How was this for fast?
I'm not liking how all of the chapters turn out… short… and not lengthy… somewhat rushed, or at least it seems like it. I'll make next chapter long! And the ones after.
Should next chapter be skipped to Summer, and bring Chase's arrival? Or should I continue with Spring, open up and show you Akari and Owen's relationship? You tell me. (:
I hope this meets your expectations!
RainbowsNSmiles5 – No, I didn't know that, actually! I just liked the name Hunter, and in the file I married Chase in Animal Parade I named my boy Hunter, cause he looked like one.. kind of? Thank you! You deserve cake.
HarvestRoze- Thank you! That means a lot.
lollipopDiego- Haha, thank you! I couldn't think of good last names for them … most Harvest Moon characters just don't have last names, or at least to me they don't.
Review for cupcakes, this time?
3. To Start Up
I plopped onto the ground and slipped the ring onto my finger, staring at it intently.
Suddenly, the room was dark, pitch dark. Stars began to sprinkle across the black, and they slowly began to illuminate the room. The air temperature dropped out of nowhere, into the low-mid ten's, and the floor seemed much softer, but still freezing. There was a slight breeze.
A star streaked across the sky, making me gasp with wonder.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
I felt my self glance sideways and smile at the figure sitting next to me. His deep eyes were fixed on the starry sky. "This is the only time of year the stars are this breathtaking." There was no mistaking that voice. Snow dusted across his peachy hair. Chase.
I let out a content sigh. I could see the joy, the awe, the wonder in his eyes as he kept his gaze on the heavens. I reverted my gaze back to the starry atmosphere, and gradually, somehow, our hands touched, his resting on top of mine. We whipped our heads around so we were facing each other, our cheeks flushing a deep red. We looked away just as quick. Another star shot across the sky.
"Most people like to make wishes at these kinds of things," He said, "But we're too old for these kind of things, don't you think?" I nodded. He lowered his eyes. "But right now… I have everything I could ever wish for, right next to me." If it was possible, my face reddened even further. He slipped the diamond ring onto my finger. Engraved on the side were our initials, AB+CG. "Stay by me, forever, Akari."
"Honey?" The sound of heavy footsteps neared the barn outside. Owen. Crap, I thought. I took the ring off my finger, which I had unconsciously been sliding up and down it for the past couple of minutes I had been reminiscing. I placed it in the box. "What was in the barn?" He was getting closer. I threw the box under the floorboard, covered it with hay and then lowered the flooring. I hid the evidence with more hay. Just in time.
Light poured in from the front of the barn, revealing my fiery-headed husband. "Oh, a cow! How nice! You can start up the farm again." I nodded.
"She's Lily's great-grandchild, too. Just old enough to produce milk." Owen smiled understandingly down at me, pulling me into a bear hug.
"I remember how special Lily was to you. That's great!" He chuckled, not at all noticing the worried expression on my face. "Well, I'm going to go see how Chloe and Ramsey are doing, and maybe go into the mines for a little while…" I nodded, not paying any attention to what he was saying. He exited as I slid down the wall of the barn.
That memory… was from our first starry night. About two years after I had first met the man. About a season before … I clenched my eyes shut. No. I wasn't going to think about it, I didn't want to think about it.
I wiped the tears that I hadn't felt bubbling from my eyes, and stood up. I let in a shaky breath. I let my new cow, Belle, out to graze on the poor excuse for a pasture and walked into my house. Hunter was plopped on the couch, staring, dumbfounded, at the television screen. "Hey, Hunter, I'm going to get seeds. Wanna come?" He looked up gleefully and nodded. "Alright, come on. We're gonna pass by daddy's work place, ok?" He nodded again. I took his hand and we left for the Ganache Mine District.
{xxx}
"Thank you, Ruth, thanks Anissa! Nice to see you guys too. Bye Craig, Taylor!" My smile faltered when I exited out of the Soufflé Farm store. It wasn't that I didn't like Craig and Ruth, they were very nice people. They were just… curt. They always seemed depressed and anxious about something. I didn't know the calm and graceful Anissa that well, as she spent most of her time in the Meringue Clinic. Yeah, trying to get some from the Doctor, that's right. Taylor just happened to be my favorite of the four. He was so sweet and outgoing… And now, he was thirteen! Time flies.
"Alright, Hunter, ready to go see daddy?" I swung his arm. "Yeah!" I giggled. "Alright, just up this road."
The first couple of minutes we walked in silence.
"Mommy?" I looked down at Hunter.
"Yes, honey?"
"How come everyone knows me, but I don't know them?" I chuckled.
"Remember? You were born here, but not long after you were born we moved to the city. You don't have any memories of here, that's why." "Oh…"
We had reached Ramsey the Blacksmith's. I pulled open the door and let Taylor walk in, and I followed behind him. "Akari!" Chloe's cheerful voice greeted. "It's been sooooo long!"
"Chloe!" I bent down as the young girl flung her arms around me. "You've gotten so big!" Her hair was still the same fiery shade of red, the same as Owen's, and her cheeks still rosy. The only difference was that now she was taller, more mature.
"Yep! I turn fourteen next month!"
Had she really only been five when we left? She had seemed so much older, already exploring deep in the mines.
"Hey, what's all this commotion? … Oh, Akari, it's you. Welcome back!" Ramsey never had been one great at expressing his emotions, much like my son. I hugged the old man. "It's nice to see you too, Ramsey! Where's Owen?"
"Owen's already in the mines. He was so excited to be back he barely said hello before running off." I chuckled. Typical.
"Oh wow, Akari, is this Hunter? I remember when he couldn't even walk!" Chloe peered at Hunter curiously. She held up her hand for a high five. He slapped it.
xxx
I stood upright and stretched my aching back. I wiped sweat from my brow and gazed up at the glaring sun. By the time I had gotten home, planted and watered all the seeds, the day was pretty much over. I brought Belle back to her barn, placed some more feed in her slot and went back into the house. Hunter had tagged along with Taylor and Chloe, saying that they were going to play on the pier.
How that boy had so much energy, I didn't know.
After I had gotten out of the shower and dressed, Owen was home, stretched out on the couch downstairs.
"Hey honey, how was work?" Somehow all our conversations started like this, as if we were one of those perfect, fake families on TV.
"It was great! I'm so glad to be back and working my muscles in the mine."
"Okay, well just be safe."
…
For the next couple of minutes as I unpacked more of our stuff, the only sound was the racket from some bizarre show Owen was watching.
"…Hey, Akari?" "hmm," I mumbled in response.
"Have you noticed that Hunter looks nothing like me? We have nothing in common."
I let out a nervous phhh.
"I've told you a thousand times! He totally has your fiery hair! Just a lighter shade. The eyes, I guess from my grandmother? Hers were the exact same shade." I made myself busy with the cabinets. "And the personality? Well, it's not like he was born to be an exact copy of you."
Is he catching on to something? There's no way he could have found out…
"Well, it's just… he resembles… Well, forget it." "Alright, honey. Don't stress yourself."
It was a good thing he didn't continue that sentence.
