Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon

Abandonment

Abandon: to leave somebody or something behind for others to look after, especially somebody or something meant to be a personal responsibility

I don't remember her that much, really… A few pieces of faded and broken memories are all I have left of the woman. Those parts I do remember, though… they aren't really of her. She might be there… in the background, blending in with the scenery, but not there, not in the memory.

Her voice, it's muffled, introductions, an old man smiling at me. My grandfather… I remember that first week I was with him, she had stayed, too. But like I said before… she wasn't there.

He was very kind, giving me treats and letting me pet his cows. I loved the cows. They were such maternal animals, with their kind faces, and I was automatically drawn to them.

A psychologist would probably link my love for cows to the fact that I didn't have a mother as I was growing up. I didn't need one.

I almost remember when she left… Her goodbyes were quick and simple. She had fooled me into thinking she would be gone for only a short while. I haven't seen her in twelve years.

I met a boy named Stu, sadly, he was the only other child in town so he became my best friend by default. We played games together, sometimes Popuri would join us, and we would go to church together.

I remember when Claire took over the farm. She made it a real nice place, with lots of fruits and vegetables, and cows and sheep. Her chickens were a little noisy though, I'll admit.

Though, I didn't actually meet her face to face until Grandpa gave her that colt. I had heard stories from Stu that she was nice.

"Yeah! She traded me a chocolate for that bug! Can you believe that? How cool! And I see bugs like that all the time!" I listened half-interested. Chocolate is nice, and I thought she was weird for giving Stu something as great as that for a measly bug

"Thank you very much!" My Grandpa brought me along to the farm when we dropped off the colt.

"Not at all! Thank you!" She had said. Her hair was the brightest I had ever seen, aside from maybe Popuri, but… Popuri's hair is pink. Hers was blonde, really bright blonde.

The only other blonde I had really seen in this town was… Popuri's brother, but his wasn't this bright. Well, I guess that blacksmith has some bright hair too, but it's hard to tell with his hat always on.

I didn't go over to her farm or anything, but I saw her walk by in the mornings. She always had a smile on her face, and I wondered what on earth could possibly make her so happy.

One morning, I woke up earlier than my grandfather. I went for a walk and lost track of time. I found myself on the beach around sunset.

"May!" I was shocked to hear a woman's voice calling my name. "May, are you alright?!" She called out again. My heart filled with false hope as I turned to see that it was only Claire. Her bright hair conflicting with the brightness of her blue eyes. This was the first time I had seen a look other than happiness expressed on her face.

"I'm fine." I assured. I talked about my mother for a bit. When I finished, she walked me back to my Grandpa's farm, who welcomed me home with open arms.

He shooed me inside and I watched out the window as Grandpa talked with Claire about something. The woman held a look on her face, it was an emotion at the time I could not identify. Compassion.

As time went on, I started to hang around Claire's farm more often. She let me help brush the cows and sheep. It was great.

She was the only one who listened when I told her stories about my mother. Grandpa got quiet when I spoke of her.

Looking back now, I suppose Isaw Claire as something of a motherly figure, the closest thing I had to one.

Which may be why I got a little defensive when she started hanging around that one boy, Cliff.

She would walk me to the church, and it started with a hello. A little later, she stayed and chatted for a bit.

By autumn, he was like her new best friend, and since it rained a lot in fall, I wasn't allowed to play outside.

She brought him over once. "May, you know Cliff, right?" I nodded solemnly, and watching her buy fodder from my grandfather.

I hated being a child. If only I were bigger, then I could stay up later and go out on rainy days!

I went to Claire's house on the Pumpkin Festival, she gave me some chocolate. I thanked her. I stopped going to her farm after that.

Years after that she married Cliff and had a baby girl named Sierra. She looks a lot like her mother.

I stand against the post in front of Claire's farm, out of the way, and watch Sierra and her mother and wonder about what could have been if my own mother were more like Claire.

For a minute, I stand there and watch them, jealousy stabbing at my chest. I want to yell at them, scream at them and curse them for their happiness, that same happiness that I was denied in my childhood.

Then Claire sees me…

she smiles…

and that horrible feeling is melted away.

I smile back and walk away.

So, here I am standing again, not on Claire's farm, but on this step, in front of this apartment, in this city. I stand here, alone.

I tentatively raise my hand to the door. I knock three times. I wait for exactly twelve seconds until the door opens.

And I greet the woman I have not seen in twelve years. "Hello, Joanna."

Author's Note: HA! I did it! I finally did it!! You have no idea how long I've been trying to do a oneshot under a thousand words, and this is pretty darn close, like I barely made it. Whew…

Well, I don't know about you, but I liked it… I mean, I really, really liked it. I'm proud of it. It was the first Harvest Moon fic that I finished. Of course, I went through and edited and revised it about four times, literally, but the end result is pretty decent.

So, anyways… I don't know if you all know, but this is mostly based on Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town, but there are a few things from Back to Nature as well, like when May goes missing and she's found at the beach later. I don't recall exactly if she talked about her mother, but I do believe that she was mentioned. I'm about 97% sure. And Stu really does give you a bug, I think… in Back to Nature. I don't know, it's been a while.

I don't know if you noticed or not, or even if you care… but that whole twelve second thing was on purpose. That's one of the many revised parts… at first it was nine, then after rereading it a couple times, I thought, Eh, why not?

Another little unimportant detail. The name Sierra was the name of my daughter when I married Cliff.

Well… Anyway…

Thanks so much for reading.