His words are few but precious,… his smiles are small but brilliant,…. and when his steady gaze that seems to be able to unravel even the mysteries of the stars a last turns to me, I feel that those eyes have seen all my secrets…. He's pure magic; my wizard…
Hikari's PoV
"It's a new day Hikari!" a bright and cheerful voice called out to me, threatening to break the thin barrier of sleep that was allowing my peaceful dreams to continue.
I rolled over and attempted to nestle deeper into the covers hoping to drift further into sleep. If only that irritating hum of what sounded almost like insect wings wasn't zipping around my head. I waved my hand dismissively above my head hoping to bat the annoying creature away from my ear but my hand met only empty air and the humming continued.
"Come on sleepy head!" the bright voice called out again, "There lots of work to do and the day isn't going to wait up for you."
It was no use I was starting to wake up now, that cheery little voice was causing my dreams to flee, like a sun chases out shadow with the morning light. I sat up groggily looking vacantly straight out in front of me. The humming that I was now awake enough to recognize was to my left.
"Do we really have to start the day so early?" I groaned turning to my tiny companion, "Nobody else on the island is up yet."
The tiny sprite hovering in the air next to my bed shook his head disapprovingly, "You're never going to be able to save the island with that attitude Hikari." He chided lightly, "You have to keep at it and give your best every day right?"
I stared at the warm and encouraging smile of my little friend and wondered with some disgust how anyone could be so cheery so very early in the morning. He was as sensitive as a child though and not wanting to hurt his feelings I struggled to keep my face vacant of any surly expression. It was too much to expect a smile before my morning coffee.
"Alright Finn you win," I said with a yawn, "I'm up, just let me get some caffeine in my system first okay?" I said stumbling over to my refrigerator. My house was small so the kitchen was only a few steps from the bed, actually everything was only a few steps from everything in this one room cubby hole I called a house. I didn't particularly mind though, with just me and Finn here one large room was more than enough to make a home. There was a bathroom but no proper tub, I had never been so happy as the day Finn and I had managed to restore the red bell and the hot springs behind my house became useable again. I must have lived in that thing the first few days, that is until I realized that just about anybody could wander up and see me disrobed at anytime. I used the hot springs much more sparingly after that.
I pulled out some coffee beans, ground them up and brewed myself a fresh cup of coffee. Holding the cup up to my face I took a moment to take in the rich and glorious aroma before allowing myself to sip the precious liquid. I swallowed and let out a soft and contented sigh. Finn zipped over and sniffed at the beverage curiously crinkling his face slightly as he did so. I had to laugh, Finn really was like a child in so many ways and the bitter taste of coffee didn't suite him much at all. He once had a sip from my cup and I thought the stuff would kill the little guy his reaction was so strong.
"I don't get what it is about this stuff that you like so much." Finn said sitting himself onto my shoulder his cheery little voice speaking right into my ear. "But you always seem a lot happier after you've had some."
After I finished the contents of my mug it was off to work with me, I gathered up my tools for the day, double checked my calendar to be sure there wasn't something I was forgetting and stepped out into the weak morning light. I sighed as I looked over the pathetic condition of my crops. I had rung the yellow bell only a week ago, Ruth's ridiculous shipment request took some time to accomplish. She seemed like a nice lady and all when you were buying seeds and produce from her shop but that woman could be pretty shrewd when she wanted to be. Still a week wasn't long enough to feel the effects of the yellow bell and Collin's revival and so my crops were still suffering from the barren and infertile soil in which I had raised them.
"No matter how many times I look at it, it's still depressing." I said with a sigh as I took out my watering can and filled it.
"Don't worry Hikari," The little sprite patted the shoulder he was sitting on with his tiny hand hoping to encourage me, "Now that you've rung the yellow bell things will slowly get better, you'll see!"
"I hope sure hope so." I smiled fondly at Finn; it was nice to have his innocent childish brand of optimism around. He kept things from ever seeming too daunting or hopeless, his sweet and encouraging smile was so endearing I'd liked him almost instantly when we met. For what felt like the millionth time I was grateful for his company.
After work in my pitiful field was done I fed my chicken and her chick then combed, milked and fed my cow Rosie. By the time all of this was done I was already feeling weary and I decided it be best to take a bit of a break. I went back inside put away of my farming tools and washed up a bit. For the first time that day I turned my attention to my appearance having forgotten all about it in the early hours of the morning. I was instantly glad I had remembered to look in the mirror before leaving the house!
I was a mess, my hair was mussed with bed head, my clothes were wrinkled and disheveled, and there was a smudge of dirt across my forehead (probably from weeding the field). I immediately reached for the brush and began coming out my hair, the soft fluffy strands curled around the frame my face while one strand at the top of my head stood stubbornly upright. I sighed; no point in trying to fix that one, that strand of hair has always done as it pleases. I then set about washing my face and changing my clothes. As I looked through my wardrobe I made note of the decided lack of warmer clothing. It was getting towards the end of summer now and autumn would be close behind. I smiled, just the perfect excuse to go and visit the tailoring shop…
"Good morning Candace!" I said cheerily to the shy tailor as she sat outside her grandmother's shop enjoying the quiet morning.
The timid girl wrung her hands and looked down at her feet, "…Good morning…" She mumbled awkwardly. The poor girl was terrible at dealing with people; I had dropped by to say hi nearly every day since I first came to the island and she still got a bit nervous when she talked to me. I didn't mind, in fact I thought it was cute, my heart had a soft spot for Candace. If I was a guy I probably would tie her adorable self up and take her home with me just to keep her forever. I'd never tell that to her though, she's already nervous around me.
I smiled sweetly the quiet girl clad all in blue and pulled out a thermos from my rusack, "I thought you might like some tea." And I watched as her blue eyes lit up slightly, Candace was a fan of my herbal tea. Nearly everyone was actually; even the stuck up Chase wouldn't turn up his nose at my herbal teas. I had a certain skill for brewing coffee and tea probably because I drank both so often I'd had plenty of practice.
I poured Candace a mug and she took it gratefully blushing with appreciation. That's why I loved Candace you only had to give her so little for her to be so moved. I considered us to be friends and I hoped the shy girl did to.
"The shop's about to open Candace" Called a slightly demanding voice from the door way of the tailoring shop. Luna stopped talking when she spotted me, "Oh, you're here Hikari…." She sounded put out.
"Good morning to you too Luna," I said in a friendly manner, Luna and I didn't exactly get along but couldn't hate her, she was so tiny that bratty behavior was almost cute…. That is, when you weren't on the receiving end of it. "Would you like some herbal tea?" I offered.
"No thanks," Luna said haughtily turning her head away from me, but not in time to conceal the blush creeping up her face. "My tastes are far too refined for anything you could whip up."
I laughed, these two sisters weren't as different as they seemed. "That's too bad." I said lightly, "Anyway you said the shop is open?"
"Almost." Luna grumbled
"That's good I need to see about getting some new clothes for the colder months, these shorts aren't going to keep me very warm in winter."
I browsed the shop stopping to ask Shelly questions about durability and warmth here and there and took note of all the prices. It was going to cost a pretty penny for the clothes I wanted, mostly because I was picky about the style I wore. There are certain things no matter how practical and cheap I simply wouldn't be caught dead wearing. I couldn't afford to buy them today, not if I wanted to keep a good cushion of gold in my savings. I needed to make sure I always had plenty of money in case the quest to save the island turned up anymore unexpected expenses…and it always did. I bid the girl's farewell and promised Shelly I'd be back in soon to buy the clothes I was looking at.
I stepped out into the square and looked imploring at the sky. I was hoping the heavens might bestow upon me some insight on how to avoid the next task for the day. Finn and I had decided to search the Fugue Forest today, in hopes of locating the Witch Princess. There was a chance she had the missing bell that belonged to the pedestal up in the windmill Finn and I had found the other day, add that to the Blue bell down in the watery mines I'd at least located four of the bells. (Ringing them was a whole other story though.) The Witch Princess supposedly lived deep in the forest secluded from all the villagers on Castanet Island. How anybody managed living in that creepy forest was beyond me. Usually I liked forests, they evoked a sense of excitement and belonging whenever I visited them. The Fugue Forest however put me on edge there was always the sense of unnatural entities slithering around in the dark corners of your vision. I shuddered just thinking about it.
"What kind of witch calls herself a Princess?" I asked Finn curiously, "Seems a little grandiose for a person living all alone in the middle of a creepy forest."
Finn giggled, "You never know, maybe she has a castle hidden in all those trees!" He said excitedly.
"Wouldn't that be cool?" I laughed; sprite had some wild ideas sometimes.
"Well it's not a castle…" I sighed stepping out of the thicket of trees and into the swampy clearing in the forest.
Finn and I had been in the forest for hours wandering around aimlessly. There had been countless rocks and trees standing in our way and the ones that we couldn't get around had to be cut down or smashed. I was exhausted the trees in this forest never fell without a fight, but at least we had made it at last.
"But it's kind of cute!" Finn said gleefully, and I couldn't help but reluctantly agree.
It was a round building with yellow walls and pink framing with matching door and was built into the side of what looked like a giant hollowed out tree. There was clutter and junk all around the front of it and the walkway was choked with weeds but it didn't really look like a witch's abode; an antisocial, cluttered person's haven perhaps but other than being situated in a swamp in the middle of the creepiest forest I've ever seen there was nothing remotely witchy about it. I walked across the dock like bridges and approached the house…
Ok so maybe I was wrong about the house being completely un-witch-like, now that I was closer to it I couldn't shake an uneasy feeling in my gut. The pink door was surprisingly foreboding, maybe it was the sense of wrongness that hung about the house, after all cute little houses with pink doors don't belong in creepy forests. Maybe the house was purposely made deceptively cute, like the ginger bread house that lured Hansel and Gretel, maybe I wasn't supposed to feel threatened by this house…..Until it was too late. A shiver ran up my spine as my tiny companion clung to the back of my shoulder, hiding himself from the house behind me. Guess he didn't think the house was so cute anymore.
"Try opening the door Hikari." He whimpered failing in his attempt to encourage me.
I nodded and took a few brave steps towards the door and tentatively tested the handle…. It was unlocked….. Steeling my courage, and banishing any silly notions of traps and deception I slowly let the door creek open… The inside was dimly lit by what little light poured through the small windows, I looked around but there was no one to be found. The interior of the house was much like the outside, pinks, purples and reds as far as the eye could see but instead of reassuring me the garish color scheme only served to put me further on edge. I stepped into the house and began looking around for any sign of life and Finn cautiously flew in behind me.
"Hello?" I called out somewhat meekly; the house was starting to get to me.
"Is anybody home?" Finn countered a little louder than I had been.
The house remained still. With no lights on and the thin layer of dust coating every inch of the place I was guessing no one had been here in a while, maybe the witch moved? Hopefully she didn't take the bell with her. That would be a disaster, if I had to chase her all over the globe there was no telling how long restoring the island would take… longer than Castanet and the Harvest Goddess had probably…
Just then something came flying out of the shadows and lunged directly at Finn and me. We threw up our hands in cover, this is it, I thought regretfully, done in by an unforeseen adversary that I should have seen coming. I winced, waiting impact…But after a few moments of flinching and waiting for the worst I realized nothing was happening, I remained untouched. Cautiously I peered out from behind my hands…. What I saw made me laugh with relief! A large pink frog with a tiny black hat tied securely around its chin sat expectantly on the witch's coffee table.
"Rrrrrrrrribit!" It croaked at us loudly.
Finn flew closer too it and looked at it curiously, "What IS this thing?" He asked.
"It's a frog…I think." I answered looking quizzically at its unusual color, "Never seen one that color though."
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrribit RRRRRIBIT!" The Frog croaked testily.
"It has a hat, maybe it's someone's pet?" I wondered aloud.
"RRRRRIBIT RIBIT RIBIT!" It was practically screaming at us now.
"Think it's trying to tell us something?" Finn asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't speak frog do you?" I mused
Finn giggled, "Of course not!"
After witnessing the ridiculous frog my fears had faded and I began to feel silly for being so nervous in this girlish decor. Finn and I spent some time poking around the rest of the house hoping to find some trace of the Witch Princess or the bell. Nothing of interest turned up besides the strange and stout frog who was still testily croaking at us. After a few minutes it became clear the she wasn't there so Finn and I decided to head back out into the forest. That was enough bell searching for one day…
"You actually went to the witches house Hikari!" exclaimed an astonished Maya her clear blue eyes wide. "That's so cool!"
I gave her a small smile, "For all the good it did me." I sighed taking another sip of my tea.
"She didn't have any tasty snacks for you?" Maya asked curiously and my smile grew just a little wider, it was always food with this girl. I wondered if her childlike food filled mind could possibly comprehend the nature of the difficult task set before me. Not that I'd ever give her the chance to try, I hadn't really talked about the bells to any one more than absolutely necessary and I never dared mention the ailing Harvest Goddess. Finn was the only one I had to talk to about it and he was so much like a child I often feared bringing up the Harvest Goddess, the person he loved almost like a mother.
"Worse," I said my smile turning a little sad, "She wasn't even there. Now have no idea where to find her."
"You're looking for the witch?" Colleen asked walking over to us obviously having over heard my conversation with Maya, "Do you need something magical done?"
"Not exactly," I answered, "I think she has something I'm going to need, but I can't seem to find her to ask her."
Colleen put her hands to her hips and thought a moment. "Hmmmmm…" she mused staring out into the distance. Her daughter in turn propped her elbow onto the counter and rested her head in her hand, eyebrows creased together, and thought too. It seemed to physically tax the whimsical blonde to sit still and concentrate for so long. I couldn't help but find it amusing the way she was earnestly wracking her brains for a solution.
"Oh I know!" She exclaimed jumping out of her chair and slapping her palms on the counter causing both Colleen and I to nearly jump out of our skins. "Why not ask the Wizard?"
I looked at her curiously "The Wizard?" I asked incredulously, "You mean somebody actually lives in that building with the sign 'Wizard's House' displayed above the door way?" I couldn't believe it, the door had always been locked and nobody ever came out when I knocked so I just assumed the building was empty. This was the first I'd ever heard any of the town's people speak of any Wizard and such strange and mystical things were usually at the top of people's gossip list.
Maya nodded vigorously, the brilliance of her idea overtaking her more and more with every passing second, "He's the fortune teller," she said her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, "He can tell you all sorts of things about people, what they think of you, what they like, what they don't like, maybe he can tell you where the Witch is!" she squealed in excitement.
"His talents certainly are useful for situations like these." Colleen agreed and I just stared disbelieving at the two of them. So wait, there actually was a wizard, living smack dab in the middle of Harmonica Town? And despite me having lived here for quite some time now we'd never met? How was that even possible?! Not having met the witch I could understand, she lived all the way out in those woods making her house nearly impossible to get to and if the town was larger it wouldn't be at all that shocking that there were still people I had yet to meet, but someone living in this tiny town? Where on earth did he hide all day? This island wasn't that big and I traversed nearly all of it almost daily.
"You ok Hikari?" Maya asked looking cornered with my flabbergasted expression, "Do you not like my idea?"
I quickly moved to regain composure, "No Maya that actually sounds like a great idea." I reassured her, "I'll try asking the wizard what he knows next, thanks for your help."
I walked out of the Inn and poked Finn who had been dozing on my shoulder lightly to wake him up "Are you done napping yet?" I asked him playfully.
The bleary eyed sprite looked up at me ruefully, "Not really," he answered groggily, "I'm still kind of sleepy."
I laughed, "If you didn't get up quite so early this wouldn't happen." I teased.
"We have to get up early Hikari!" Finn insisted, "You know that."
I chuckled, "I know I'm only kidding," I told him lightly, "But we may have a new way of finding the witch."
"Really?!" he asked excitedly, he flew of my shoulder and hovered in the air in front of me, "Already?! You're just awesome Hikari!"
"I don't know about that," I said blushing slightly from his blatant praise, "Maya helped me out a little is all, if I hadn't been talking to her I'd still be where I we were when we left the forest."
Finn just smiled at me undaunted, apparently it didn't matter how I got the information or how reliable it was. The only thing that mattered to the little guy was that we were moving forward. Progress meant hope, for Finn and the other harvest sprites, for the Harvest Goddess, for all of us. Lately I was beginning to feel the weight of my quest to summon the Harvest King sag heavily on my shoulders. I tried to keep it light and simple focusing on the adventure aspect of all of it; I was on some grand quest to save the island I now called home. I was no ordinary farmer but the one appointed personally by the beautiful Harvest Goddess to save the land. I could speak to the magical sprites that most people couldn't even see, and I mere moral that I was, actually talked to a goddess. But the grim realities were never far behind these shimmering thoughts; that goddess who had spoken to and chosen me was ailing, and the island was dying with her precious tree. A tree only the Harvest King could restore (I hoped), and nobody had seen him in over a hundred years…
I fought back the urge to sigh; I didn't need any more of my happiness to slip away from me. Staying cheerful and positive was the only way I was even going to get through this and I wanted to do this, with every fiber of my being I wanted this. It was hard sometimes sure but I wanted more than anything to save this little island, I loved it. The people here were so vibrant and colorful (Some of them quite literally have you seen the hair colors around here?) the landscape was scenic and my farm, though struggling had the potential to someday become bountiful. Castanet Island was my home, and I planned on making a life here.
"Hikari?" Finn asked worriedly, I had gone quiet on him, lost in my own thoughts, he didn't like when I did that, "Are you ok, you look kind of down."
I gave him my best smile, "It's nothing." I told him, "I just got distracted for a second that's all."
"So where are we going to look for the witch next?" He asked curiously.
"The Wizard." I replied almost cryptically, Finn looked confused and I chuckled a little before explaining, "I was thinking a little mystical help couldn't hurt, besides magical beings of Castanet Island is a pretty small community, I bet the Witch and the Wizard know each other. He'll probably be able to point us in the right direction."
I turned on my heel and began climbing up the stone steps that lead up the wizard's house.