I'm alive! Did you guys miss me?

Anyway, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but things have been pretty hectic around my house. I don't own Harvest Moon any more than I did last chapter.

Chapter Three

The next morning, Carl woke me up again. As I dressed, I entertained thoughts of getting a shot gun and, consequently, having a chicken dinner later that night.

I left my shed and headed to the barn to brush Ned, Jon's horse. He was light brown and young, almost a colt. Ned let out a soft whinny at the sight of me, and I chuckled.

Brushing Ned reminded me of taking care of the animals in Mom's store. It was calming, and, without realising it, I began talking to the horse.

"There aren't a lot of kids here." I mumbled. "Rock, there's a guy I could be friends with. He reminds me of Ramon, one of my old buddies. Nami's a wanderer that's been around for a while, I guess. Muffy, jeeze! She's got some big boobs, and she ain't afraid to show 'em off. Not that I'd go for her, though-No, Celia's more my type. She's really nice and pretty. Then Lumina's a little one. She reminds me of this kid I used to watch sometimes when Mom needed extra cash. Marlin's kind of a jerk, even if he does look like Elvis. I don't know what to make of Gufusta, but he seems like someone I could hang out with. Even if he is a hippie."

Suddenly, a feminine voice rang out from outside the barn. "Hello, Mr. White. I'm Celia, the girl living with Vesta. Is Jack in?"

Celia! I swore, and Ned gave me a curious look.

"If he ain't in the shed, hes pro'ly in the barn. He loves them animals, that kid."

Traitor! I mentally yelled at Jon. How could you tell her that? Trying to appear calm, I went back to brushing Ned. That's how she found me, smiling softly.

I turned around and pretended to be suprised. "Good morning, Celia." I said.

"Good morning, Jack." she replied. Her hair looked so soft. "Are you ready for school?"

"Yeah. We're going early?"

She blushed and looked utterly adorable. "I thought it'd be nice to have some alone time. I love everyone, but they're kind of loud."

I completely agreed with her. "I'll grab my backpack."

As we climbed the hill to Mineral Town, our fingers were intertwined. In order to fill the silence, I asked about the dog.

"Oh, Jack, I was so suprised!" Celia gushed. "I never would have thought Roxie would get pregnant! There aren't any male dogs I've seen around, so it's a mystery. I took your advice and built a box for her. She's taken a liking to it."

"Come get me when she goes into labor. I've seen enough canine births to know what to do." I told her. She cheerfully thanked me.

When we got to Mineral Town, we found that we still had a while before the others got there, so we decided to sit on a bench. "This is gonna sound really lame," I warned her. "but, tell me about youself."

Celia laughed. "Well, let's see. Only child, born to two loving parents in Flowerbud Village. No romance in my life, so far. I love plants and hope to work on a farm until I die. Speaking of death, my parents...they died a few years back in a fire. I cried for a long time. I loved them both, and it was so hard to have them taken away from me." She looked at me somberly. "This may sound silly, but, if I lost you, Jack, right here and now, I think I'd cry even longer."

I swallowed, face red. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I smiled, taking her small hand in my larger one. "I'm not going anywhere, Celia. not for a while."

Waaa~ It's short! I'm sorry It's not longer, but I wanted to get another chapter up. Soon, hopefully, I'll post another one, so look forward to it.