Yay! Another story, and a Harvest Moon one at that! This one's especially for my friend. Hope you all enjoy as well, however! c:

The Prologue: On the way to the Island

The call of seagulls could be heard as Akari stood on the dock, waiting for the boat to come and pick her up. It was a warm spring day and the air was light and crisp and smelled like salt, unlike the thick, smelly city air that she was used to. She inhaled and exhaled, then smiled. Akari would be starting anew today. She would abandon this old life that had caused her so much misery. She suddenly remembered something that had happened not too long ago and bit her lip. No, Akari! You must start a new life! You can't let bad memories from the past take you over! She shook her head to get rid of the remaining thoughts of her past and heard the low "Bhhooonnk, bhooonk!" of the ship that came towards her. Gripping her things tightly in her hand, she boarded the boat and was greeted by the captain.

He introduced himself. Pascal was his name. He asked her several questions, like, "What is your name? When were you born? What is your favorite food? Oh, and what is your reason for coming to the island?" All of the questions were easy to answer, except for the last one. It took her a moment to say something. She was trying to think of a way to say it without giving out too much information.

"Let's just say that I'm trying to start fresh. I'm trying to take my mind off of bad things from the past. And since I love animals and running a ranch always sounded lovely to me, I've decided to come to Waffle Town to run the abandoned one." Akari smiled another one of her sweet smiles, but this time, her expression held sadness. Pascal decided not to ask her anything more and headed back inside part of the boat where he would steer the ship. Akari decided to stay outside and wanted to enjoy the sea breeze a bit more. As the ship let out another "Bhhoonk," it pulled away from the deck and headed off in the direction of where it came from.

The wind blew Akari's short, dark hair as she stood there, surveying the sea. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she realized that she would be leaving the city that she had grown up in and was so used to. The people whom she had lived with [her so-called parents and siblings] may have not treated her the best, but the city was her home. The scent of salt and clear, crisp air was refreshing, but she already missed the smoggy air of the city.

Once she realized that she was crying, she quickly wiped the tears that now streamed down her face with her free hand, and slapped herself mentally for crying about the place that she desperately wanted to leave behind.

Being lost in her thoughts helped the time pass by for Akari, because when she looked up at the sea again, the were nearing another brown dock. Mountains and buildings were now in view as the boat inched closer and closer to the little island. This is your new home, Akari, she thought.

Eventually, the boat stopped and she and Pascal stepped onto the brown dock. It creaked and groaned under their weight.

"Welcome to Waffle town, Miss Akari. I hope you enjoy it here, although it's not the same as it used to be. You're the first person I've been able to pick up in quite a while. Usually it's stormy and I'm not able to go out to sea, but today, you are lucky because it was pretty calm and sunny. Maybe you'll be the one to restore our little village... the Harvest Goddess seems to have abandoned us because most people forgot about her. She took away the wind and took the nutrients from most of the soil, she even made it stormy so that no one can enter or leave the Island. Ah, so anyways, you should go explore town and meet Mayor Hamilton so that he can show you to your house. Bye, Akari."

Akari ignored most of the things Pascal said to her. All she heard was "You should go explore town and meet Mayor Hamilton so that he can show you to your house," and "Bye, Akari."

So this is Waffle town, huh? Hope I meet lots of new people. Anyways, I should go see this Hamilton person...

And with that, Akari set out to find the mayor. A new life, A new life!