Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest Moon series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Natsume Games and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.
This is a work of fiction, any similarity or likeness to any events or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
A/N: Welcome back! The end of the Mary arc. With this, the stage is now set and all the details are revealed. All that's left is to tell the story. Please review below and I'll see you all next Sunday!
Voice4TheMute Presents
With three people now working on the farm and with Mary's tips and strategic mind, we were able to be 'more efficient' as Mary like to put it. It was a rough process for her, but Mary was able to overcome her simple fear of getting dirty and using sharp tools. Every day I would look over at her as she would try something she was scared of doing. I would silently cheer her on, despite it being relatively simple task like using a sickle or cutting wood for lumber. The more she took small risk likes these, the more her angel wings shined. When I told the Goddess about the wings on her back, she was excited for me, telling me to keep guiding her down the road of independence. Whatever task I give her, I don't have to remind her what she should be careful about. She knows the inherent risk of her task and she just simply…ignores them.
Until one day…
Harvest 104: The Angel of Knowledge
"Ouch!""
My head perked up, hearing the sound of pain from a girl's voice Panic filled my body as my brain starting to run at one hundred miles per hour. My prime concern was May's safety. I quickly ran over to where May and picked her up. May, however, looked at me confused on why I was holding her up, moving her around, and lifting her arms up and down.
"Uncle Jack? What are you doing?" She asked as she occasionally giggled as I lifted her arms up and down.
"I heard a scream just now. Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?" I asked but May shook her head quickly.
"I'm ok uncle, but I think that came from Mary." She said as she pointed over to where Mary was sitting, rubbing her foot. I got nervous at the sight. If Mary is injured, this could be bad for me and my plan to make her independent.
"Keep watering May. If Mary is injured, then I'll take her to the clinic. Keep working and watering the plants and keep my dog close by just in case, ok?" I said to her as she nodded. I jogged my over to where Mary was sitting, rubbing what looks like to be her ankle. "Are you ok Mary?" I asked with a sense of calmness in my voice to make sure I don't panic her.
"Oh…I'm ok. I think." She said to me in her blue and white checkered farming outfit she wore whenever she helped me on the farm. I offered her a hand to get up, hoping that I was imagining things. As she pulled herself up, I saw her instantly fall forwards towards me. Catching her, I guided her down back down to the field. "Ow ow ow…no. I don't think I'm ok…" Mary said as I watched as her angel wings started to lose their luster.
"Mary? What happened?" I asked as I looked over to where she was originally. It was there I saw what may have caused her pain: an irregular and uneven rock protruding from the ground near her normal walking path around the flowerbed. She must have tripped over it in a way that made her hurt her ankle when she tried to correct herself. "Come on, we're going to the clinic." I said to her as I tried to help her up. Instead, Mary dropped all her weight, making it hard for me to pull her up. "M-Mary!"
"Pleases don't. Get the Doctor here. There is no need for me to be moved to the clinic. It will be much more efficient if you were just to call the Doctor over and tell him to bring his supplies rather than you helping me hobble my way there." She said, a hint of tears starting to well up in her eyes. "…I knew it…I knew something like this would happen. I…" I didn't want to hear the rest. I couldn't. Mary sacrificed so much for this that even if she protested against it, I didn't care. A rush of adrenaline surged through my body as I grabbed both of Mary's arms and I separated them. Turning my back against her and using the field as my base, I rested by back against the front of her body and lifted her off the ground and on top my back, essentially giving her a piggy-back ride. "J-Jack! What are you doing?!"
"Keep quiet! We're going to the clinic to get your ankle looked at." I said to her.
"N-No! I told you that it will be much more efficient if the Doctor-"
"Efficient my foot! If we don't take care of this now, it would just get worse. Plus the time it will take for the Doctor to get here, check on your foot, then get a wheelchair to escort you back to the clinic will take more time if I just carry you myself!" I yelled at her as I started to make my way to the clinic.
"But I'm heavy! And by the time you get there, you'll most likely be beyond the level of fatigue! Muscle failure could even occur during the way, stranding us both!" Mary tried to reason with me but I didn't want to hear it. I was determined to get her there, even if it means the sacrifice of my own body.
"I don't care." I said to her as we starting our long, painful trip to the clinic.
"Looks like a sprain…" The Doctor said as Mary sighed. We were at the clinic as Mary was now getting check by the Doctor to see what was wrong with her ankle. Sure enough, Mary sprained it. "My reaction when you told me that you're working for Jack out in the field. I must say…that's very unlike you Mary." He said to her as she laughed nervously.
"I just wanted to see what all the fuss about…"
"But I do have to say that it looks like you're taking better care of yourself. Your diet has improved, cholesterol, blood pressure, heart, lungs…it would seem doing all that farm work has definitely been more beneficial for you in the long run. Just take it easy ok? This sprain will take at least two weeks for it to heal so no farm work. You may have to go back to the library again…" He said I saw something in Mary's face when he mentioned going back to the library. She was sad. She was sadden by the fact that she couldn't work on the farm anymore…at least until her sprain goes away.
"Doctor…is there anyway…?"
"Definitely not. If you can't move, then you can't work. It's as simple as that." The Doctor said. Again, a gloom was over Mary's face.
"As for you, young man…" The Doctor started as he turned around to where I was sitting. Well…sitting isn't the correct word here. I was barely in my seat, panting hard, and trying to stay in my seat without turning into ooze and just laying on the cold clinic ground. That run from my farm to the clinic was a lot farther and harder than I thought it would be "You are suffering from exhaustion, muscle fatigue, dehydration, and blurred vision. I recommend drinking water Elli is giving you and sit properly in your seat."
"I just saved girl's life!"
"You overexerted yourself over a simple sprain. You should have just told me to come to your farm and I could have wheeled her back to the clinic instead of you getting to this degree of exhaustion." He scolded me. I saw Mary peek over at me, a worried look on her face. I saw her then looked over at the Doctor, shrugging at him.
"Totally worth it…" I said to him as he sighed.
"Just…take better care of yourself..." He said he walked away.
"Here Jack." A soft and kind voice said as I looked over to my left. There stood a girl with short brown hair, deep brown eyes, wearing a blue dress and white apron that had a small red cross at the bottom. She was the nurse and the receptionist for the clinic, Elli. "There's more water for you. And don't let the Doctor's words get to you down. What you did was a heroic, if not a bit romantic." She said with a smile. I smiled back at her as she made her way out of examination room that Mary and I were.
"…sorry for worrying about you Jack."
"N-No. Don't apologize. I mean…sorry for not making sure that the field was clear of those uneven rocks." I said to her.
"…it happens." She said to me. I felt my eyes open wide at that. Did the girl, who uses her knowledge of everything in the world, acknowledged a random factor as that, a random factor? If I didn't see it before, I see it now: May has definitely changed over the course of us working together. She's more than willing to do things now, willing to take risk, she's even willing to dive into thing rather than predict what could go wrong. She, as I saw it, was living like a normal person, if not taking more risk than usual. I wanted to change to subject to get her mind off of the injury.
"So the Goddess Festival is coming up." I said to her as she nodded. "You planning to go?"
"Not in my current condition…" She said, pointing at her ankle. I bit my lip, knowing I just messed up.
"I er…sorry." I apologized but Mary waved her hands in an apologetic gesture.
"Please don't think this injury is the reason I'm not going. I…usually don't go anyways." She said to me as I looked over at her.
"How come?"
"I was afraid of the outside world….remember?" She said to me with a bit of sadness in her eyes. "I thought that the world was out to get me. So I didn't go…despite having a dress made for me. I never got a chance to put it on and dance for the rest of the townspeople. Here I thought that this year could be the year…" She said as she looked at her ankle again. "…there's always next year I suppose." I knew this was my fault. If only I watered that side first, Mary wouldn't have gotten injured. I saw Mary look at me and smiled. "Please don't blame yourself. You said it best that injuries and getting dirty is just part to being a farmer."
"Yeah…but to rob you like this…"
"I'll be fine. I've gone this long without attending the Goddess Festival…what's one more year to that?" She said with a smile. I could see it in her eyes she was disappointed that she couldn't go. But I couldn't do anything to help her. Even if I were to carry her all the way to the festival and acted as her third leg, it would not be the same as if she was there under her own power. It just left a sour taste in my mouth that I was the one that drove her once stable and safe life to a life of risk that will take her away from the things she wants to do most. "Are you planning to go to the Goddess Festival?" She asked me as I felt a pit in my stomach.
"…yeah."
The Goddess Festival was in full swing. Music, dancing, alcohol consumption….it was all there. Everyone was in the town, a few I recognize and surprisingly, a few I haven't seen before, were all having a good time as people were dancing in the middle of the square and exchanged stories. There was a bin off to the side of the square that was designated for Goddess tributes. I walked over to take a peek inside, just to get an idea of what might be coming to my next tea party. There were various stuffed animals, a few pieces of fruit, bags of ground coffee, and a lot of letters. I smiled at the sight of this as it made me realize that the people are once again appreciating the Goddess once more. While it may be too late for their offering to reach the Harvest King, I know that these tributes won't go to waste. I opened up my bag and placed cookies in the bin, knowing that I'll probably get this back the next time I sleep.
"Thanks for the offering Jack, but doesn't that seem a little silly?" I heard a family voice call to me. I looked behind me to see the Harvest Goddess right behind me, her smile as welcoming and caring as ever. I reacted, a little too dramatically I might add, almost knocking down the tribute bin.
"W-What are you doing here?" I demanded as the Goddess shushed me quiet.
"You idiot! Only you can see me!" She said as I looked around at the people who were looking at me strangely before they resume their merriment. "The concentration and celebration was so strong that I was able to appear here. I mean…it is a festival about me. How can I not come?" She said, smiling wide.
"By the sounds of it, it seems like you did your best to force you way here."
"Well…sorta. With the high concentration of people believe in me again, it made it possible to come…despite me being imprisoned."
"So why can't anyone see you? And for that matter, can anyone here you? Can anyone here me?" I asked as she laughed.
"Well…to everyone around you, it looks like you're talking to yourself…crazy person." She added as I was about to say something, but I took what she said to heart: I'll look like a crazy person if I yelled at her.
"So where is this 'Mary' girl I've been hearing all about? I want to see the girl that is holding my angel." The Goddess said, looking around at all the girl in town. "Is it her? Oh, how about her? I like her dress, is it her?"
"She's not here…" I said, a sour taste in my mouth as I admitted that to her. I saw the Goddess have a shock expression on her face as she stared at me.
"What do you mean she's not here? I thought you were friends with her. The least you could do is invite her here and have fun with her. I thought he whole reason you were being all 'friendly' to her was to help release her angel. Wouldn't that help the situation?"
"You think I didn't think of that!" I yelled, forgetting that only I could see and her the Goddess. I got a few more looks for that, but I ignored them for now. "Something happened a few day ago, ok? She sprained her ankle while working on the farm. And she wanted to come to this so badly that-" It was then I felt something hit the back of my head. I reacted, falling forward a bit to see the Goddess with her hand extended out.
"You idiot! If she can't come then why don't you bring the festival to her?" She said to me. I looked at her just as annoyed as she was to me.
"How do I bring an entire festival to a small library?" I yelled at her. It was then I got an idea. Off the corner of my eyes, I saw the Goddess smile. I could tell that she was thinking what I was thinking.
"Mary?" I called as I knocked on the library door. It was already night and most of the people who were at the square was at the Inn drinking. I decide to go to the library to check up on Mary. To my surprise, the door was unlocked which allowed me to walk right in. Another surprise was that the library was lights were on and music was playing from a boom box. I was so confused of what was going on…until I saw something sitting in the corner of the room. There, with a book open in her lap was Mary, but she was different. She wore a pink dress with a flower lei around her neck and head. She also had pure white pearl earrings and a pink heels. But what really surprised me the most was Mary wasn't wearing her glasses, yet, she was still reading her book. I didn't want to startle her so I gently knocked on the wooden shelf to get her attention. She looked up and, as expected, was caught off guard by me seeing her wearing her Goddess dress. She tried to cover herself up, putting her glasses back on to properly see me.
"J-Jack! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be the festival? Or at the Inn?" Mary asked, clearly flustered.
"I came to check up on you…just to see how you're holding up." I said as I walked over and took a seat next to her. I could see the blush she was trying to hide as she fidgeted away from me. It's not like she was trying to get away, she was just embarrassed that I saw her in her Goddess dress. "It's a shame that things had to pan out the way it did. I mean…I really wish you could have been there." I said to her as she nodded in agreement.
"I wish I could have been there too…" She said as she sighed. "…but…what's done is done. The only thing we can do now is move on, right? Can't let fear paralyze us forever?" She said, looking at me and smiling. I smiled back at her, nodding in agreement.
"That's right. You just have to keep moving forward."
"So…tell me Jack. What did I miss? I want to know everything." She said to me as she turned to face me.
You want to know everything? Alright…where to start…" I said happily as I relayed to her all the funny, juicy topics that happen at the festival in her absence. "But first…" I started as I pulled out a cassette tape. I placed it in the boom box and pressed play, filling the library with the songs that were playing at the Goddess Festival. "…there. Now it feels like you're at the festival yourself." I said with a smile.
"…and then, she took the entire bowl of punch and-" I said, laughing in between words as Mary was laughing as well even before I reached the funny. Soon, a loud but low tuned bell was being chimed. Both Mary and I looked over at the grandfather clock in the library to see that it was already midnight. We literally spend all night talking to each other non-stop about the festival, about other people, and about ourselves that we both lost track of time. As the grandfather clock chime the last time, Mary and I looked at each other, the music of the goddess festival still playing on the boom box.
"It's…over. Isn't it." I said to her as she nodded.
"Goddess Festival's over…" She said as we both sat there for a minute. I was the first one to get up "W-Well…I'll take care of the watering on the field. Just do your best and keep better soon. I mean…it'll suck not having you around the farm, Mary." I said to her, trying to be as friendly as possible in her situation. She looked up at me with hopeful eyes.
"You really mean that…?"
"Yeah, I mean…I won't let your flowers die or-"
"No. Do you mean that you'll miss me on the farm?" She said again as I scratched my head nervously. For some reason, I didn't like where this was going.
"I mean…yeah. Having you around the farm was great. We got to talk and I got to see you grow to become this independent woman." I said to her as she smiled at me.
"Does that mean I can come back when I'm all better?" She said, as if she was kid was about to be promised a ride in Santa's sleigh. I nodded at her, smiling.
"You're more than welcome to come back to my farm. You don't even have to work. You can just drop by and say hi. You'll always be welcome." I said to her as I turned to start heading towards the door. What I saw off the corner of my eyes was something I never thought I would see Mary do. Mary tried to get up. "M-Mary! What are you-?"
"Ouch!"
"Mary you idiot, don't push yourself like that! Your ankle!" I said to her as she staggered forward. I manage to catch her and kept both of us steady as she slowly pushed herself off against me and look at me face-to-face.
"I'm sorry jack. I just…I didn't want…you to leave yet." She said to me, a faint blush on her face.
"I…have to go Mary. I still have a farm to tend to and I have to wake up early to tend to it." I said to her but she shook her head.
"But if you go, then I won't be able to see you for a while. I can't take my crutches and see you see you every day. That's too much work and the doctor told me not to overexert myself."
"Then don't. Let me come and see you rather than the other way around." I tried to reason with her but she shook her head again.
"It's not the same…I want to see you. You don't NEED to see me." He said to me, her wings glowing ever so brightly.
"What…are you trying to say?"
"Jack…I…" She said as I saw her come to my face. Her eyes closed as did mine as I felt something soft press against my lips. They were soft…almost marshmallow like. I…was kissing Mary…or should I saw Mary was kissing me. There was a sense of warmness between us as I felt my own body temperature start to go up. Before I could do anything, I felt the warmth of her lips separate from mine as Mary's face as fully red. I stood there dumbfound, loss of word to explain what just happened.
"That…is for teaching me that sometimes taking a risk is sometimes worth it." She said with a smile. It was at that instant, the wings on Mary's back glowed so brightly that I fell backwards. With the awkward mixture of embarrassment and surprise, I looked at the shining beacon of Mary as the wings on her back slowly pulled backwards from her body, revealing a woman wearing white flowing garment. Her hair was black and wavy and her brown eyes were staring at me. I saw Mary fall forward and I caught her, making sure she didn't collide with the ground. As I held her in my arms, I looked over at the angel that pulled herself out of Mary's back. She was just looking at me, as if she was analyzing me.
"So she really put her trust in you, huh?" The angel said to me in a slightly deadpan voice. "And here I was trying to protect her from the outside world…you had to come along and tell her to go out there and take a risk. Do you know how scary the outside world is? And to top it all off, you got her ankle sprained." She said to me as I looked over at Mary. Thankfully, she as sound asleep. I carefully rolled her off of me and made sure her ankle was fine before getting up. "Who do you think you are, anyways?"
"He's Jack, of course. But you already knew that." I heard a voice said from behind me. I looked behind to see the Harvest Goddess there, walking towards me and the angel. "And you already know that he is my messenger to help gather the angles." The angel pouted as she hovered high above us.
"I know that…but I don't see what makes him so special to Mary…" She said as the Goddess smiled.
"Does it really matter? She holds Jack in a special place in her heart. It's why she doesn't need your protection anymore, am I right Abigail?" The Goddess teased.
"It's Abby!' She yelled, but then looked over at me. "I mean…urg. Whatever."
"I don't get it. What just happened? Why can I see her, and why can I see you Goddess? No no…am I asleep? What all that just a dream?!" I panicked but the Goddess was kind enough …to slap me in the face.
"Calm down, Casanova. That was all real. The kiss too…you sly dog you…" She said in a teasing matter. I felt my cheeks go red as I tried to hide it with my hat "The angel you see before you is the Angel of Knowledge, Abigail. Or Abby for short. Abby was watching over Mary because they both share an affinity for knowledge. Abby, trying to be a good guardian angel, gave her knowledge of the dangers of the world. She was safe until you came along." She said as I glared at the Goddess.
"You make it sound like I'm the bad guy."
"You are the bad guy!" Abby yelled at me.
"Because of your caring nature and your wisdom of how risk can sometimes pay off, Mary placed her trust in you. As a result, she got to experience the joys of not living in constant fear. Because of this, Mary was able to convince herself that you were the key to her happiness and that as long as she has you, she could overcome any obstacle. That all came to one point…" She said as I felt my face turn red again.
"The kiss…?"
"You probably have herpes!" Abby yelled at me.
"I do not!"
"Children…" The Goddess said, pacifying us. "While I'm sure it wasn't intentional, it forced Abby out of Mary as she now sees Jack as her guardian angel. As a result, Abby is now free."
"So why are you here? How are you here?" I asked as Abby spoke up.
"The energy that takes to release an angle is so strong that even the Goddess could use it to her advantage to manifest herself in the town, if only temporary." Abby chimed in as the Goddess nodded.
"It also helps that the Goddess Festival helped me get to this plane as well." The Goddess said with a smile. I looked down at Mary who was sound asleep.
"So what happens now? I mean, Mary will now be dependent on-"
"Don't worry about that." The Goddess said as she knelt down. She gently touched Mary's ankle and a small glow of light engulfed her ankle. "Mary will wake up with her ankle good as new…" She said as I breathe a sigh of relief.
"That's good…" I said. The Goddess then frowned a bit as she traveled her hand up to Mary's head and touched it lightly. The same white glow engulfed her head before dying down. "…she will also not remember any of this happening."
"WHAT?" I yelled but I was instantly stifled by Abby.
"Goddess…?" Abby said as I struggled to yell out words through her hands. The Goddess nodded and with a snap of her fingers, I felt my body be pulled in two different directions as if I was made into taffy and I was being stretch from here to the moon. The feeling to stretching finally die suddenly as I felt Abby release my mouth, making me falling over to the cold hard floor. I looked around to realize that I was back inside my house on my farm. I quickly got to my feet to at the two beings.
"W-What do you mean she won't remember anything?"
"And here I thought you were a smart guy Jack…" Abby said, taking jab at me.
"I erased her memory." The Goddess said simply.
"Why?!"
"Because of your wish…" The Goddess said as I felt my entire body go numb.
"W-What do you mean?"
"Remember our deal. You help me find my angels…I will grant your wish. Your wish is to meet the girl that you met so many years ago. The parameters of your wish are a such: you will meet the person that you met a long time ago, you will meet under the same circumstances as if it was the first time of you two meeting, as a result, any kind of romantic feelings that the other people has for you will complicate the wish, thereby compromising our contract." She said to me as I looked at her confused.
"What are you saying? Are you saying that Mary is the girl?"
"It's possible."
"Possible?!" I yelled at her.
"To prove my point, let's assume that Mary is the girl from your childhood. You two meet, she's already in love with you, and you fall in love with her. Roll credits. Simple, no? Now suppose that she ISN'T the girl. You two meet, you accidentally reveal that you want to meet the girl of your past. Thinking she may be that girl and with her feelings of love towards you, lies to you and says she is the girl. You fall in love, you get married, roll credits." The Goddess said to me as I stared at her, unable to believe what I'm hearing. "There is one more scenario. You reveal you're looking of this girl, she become jealous about this girl, she kills you out of sheer jealously for playing with her heart and reserving yourself for some unknown girl. You die. There's a funeral. Roll credits."
"You really like the 'roll credits,' thing, don't you my Goddess." Abby chimed.
"The point is…by erasing her memory, I am ensuring that the playing field for your wish is even. Her feelings will be neutral and if, somehow, she is the girl of your childhood. You will meet under natural circumstances where there will be no emotional pull towards love or jealousy. It will be exactly what you wish for: a meeting between a man and a woman with no emotional strings attached other than childhood memories." She said to me as I hung my head low. It was true…. if Mary were to somehow be my childhood friend, and if she's influenced by love, how will I know if she's acting out of love or jealously? Can I say with one hundred percent confidence if she's actually being truthful or if she's lying to prevent me from seeing another girl that's been waiting to see my whole life? I just wanted to meet the girl again, no string attached. I had no intention on dating her. I just…wanted the mystery of my childhood solved. While I don't agree with it…if the Goddess wanted to honor my wish, this was the only way to approach it.
"Will she remember anything…? Any of the times where we…?"
"She won't remember a thing from the moment you can into contact with her about the angels up to now. The few weeks you spent with her and the interactions that involved other people will all be erased in order to preserve your wish." She said as I rubbed my face in frustration.
"What if I change my wish? I can do that, right?"
"I'm afraid you can't, Jack. Once the wish is made, the contract is made at the same time. Whether or not the contract is competed, it's up the human, but once the contract is made, there is no going back." The Goddess said to me. "I'm sorry Jack…but there is no way around it. You did this yourself" I sighed as I looked out the window.
"I know…that's what pains me the most."
"Oh. H-Hello Jack. What I can I do for you today?" Mary said to me in her shy, timid voice. I just looked down at her. Not twenty-four hours ago she was lively, taking about what came to her mind…nothing but smiles, hopes, and dreams. I frowned a bit, but I forced myself to smile as I placed something on her desk. "W-What is this?"
"I thought you might like it." I said to her as I placed the blue vase down, containing a bouquet of big, yellow, Moondrop flowers. Her eye were wide as she saw the flowers.
"I've never seen such beautiful flowers before…" She said as she marveled at them.
"Strange…because it was you who grew them." I said to her as she looked at me confused. I looked above Mary's head to see Abby hovering over her head, acknowledging my presence as I nodded at her. I looked down at Mary and gave her a small bow. "I'll see you around, Mary." I said as made my way to the door catching as small glimpse of her embarrassed face.
To Be Continued...
See you all next week!
