli suspected it was because Claire's departure meant less competition for Rick's heart. But that was back than; now Karen realize how important Claire was to Rick in a different way that she was important to Rick. The ones who were truly sad that Claire had left so suddenly were probably Rick, Jack, herself and…Elli frowned, her eyebrows arched deep as she thought hard about this. 'Perhaps Doctor as well?' Now that Elli had think about it, the only time that Doctor had shown any emotion was the day Rick had suddenly burst into the clinic, and then the doctor coming back. Even if he hadn't said or reacted to anything, she knew that deep inside, the doctor was as much affected as Rick, if not even more so.
"Elli, could you hand me Jeff's results?" The doctor's voice broke her train of thought.
Her hands quickly felt the table, searching for the papers. "Oh yes, here they are." She said after finding them.
Trent's eyes skimmed over the information. He clicked his tongue lightly. "Everything seems normal enough. Good." He handed the papers back to Elli. "Put these to where they belong. If anyone else calls, direct them to my office."
"Yes, sir." Elli answered, still not used to the curt tone that the doctor sprouted, even though it has been like that for nearly five years now. Her eyes landed on to a new photo on the wall. It was a photo of Trent and Dr. Hardy—the doctor from Flower Bud Village across the mountains in Mineral Town. If there were one good thing that resulted from Claire's sudden departure, it was the improvement of the doctor's abilities as a medical professional. Every day on his day-off, Trent would travel over to the neighboring village in hopes of learning more about his profession. It wasn't until he had published a few articles and practiced in a couple of nearby islands that he became recognized in the field as the islands' leading doctor.
A calm knock alerted both of them. "Package for Doctor Trent!" Harris's voice was heard through the wooden door.
Elli glanced at Trent. "I'll get that Doctor." Brushing her skirt for invisible dirt, she quickly walked to the entrance. Quiet mumbling filled through the emptiness of his office, but it was something that Trent was already used to by now.
"Here's your package Doctor. There's also an envelope for you as well." Elli handed him a medium sized brown package. On top of it was a regular white envelope.
Dark eyes looked at the sender's address. "So this is from Doctor Harris?" His eyes trailed a bit lower. "Huh, he is over at the Sunny Island then right now."
Elli nodded. "Yes, but he should be back to Flower Bud Village by the end of this season."
"Yes, yes." His hand tightens its hold on the package. "Soon it'll be my turn."
----------------
The streets were bustling with people. People of all kind of shapes, nationalities and personalities chatted with each other as they told stories of their daily lives. Except for the people who first settled on the island, no one would have imagined that this island—which is now full of happiness and life—was once a barren wasteland (barely enough to survive and start a settlement). It was thanks to the farmer, Chelsea, who brought this island back to life by supporting it with the revenues from farming and contributions to the improvement of the island's infrastructure.
A delightful bell ring chimed through the small yet pleasant building as a customer entered a homely cafe. An elderly woman greeted her regular customer from behind her front desk. "Good morning! Here for your usual order?"
"Yes, if you please." Blue eyes skimmed the room, looking for her regular spot. A plate of mashed potatoes and herb soup was placed on the table. "Thanks for the quick service."
"Not a problem dearie," Madelynn, the owner of the cafe, smiled at her. "It's always good to see hardworking people such as yourself helping the community."
"Please Madelynn," the woman began to say. "From what I've heard, it's Chelsea who should be given this praise. She's done so much more for this island. I only provide medicine." The seated woman took a sip of her water. "Besides, I've only been here since last fall. There was someone else before me."
Madelynn nodded. The small diner was normally quiet at this time. There weren't many customers since this island still has a long way to go before becoming a heavily populated island. "Still, it's nice to be receiving my medication from here rather than waiting for the ferry to arrive from the mainland."
The woman beamed. "That's good to know," she replied before quickly shoved scrambled bits and pieces of food into her mouth. "Is it normal for Sunny Island to have different doctors each season?"
Pausing, Madelynn reflected back. "Well, ever since when I first settled here, doctors from nearby islands would come by during a season to check up on the residents. I guess when that sweet girl Chelsea started farming here, this island has been blooming ever since. So I guess the doctors come here as a precaution. But I'm sure that someday, we'll have our very own local doctor." Madelynn gave a bright smile to the woman seated across from her.
The woman hummed in agreement with the elderly woman's statement. A small ring echoed the café. Gasping at the arrival of a customer, Madelynn smiled gently at her regular customer, apologizing for the shortness of their conversation before hurriedly greeting the new customer. Done with her meal, Madelynn's regular customer stood up and picked up a white lab coat that was on the table. After putting it and flipping her blonde hair out of the collar, a small photo ID tag could be seen hanging on the left pocket. It read:
Name: Claire Howe
Occupation: Pharmacist
------------------------------------------
It had only been a couple of seasons since she first arrived here, at what many others now deem the "Island of Happiness." The pharmaceutical firm that she was working for decided to transfer her over to one of the ever-growing islands. To be completely honest though, Claire did not mind the sudden transition from urban to tropical. There were other reasons as to why, but at the current moment, she did not feel the need to bring those reasons up again. As the approaching single story white building came onto view, she was suddenly reminded about the rising doctor who was slowly becoming world renowned for his knowledge of herbs and medical skills. No one knew who he was or where he came from.
A part of her suspected that it could be Trent, but she quickly brushed that thought away. After all, what were the chances of this new and rising doctor being the same one from Mineral Town? There were a lot of islands and many doctors. It could be any one of them.
Fingers slowly shuffled the papers in front of her. Eyes lost in thought as the past surfaced her mind. A small puff of breath escaped her lips. 'How long has it been since I heard that name?' She thought to herself as she regulatory filed the papers in order. The grandfather clock nearby chimed. Her eyes widen as she glanced at the hours. "Shit, I'm going to be late!"
---------------------------------------
Date: Spring 31, Year 07
"Do you have everything with you Doctor?"
Trent sighed for what appeared to be the fifth time that day. "Yes, Elli," his eyes bored onto Elli's. "How many times must I repeat myself? I have everything that I'll need with me for my yearly visit to Sunny Island."
Bunching her eyebrows together, Elli continued to nag. "Every summer, you always forget something." Trent opened his mouth, but Elli ranted on. "First summer, it was your stethoscope. Next summer, it was your lucky lab coat—"
"Now Elli--" Trent said, his finger pointing at her.
Elli continued, "—and the summer after that, it was your cell phone." She gave him a rather pointed look.
"Elli," Trent said. "I hardly ever use the cell phone. It's not my fault that I didn't notice that I left it back here when I went to Sunny Island."
Hearing to that, Elli was about to comment on it, but she noticed the sudden ticking of the clock behind him. "Look, you're going to be late for the boat. Now time to move." She pushed him toward the door. Trent struggled as if wanting to stay and tell her something, but Elli didn't give him the chance "I have Dr. Hardy's number right on speed dial, and Hardy himself promised to come here once a week to check to see how things are going. Now go before they leave without you."
Trent chuckled at Elli's pushiness. "Alright, already, I'm leaving."
Elli stood at the door front, leaning on its frame; waving her hand to the doctor, she stood there watching him leave until she could no longer see his figure. There were only a few times in the year where the doctor was more friendly, more opened. This just happened to be one of those few times. Elli headed inside and sat in her seat. As she was filing some unfinished paperwork, she could not help but wonder if the only reason he behaved the way he did was to prepare him for the following seasons? She pursed her lips. No one except Trent himself would know the answer to that question.
As Elli was pondering about him, Trent was leaning on the boat's railings, watching his small town disappearing by each second.
---------
A good four hours later, Claire trudged back to the medical center. The medical center was separated into two buildings. The first building was where the clinic office was located—just a hallway away from that was the second building. The second building was used mainly as a pharmacy, though there is a storeroom for the herbs and preparing medicine. It was not really the best architect for a medical center, but she figured that as the island become more developed with time, the company would probably restructure the building and make it more organized. But with a population of around sixty people, there was no urgent need to.
"Finally," Claire muttered as soon as she reached her floor. Throwing off her jacket, she checked the calendar. "It's tornado season. I'm going to need to make a lot of medicine." She rummaged through her desk for a form. "Also need to order some medical supplies as well." Claire looked at the basket---she sighed.
----------
Fingers brushed each stem and leaf of the herbs carefully. She performed this process repeatedly. Claire frowned. Deep inside, she sensed that something was going to happen. Something major. A sigh escaped her. "Get a hold of yourself Claire. You're not getting paid for doing this kind of thinking."
She glanced at the mountain of herbs that seemed to grow bigger by the minute. Time passed quickly as she diligently worked, ignoring the quiet calls of misery accompanied by waves of déjà vu. It wasn't until the sound of her stomach growling that she remembered it was time to leave and head back to her small room at the inn. Unfortunately for Claire, Sunny Island did not have apartments or condos, and her firm, being a cheapskate, had decided to rent a room for her at an inn rather than making a small house for her to reside in temporarily.
The sun had already set when she left the building. Small pebbles flew out of the way as Claire quickly made her path to the Island Hotel. Entering the hotel, she failed to notice one of the luggage on the floor.
"Oof." Her hands were immediately right in front of her as she tripped over the luggage and fell forward. Claire had the winds knocked out of her when her body collided with the carpet floor.
"Are you alright?" A low, but deep masculine voice surrounded her.
Claire closed her eyes. "I'm fine, just a little sting that's all." She felt a hand on her shoulder as she attempted to push herself right back in an upward position; her back facing the unknown stranger.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have left my luggage lying around here so carelessly." Regret filled his voice. "Are you sure you don't need medical assistance?"
"It's nothing to worry about. It was my fault for not looking where I was going." Claire straightened her top. She turned around. "But thanks for your conc--…." Her voice had left her as she stared at her inquirer.
He stared back. Shock appeared for a brief moment before a look of indifference graced his face. "Nice meeting you here Claire," he said curtly.
Claire futilely attempted to smile, but failed. "Yeah, nice to see you too…Trent."
-------------------
AN: Yeah, another one, but anyway, at the moment, I have no clue where to go with this (actually I do somewhat), but there's this one little roadblock that's blocking my way. So the next update might be slow. But please tell me how you think of this.
