One Amongst the Stars
Disclaimer: I will only state this here in the first chapter, but as we all know, I don't own Harvest Moon. I'm pretty sure whoever does own Harvest Moon would not be busy writing fanfics about it. Or maybe they would. Who knows? Haha, please enjoy.
However, I do own the artwork that is posted as the cover page of this story. I'm an artist after all! ^^
Spring 1 – Claire
"Claire! Daddy brought you home a present! Come see what it is!" My mother called from downstairs, the excitement in her voice obvious.
I immediately dropped my pencil onto my homework and pushed my chair back from the brown desk, running down the hallway towards the staircase. My heart was racing, and a huge smile grew across my face.
Father is back from the farm!
I hadn't seen sight or sound of him in weeks, but I had gotten used to it as it was the usual routine ever since my mother's condition had gotten worse. She had issues with her heart that she'd dealt with since childhood, but the symptoms she felt nowadays were a lot worse, so Father decided to buy a farm out in the neighboring valley, Forget-Me-Not, and raise money to pay for the expenses of her frequent hospital visits.
Or at least that was what I gathered from listening to their late night conversations, long before Father had moved out.
As I made my way down the stairs, my eyes lit up as I saw my parents smiling faces. A familiar feeling of warmth spread throughout my body as I saw my father's arm around my mothers' waist, meaning that all was well on the farm. We could put all our worries aside and be together as a family.
And then he held out his arms, waiting for me to complete the family.
"Father!" I yelled as he took me in his strong grasp. "You're back! I've missed you!"
He smiled down at me and held me tight. "I've missed you too, little one." He laughed when he said that, as he knew that I disliked it whenever he called me little. I had finally turned thirteen earlier that month, and I wanted to be seen as a responsible adult just like them.
"Heey, don't call me that! I'm not little anymore, Father! See?" I pushed him back and stood up straight, puffing out my chest and placing my hands on my hips. "Mother says if I keep my posture correct then I'll grow faster. I've gotten taller!"
He laughed again as I tried to stand on my toes to make myself seem taller, and my mother even joined in after watching the both of us goofing around. "Oh, how I've missed this so..." he mumbled, running his hand through my long, golden hair.
"Hm? What did you say, Father?" I asked innocently.
"It was nothing, sweetheart. Here, come open your gift."
He slid a huge white box towards me, and my eyes widened in surprise. This gift was gigantic!
"Wow! What is this?! It's huge!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide and excited as I took in the decorative red ribbons that laced the outside of the box.
"You'll just have to open it and see, sweetie. Though I do suggest you open it soon, the air supply in that box might be a little lacking…" he coughed out, smiling as he noticed my mother's surprised face looking at him. "You didn't, did you?" she asked, her blue eyes wide as they stared into his brown eyes.
"Hmmm, did I? I'm not sure what you mean." He spoke smoothly, a smile spreading across his face.
"A PUPPY! Father, you got me a puppy!"
My mother's question had been confirmed, and she sighed, laughing a little. "You did."
I held the beautiful black puppy up in the air, squealing loudly as he licked my face. His tail wagged rapidly back and forth, and I was afraid it might break off, so I placed him down on the floor to run around. "What's his name, Father?"
"That's for you to decide, Claire." He replied, his warm smile drawing butterflies in my stomach.
"Then I'll call him Bear! No, Max! Buddy?" I fought with myself as I mentally scrolled through the list of names that I had taken a liking too. I always kept track of names that I liked, so that one day I could name my children my most favorite names.
"Have you picked one yet, Claire?" he asked me, hugging my mother again, but this time, it looked more like it was for support rather than out of love. I paid no mind to him though. Instead I smiled at him, and then fixed my gaze back on the cute black puppy.
"Hmmm, let's call him—"
"Jack! Honey, what's wrong?" I heard my mother yell, and then I heard a loud 'THUD' as someone collapsed to the ground. Everything seemed to fade into grayscale at that moment. My father was on the ground by the front door, shaking wildly. Mother knelt by him, shouting stuff that I just couldn't hear anymore. She was tearing up, I could see her eyes glistening as light from the outside world poured in through the window. Then she looked at me, her mouth forming long strings of words.
I tried to speak then, to ask what was wrong with Father. Why was he shaking so badly? Why did she look so scared? But as my lips parted, no sound escaped my mouth. My mouth felt dry, as if I had spent days in the grueling summer heat without any water. Then, a sharp pain pierced my chest, right above my heart. As I looked down, I stared into the lifeless eyes of a woman, blood stains on her chapped lips, trailing down her throat and across her shirt.
I screamed, and still no sound came out. I screamed for my mother to wake up, and to help father, but she remained so heavy in my arms. I couldn't even lift her to bring her face to my chest.
"What have you done?" a familiar voice cried out.
My head snapped up and my eyes locked onto those of my Father's. But how could he be standing? He had collapsed just a moment ago. I looked back to the spot where he had fallen, and both he and my mother were gone. Now he stood over me, his face wrinkled and his eyes red and swollen.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" his voiced boomed, louder than thunder.
I was so frightened by his angry voice, and I cringed under his glare. I finally managed to raise my hand to reach out to Father, but my eyes widened in horror as I noticed blood all over it. And the blood was all over my arms, and all over my clothes. My heart was beating fasting than any drum had ever gone, faster and faster.
And then my heart ceased to beat. My arm dropped back to my side, absolutely lifeless.
"NOOO!" I finally managed to scream, clamping my eyes shut tight. "I didn't do it!"
"No, father!"
My body jolted and I sat straight up in my bed. Darkness welcomed my clear blue eyes as they rapidly dashed back and forth, trying to convince my mind that what I had just seen was only a dream.
No…not a dream. It was a terrifying nightmare.
I inhaled deeply, feeling a burning sensation as my lungs filled with the dust in the air. It left an empty, icy chill in my chest as I exhaled. It's not real. That never happened.
I was wide awake now, as the desire to sleep was the furthest from my mind. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood and gathered the blankets that I had kicked to the floor, dropping them in a messy pile back on the bed. The wooden floor felt painfully cold beneath the soles of my bare feet, stinging with every step that I took as I walked through the darkness towards the bathroom.
As I flicked on the light, I felt a tight pull in my chest as I saw a bathroom other than the one I was used to. There weren't tons of my mother's favorite lotions lined up along the counter of the sink, or even my father's favorite colognes. Only one toothbrush was in the cup next to the sink. The pale blue color of the wall seemed to stretch on forever as my eyes traveled over to the toilet and shower in the back corner of the bathroom.
Ah. That's right. This is my bathroom now. I really did move out from home.
I struggled to look at myself in the mirror above the sink, but when I did, I was confused as to who I was staring at. Who was this girl staring back at me? Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked like she had been crying for days. The rosy skin of her cheeks was flushed, and her blond hair was tousled and frizzy. The large t-shirt that she had slept in looked old and worn as it slid off of her shoulder.
Why have you been so sad?
Disgusted, I turned from the mirror and walked back out into the darkness, this time heading towards the front door. There were no stairs to descend, as it was only just a small one floor home.
And as I opened the door, my vision went blurry as my eyes filled with tears.
I stood on the ground of my father's farm, in Forget-Me-Not valley. He had passed away just four days ago, and my mother had to be sent back to the hospital as a result. And I, I was here, so far away from both of them. I choked out a sob and collapsed to the ground, burying my head in my lap.
"Nnnng…!"
I could feel the warm trail of my emotions trickling down my cheeks. I tightened my eyes so tight that I thought the skin would tear.
"God dammit! Damn you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
I didn't care who heard me in this unfamiliar village.
"Who said you could leave me! What gave you the right to just leave?!"
CLANG! CLANG!
The sudden clanging of tools in the shed just up ahead of my house shook me out of my fury.
"Who's there?" I choked out.
My eyes shot up just in time to see something jet out from inside the shed, clearly in a hurry to get away from the farm, and most likely to get away from me as well.
"Hey! Wait!" My legs pulled me up and before I realized it I was following this person. Just how long had it been since I'd seen another person? I was forced to come to the farm as soon as I'd learned of my father's passing, or else it would've been sold immediately to another farmer that needed the land. So after painfully leaving both my parents behind, I locked myself in my father's old home and didn't come out since. I hadn't even the slightest idea of where I was running to at the moment. I just knew that I wanted to run, to be free of all this pain.
The crisp air brushed against my bare legs as I ran down a dirt path in just a plain white t-shirt. It didn't bother me who saw me then, I looked awful and I knew it and I just didn't care. I wasn't much of a runner, and I could feel my heart beating much faster than it normally should, even at a running pace. Slowing down drastically, and then coming to a complete halt, I leaned against a nearby tree to catch my breath.
"Hehe…did you follow me here after all? Tsk, tsk…" a man's voice spoke, calm and crystal clear as the night sky.
As I looked up, I stared into beautiful emerald green eyes that seemed to see right through me. My heart skipped a beat, and I had to avert my gaze, looking instead at the rest of his body. He was tall, thin as well, but he didn't appear to be weak. He wore a flashy leopard print button down, and deep blue jeans that hugged his figure.
But the most captivating thing about this man was his hair. His shiny silver hair that trailed down to his shoulders and lightly covered his face. It was almost mesmerizing underneath the moonlight. His entire being seemed god-like as he stood before the Goddess pond, his hands tucked away in his pockets.
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I felt my eyes watering again and I turned away, realizing that I looked like this before such a handsome man. Immediately I dropped down to the ground, covering as much of my skin as I could with my large shirt, also hiding my reddening face behind my blonde hair.
I could hear a light chuckle in the background, but I didn't dare to look. He was laughing at me and I was almost one-hundred percent sure of it. The crunching of leaves beneath feet startled me, and my heart began to beat faster again as my mind raced.
Was he coming towards me?
I froze as I felt his warm breath travel down my neck.
"A smile suits you better than tears, pretty woman." He was really close. "Just as the stars compliment this beautiful night, your beauty will always compliment your person."
What exactly did he mean by that?
Slowly, I raised my head up and my eyes met his for a second time, causing me to turn red. His eyes were absolutely gorgeous. The shined like actual emeralds that had been polished over and over for hours. My heart throbbed again, but this time it was more painful, causing me to double over.
"Ack! Agh!" I cried out, grasping my shirt in a tight fist.
Then suddenly everything went black as I lost consciousness, and I could feel myself falling forward towards the ground.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: So, what did you think of the first chapter of One Amongst the Stars? I tried not to make it too depressing and stuff, but hey, things aren't always bunches of daisies when someone in your immediate family passes away, are they? But rest assured, the story does get happier!
Aside from that, I really hope that everyone enjoyed it so far. I also hope that everyone enjoyed my cover page for the story. I spent hours upon hours working on it. I plan to update this story possibly every weekend, but if worse comes to worse then it will be every other weekend.
I really appreciate reviews and constructive criticisms, and also, although I already have most of the story planned out, if anyone has any suggestions then just leave them in a comment and I will see if I can possibly work it in. Thanks for reading!
~ArcticFox321