DISCLAIMER:
I do not own the characters of Harvest Moon / Stories of Season. I do not own the image used on the cover as well. Fanart were done by leafmoonie and earlyday19_hachiimi. I just put them together to make something for Licorice.
That being said, this is the sequel of the completed story Dandelion. If you haven't read it yet, you might want to take a quick look just so you know what's what. In this story, however, everything is told in the POV of Cam / Kamil as he is known in SoS.
Enjoy.
ACT II
To say that I was abandoned as a young child would be too harsh. My father just happened to be out on business and my mother decided that he needed her more than I did, so she followed after him. If she had abandoned me, she wouldn't have bothered asking Howard—my neighbor at the time—to take care of me while she was gone. The fact that she never returned did not mean that she left me. It probably meant that she was too busy pursuing something bigger than me. Just like what I was about to do in a few hours: I was going to leave the people I called my family to pursue an even bigger dream.
Howard, a man who I'd grown to consider as a father, was busy wiping his eyes with a handkerchief while my sister, Laney, shook her head in disbelief.
"Dad, it's not like he's leaving for good. We can visit, he can visit. We can even get letters sent by Dirk, right Cam?" The blonde girl looked at me, silently requesting my help to calm her crying father. Dirk, the man she mentioned, was a postman that was now staying in Konohana. He told us that he moved here after his brother got married with a farmer in their hometown.
"Yeah. Absolutely. I'll write you letters." I lightly touched the man's shoulder feeling a bit uncomfortable with the whole emotion being poured out from him.
"B-but … my son … he's finally leaving the nest," he said in between his sobs, "and soon Laney will get marrieeeeeeed!"
I smiled at Laney who rolled her eyes; too amazed at Howards' imagination to say anything. We both knew that this sensitive man often over dramatized things. After some more coaxing and crossing our hearts, the chef finally calmed down. He began to help carrying the rest of my suitcases outside.
A bunch of villagers were outside the café to send me off. It was odd to see a few people that I didn't often hang out with. I had rented a horse cart from Grady so his daughter Georgia, accompanied by the horse enthusiast Kana, were both prepping and brushing the horse's mane. Eileen was making sure that the wheels were in place as she knocked a few areas with her rubber hammer as Mayor Rutger and his wife looked on in admiration. Mayor Ina was ushering an old lady, accompanied by the two little kids I often saw in Konohana.
"The man of the hour," I turned to see my best friend, Ash, who appeared from behind the cart after loading my suitcases. I rushed to his side immediately, thanking him for his trouble.
"Well… it's the least I can do for you, pal," he shuffled his feet around unsure, "last favor for you … and whatnot."
I could tell Ash was trying his best to stay strong, what with me being his only close male friend he had in this town. Of course, all of that had changed a little bit ever since the two town's relationship had improved; yet I could still remember his reaction when I first told him my plan to move out.
"No! What about my wingman plan?" the rancher jumped up in protest.
"Your … wingman plan?" I quickly searched my brain for any recollection of having promised him with something as silly as that. "There is no wingman plan. The girl we're both interested is taken."
"But, but that doesn't change the fact that you still need to be my wingman! What if a new girl turns up? What if she's as sweet as an angel? I can't be a pastor!" Ash looked both bewildered and nervous as he shook my shoulders.
My best friend's comment was starting to not make sense. Apparently, having a new pastor staying at the church in town had caused him to have some sort of holy delusions.
"Look, man, no one's becoming a pastor. Having Pastor Nathan is enough. Calm down." I moved his hands off of me before standing up, being slightly taller than him. "Though I may not be your wingman, I'll still be there for your wedding okay?"
Ash's pale complexion slowly found its color and the man broke into a huge grin. He playfully punched me on the back. "Number one florist?"
"Number one." I punched him back before pausing for a second, slightly in thought. "Just don't go turning to Pastor Ash when I come visit, okay?"
Konohana's doctor apprentice Hiro appeared in front of me to give a quick health check. "Make sure you have a source of water to keep yourself from being dehydrated. We don't want you to pass out in the middle of your travel." He told me while his girlfriend Nori handed me a bottle of water.
"Thanks, Hiro. Nori." I placed the water bottle at the front of the horse cart for easy access.
I noticed Lillian was walking towards me with a parcel in her hand, her boyfriend Mikhail a few steps behind her.
"I got this for you. Something to remember us by," the farmer said as she placed the item on my hand. I had to remind myself that this was nothing but a friendly gesture as I took the item off her hand. "Thanks, I'll open it when I'm there."
"I hope you find a nice girl in town. You never know what a new place can offer you." Mikhail stepped in and shook my hand.
"… Gee, thanks." Although my face was blank with no emotion, I was thinking to myself if I could accidentally punch him in the face while trying to give him a farewell hug. The man managed to escape unharmed not because I was too much of a coward but because somebody else took his place to say goodbye to me.
I received a bunch of encouragements as they helped me put my bags and suitcases in the back of the cart. I patted my back pocket to make sure that I had my wallet there. After checking everything, I got on the cart and took the horse's reigns from Georgia.
"Well … this is it, I guess." Suddenly, I felt really nervous now that all eyes were on me.
"Come back sooooohoohoon!"
"Dad!"
"Take care, pal."
"Don't be a stranger!"
"I'll definitely call you for my wedding!"
"Lillian! Isn't that a bit—"
"We wish you luck out there, Cam. But remember, you're always a Bluebeller through and through."
"Come back anytime, dearie."
"May the Goddess bless you in your journey."
With all of the goodbyes they were throwing at me, realization began to hit. I was leaving my family. My friends. Several years of my life. Sure, there were people that I barely knew like the pastor and the triplets but this was Bluebell. This was my home. Tears started to form so I tried to blink them away. Instead, I gave everybody a small wave.
"Thanks everyone. You've all been … " I cleared my throat to push back the emotion, "a great … bunch of people."
I could feel my face heating up for saying such a lame sentence. Thankfully, I simply had to pull my hat lower to hide my face and that's when I saw my partner Reina by the side of my cart. Odd that I seemed to have missed seeing her in the crowd earlier but there she was, looking up at me with a smile. Seeing her smiling was a bit peculiar for me since we were both, somewhat, stoic in our interaction with other people but ever since I asked her to join me at the new town, she had been, well, happier.
Not to be a show-off but, the girl did confess that she liked me so maybe I had something to do with her transformation? Although when I mentioned that fact, she ended up yelling at me. Girls were hard to understand as it was but Reina in particular had an extra petal of difficulty.
"Um, I'll see you in a few weeks. I have a few things I need to sort out with my uncle and the research committee before I can join you," she said, as she turned back her old awkward self.
"Sure. I'll reserve a room for you."
From the back of my head, I could hear a naughty remark from—surprisingly—Nori, that mentioned the word "eloping" and "secret lovers". Both Reina and I blushed, although we pretended that we didn't hear the comment. The botanist went back to join the crowd while I clicked my tongue to tell the horse to move. That was pretty much it. It was weird seeing myself riding past the Bluebell gate for the last time as a permanent citizen. I glanced backwards once more to see the still crowded town square before setting my eyes towards the mountain path, towards my new life in Oak Tree Town.
"Ah, you must be Mister Kamil, are you not?"
The woman standing across the counter introduced herself as the Guild Master. She was not the mayor but from the looks of it, her job was pretty much the same. Veronica, the woman in charge of Oak Tree Town, looked over a few papers before she signed it with her fountain pen. With a firm handshake, she welcomed me to her town.
"From now on you will be staying at the inn. Maurice is the man who manages the whole place." Without losing her pace, she brought me to the building next door. Despite appearing middle aged, she gave out a strong atmosphere that reminded me of Mayor Ina from Konohana. They were both leaders of their town and they were both very dedicated to their job.
As we entered the inn, a tall man saw us and soon approached us. "A new guest has arrived! Welcome, welcome!" He, too, shook my hand and brought me towards the counter.
"Your room is number 204 upstairs. My daughter Melanie will guide you as I retrieve the rest of your belongings." The man handed me a set of key and went straight to the door before I could stop him. Then, as soon as her name was mentioned, a young girl jumped out from behind the counter.
"Ooh! That's my cue. Follow me, sir. I'll take you to your room." The girl named Melanie gave a friendly salute before heading up the stairs.
"When you're done settling in, come find me next door and I'll give you a tour of the town." Veronica gracefully bowed and she followed Maurice out the door.
Without anyone else present at the first floor, I made my way to the second floor. "Here you are, sir! We put you in the furthest room because there's a meanie-looking occupant that's staying in 201 that probably doesn't like to be disturbed." Melanie's attitude reminded me of Ash's little sister Cheryl. That girl surely had a mouth on her despite what her brother thought of her. I had seen first-hand the things she could do to her targets, having lived with one.
Back in Bluebell, I often skipped town on Mondays to visit different places so I was well acquainted with inns and its layout. There was a double bed, a closet, a desk and a set of sofa with a coffee table. My room had the number 204 carved at the door in the similar style with the other ones. Not long after I unlocked the room, Maurice arrived with the rest of my bags. I helped him carry them all to one corner and, after making sure that I was happy with the room, the father daughter duo excused themselves.
"Hahhh…" I laid down on the bed, tired from the long journey. I arched my body to release whatever aches it had been feeling. Traveling was never really my favorite thing to do.
'Alright, Cam. New town. New people. Perhaps even a new bachelorette.' My mind spoke to me. I was too tired to laugh at my own notion.
'Great. Now I'm influenced by Mikhail. Not here for the girls. That's for sure. Besides, won't it be too disrespectful if I moved on this fast?'
Was there a limit of days to how long one was supposed to hold on to an old love before being allowed to find a new one? Was there even a rule about this? Truth be told, I really never had any experience with girls whatsoever. Since I was around Laney most of the time, she became my first love by default. Of course, I knew that the relationship wouldn't go anywhere so I kept it to myself and convinced myself I was simply enamored with having a sister figure.
'Still, it doesn't hurt to look, eh bud?'
Now my mind was being cheeky. I pushed all unnecessary thoughts away as I pulled myself up. After quickly fixing my hat back to its place, I headed to the guild. Miss Veronica was looking over a few books while talking to what seemed to be a town tourist when I entered. She immediately saw me and quickly finished her discussion with the man before walking up to me.
"Mister Kamil, I didn't expect you to be ready this soon. Are you sure you don't need more time to settle in?"
"It's fine, Miss Veronica. I can unpack later tonight."
"Please, just Veronica will suffice," she said with a gentle smile.
"Then, if you don't mind, you can just address me by my name as well." I held the tip of my hat before politely nodded to her. If there was one thing that I learned from living in Bluebell with Howard was how to act like a gentleman when needed. Veronica had the air of a lady that invoked such attitude.
"Very well, Mist—Kamil. My apologies."
"Don't worry about it. It's just that I'll be staying here for a while so I was hoping that you'd treat me as … " I stopped myself. Was I about to say family? Living in a close-knit bunch in Bluebell surely made me long for that here. I carefully chose a word that wouldn't make me sound too … odd. "I'm hoping that you'd treat me as one of your town members."
"Of course." Veronica laughed as she led me outside and down the stairs. She took me to a large area that had the two gates that led outside.
"First things first, this is our trading depot. It also serves as a place where we hold all of our festivals. This is where traders from different countries come and sell or trade their goods with our … town members such as yourself." At the end of her sentence, she let out a displeased sigh. "At least, that is the aim but as you can see when you first entered the town earlier, there isn't much here yet. Only three vendors are open throughout the week."
"I see. The flyer that I saw—"
"Does mention that we have many trading vendors, yes." When the woman cut me off, I had a sudden sense of déjà vu of being cut off by another person. "We do plan on having more vendors and our five farmers—ah, I'm sorry." The confident woman seemed to have caught something in her throat before correcting her sentence. "Four. Our four farmers are working on it. Well, maybe the three farmers are. The other one is … keeping up."
She went back to her professional mode as I raised my eyebrows in amazement. My old place barely had enough farmers to manage two separate farms but here they have up to four farmers? I was definitely intrigued by this information. Having four farmers meant that there would be four different methods in growing flowers and if I could study each of them, that would really help in my research.
"Speaking of farmers, here comes one of them. Hello there, Ibuki."
My train of thoughts was stopped by the sound of someone approaching. The man who was called out by Veronica was wearing a blue jacket with an orange scarf around his neck. He was wearing a hat that seemed to be saying "Farmer's Hat" that would protect him from getting sunstroke. He returned Veronica's greeting and when he noticed me, he offered his hand out.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ibuki." the farmer said as he shook my hand excitedly.
"Hi. Kamil. But you can call me Cam."
"I like Kamil. It sounds cooler. You just got here?"
"Uh, yeah." I groaned inwardly. To be honest, I didn't like being called Kamil since it sounded a girl's name, Camille, but telling him that right off the bat felt a bit out of place.
"If you need anything, feel free to ask me. I've only been here for a year so I may not know everything about this town but, I'm always happy to help."
The cheerful farmer explained the location of his farm before excusing himself to go a vendor at the North side of the depot. Veronica continued the tour of the town after briefly introducing me to Jonas who was working at the information booth. Both Jonas and Veronica were the ones responsible for handling all things trade-wise.
When we were on our way to another part of town, we passed by, what I assumed was, a carpenter shop judging from the wooden planks stacked next to it. Once again I was reminded that I was no longer in Bluebell after seeing a few patches of empty lots—unoccupied and unused—scattered about the west area. There were more housing for the residents compared to place of business or rather, as Veronica explained, the type of business that were in this area was not for everyday purchases.
"The brother, Mistel, tends the shop but his sister Iris also has a taste in antiquities considering the era of the novel she wrote." Veronica explained as we passed by the Antique Shop. She would have dropped by to introduce me had she not need to quickly return to the guild. Coming to a new town, I had mentally prepared myself for social attacks but apparently meeting four new people in a day was taking its toll on me.
"Oh, is that Klaus' home? I met him before in one of my travels," I told Veronica when we passed the perfumist's house.. During one of my Monday trips, I visited a flower arrangement convention where I was introduced to Klaus. Listening to him talk about his work and research regarding flower-based perfume inspired me to move here and work with him. I made a mental note to greet him later as I was lead back to the east side, passing by the General Store.
Hearing the word General Store intrigued me because Bluebell never had that kind of store before, unless you considered the triplet's tent as a one. An elderly man named Otmar who, the guild master warned, was a bit senile, owned the place. She then pointed at the gate of the town—that led to the forest and other farmers' plots—before guiding me back towards the inn and the guild. "We also have a restaurant that opens up for lunch time at eleven and closes at nine thirty at night. Their meal change depending on the season so be sure to try out each season's specialty."
"I think I'll get a quick lunch after this tour is over."
Veronica looked around before turning her attention back to me. "There aren't any more places to show regarding the town. The rest of the places I haven't showed you are the mansion up those stairs. I would take you there myself but I do have things to attend. Please forgive me for leaving you."
"No need. I should apologize for moving in during your busy day."
I shook her hand and gave her thanks before we part ways; I was heading to the restaurant and Veronica to her post. As soon as I stepped in the restaurant, I could smell the home-cooked meals that were served there. The man behind the counter was someone my age with a messy brown hair. He was wearing an apron while holding a menu.
'Waiter, I presume?' I thought, as I took a seat by the counter.
"Welcome, what can I get you?" The waiter swiftly placed a menu book in front of me. I skimmed through the menu and saw the Curry Rice set. I always enjoyed a good curry so I went for it. When the man himself started preparing the dish, I had to correct myself. He was the chef!
'Whoa, a Howard before he became a father!' Watching the man cook made my mind travel back to my family. I sat there quietly with my face rested on my hand until the chef presented his food. It was a grand serving complete with a salad, a soup, a main course and a desert.
"This is great!" I praised as I engaged in my first bite. The flavor was different from Howard's and was quite authentic similar to Konohana's curry. Even the salad and soup didn't taste out of place. Ending the ensemble with a great dessert was a perfect closing. As soon as I finished my meal, I walked up to the counter to pay.
"That's a total of 1200G"
'Boy, no wonder it's good,' I thought to myself as I reached for my wallet.
"Thanks for the meal. You'll be seeing me more now. I just moved to town." As I handed the money, I thought that it was a good time to introduce myself as any. The chef, who probably thought that I was a passing customer, changed his attitude to be even more cheerful.
"Really? That's great. It's nice to meet you. My name is Raeger."
"I'm Kamil. You can call me—"
"Kamil. Great! I'm looking forward to have you taste more of my cooking."
The two of us shook hands before going back to our own task, mine being to head back to the inn and sort out my clothes. I sighed when I heard Maurice welcoming me using my full name, "Kamil". This town seemed intent on calling me Kamil that giving them an alternate name did nothing for their choice. Once more I was back in my room, this time with my front facing the bed.
"Reina… You have to teach them how to call me Cam." I groaned aloud.
'That's right! Reina!'
As soon as I remembered my botanist friend, I rushed back down to find Maurice. Thankfully he was still by the counter chatting with his daughter.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Hah! My boy, call me Maurice." Again, my attempt of being polite was swept aside.
"Maurice, do you still have an extra room? My friend is coming over possibly in a couple of weeks and I promised her that I'll book a room for her."
Maurice's face lit up at the sound of potential customer as he immediately pulled out a large book. He riffled through them before shaking his head. "Nope. No reservations yet. I have a room available. Shall I reserve it for you?"
"Yes please."
While the father was busy scribbling information about Reina, Melanie was staring at me intently as if she was trying to read my mind for something. Finally she spoke, "is she … your girlfriend?"
The question was too sudden that I couldn't stop my blush from showing. "Erm, no, she's not."
"Melanie," her father softly warned.
"Then, are you looking for one? My sister's single." The girl, unbothered by the warning, continued.
"Wh—I … don't think that's …" I wasn't sure how to react to that question let alone to a kid.
"She's not here yet but she's really pretty. Just like me." Melanie continued, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I'll introduce her to you."
"Alright. To your room, now. Don't leave until it's dinner time." With a stern voice, Maurice pointed to one of the doors behind them. The disheartened girl could only pout and follow her father's instruction. Once she was out of earshot, her father sighed.
"I'm sorry about that. She's just looking for a friend to talk to. Her sister works outside of town so often times she is left to play by herself."
"I see."
No, I didn't see actually. I never understood why little girls liked to act much older than they actually were. Though for a completely different reason, Cheryl was also concerned about her brother having a girlfriend. Laney was one of the girls who received her bug treatment and my sister wasn't even interested in Ash. None of us were thinking of going out with anyone … well, until Lillian came.
"There you are. I've set aside room 202 for her."
"Thank you."
I headed back to my room to finally finish unpacking all my items. I set out the seeds on the tables and labeled them properly. There was a small pouch of fertilizer soil that Reina had prepared for me and I placed it on the floor beside the desk. A few of the pots that I brought received cracks from the journey so I needed to find a place that sells them. I also needed some standard soil. Using the notebook that Reina had given me as a farewell gift, I listed down all the things I needed to do for tomorrow. By the time I was done, it was already nighttime. I faintly heard the sound of the door closing from the other end of the hall.
'Probably the mean guy.' I recalled what Melanie told me. I raised my arms as I stretched my back on the chair. The night was quiet. I let my arm fall on my head as I thought of ways to introduce myself.
'Definitely not looking forward to it.' I groaned once more. 'First it's "hi my name is Kamil" then comes the awkward small talks. Ugh, why do I need to talk?'
It was these silent moments when negative thoughts came pouring in. I started to doubt myself on whether or not I would be able to succeed in this town. How was I to survive here doing nothing but research? How was I going to practice my flower arrangement skills if I wasn't going to arrange flowers? How could I set up shop? Should I set aside money to have the carpenter build me a stall? With all the different vendors as my competitors, would people buy my flowers? How conceited I was to think that I had skills to reach the top. There was no way I could be special. What if I failed? I would be dragging Reina down with me and she had a perfectly good life back in Konohana.
More and more haunting thoughts flooded my mind that I figured it was time to hit the hay. I was getting tired and a good night rest might be what I needed to exterminate the weeds that were gnawing in my thoughts. I closed my eyes and saw Howard with his happy-go-lucky attitude, smiling at a lady who was busy yelling at him.
"If you can't raise him well, you shouldn't have taken him in. This is exactly why she left you!" Behind the lady stood a young boy with a Band-Aid covering his wounded face. A smirked formed on his lips before he disappeared along with his mother.
Suddenly I turned back to my younger self, with a dirty white polo shirt and suspenders similar to what Ash used to wear, my face smeared with dirt and hints of bruises after fighting with those who made fun of my family—or the lack thereof. "He said I'm useless," I defended, "I'm no good at cooking or farming … and that's why mom and dad left me."
Howard crouched down to meet my gaze and tended to my face. His smile didn't disappear when he said, "You know, when times are hard, you still need to be kind to one another."
"Why?" I mumbled, trying my best not to wince from the pain.
"Simply because … we humans have to rely on each other. I rely on you when I need someone to cheer me up. I rely on Laney when I need a freshly baked cake. And both of you rely on me to cook you the best meals every day. No matter if we're related or not, friends or foe, humans can't live alone."
As soon as his words entered my heart, the image I saw before me started to fade away as I drifted deeper into unconsciousness.
...
AN:
Finally I got to post this story, hahaha. Well, I'm not really good at following a schedule as you can see. But I am finally starting (after getting news that there will be a new SoS released this year).
A BIG THANKS to my beta editor: Romance on Express. I hope she still remembered the notes she gave me, hahaha. Without her my writing would've been really crappy and very draft-y. Thanks for giving me ideas to help make the chapter better :) Hopefully it's now more to your liking.
For those who are new to the story, I've wrote Dandelion as Act I where Reina is the MC trying to cope with her feelings for Cam. I'm a big fan of CamxReina since I think those two can hit it off somehow, but I'm not a fan off fast romance. They're the type of people that requires time to have their feelings developed. At the end of Dandelion, Reina experienced a growth in her character so now it's Cam's turn. Something that he'll learn in Oak Tree Town.
Some characterisation were based on the game, some background stories were new ideas that I put in myself such as Cam's history and real parents (something that may or may not pop in the later chapters). I am also putting Ibuki (Japanese name) as the male MC we all know and love because everybody loves drama. So, sorry if you're a fan of Minori/Annie.
That being said, let's enjoy another ride with your favorite characters. Do leave a review if you have any ideas or improvement points for me.