Here's the second installment for the story! Thanks to all of those who reviewed and gave this plot a chance!

..

..

..

Chapter Two

Jack scanned the surrounding area around him, first observing the calm glistening sea, then to the large ship he was on; his heart racing as he realized it appeared similar if not exactly the same large vessel he had traveled on his first trip over to Mineral Town from the city with his parents when he was still a young boy. Except this time, he noted, it wasn't bustling with a crowd of people. Instead, it was completely desolate of life, almost as silent as the ocean the impressive ship was sailing on.

His vision quickly flickered toward his right side upon hearing a slight cough, abruptly finding himself staring at a blond boy wearing a blue cap nearly identical to Jack's. The brunet blinked, immediately noticing the boy was soaked head to toe with what seemed to be ocean water from the stringent, particularly strong smell radiating off him.

"'Bout time," the blond boy smirked, raising to his feet. Jack took a step back in surprise, realizing the water dripping from the boy continued on and on, never once stopping. It appeared as if the boy was forever drenched with water as droplets resurfaced on his skin while others trickled down his flesh, rendering him incapable of becoming dry despite the sun's intensified heat beating down on the ship's open deck. "I've been waiting for you for a while."

"I'm sorry," Jack frowned, his eyebrows knitting together as he awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck with his hand. "I don't think I've ever met you before."

The boy leaned casually against the deck's railing, a sly smirk still plastered on his tan face. "You haven't," he confirmed, "in fact, I haven't actually formally met you before either, till today at least. The name's Mark."

"I don't understand," murmured Jack, "are you the next person I'm supposed to talk to?" Mark gave him a curt nod and the brunet's frown became even more weighted than it was before. "But I don't know you. I knew May –– I mean, no offense, but I don't think a complete stranger can teach me a lesson about my life."

Mark tapped his chin gently with his index finger, his bright demeanor still clinging tightly to his youthful features. "Under normal circumstances, no, but," he pressed forward, "a stranger who died on the same ship to save you is a different story."

The brunet's interest in Mark had suddenly peaked and he furrowed his eyebrows once again, visibly uneasy at his counterpart's carefully placed words. He swallowed slowly, shifting uncomfortably in his place, and averted Mark's gaze before questioning quietly, "what do you mean?"

"You remember this ship, don't you, Jack?" Mark began, gently patting the railing beside him. "I could tell the minute you opened yours eyes you realized this was the same ship you and your parents traveled on for your first trip to Mineral Town decades back."

He then pointed to a thick rope tied to one of the metal knobs on the deck, grimacing before he wiped a wet strand of hair out of his eyes.

"I was on the ship too. I was on my way to Sunshine Islands; a few miles away from Mineral Town. The day that I died, you were playing on the deck one morning while everyone else was eating breakfast. A line had somehow snapped and, jeez you had to be six or seven back then, right? There was no way you noticed; you were too busy looking at the seagulls flocking around the ship. I could see the line swinging towards you so I grabbed onto it instead so you wouldn't be hit. I lost my footing when I grabbed onto the line and fell overboard and being so young and so distracted with the birds you never noticed so I, well, drowned."

Jack felt his stomach violently twist and turn; the reason behind the blond's drenched clothes, skin, and hair immediately dawning upon him. Swiftly shutting his eyes, he refused to clear his vision to spare another glance at Mark again, completely and utterly ashamed and perturbed at his own involvement in Mark's death.

"Don't feel bad, Jack," the blond soothed, smiling gently at him. "It was my time to go."

"But if I hadn't…"

"Listen," Mark began, placing a comforting hand on Jack's broad shoulder, forcing the other man to open his eyes upon contact. The brunet felt his shoulder dampen as the blond's hand continued to drip with ocean water. He suppressed a shiver. "I'm probably never going to be able to tell you this ever again, so hear me out, okay? People are meant to die. Don't roll your eyes at me. We're all placed on this earth with the intent of dying. We're like ticking time bombs. Don't you understand? As morbid as it may sound, we're supposed to die, to make way for someone else to be born."

He pushed himself off the railing, turning his body around to lean over the edge, his eyes drifting across the glimmering waters. "You see, Jack, death is inevitable in every life. People go through their lives never expecting it when, in retrospect, it's the only guarantee we have in life. While we shouldn't celebrate death, per say, we should embrace it because who really wants to live two hundred years? Certainly not me. I thought being twenty was a killer."

Mark's laugh rang across the horizon and Jack fidgeted uncomfortably in his place, unsure what to say or do. He couldn't bring himself to really speak with the stranger that had given up his young life for Jack's. Jack felt himself so at loss; rendered stricken and incapable of forming any words comforting enough or worth anything. He could never bring Mark back to life and instead of repaying back the blond he was forever in debt to, he was being taught a lesson by the boy instead.

"What I'm really trying to say though," continued Mark, looking over his shoulder and toward the brunet, "is that life and death balance each other out. There isn't a minute that goes by on earth without someone dying and someone being born. And because of life and death, we're all interconnected, don't you see? My death connects to your life because, in the end, deep down inside, we know all lives are somehow intertwined with one another. It somehow brings strangers like you and I together. Maybe because death missed one person and took the next, or because someone lived while others had to die. There's a method, a reason behind it. Death isn't something to be feared, because without death, life would become meaningless, and without life, there would be no point for death."

"But death can be unfair," Jack pointed out. "Like yours. You didn't need to die, you know."

"Of course I know that," Mark chuckled, examining his hand as it continued to drip water onto the floor beneath him. "But if fairness was a criteria to death, everyone would be running around trying to perform good deeds. In its entirety, it seems like a wonderful idea, but then suddenly no good person would ever die and our world would become overpopulated, resources as well as space would run out, and society would die out anyway. There's a theory; a logic, Jack, behind the cycle of life and death."

The brunet shook his head in frustration, letting out a sharp sigh as his shoulders tensed. His head was beginning to throb as words poured from Mark's mouth; seeming to float too far above Jack's head for the farmer to grasp their meaning. Nothing Mark had said to him lessened the feeling of guilt pressing against his chest. Because in the end, Jack had lived and Mark had died when the latter had no reason to die because of the simple lack of observation and awareness from Jack.

"What's your lesson then?" he pressed impatiently. He rotated his wrists, trying to loosen the anxiety that began to build within him. His eyes darted across the scenery as he desperately waited for this lesson to be done with.

"Accept death, Jack, because there's really no reason not to," shrugged the blond boy. "You're allowed to grieve over your own death or someone else's; you're allowed to be in denial, to be mad, but you can't keep asking why you died and why someone else didn't or why someone else died and why you didn't instead. There's a reason why some people pass away and why others don't."

"What was your reason to die, then?" Jack frowned. "For my stupidity?"

"You were a mere child; you were innocent," Mark replied. "You had no idea that trying to chase seagulls would account for me dying. Guilt doesn't make anything better, you know. Especially in this case because, in the end, we're both dead, right?"

"Stop making jokes," sharply hissed the farmer. "This isn't something to humor."

A faint smile curled at the blond boy's lips. "What did the person before me teach you, Jack?"

"To let go of my guilt," Jack murmured reluctantly.

Mark quirked an eyebrow upon his counterpart's response. "Because?"

Jack scowled and Mark laughed at how the farmer's sour expression made him appear ten times older than he was. "Because," he forced himself to continue, "even if I hadn't saved May like I wanted to… she still lived in her own way in the end."

"And?"

"And because guilt, like you said, doesn't change anything."

"Guilt and death often associate with one another," the blond added, "you've seen a lot of death in your life, Jack, and you've always been a decent person so it's more than understandable as to why you feel guilty over death, even when its not your fault. But like you said, feeling guilty doesn't change a damn thing. Especially death. Remember what I said, while it's always a guarantee in life, it's also what makes life worthwhile. It's what makes you cling to families, friends, and even strangers. Death's a funny thing. A cruel thing. But it never lets you go a day without thanking your lucky stars you're alive and the people you love are alive."

"I understand, I just… I don't want to accept it, because of what it's taken from me," Jack muttered, feeling his insides swell as he heard his voice crack.

"Just be glad death gave you the opportunity to appreciate what it took from you," responded Mark, giving the farmer another final pat on the shoulder. "It's the only thing on earth that makes you really appreciate anything."

This time, Jack noticed, his shoulder wasn't damp from Mark's hand. He looked at the blond boy, his eyes widening as he stared on with awe as the water began to evaporate from Mark's body. The youth gleamed now under the sunlight, no longer weighted down by the heavy ocean water. Another brilliant smile adorned the blond's face and Jack had a tugging feeling that Mark was beginning to move on while he still had three more people to go.

Unlike the chaotic shifting scenery that occurred in May's world as she finally transferred over to heaven, a familiar landmark came within view instead and the large ship slowed until it docked on the pier. Jack glanced at the blond again, uncertainty painting across his face's expression.

"Took some convincing but I think you finally got the essential concept, even if you don't want to necessarily embrace it yet," Mark smirked. "As you probably already figured out, my journey stops here, but yours continues on. Take care and it was a pleasure to finally meet you, Jack."

"I'm sorry," Jack croaked weakly. "I'm so sorry."

The blond shook his head. "Don't be sorry, not for my death. You could be sorry, however," the farmer involuntarily flinched, "for scooping up my hat and claiming ownership on it without even looking around to see if anyone had dropped it. You're lucky you look almost as good as me with it on."

Mark chuckled to himself as Jack felt his eyes growing wide at the dawning realization, instantly bringing a hand to the cap that rested on his head for most of his youth and young adult years. He vaguely remembered finding the hat lying astray on the deck of the ship decades back and, after a bit of whining, convinced his mom he could keep it –– after she washed it, of course. While Jack was lost in his thoughts, without warning, the blond gave him another push and suddenly the farmer found himself on the pier of a familiar town. Where he had started on with May.

He was here, once again, in Mineral Town.

Yep that was Mark from Island of Happiness/Sunshine Islands; still to this day one of my favorite main protagonists of all the Harvest Moon games. Also, this chapter was modeled off the Blue Man's chapter in The Five People You Meet In Heaven. Mark's general lesson is different from the Blue Man's, but the idea of life and death balancing each other out is based upon the Blue Man's take on how essential death is in life and how his own death, caused by the main character, was necessary. Next up will be Jack's love interest mentioned in May's chapter. Two lessons done, three more to go, Jack!