DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story, as they belong to Natsume, but I do own this story they are featured in.
The first of fall was when all my problems began.
Fall was the perfect season for marriage. It wasn't hot like summer and wasn't cold like winter. It was the most romantic season of the year, in my opinion. So when the first of fall came around, I made a very important decision: I was going to propose to Jin, the town's doctor and my infatuation since I came to Waffle Island on Spring one.
It had only been two months, but I didn't care. I had already succeeded in making Daren's rainbow near the beginning of summer and I was so close to making Ben and Collin's rainbows, too. This rainbow and harvest sprite thing, by the way, was how I was helping the island. When I make these rainbows, I get closer to completely reviving the Harvest Goddess, the "spirit of the island." Go figure. Anyways, since I had made Daren's rainbow, people had begun to come to the island since the weather out on sea was better. A tailor shop even opened up on the fifteenth of summer.
So, the weather was better, a rainbow had appeared, my love for Jin had grown mutual as he had confessed to me weeks ago and now it was fall. I had a blue feather, the standard thing one uses to propose to someone they are in love with on this island and I decided to take the plunge. Jin, I knew, was too scared to propose to me himself. He had talked to me about the loss of his wife – something that only happened two years ago – and how saying he loved me was a huge step itself. I hoped he wouldn't reject me.
It was Sunday, fall one. As I opened my eyes to wake up, I immediately headed to my wardrobe to change into warmer clothes and then headed out the door. I needed to catch Jin before he went to work so I wouldn't inconvenience him too much. I ran the short distance from my house to Waffle Town, looking around then at my watch. It was 6:30am, meaning he was still in his house – probably walking out right now to make his way to work. So, I ran to Maple Lake district, catching Jin as he turned the corner to walk down Maple road, "Hey, Jin! Wait a moment!"
Jin immediately paused in his steps, "Hello, Angela. The fall weather is nice. You know, lately I've had trouble sleeping. I wonder..."
He smiled at me and in that instant, I knew. I took out the blue feather from my rucksack. I took a deep breath and put on a huge smile. I showed him the feather, and he definitely was surprised.
"Wait a moment. We have to go somewhere else to talk about this," Jin whispered. He looked around Maple Lake, then at the blue feather in my hands. Grabbing my right wrist, he started to drag me somewhere private since Toby was not too far off in the distance. I couldn't tell if he was upset or happy and that scared me. Clutching the feather in my left hand, I hoped he was happy.
We finally made it to Daren's tree – the site of the rainbow that led to West Gull Island. We were silent, mainly because Jin was catching some breath until he spoke, "I'm stunned. You know the meaning of a blue feather, don't you?"
"Of course I do, Jin. I want to marry you. There's no one better than you. Y-You're my perfect man," I spoke, the words coming out of me like a flood. Jin lightly blushed.
His blush was always so cute and it was even more so today. "I see. I'm delighted... I have been in love with you for a long time."
"R-Really? I'm so happy! Y-You don't know how much I've wanted this..." I squealed since I could barely contain my excitement. Jin smiled, grabbing the blue feather from my hands. I could feel that tears were coming from my eyes and obviously he could see them. His hand came up to lightly brush my tears away.
"I love you, Angela. I never want to lose you," he said as he leaned down. Slowly, we kissed as his arms wrapped around me. We stayed like that for five minutes before dashing straight to Town Hall to plan our wedding.
Mayor Hamilton was absolutely ecstatic to hear of our marriage plans. He was clapping, smiling and probably even happier than Jin or I, actually, "You're getting married! Is that right? Congratulations! When do you want to have the wedding ceremony? I have some openings around this time..."
"The sooner, the better!" I blurted out. I hadn't talked to Jin about it, but hey, I wanted to be married to him now. I couldn't wait a second. I was beginning to feel extreme loneliness. He didn't correct me either so apparently he didn't mind.
The mayor smiled, "Well then, we will hold the ceremony at the church on fall seven. On the day of the ceremony, we will be busy with preparations all morning. Please don't be late."
Jin and I nodded and gave a surprisingly unison, "We won't!"
Hamilton had an absolute look of pure joy now, "I'm very much looking forward to it. I heartily congratulate you two. Congratulations!"
"Thank you very much," Jin concluded our meeting with the Mayor with some final words of thanks. I couldn't have been any happier.
"Things are pretty chaotic before the wedding ceremony, aren't they?" Jin spoke as we began to walk out the door of Town Hall.
I was absolutely overjoyed. I was going to marry the man of my dreams! I must have been the luckiest girl in the world, "Yeah, but I don't mind. I love you and knowing that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together makes me so happy!"
Jin smiled and kissed my forehead.
Had I just made the best decision of my life, or the worst? I couldn't tell.
It was Monday, Fall two. Jin had the day off and spent the day going over preparations.
It seemed like everyone around town was buzzing over news of Jin and I's upcoming marriage. Wherever I went, I would be met with words of congratulations and disbelief. The news of my marriage almost overshadowed the other news of the island – a new person had moved into town. Mixed in with the various strings of congratulatory praises was the question if I had met Calvin, a man who had recently begun exploring the mines. Needless to say, I had not met him as I had spent most all of Fall one admiring Jin, but I was sure to meet him soon. I spent most all of my time in the mines. My hammer skill was beyond compare. I was planning on heading back to the mines on Fall three, after I went around town collecting engagement gifts.
Irene, Jin's grandmother and my close friend, was overjoyed that Jin had decided to remarry. She knew how much good it would do Jin to have someone by his side. Shelly and the girls at the tailor shop were also ecstatic to hear of my upcoming marriage. Luna was practically fawning over the prospect of marriage and began picking out guys on Waffle Island who would be "suitable marriage candidates." Jake and the rest of the Sundae Inn also were excited. Jake couldn't help reminiscing about how my first date with Jin was at the inn. Kathy, too, came in and gave me a large pat on the back and said that she was "proud" of my courage. I then went to say a quick hello to Toby who was fishing on Cream Beach Dock. He smiled and said a simple, "Congratulations" as he pulled a fish out of the sea. I then headed to one of my favorite spots, Ramsey the Blacksmith's. I made my way to Ganache Mine District, giving Anissa the coldest glare imaginable as I passed by her and Jin talking in front of Soufflé Farm. Really, I knew she had heard the news of my engagement, but she was still flirting with Jin? Sure, she was just "giving him medicinal herbs" like always. Jin was so naive for a twenty-nine year old man.
Anyways, I got to Ramsey the Blacksmith's. I opened the door to find Owen being yelled at by Ramsey and Mira shaking her head. Ramsey immediately stopped his yelling when he turned to me,"Oh, Angela. Congratulations on your marriage."
"Thanks, Ramsey..." I smiled. Even though I came to see him quite a lot, Ramsey had a hard time opening up to anyone. It was amazing that he had even congratulated me.
I looked over at Mira, who was setting a diamond to a pendant for the upcoming fall art festival. She smiled solemnly, "Congratulations, Angela. I hope you and Jin lead a happy life."
I could tell that all this talk of marriage was reminding her of her deceased husband.
The Blacksmith seemed awkward today. I didn't want to be there after all. Owen sighed and looked at Ramsey who gave him a look of death, "OWEN, DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GO FIND HIM, YOU IDIOT!"
Owen immediately rushed out the door.
"What's wrong, Ramsey? Who's missing?" I asked curiously. Ramsey just sighed and grabbed a small cloth from his counter, wiping his head of some small beads of sweat.
"The newcomer. That explorer Calvin arrived on the island and immediately went to the mines. He's been down there for a while and he didn't seem that experienced with a hammer...Owen was complainin' about throwin' out his back. I didn't want to send him down there, but I got no choice. You're busy with all that weddin' junk, right? I mean, if you got time then maybe..." Ramsey looked worried – an expression I had never seen on his face before.
I quickly headed to the door, turning back around, "Don't worry! I'll go find this explorer guy! And I'll make sure Owen doesn't hurt himself! Although, I'd have to say the latter is probably the harder thing to do..."
Mira gave an amused laugh. I smiled and took two steps out of the Blacksmith's. Owen was leaning on the side of the building, a pained look on his face, "He's probably on the tenth floor. That shouldn't be too hard to get to for a miner as skilled as you, right?"
"No, it won't be. I'm surprised you waited for me. I would have thought you would be on the third floor already by now..." I looked at Owen, who turned and gave a small grin.
Owen really was in pain. It seemed to me like it was pain of both the back and of the heart.
"I got faith in you, Angie. You got some real power in that hammer of yours. Besides, I really wrecked my back when I went too far down into the mine the other day..." He rambled on.
I smiled and took out my hammer, running off toward Ganache Mine.
Owen stopped me with his words, "Oh and Congratulations on your marriage, Angie! I'm sure you and Jin will be very happy with each other!"
As I headed into Ganache mine, I realized Owen didn't have a pain in his heart. It was just his back.
I was a fool for thinking every guy I met was interested in me because Owen sure as hell wasn't.
It was really easy getting to the tenth floor of Ganache Mine. The thirtieth, well that's a different story, but anyways – I was making my way to the tenth floor of the mine. I began to wonder what type of guy this 'Explorer Calvin' was. After all, what kind of explorer got himself stuck in a mine?
I eyed the staircase leading down to the tenth floor. Shoving a mushroom in my mouth to boost my stamina a little, I took the steps leading down to floor ten.
I was not too surprised to see someone. However, I was surprised to see the man that was Calvin. Calvin, in all honesty, was a gorgeous man. Chiseled jaw, golden hair, muscular chest – Calvin looked exactly like the hero of an adventure movie.
I put my hammer away and ran to him. He looked relieved.
"I'm saved! Boy, it's good to see a friendly face," Calvin laughed. I gave a small laugh too, if only to humor him. After all, he was hurt. He shouldn't have been laughing, in fact he seemed to easy-going. If Jin was here then...
That's right. Jin. I was going to marry Jin. I had to erase all thoughts of how good-looking Calvin was from my mind. Instead, I had to switch to nurse mode,"What happened?! How badly are you hurt?!"
He laughed. Really, how dare he laugh! I was worried, you know.
"I was exploring this mine then fell in a pitfall... I sprained my ankle pretty badly." He gave a sly smile. I sighed. Jin. Jin. Jin. I couldn't believe I had to keep on reminding myself that I had a fiancée.
I kicked my nurse mode back into effect, but with a little bit of sarcasm, "Really? Just a pitfall? You know a sprained ankle shouldn't be that bad, but I'll take you to Meringue Clinic so Dr. Jin can make sure it isn't serious."
Calvin was amused by how professional I was acting, I could tell.
"I think I can stand, though..." He slowly stood up, a bit of pain coming to his face, "Ouch. I don't think I can walk out of here on my own. Think you can give me a hand?"
I could tell what game he was playing. I smiled and gave a sarcastic, "You want me to carry you?"
I didn't expect he would take me seriously.
"Ha, ha! That sounds a bit embarrassing... But I guess I've got no choice." He smiled and I knew he would expect me to carry out my promise. Calvin was a sly one. He knew exactly how to play into my hand. And that was a problem. No man except Jin was supposed to know how to play into my hand.
We made it to the first floor eventually. I had let Calvin lean on my shoulder since I really couldn't "carry" him.
The short moments of closeness we spent together were surprisingly refreshing.
"Thanks a million! You saved my life! I'm Calvin. I'm an archaeologist. And you are?" Calvin looked at me with a smile. In all that time we spent walking back to the first floor, we hadn't even told each other our names. Although, I already knew Calvin's name. I was amazed he hadn't asked my name until now.
I smiled and gave an amused look, "My name's Angela. I work over at Sunshine Farm and I do a little bit of mining work as well."
The look I got from him as soon as he heard my name was icy, to say the least. I could tell that he had already heard the gossip surrounding my engagement. Was he disappointed that the girl he just met was engaged to another man?
"Hmm, Angela, huh? Good to meet you. Okay. I'll see you around!" He laughed, stumbling out the door. I started chasing him, perplexed that he was leaving.
I chased after him because he needed medical attention. That was what I told myself.
However, I ended up thinking that I may have made a huge mistake on Fall one.
I proposed to Jin, a man who I respected and admired, but I had met Calvin, a man who sparked my interest the following day. I wanted to be with Jin. He was the husband I always wanted. I wanted to be a good wife, a loving mother and a great farmer. Therefore, I was going to forget Calvin and avoid the mines. That would be easy, right?
Avoiding the mines, maybe. But forgetting Calvin? I didn't think so.
To be continued.
A/N: SLOWWWWWW. That's what I consider the first chapter. I want my exciting love triangle already, dammit! Eh. Yeah. The whole thing behind this is that it's a love triangle between Calvin, Angela (female farmer) and Jin. I married Jin on Fall 7. I had proposed to him on Fall 1. I didn't meet Calvin until Fall 2. I sorta wish you could marry Calvin, but you can't... GLITCHES! Anyways, this will probably end with Jin x Angela, considering how YOU CAN'T MARRY CALVIN. Nor can you get a divorce. So, there will be Jin x Angela, Calvin x Angela, Calvin x Phoebe, and some mild hints of Jin x Anissa. In all honesty, I had a completely different first chapter originally. It was even slower. And don't you love how I have the in-game dialogue word-for-word? I might go back and edit this later. And as far as ratings go, this might change to M over time, but then again it might stay T. I haven't decided yet. Reviews would be great. Really, they would. :)