Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
The Doctor Is In
Prologue
In a prosperous home of 3-2 Flower Bud Lane, an earnest farmer and his compassionate wife are getting ready to start the day to go about their business in their red roof home. The young man in blue overalls is gathering his inventory, while the cheerful young woman with pink hair and a dark blue country dress is feeding the family dog and pig a nice meal. They manage to go about their daily routine, despite the loud ruckus heard from outside.
"Jack, Darling, are you almost ready?", the wife called out.
"Oh, sure Lyla! I already got the Pumpkin Soup from the kitchen, and right now I'm just gathering my tools!", the farmer called out.
In record time, the piggy finished its meal in satisfaction. Lyla chuckled and pet it happy. "That's right, Gullinbursti, just finish it up! You need your food to keep you going throughout the day!". She then turned to the dog, steadily chowing down on its own meal. "That's okay, just take your time, Etchel. It'll be fine as long as you finish your meal...".
With the last few moments, Jack put all the tools he needs in his rucksack, then quickly grabs an object from the shelf.
"Al right. Lyla, I'll be taking off now!", Jack announced.
"Where are you going today, darling?" Lyla asked.
"Well... after I finish tending the animals, I'm going to do some mining for ponata root, and also go foraging in the mountains. I'm planning on gathering at least a week's worth. The Doctor tries to gather what he can on his off-time, but I can tell he needs all the help he can get gathering medicinal herbs. The poor guy works hard enough at the office already, and it can be very stressful, even with the help...", Jack explained.
"Oh, that's right! You and Doctor Alex moved in around the same time, right? Yes, I can see you two are really good friends. Well, it's nice to know you had someone to talk to when you first got here", Lyla answered. "It was a little rough for me when I was new. My old home a bit far from the village, and I would always wake up with no one to greet me. And, even when I finally set up shop at Flower Bud Village, Hearily Lyla was still away's off from the Square, so I would have to wait a few hours before someone finally greet me. I still remember when you would always come in an hour before I had to close. You were always out of breath, but still ready to hold a conversation".
Lyla chuckled, while Jack blushed and laughed.
"That's because I ended up sprinting to her place at the end of the day", Jack thought to himself, "There was too much to do, and my tools weren't as good back then... I was thankful Carl opened that cafe of his when he did. I was afraid I'd pass out before making it to the gift shop! ...if only I had known you adored Pinkcat flowers... I would've given her
more of those than those blueberries... at least those still made her smile...".
While Jack tried to approach Lyla for one last moment, the pink-haired lady finally turned her attention to the noise outside. "I've managed to put it out of my mind for awhile, but... what is that noise?".
Jack listened carefully for the noise as well, although he didn't need to concentrate so much to catch it. He then fell on his but and sighed.
"W-what?", Lyla reacted.
"That... "noise" sounds awfully familiar", Jack groaned.
"Really?", Lyla responded, "but I've never heard anything like that before".
"That's because... you've never been to Cafe Callaway before", Jack answered frankly," but... it sounds far too close by to be coming from there".
The married couple looked at an open window, noticing a commotion from the hospital.
"What's going on there? Is there an emergency? Is someone ill?", Lyla asked her husband.
Jack merely lowered his head in disgust. "I have a feeling I know what's going on there... I should probably help the Doc as soon as possible, but I should still stick to my schedule. There's only so many hours in the daytime, and I can't afford to waste them recklessly. Besides, I'm sure good ol' Auzzie can handle himself in the meantime".
"But... but... darling, this looks serious!" Lyla exclaimed.
Jack chuckled nervously. "He'll... be...fine. I'm sure", he calmly explained. "Here you go. I hope calms you down". He then gave his lovely wife the object from the shelf, which turned out to be a Pinkcat flower.
"Oh...okay", Lyla simply stood there blushing, staring at her husband as he took off for work
Chapter 1
Meanwhile, at the hospital, an irate, childish woman is relieving her
stress right next to the calm, yet rather stressed working doctor in white. She wore a fancy, although girly-looking frilly black dress. Her red locks were styled in curls, which even more so enhanced her childish appearance.
The doctor himself had nice head of black hair, with a notably handsome face to boot. With his composed, unflinching gaze, he was easily the type to catch the attention of any girl, although he himself is unaware of this.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT MAN! UGGHH! THAT CARL MAKES ME SOOOOOOOOO MAAAADDDDDD!" yelled the angry girl.
"Katie, can you please calm down just for a minute? I'm trying to make some Potion for emergency purposes... it's the only thing that seems to wake people up whenever someone passes out in the village, and I'd like the keep some quick relief in hand whenever possible", the Doctor politely asked.
"WEELLLLLL, IF CARL EVER WORKS HIMSELF TO DEATH, DON'T EVEN BOTHER HELPING HIM! HE'S A JERK! A CRUEL JERK! HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO GET BETTER!", she exclaimed.
Dr. Alex sighed. "Well, I'm sorry that your boss has continually offended your sensitive emotions, but I suppose I should inquire... .what exactly are you doing here anyway?".
Katie suddenly calmed down and made a sad, pouty baby face. You see...", she started off, "it's because you're the only one in this entire village who'll actually listen to me!", she confessed, "That stupid Carl never appreciates my ideas! He's always turning them down without a second thought, saying "You should consider the taste of the desert much more so than the appearance", or "that Cayenne will ruin the flavor!", or "that's way too many eggs!", or something equally annoying! Then there's the farmer Jack, who always makes it his mission to stay away from me whenever I try to talk to him! And that creepy guy Joe, who always watches me from the corner! I think he's a stalker! ...sure... Ellen always tries to strike a conversation with me, but I have a feeling she's secretly afraid of me like Jack!".
While Katie rambles on with her complains, Dr. Alex casually continues his work on making Potion.
"but still... that stupid Carl... THAT STUPID CARL... my "so-called" boss... IS ALWAYS THE WORST OF THEM ALL! CRITIZING ME EVERY TIME!", she yelled. "I'm surprised the Cafe is doing so well, relying solely on HIS cooking! I mean, in reality, he wouldn't cooking if a cookbook smacked him in the head! I deserve to be in charge! I bet we'd get more customers if I were the head chef! Not Carl!".
Dr. Alex then slowly turns his head to face the crazed beast. "... Katie, could it be that you're actually frustrated because there's chance you actually might have feelings for him, and that he seems to refuse to acknowledge the efforts you make to help the Cafe?", he calmly guesses.
Katie's face becomes sad and pouty again. "Now why would you see that?", she asked in a soft tone. "Doesn't the time we spend together like this mean anything to you?".
Slowly and steadily, Katie inches closer to Dr, Alex's body and tries to make a move. Dr. Alex abruptly stops his procedure, then casually avoids Katie's maneuver just by walking away.
"I apologize, Katie, but it looks like my time here is up for now. If you can excuse me, I must go check up on Miss Dia". He then heads out the door with some medicine and medical instruments in hand.
"What? But we haven't finished talking yet here! DOCTOR!". Katie stood hesitantly at first, but then she makes a mad dash towards the door a second later. Her hesitance is then immediately rewarded with a door slam right in front of her face. Katie flails her arms around in a panic.
"Curse that Dia girl!", Katie thinks to herself. "If she didn't have to hang around in Flower Bud Village... I would most certainly have the doctor all for myself! Her illness is getting in the way of my happiness! I won't stand for this! I won't!"
Katie then clenched both her fists and took in a deep breath. "DOOOOCCCCTTTTEEEERRRRRRR!". Her eerie wail could be heard throughout the entire village.
Undaunted, the dedicated Doctor heads next door to the sanatorium, currently in the care of his assistant, Gina.
The light blue hair, glasses wearing nurse graciously welcomed the doctor with great respect. Her braids draped to the side, giving an unusual, though somehow effectively cute appearance. "Good Morning, Doctor. You should be pleased to know that everything is in top shape. The utensils are perfectly polished and I've done everything I can to ensure Miss Dia's health is taken care of".
Dr. Alex looks a little flushed at first, and then he takes some time to look around the room.
"Ah, ahem... yes... the first floor looks perfectly clean as usual... uh... keep up the good work". Dr. Alex muttered to himself a little, and then he steadily slowly walked upstairs with Gina already making her way back to the top floor.
Upstairs, Dia was resting comfortably on a chair in a fine looking green dress. Her shoulder-length black hair curved outward at the end, and was crowned with a yellow hair band. She greyish eyes had a rather wistful expression to them, expression emotion nearly as vague and controlled as Dr. Alex himself, however, a hint of loneliness somehow shone.
"Dia, the Doctor is here again! Please be on your best behavior and cooperate with him!", Gina shouted to her childhood friend as she walked up the stairs along with the Doctor.
"Understood, thank you", Dia said in a soft voice, which managed to be loud enough to be heard downstairs. She silently nodded to herself as she acknowledged the doctor's arrival.
The reputed Princess of Flower Bud Village usually kept much about her life and thoughts to herself. In fact, the only two people she has been able to saying anything about such things were her childhood friend, Gina, and the earnest and hardworking Jack, who managed to earn her trust and become a new confidant. However, out of every person in Flower Bud village, the one person that made her most nervous was Dr. Alex. It wasn't that she was deathly afraid of his presence like some reoccurring nightmare. Actually, it was quite the opposite. Ever since her first checkup, Dia immediately fell for him. It was bad enough that she was quite shy to begin with, but she also noticed the way that the one she loved so dearly always looked at his diligent nurse, and her most trusted friend. It was a tough position for her to be in for sure, but it proved some convenience that Gina could never notice Alex's feelings for her. Nonetheless, Dia's conscious continually told her to help her friend see the truth, over achieving an ideal romance. She owes her much, and he would prefer to see the two of them happy or another's sadness any day.
Gina came up first with her warm smile. "I'm sorry to have to leave two you alone for a while, but I've got a few errands to run. I'm sure you'll be find for the moment, just please try to relax".
Dia looked a little anxious for a moment. "Relax? But... but you know how exactly I feel when he's around... it's much too hard for me to relax without you around! Besides... why can't you understand... the way he is around you?".
Gina laughed nervously. "Around me? The Doctor can be overcritical with me sometimes, but I'm sure he trusts me all the same. We've been working at this together for a long time now, so we understand our work relationship. But for him to actually like me in THAT way? That can't be possible! Anything beyond a bond of friendship between us strictly profession-related! Besides, it must be your anxiety that must be acting up! Maybe... if you can gather the courage to tell him one day, you wouldn't feel so doubtful about this kind of thing and gather these sort of assumptions", she assured.
Dia sighed. "I'm... serious, though. Don't you ever see him turn red whenever he looks at you as well? Is it that you fool yourself into thinking he's simply tired, or burning out from work?". She then paused for a moment, feeling like she's sounded too harsh and forceful again. She continued in a softer tone, "Have you ever once considered wondering... if you had feelings for him?".
Gina shrugged. "Honestly, Dia. I don't feel there is anything between the two of us regarding a relationship on love. It feels out of the question in my mind. Besides, I feel like he has a bunch of things in his mind other than romance when he's with me. He's always complementing me on my work, but he never made any sweet gestures or anything like that. He's always such the workaholic!", she sighed.
"But... but...", Dia uttered in her attempt to communicate further to her friend.
"Just relax!", Gina giggled, "you don't have to tell him right away! Just wait for the right moment, and it'll at work out! In the mean time, have fun with the checkup!". And with that, Gina headed toward the stairs with the Doctor finally making it
"Goodbye, Dia!", Gina called out. She waved her hands to her old friend one more time before she made her way downstairs and out of the sanatorium.
This left Dia alone with the Doctor in uncomfortable silence.
She sighed to herself again, concerned about what her dear friend constantly fails to notice. She took a look at the cool and collected doctor, whom she can deeply emphasize with.
Dia had a lot on her mind. "Gina... I know he seems awfully professional around you most of the time, but he's actually struggling to find the words he really wants to tell you, just like I'm having a hard time trying to tell him how I feel.", she thought to herself. "As much as it hurts me... I honestly wish you would take some time to know what he's really going through. It pains me to see how anxious he gets when you keep your distance like that. He must think... you're not even interested at all".
In his usual calm manner, Dr. Alex approached his patient with stethoscope in hand. "Now then, are you ready for your checkup?", he asked calmly.
Dia simply nodded in response, but her face started reddening.
Wasting no time, Dr. Alex went on with his usual routine with his daily patient.