Misguided Gift
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Harvest Moon. Except a few games. But I didn't make them, okay?
Chapter 2: Muddle of Memories
Jack was feeling a little put out after being forced to leave his shiny red car by the coast. Admittedly, he knew he would have to get rid of it eventually, since he highly doubted that many of the villagers in Mineral Town had ever since such technology. (Of course, he wasn't implying they were stupid...). He sighed loudly, his forearms rested on the metal safety bars whilst his eyes searched the coast from the boat. He could see the red blob that he used to call his car, now belonging to some stranger. He'd tried his best to sell it to a random person, of course not receiving as much money as he'd hoped for...
He forced his attention somewhere else, instead settling his eyes on the horizon, where the sun, a calming colour of orange, was setting over the beautiful blue ocean. Subconsciously, Jack smiled, this particular scenery something he hadn't seen for a long time.
Dressed in blue overalls and a tatty baseball hat, Jack marched down the road with obvious pride. A pretty straw basket hung from his arm, swinging back and forth in rhythm with his steps. His childish smile wormed its way on his face; there was nothing that could get him down, not when he was on a special errand for his grandfather. He began his ascent up the hill, until he reached an open field full of vineyards growing grapes.
When he squinted his wide, brown eyes he saw a small purple blur in the distance, one of the Vineyard's workers called Kai. He waved enthusiastically with one hand, whilst shaking the basket in the other, trying to catch the boy's attention.
The little boy approached him with a lopsided grin. "S'up bro? What you doin' here?" He greeted him with a hand outstretched, and the two bumped shoulders and grinned boyishly at each other.
"Delivering important stuff," Jack replied, glowing with pride, and his grin now covering half of his face.
"Awesome!" Kai exclaimed, "Your gramps finally let you help out!" He said, with as much enthusiasm as Jack himself. Jack had long overlooked Kai's tendency to get as worked-up about other people's fortunes as his own. He put it down to his nature.
"Yeah, I know," Jack agreed excitedly, "I'm going to prove that I'm mature enough for farm work!"
Kai nodded and grinned. "Good luck bro," He told him, patting him on the shoulder. His dark eyes looked up at the sky, and he scrunched his brow. "Whoa dude, look! The sun's settin'!" Kai cried out, sharply jabbing a finger at it.
Jack glanced up, his jaw dropped promptly open. "Wow, you're right! Man, that's pretty!" He almost felt inclined to say it was beautiful, but he decided it just wasn't cool for a boy to use that word.
The two boys watched the sunset in wonder, never realising the world had such beauty.
Jack furrowed his brow. Where the hell had that come from? He never had flashbacks like that, and neither did he like to. He pushed the thought right from his mind, he detested remembering his childhood.
He watched the sunset vaguely, his mind slipping half into sub-consciousness, but enough for him to remain standing.
Hours went past, and Jack had yet to notice. Only once a green sliver of an island appeared on the horizon did his sleepy eyes try to focus again. As the boat approached it, he saw that a beach stretched along the whole of one side, and decided that it would provide a great place for tanning. (No, he wasn't a girl, but a nice tan always looked good).
It took another half hour for the boat to be close enough to dock by the pier, which was looking rather shabby and unstable. The captain of the boat revealed himself to Jack, though only his back, as he announced to all his passengers about their arrival. Jack scratched his head and glanced around, noting that he was the only one on board. He watched the man's back, observing that the guy was unnaturally tall, and had spiky black hair.
For some reason, a small sign of acknowledgment sparked in his mind, and he couldn't figure out why. Jack felt like he knewthis man from somewhere, but when he stared at him he couldn't work out from where.
"You're getting off right?" The captain asked from the opposite side of the boat, his voice gruff, yet for some reason not intimidating.
Jack nodded curtly, grabbing hold of his suitcase and clambering off the boat. He managed to drag it to the beach before he bumped into something small but very solid.
He looked up, and came face-to-face with a peculiar-looking man, with brown puffs of hair either side of his head, and a tiny pair of spectacles on his nose right above his groomed moustache. He was dressed in a bright-red costume, a combination of a suit and top hat.
Jack knew this man. There was no way this could be anyone else...
"Mayor Thomas?"
End of Chapter Note:
Well, what do you think? Isn't it weird how that ended? I do love suspense. I suck at everything else, mind you. Oh wait, I suck at suspense too. Well, enjoy it anyway, I tried my best.
