This is my first Harvest Moon fanfic :) please feel free to review and give tips! Thanks to those who did; it really helps! Next chapter coming very soon
I do not own Harvest Moon or any of the characters in this story.
It was early spring and the sun was high in the sky casting down golden rays. The birds chirped softly in the trees nearby. I stood motionless, eyes fixated. A large headstone rose from the ground before me. My hands shook at my side, my bright violet eyes now dull and lifeless. The funeral had been hours ago, but still I could not believe what was happening around me. I was frozen. Frozen with fear… with sorrow… with emptiness. Why did things have to be this way?
I heard footsteps come from behind me, but did not care enough to turn and see who they were coming from. A warm hand landed on my cold shoulder. A familiar, voice broke the silence.
"Jill, I'm so sorry about your father." The hoarse voice paused for a slow, deep breath. "Fate works in mysterious ways but trust me, he's in a better place now."
I felt myself heave as I tried to regulate my breathing and keep down tears. Fate… I despised fate. My father was healthy, young, so… full of life. He should still be here… with everyone… with me. He was everything I had left. My eyes shut tightly. My hands clenched the jet black dress that hung from my body.
The voice continued. "I know its hard to accept things. Believe me when I say that you're not alone. I know I'm going to miss your father very much."
Tears streamed down my lifeless cheeks as I bit my lip in an attempt to keep my composure. What I wouldn't give to be with him again. It was too much to bear. I wailed out. The hand resting on my shoulder pulled me into a warm body. Another hand pressed my back. "It's ok Jill. Everything will be ok."
I shook in his arms. My body strained to refill itself with air after every cry of agony. My legs felt week and my head began to spin. I was scared, I was alone… "Oh Tak, wh-why'd he have to go?" I buried my face in his shoulder. There was nothing anyone could do…Fate had left its mark.
I still remembered that day… the day everything changed for me. My last bit of family perished leaving me lost and alone in the world. It's been some time since then… Takakura thought it would be best if I move on with life; I needed to get my mind off of events past. He told me of how he and my father dreamed of running a farm in the country together. A dream that never became reality… Takakura wondered if I would seize the challenge of running a ranch with him in my father's memory. I loved my father with all my heart… I would try anything for him. Plus, it's not like I had anything left for me in the city…
Sunlight seeped through the window. The faint sounds of singing birds could be heard outside. Slowly my eyelids pulled back revealing the cabin ceiling. I glanced at the clock sitting on the night table to the left of my bed. It was 9:23. I sat up, peeling the covers off of my body. I had a lot of work ahead of me today. I threw on a fresh set of work clothes and headed off.
The barn door creaked open. The stale, humid air smashed against my face. Sitting a few yards from the entrance was a large cow splattered with black spots. Takakura had purchased her for our farm a while back. We decided to call her Bessie, the typical farm cow name. She produced approximately five bottles of milk every day, which was good considering many of the villagers placed milk orders. I kneeled on the ground to milk Bessie when my mind wandered off.
A little girl pointed. "Daddy, What are those things over there?"
A man looked and chuckled. He replied in a deep, soothing tone. "Those are cows Jill. They make milk."
The child's violet eyes grew large. "Whoa, like the milk we drink at home?"
Kneeling down to his daughter's height, the man smiled. "Yup."
"Daddy…"
"What dear?"
"I want a cow!" She stretched her arms out with excitement. "That way it can make us all the milk we want!"
The man stared blankly at the child for a second before letting out a hearty laugh. "Wouldn't that be something if we had our own cow?"
Looks like I finally have my own cow daddy…
I gently placed the bottles of fresh milk in my backpack. Takakura was off somewhere in the city today, meaning I was in charge of delivering our milk orders. I picked up my backpack, slinging it to the middle of my back. There was list of orders in the shipping room. While I'd never really been out in the valley, I was pretty sure I could find where I need to go for deliveries…it's not like Forget-Me-Not Valley was huge…
