Off to a good start
A young girl with a long black braid running down her back stood, and walking the few yards that felt like miles to the stage, she cleared her throat and prepared to start reading. This was the Mineral Town Annual Young Girls' Poetry Competition and little Mary was the last up. The soft-spoken bookworm had never even thought about entering a contest here in their new town; they'd only moved in last season. She scanned the crowd for her Mother and Father, who waved to her from the middle of the room. Looking out into the crowd she saw not only the other contestants, but the other children of the town. The all looked friendly enough... But you never know. She pushed away her fears and first read her poem to herself, then stepped up to her microphone. Moments before the room had been buzzing with light chatter but the whole room quieted when Mary adjusted her glasses and placed her poem on a small podium in front of her. She cleared her throat once more and began.
"This is a poem I wrote at the end of Spring right before We moved here. I call it, 'Seasons' .
Spring is a time of plenty
A time of new
Seen by all
By me and you
Summer is for carefree fun
Children laughing
Dogs that run
Beaches with waves splashing
Fall is Harvest time for all
A time to race our horses
Shadows are light across the wall
Creatures are moved by unseen forces
Winter is a wonderland
And a time to thank the Goddess
White snow sparkles and is grand
Be good and you might get a new dress!"
She paused after each stanza and changed her tone of voice as she went and the rest of the townspeople closed their eyes as they watched the playing of the seasons in their heads, remembering the greatest (and not so great) events of the past year. Mary left the stage to a thunderous applause and quietly made her way to her seat through a hail of 'Good job's and 'That was great's.
The judges (Doug, Lilia and the old man from the farm that no one really could pin a name on) whispered amongst themselves and came quickly to a decision. They signaled to the Mayor, who was to announce the winner, to come forward to the table. The old man handed the Mayor a slip of paper and he walked to the microphone in silence. He looked back to the judges then smiled and turned his attention to the paper.
"I am proud to announce that the winner is……" He paused for dramatic effect and let the audience hold its breath. Then he smiled broadly and continued. "The Winner is Mary! Your poem had the best rhythm and was beautifully written…"
She hesitated a moment as her parents hugged her and congratulated her, ushering her to the stage once more. The Mayor held out to her a golden trophy that would be engraved with her name the next day. Mary reached out her arms and accepted the prize, still speechless and now blushing. Last year's winner, Elli, hugged her and congratulated her as well. It was all so new, so exciting. She'd never felt so happy before… And then it was all over.
Her father had lifted her up onto his back and she fell asleep on the way home. The trophy went on a shelf in her room as her mother and father laid her in bed and kissed her goodnight. She dreamed of two things: the Poetry competition and the face of a boy about her age that was sitting with his Grandfather in the front row. The two dreams faded together and Mary awoke.
AN/: Do yous like my little oneshot? Please R&R... This is my first ever Harvest Moon ficcy and I might turn it into a cute little Grey/Mary fluff story if I get enough reviews!