Wow...I'm so slow..LOL. Blames it on school XD. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter it was a long wait although not many people were waiting anyhow LOLS. D LALALALALLALALALA -EXPLODES- Oh god. Thinking of the next chapter will seriously do some damage to my brain.
(My apologies if there are any spelling mistakes as I don't have spell check...but I read through it a few times XD. But of course...there's that "Still..." doubt hanging in my mind)
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"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."
Confucius
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Rise and shine, my fellow camper!
A cheerful voice disturbed my sleep. I squinted at the red suited figure standing by my side. The sun was peeking behind some clouds, but still, it's powerful rays stabbed my eyes. Those sharp pains immdiately woke me up from my sleeping daze.
You still remember me, right? I'm Thomas!
Those words almost came out like squeaks. As I raised my eyebrows at him, his mouth dropped open, and he whimpered.
Are you still angry at me?
I pulled off the covers and relieved my eyes from the bright sky.
Don't worry, I'm just tired. Besides you talked too much for me to forget.
Those words could hurt some people, but I supposed Thomas took it as a compliment. He gave a delighted gesture.
Ah – you noticed already! The whole town knows about my chattiness. I'm famous for my mouth, but I'm pretty sure the people exaggerate. I don't talk that much, do I?
Uh…
I paused and decided it was best if I didn't answer. I hardly doubt he could stop talking for a minute. He looked nervous for a second. The silence must be killing him.
Oh! I realized I didn't show you around the farm yet. Let's go for a tour, and I'll give you tips along the way. Sounding good?
Sure. It's fine.
I followed Thomas around for thirty long minutes. We went on an unbelievably boring tour of my farm. Thomas was, for sure, a morning person, since his was face was constantly bearing a grin. We strolled down the farm paths, with Thomas asking me questions.
Rhea, you know you need to water the crops in order to make it grow?
I rolled my eyes at him.
Of course.
He shot me a look of pure happiness and he continued, telling me everything I already knew. I was afraid to interrupt him, in case it would hurt his feelings. I didn't want to have enemies this soon, especially not with the mayor. As time passed, he finally gave me his final speech.
Come visit me, if you have any questions at all! I've got to go work now, have a great day!
Bye.
I immediately made a mental note to not converse with the mayor again. Not if I wanted a severe case of boredom. When the energetic old man finally left, I thought I would get some peace and quiet, but as always, I was wrong. The mayor was quickly replaced by a gigantic man who towered over me. He spoke with a grin.
Welcome to Mineral town! I'm Zack, the shipments handler. You must be Rhea, right?
Words traveled fast in this town. Perphaps it was because Mineral Town seemed more like a small community than town. I decided to be friendly.
Yeah. Nice to meet you.
Zack grinned even wider, and launched off into another farm lecture. It boggled my mind, that you had to consider so many things while farming. Perphaps farming wasn't as simple as it looked. My mind faded away as minutes passed, and I couldn't help, but think of him.
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Solemnness covered the house. Days has passed since I learned of the death of my mother, and the disapperance of my brother. People gave up hope of finding my brother, and they thought that he most likely drowned in the big flood in our city. I often wondered, why did God chose such gentle angels to be killed, but he lets the devils roam in this world. Tears slipped down as I thought about my family. Why…why…
Rhea! You have mail.
My father's voice traveled through my bedroom door. I let him in, and I noticed the dark circles under his red eyes. He must have been crying again. This wasn't a strange sight anymore. I took the letter from his big hands.
Thanks, Dad.
He silently closed the door behind him. I flopped down on my bed and ripped open the letter. I immediately recognized the familiar writing, and I gasped. It was so long since I heard from him.
"Dear Rhea,
I heard about the bad news. I'm sorry; For such ill fate, and for that I cannot do anything except to write to you. I am glad, however, you are safe and not hurt. Over this period of time, I hope you'll get over the death, and your brother will be found. Forgive me that I cannot comfort you in person, but please understand that I understand your pain. Perphaps you are suffering more than I did, when my mother passed away, because I was only three. Your mother was one of your greatest friends, you told me once. Because of that, you must let go of the past, and continue leading a good life. Always keep in mind that your mother would like to see you strong and smiling from that cloud of her's in Heaven.
I wish you the best…"
Tears blurred my vision and I couldn't continue. I was shakened by his hand writing…it was so long since I saw it. I knew I should be moving on now, and that I should be angered by his sudden departure one month ago. But how could I? My love for him seems to be just as deep as before.
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Rhea?
Ah! Sorry.
Well, that's all I have to say. Have a great day!
Then he turned around and walked out. Oh god. I wasn't listening to one word he said. I yawned and sighed. The ground wasn't too comfortable as a bed, and my back started hurting. I decided to clean my cottage, hoping for a better night's sleep. Perphaps I could even meet the townspeople if I was in the mood afterwards.
I took a deep breath before I entered the cottage. I threw open the maroon door and dashed across the room, searching for a window. My eyes widened in surprise of finding none, and I was forced to take a breath of the dust filled air. I coughed several times before my body was used to the musty air. Opening the door to its maximum, I tried to fan all the dust away – without much success. In the end, I reached from a broom and started sweeping the floor. After an hour and a half of hard work, I managed to make the cottage more liveable, and more me. On the painted yellow walls, I stuck a few posters of my favourite rock bands, along with a few pictures of my dear ones. I exchanged the plain white cotton bedsheets for my own deep sea blue and turquoise coloured sateen sheets. After correcting the time on the old clock I found, and dusting the old TV for the final time, I stretched my muscles. I felt alive after the exercise, and seeing the cottage in a better shape cheered up my mood.
I decided to ignore the neglected field before me, and scrambled up the stone paved path, behind my cottage. The wind whiped my light blonde hair around my shoulders and my blue overalls was embraced by the brown dust. Reaching a path fork, I decided to turn right. The first red roofed house that appeared on the left seemed pleasant enough so I knocked, and walked right in. The sounds of metal hitting metal and the roaring fire startled me, but what shocked me the most was the imposing figure of the boy, Gray. He and the other man in the room were not distracted by my sudden appearance from their heated argument. Gray roared at the old man behind the counter.
Tell me! What in the world is wrong with it?!
The old man replied with the same amount of ferocity.
Can't you tell?! You are still beginning to understand the arts of metalworking. Look deep within you and you'll find the answer there.
I was about to leave quietly as possible, that way I could go before it gets ugly. However, my actions were much too slow, and Gray finally noticed me. His deep blue eyes drilled into mine, and I was amazed by coldness and yet beauty of those icey spheres.
What?! Nothing else better to do than laugh at me? You –
Gray, watch your manners. My apologies for my rude grandson. Ah! You must be new here. My name is Saibara the Blacksmith, and welcome! You are…
I'm Rhea. Nice to meet you.
I smiled politely at him, and then at Gray. Saibara quickly nudged Gray.
Um…I'm sorry for earlier. I was just distressed by my grandfather's comment. He never seems to like anything that is made by my hands. Sometimes I just want to quit, you know?
I know what you mean. Sometimes work gets so hard that you want to just want to give up. You must listen to that inner voice of yours to continue. Your grandfather is probably extra hard on you to make you a better blacksmith.
He breathed out and replied.
You're right. I'm such a wimp for wanting to give up already. My bad for whinning so much!
Nah, it was nothing. Happened to be before…when I couldn't persevered on my further education, and well – here I am!
Well it's not that ill fated for you to come to Mineral Town. It's a pretty nice place compared to those darn cities. Um…
He gave a quick glanced back at his waiting teacher. I quickly took the hint.
You should continue working. Sorry for intruding your training.
Haha, no problem. Maybe I'll see you around.
Yeah. I guess I'll go now, bye.
Bye.
He turned back to Saibara and grabed the hammer again. The pound, pound, pound of the hammer striking the heated iron followed the rhythm of my beating heart. I turned swiftly towards the wooden door and grasped it with my pale hands. I slowly opened the door, drawing in the sunlight. The scenery was a perfect match for an aubade I heard not long ago. Those pure, teasing notes were played once again in my memories, and I found myself longing for those young, innnocent days. Those days where I spended it together, and not alone.
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Thanks for your reviews ) To:
DemonPanther – LOL so many compliments 3;; For some reasons everyone has this "idea" that Gray is completely cold and uncaring dude in the beginning. In my harvest moon game in the beginning, he said welcome and stuff D: I don't find him menacing at all. I'm trying to make Gray just sound neighbory heh because I don't think he'll be like –evil glare- at Rhea the first time they meet, since she's the newcomer. (I'm supposing they don't get permanent visitors often) LOLOL. I'm sooooo slow for this chappie heheh THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT TT.TT. -tears of joy-
iChocoLove – LOL. Your writers block is over by the time this chapter is posted heheh. –COUGHS- My microsoft word doesn't have grammar or spell check –cries- CORRECTION: I am not a bum (random coughing heard in the background)
Devilishduck - D I guessed already what your fav word would be…I was actually thinking of you when I typed in carrot XD Dunno why My brain is a strange place.
Such kindness Duckie darling! Can't believe all you guys survived through all my chapters heheheheh.