Chapter 3

Time passes while Lumina and Hiro live together. The air becomes warmer, the trees are greener, and many villagers are heading to the beach to cool off. Before they realize it, Summer has already arrived.

Hiro continues to do his everyday work. After breakfast, he goes off to work leaving Lumina at home alone to do as she wishes. He then tends his animals that he has bought over time, the crops that bloom in the summer time, and the apple trees that he planted with the seeds he got from Van's apples.

Afterwards, he goes off to the village doing his usual foraging, fishing, and mining. He spends the rest of the day next to the inn selling some goods. He doesn't come home until late in the afternoon around 6:00 pm. Afterwards, Lumina greets him, and they talk while having dinner.

There is no problems between Lumina or Hiro. . . Well, any direct ones anyway. Because Hiro leaves Lumina home alone to do as she wishes, he has no clue as to what she may be doing. They agreed that Lumina can stay so that she may look for a suitable husband. But even after a season has passed, Lumina is no closer to getting married.

One thing that Hiro has noticed over time, is that his house is being cleaned every single day. Lumina has also volunteered to do the cooking in the house. Even though Hiro appreciates the clean house, and Lumina is a fantastic cook, he can only imagine that Lumina has not been making even the smallest effort to find a husband.

Sometime in the middle of Summer, Hiro has set up his shop next to the inn like he usually does. At this moment, two house wives are buying some things from Hiro's shop. Ruby, the owner of the inn buys fresh picked crops from Hiro, while Chris purchases milk and eggs for her family.

"Okay. . . Here's your change." said Hiro after finishing a sale with Chris.

"Thank you very much. Your milk is just fantastic! I bet you take great care of your cows." commented Chris.

Ruby waves at Hiro and says, "Well, we'll be going now. Please say hi to your wife for me!"

"Uh, I'm not married." said Hiro.

"Sure you're not." they said sarcastically. They then walk away saying, "How cute! He's so embarrassed about being married."

Hiro sighs, this has become a common thing lately. Everyone in the valley already knows that Lumina lives with Hiro in the farm. Even though he has tried over and over to explain that they are just friends, everyone just laughs, and still considers him a married man. Even the other single girls see him as married.

After packing up for the day, Hiro returns to his farm. On his way back home, he passes by Takakura's house. He then runs into Takakura who is carrying some extra material he was using to build something in the pasture.

"Good afternoon Hiro." said Takakura in his usual deep tone. "I just finished building the pond like you asked. Hopefully, some ducks can move into the farm. I hear duck eggs can sell for a decent amount."

Hiro smiles and says, "Thanks for your hard work Takakura. I'm sure you did a great job like usual."

Takakura nods, and continues to walk passing him. As he walks home, he says, "Say hi to your wife for me. I need some rest for tomorrow morning."

Hiro turns around and says, "But Takakura, I already told you that me and Lumina are not married."

Takakura then raises his arm and says, "In Forget-Me-Not Valley, you do not need a wedding ceremony to get married."

As Takakura walks away, Hiro lets out another sigh. Just about everybody in the village has gotten the idea that Lumina and him are already married. He turns around and takes a good look at his house. Even though they live in separate rooms, as long as they live together, people will continue to believe that they are married. He then nods, and decides to talk to Lumina about her "Husband Searching".

As soon as he enters his home, he finds his house spotless as usual. He can't even find a trace of dirt, even if he tried. The house has been so thoroughly cleaned, that they could have been no possible way that Lumina even left the house for a moment to look for a husband.

Soon enough, he starts to smell Lumina's great cooking coming from the kitchen. He skips lunch just about every day, so he gets especially hungry as soon as he comes home. As he smells the food, he forgets for a moment about talking to Lumina about her quest.

As soon as Hiro enters the kitchen, he finds Lumina setting a couple of plates of curry on the table, along with some relax tea. For the summer season, she has changed her clothing a bit. Unlike in Spring, she is now wearing lighter clothing so she can stay cooler in the Summer. Like a pure white blouse along with a light blue skirt. She also wears a light pink bandanna around her neck, and a pink hair band.

She then looks at Hiro and says, "Welcome home Hiro. Dinner is now ready."

Without much thought, Hiro sits down, and begins eating. He is not sure if this has become a habit, or if he is just that hungry. But as he is eating, he suddenly remembers about what he plans to talk to Lumina about. He looks up at Lumina, who is also eating, but more gracefully. About this time, they start to talk about random things, mostly about Hiro. This is a tactic Lumina uses to learn a little more about Hiro every day. But today, Hiro wants to talk about something different.

"So, how is the husband search going?" Hiro asks going straight to the point.

Lumina places her fork down, and dabs her lips gently with a napkin saying, "It's going fine I guess. I am having very little luck so far, but maybe soon."

Hiro leers at Lumina suspiciously and says, "Oh really? So tell me, where have you been searching exactly. Visited any nearby villages lately?"

Lumina looks up at Hiro, and notices that he is leering at her. The last thing Lumina was expecting was an interrogation, but she knew it was coming eventually. So she places the napkin down, and says, "Well, I haven't visited any villages directly. But I have been looking through the personal ads in the newspaper. I sent a few letters out, but nobody really interests me yet."

"We do not subscribe to a newspaper." said Hiro. Even tough Lumina is an intelligent and bright girl, Hiro has come to learn that Lumina is a very bad liar.

Lumina sighs sadly, and looks away saying, "The truth is that I haven't been looking. I thought that maybe if we can get to know each other, then there wold be no need for me looking for a husband."

Hiro sighs stressfully and says, "Figures. I was wondering why have you been keeping the house clean, and cooking every day. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you do."

Lumina blushes and says, "Well, my grandmother did give me bridal training before she passed away. That way, I can become a good bride in the future."

"But even so." interrupted Hiro. "We agreed that you were going to go and look for a husband. Everyone already thinks that we are married."

Lumina begins to fidget with her fingers and says, "Well, why disappoint everyone? If everyone considers us as a couple, then maybe we should become one."

"Nice try Lumina, but I am not ready to be married yet." said Hiro. He then finishes his meal, and places the plate in the sink and says, "Thanks for dinner Lumina, it was great."

Hiro then walks out of the kitchen, and into his bedroom. Lumina remains seated in the kitchen for a while longer, thinking about Hiro. "His feelings for me hasn't changed at all. I thought for sure that by now he would at least develop something. I wonder what I am I doing wrong? Does he dislike me completely? Maybe I should just give up, and look for someone else. . ."

She then places her head down, and thinks for a while longer. As she thinks, memories of her mother and father flood her mind. As she thinks about them, she begins to feel nostalgic. A teardrop develops in her eyes as she remembers a time when she was resting on her mother's lap when she was just a little girl. She can almost remember how it feels when her mother stroked her hair.

As she was resting there, she could hear her mother saying, "Lumina, you grow more beautiful every day that passes. I wonder what sort of man you will meet when you grow up. I hope that you will meet a handsome young man who is both generous, and caring. Remember Lumina, just because someone may not come from a wealthy family, that doesn't mean that he is not the perfect person for you. I fell in love with your father not because of how much money he had, but how big his heart is. So please my dear sweet daughter, find someone who will make you happy. I believe in you."

Remembering those words her mother spoke gives her strength. She then stands up and cheers for herself saying, "No, I can't give up! I'll just have to try harder for Hiro. I know he's the one that will make mother and father proud." And so, she continues her daily routine with renewed hope in her heart.

To Be Continued.