Prologue: Beginning With The End

The light. Never before had I felt so alive. Dew-covered, beautiful toy flowers glistened in the morning sun. The waterfall sparkled just as proudly. Water. Clean water. As blue as the sky. Grass. Green grass, lush grass, soft grass. Even the weeds were a delight to see. Everyone's faces. These faces that would usually have permanent harsh glares on their faces when it came to me... it was as if they had been re-lit. She who stood beside me, her filthy, yet soft hands grasping my dirty ones tightly. Her face was just as bright, as if she had no recollection on what had just happened to us. Everyone ran towards us.

"Come on, baby!" she laughed, pulling me towards the crowd. Her purple eyes no longer looked tired, nor bloodshot- just filled with happiness and its tears. Two children ran towards her. In fact, most people did. Not very many people are interested in a man like myself. They never really were. Unless it was for bad reason. I didn't know where I stood with these people. I wasn't actually completely sure where I stood with her either. I knew I loved her, but it was all down to what she wanted to do. She had mentioned nothing.

I decided that maybe it was best I left them all behind. It was my fault that what happened, happened. They seemed happy. Willing to forget... but I was pretty certain no one actually wanted me around as a constant reminder that the one girl who made this place prosperous once again nearly got killed, over and over... because of me.

Guilt had just poisoned my soul. I felt useless.

I looked back at the crowd one more time and began to sneak away, leaving the one girl I had loved for so long and the past behind.

Someone else, however, had other plans.

I had accidentally bumped into Takakura, the kindly man who was friends with Jill's father and mother and now kind of her guardian (that I've also stolen from, but um, let's not mention that). He was standing completely in my way, staring at me. I couldn't work out what he was going to do. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had an axe ready behind his back. He was entrusted with Jill, in a way. He kind of showed her the ropes and acted like an uncle. He showed so much obvious affection towards her. He never approved of me. With good reason, of course. In fact, this was the first time I saw him since I had left Forget Me Not Valley about a year ago. He raised his hand and my heart was in my mouth.

Instead, he placed it on my shoulder. His grip was tight, but he sighed. I winced slightly. For a middle-aged man, Takakura was strong. I immediately thought he was going to completely beat me black and blue. He opened his mouth, and I braced myself.

"Thank you, Skye," Takakura finally said. No grudge, irritation or anger hung in his voice. He seemed appreciative and his eyes were full of forgiveness. His voice, however, was firm. "You kept her safe. Through thick and thin, you made sure she stayed alive, fed, sane. I can not thank you enough for that."

I nodded in reply. I needed to be careful about the man who has hated me for so long, so I kept my mouth shut. He meant well, I guess.

"I need to discuss this... "adventure"... with you. I know she would never tell me the full story, or at least not tell me the full truth to keep me from having a heart attack," he chuckled, wheezing as he did so. I never really realized how fragile he was at the moment. How much had changed?

"Can I ask a few questions first? With all due respect, Takakura," I asked, "But... how long were we down there?"

Takakura rubbed his forehead. "'Bout one month? It's comin' into Spring anyway... and Jill will need to be up and running to get the food on the table! Vesta can't do it all on her own, you know!"

"You'll need to let her recover, sir... she may not look it, but she's shaken... and we all kind of smell."

He breathed in and winced. So, he decided to take me back to his home, where I showered, dressed into some of his old clothes as mine were being washed and sat down.

"Tell me, Skye, in detail... What happened down there? And afterwards, I'll give you the news of up here..."

So I began the story. The story of how we got there. How we survived. How we got through it. How we came back up. How we once again fell in love with each other. It was almost like a fairytale.

But anything could happen in Mine no. 4 of Forget Me Not Valley. You have to see it to believe it.