For the 'Loss' themed contest on The Village Square forum. Oneshot.
Based off the Game Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.. I own nothing, nothing at all.
May closed her eyes while the warmth of the sun embraced her. The exposed skin of her arms and face tingled from the sensation as the sand around her rubbed up against her skin. Her hair was sprawled out in the sand as she continued to lay down along the shore of the beach.
The scent of the salty sea air filled her senses as she listened to the waves rolling against the coast.
She grimaced as the sound of footsteps started to shuffle towards her in the sand. She silently wished that whoever it was would keep walking and leave her alone. She was so tired of talking; even listening to others' advice felt exhausting. Being alone seemed to be her only solace these days.
The footsteps stopped next to her, and she held in the sigh that wanted to escape within her.
"May..." She barely opened her eyes as she glanced up at her intruder, unsurprised to see that it was him standing there. She closed her eyes again. "May... I ran into Jack today.."
She let the sigh escape her lips, "I really... don't feel like talking Stu." He was silent for a moment, but she knew better than to think he would leave her alone.
"May, I'm really worried about you." She tensed at his words, refusing to open her eyes to look at him. "Did you really give all the livestock your Grandpa Barley left you to Jack?"
She took in a deep breath but didn't reply to him. Her heart could feel a small twinge of guilt as she thought about her actions. Was it selfish of her? Would her grandfather be upset if he had to see what she had done?
"You don't talk to me anymore, you hardly eat, you practically gave away your grandfather's entire business. You need to wake up May, I'm sick of seeing you mope around all over the place. You're falling apart." She opened her eyes to look up at him, the look on his face seemed more concerned than how harsh his voice sounded. She felt horrible.
She rubbed at her eyes, "What was I suppose to do? I'm not some aspiring rancher Stu..." her voice sounded weaker than she had hoped it would. She felt like even her own body was against her in her time of need.
"May, everyone is here for you. We want to help you through this..." He knelt down next to her on the sand, placing a strong hand on her shoulder. "I want to help you through this."
May looked up at him, feeling her eyes start to sting. Her skin felt tight as she tried to concentrate on not letting any tears fall. She sat up, taking in a shaky breath as something slid down her cheek. "I feel like there is nothing left for me in this town."
He took his hand off her shoulder, "Oh, so I'm nothing to you now?" She looked over at him and crumbled, tears falling as her hands reached out for his rigid body.
"I've hardly even seen you this past season." She said as she wrung her hands around his arm.
"That's because you kept pushing me away May. Don't blame that on me." He shook his head, his expression going blank before he looked back at her. "I'm sorry... I know this has been really hard for you. I've been trying to help you, trying to give you time alone... Elli told me I have to be patient." He placed a hand on top of hers. "I've missed you..." He then reached up to wipe her face with half of a smile. "Life isn't fun if I can't bug you all the time.."
That caused May to scoff and roll her eyes. "Great." She said.
He gave her a smile as he traced the side of her face with his finger, slowly letting his hand get lost in her hair. "I've always liked teasing you May." She could feel her body tense at his actions, having forgotten what it felt like to have him touch her.
He leaned in and she let him kiss her, automatically feeling her own body react to his. He pushed her back down against the sand.
Was this what it felt like to be alive?
She kissed him back as she pulled at his shirt to bring him closer to her. She desperately wanted to feel the ghost of emotions that used to swirl around her head when he kissed her. She wanted to be happy and carefree. She wanted to feel real again.
It felt nothing like it did before. She went through the motions but the feelings they used to share never came. There was nothing there; it just felt wrong.
"Stu.." She breathed out his name as his warm breath danced along her throat.
"Hm?" He placed a kiss on her neck.
"Stop." She said breathlessly, and she could feel him tense. He looked up at her, searching for something in her eyes. "This... it just doesn't feel right."
He stared at her for a moment before he looked away, "You need more time?"
"I don't know..." She watched him but he didn't turn to look back at her. "I feel broken Stu... Everything in this place reminds me of memories that hurt." She looked out to the ocean. "I'm not happy..." May heard him make a gruff sound as he moved away from her.
"So you're running away?" She looked at him but he continued to stare in the opposite direction. "That's why you gave all the animals to Jack, right? You're leaving." He looked at her, shaking his head. "You're so selfish May."
"That's not fair." She said looking down at the sand.
"What about everyone in town May? You're just going to leave everyone behind? Leave me behind?" He kicked at the sand. "You just want to forget all of us?" She didn't say anything.
Stu crossed his arms."We wanted to help you get through Barley's passing, not watch you run away and hide from the world like a child." He stared down at her, "You're twenty years old May, grow up."
"You're being mean Stu." She said as she shook her head. "How is it selfish if I want to live my life?" She threw her arms up in the air. "But I guess since you want me to stay here and take over Grandpa's ranch, I should just close my eyes and commit to being something I'm not for the rest of my life. Right?"
Stu was silent as he looked at her, a frown forming on his face. "We're growing apart Stu... we've always been so different." She felt the tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes again. "When we were younger it was easy... convenient."
He grabbed for her hand. "Please don't do this."
She gave him a crooked smile, "This town is getting bigger, you know. I heard some of the girls talking about you at the Inn and-" Stu didn't let her finish that sentence.
"Don't even go there. I only want you May, always have. Don't talk to me like that." She took her hand out of his grasp.
"Well I'm leaving Stu! At the end of summer I'm getting on that boat, I'm sorry!" She turned away from him.
"That's next week..." He put a hand through his hair, "Were you even going to tell me?"
She closed her eyes as another tear fell down her face. "I wrote you a letter..."
"That's all I get? After everything we've been through?" His voice was quiet as the breeze let his words float away. "Where will you go?"
"Kai told me about an art school in the city..." Her words came out shaky as she felt him gently put a hand on her arm. He was silent for a moment.
"Is it okay if I come visit you?" She spun her head around at his words.
"You mean you don't hate me?" He frowned at her, and shook his head.
"I'm not happy... but I don't want to lose you. If you need to do this..." His voice trailed off as he slid his hand up to her shoulder.
"I can't give you any promises Stu."
He nodded, letting his hair fall into his eyes. "I'll take what I can get then."
"I could really use a friend." She said as they met each others eyes.
He moved his hand up into her hair, and when he spoke his voice didn't sound as even as it usually did, "Then that's what I'll be. I'm here for you." He wrapped his arms around her and her body tingled from the familiar sensation she had come to know after so many years.
May closed her tired eyes, relaxing into his embrace. She would have to thank him one day, for letting their friendship be the one thing that would never die.