Hey all! I'm coming to you live...from theatre camp! Yup! I'm currently boarding at a five week intensive theatre camp. Downtime is practically non existent; I have twelve hour rehearsal days and it's exhausting, but it's so worth it. Still, despite this extreme lack of downtime, I felt like I owed you all something after completing Dear Molly. I haven't updated most of my stories in the longest time, and didn't want to finish one and abandon the others 'til who knows when. So...if you're still interested...here's chapter four of The Love That Never Dies! I put lotsa effort into starting this up again, so hopefully you find it enjoyable :D. And if you need a refresher, please feel free to go back to the first three chapters.

Oh, also, as far as timeline goes, I'd say it's the beginning of her first summer. She waited quite some time to meet the witch, because she's so out of the way, so everything makes sense chronologically :p.

Now, on with the show!

~Theatrelove

As Gale reached the path that led to Angela's house, his breathing picked up. As he began to walk up said path, his hands began to shake. As he reached the doorway, he almost turned right around.

I can't do this. He thought. There's no way I can do this. I'm a fortuneteller, not a farmhand! I can't even recall the last time I did any physically taxing chore…And with Angela watching me the entire time…With Essa watching me I…

"Gale? Is that you?" the ever familiar voice on the other side of the door caused Gale to snap out of his internal panic attack. Somehow, her voice always managed to calm him down and simultaneously make him even more nervous than he had previously been. Whatever the outcome of the next hour, Gale would be sure to give Vivi a good talking to. Perhaps he could turn her into a pink frog again? The more time passed, the more reasonable that prospect seemed.

"Yes, I'm here to help you…with the farm work." he replied. No going back now.

"Oh, yes, I remember. I'll be right out!" Angela called. As he waited for her to join him, Gale became increasingly conscious of the fact that the clothes he was wearing were not work clothes. His heavy purple cape would do him no favors in the sweltering summer sun, and his long white pants would only prove a hindrance when walking in the fields. He should've been prepared…why didn't he think of any of this in advance? He really should get out more often; maybe then he'd be better able to choose weather appropriate clothing.

"Alright, ready to go?" Gale looked to the left, and suddenly Angela was standing there. Unlike him, she had dressed perfectly for farm work; she wore a red and white stripped t-shirt, bootcut jeans, and light brown boots. Gale couldn't help but note how, even though she was dressed to work, she still managed to look pretty and well put together. It must be some sort of special talent, he supposed.

"Yes…I'm ready. What did you…have in mind?" he asked tenatively.

"Well, I was thinking that you could help me with watering the turnips! Since I'm just starting off, I planted a lot of them so that I'll be able to make some actual profit. It'd be really great if I could start working with the animals, knowing that you'll take care of the watering for me. Does that sound good?" she asked, as Gale wondered how it could ever not sound good? Everything Angela said sounded good. Somehow, Gale knew that he'd water thousands of turnips for her, if she wished it. He was momentarily thankful that she was unaware of the influence she wielded over him; if she knew, she might ask him to do work that was much more difficult.

"…Sure. I'd be happy to." Besides, watering turnips can't be that challenging.

Angela's face brightened. "Great! The well is to the left of the field. Oh, and here's the watering can!" Still smiling, she handed him an iron watering can. Gale was surprised when it almost dropped to the ground upon entered his hands; it was so heavy!

"If you need any help, feel free to call me over!" Angela told him. Gale decided that he couldn't let Angela know of his difficulties, so he settled for nodding in affirmation and begrudgingly carried the overweight watering can towards the well.

No sooner had he begun his work than Gale found out that, apparently, watering turnips could be that challenging. Once the watering can was full to the brim, he had to carry it with two hands, else risk dropping it again. This made it exceedingly difficult to tip the can so that the right amount of water would collect in the soil surrounding the turnips. He had already drowned two of the poor plants by the time Angela noticed his plight from the animal barn across the way.

"Hey, Gale, are you okay over there? It looks like you're having a hard time." she asked, approaching him and looking concerned. Gale's face flushed pink in embarrassment; he could name every star in the solar system, but he couldn't water a simple turnip. What kind of wizard was he?

"No…I'm fine…really I—" Gale stopped short when he felt Angela's arms begin to wrap around his waist from behind, her hands taking hold of his arms.

"Gale, relax. I haven't upgraded this can since I bought it, so it's still pretty heavy. It isn't your fault you aren't used to it!" she laughed. "Now, there's an easier way to hold it. If you bring your left hand up here like this, and your right one down like this…" Angela started explaining the best way to use the watering can, but all that Gale could focus on was the way her hands directed his arms as she did so. Being this close to Angela, with her arms around him and her front pressed against his back, it was too intimate not to remind him of Essa. Since he'd met her, he had been trying to separate them in his mind and think of them as two different people; it wouldn't be fair to Angela if he combined her persona entirely with that of Essa. But there were small moments like this where the line between Angela and Essa blurred almost completely, and Gale could sense no difference between his deceased wife and the young farm girl. It was both wondrous and disturbing, he decided.

"So do you think you can do it now?" he heard Angela ask. If he were being quite honest with himself, he did not think he could do it because he hadn't heard a word Angela had spoken to him before this.

"…Yes." He said, because he was never very good at admitting when he didn't understand something.

Unfortunately, Angela was very perceptive. Something in Gale's face must have told her that no, he did not think he could successfully water her turnips, because when her hands left his hands and her arms left his hips (much to Gale's dismay), she wore a knowing smile. "How about you help out with the animals, instead? Milking a cow might be too advanced, but you can surely collect eggs from the chickens!"

Ah, collecting eggs from chickens. That was something even Gale could surely do. He'd been reading up on avian specimens, and felt fairly confident that he could handle them pretty well. Or at least, better than he could handle the watering can and those darned turnips.

"Of course…" he told Angela, "Just show me the way."

Following closely behind Angela, Gale found himself in a small coop surrounded by what appeared to be about a dozen white chickens.

"This is…a lot." He said, eyes widening at the sheer number of chickens contained in such a small space. "How did you…afford this many?"

"Oh, well Hannah gave me a rooster and two hens for free, and they just started multiplying after that!" she explained. "I haven't had a chance to upgrade, so I know the space is a little cramped, but they really are nice little guys, especially when they're sleeping like this."With a second look, Gale realized that she was right; all eleven hens, plus the one rooster, were sleeping peacefully. He had a gut feeling, however, that if they were all to wake up at once, then everything would turn to chaos.

"Most of them lay an egg each night, so all you have to do is reach underneath one and slowly pull out her egg, preferably without waking her up." Angela said. She then demonstrated, delicately wiggling her hand beneath the nearest chicken and pulling out a small white egg, leaving the chicken undisturbed.

"This should be…easy enough." he told her. He really wanted to redeem himself after his failure in tending the turnips, and collecting eggs seemed like a fine way to do it.

"Good. I like your attitude, Gale!" Angela smiled. "I'll be in the barn, so please don't be afraid to call me over if you need anything." she said. He then watched her make her way across the field to where the barn resided, leaving him alone with a dozen chickens.

Alright, I can do this, he thought, slowly and carefully. He cautiously approached the nearest hen. She was sleeping pretty soundly; he could see it in the way her eyelids were twitching ever so slightly, and her breathing was slow and deep. He then noted that her feathers demonstrated a peculiar pattern, one that he read was relatively uncommon in farm fowl. Perhaps he could pluck just one to help further his avian studies…?

No! He reprimanded himself for even contemplating it. I'm here to help Angela, not to collect feathers. But still, he thought, when will an opportunity like this ever arise again? If I don't take this feather, I could be missing out on a whole branch of avian study. I could even miss out on a new method of fortunetelling! People in some ancient civilizations used feathers for fortunetelling, didn't they? Yes, surely they did.

After thoroughly convincing himself that the feather was essential, Gale looked around, making sure that no one else was near, for he didn't want to have to explain himself. Once he had that Angela was still in the barn and they did not have any unexpected visitors, he reached, took the feather in his hand, and pluck! The feather was his.

He only had a few moments to savor his success, however. Almost immediately after he plucked the feather, the hen's beady eyes snapped open.

A staring contest of sorts commenced. No matter how long he stood there, silently, waiting for the crazed looking hen to close her eyes and fall back asleep, she just kept on staring at him.

Feeling a need to break the tense silence, Gale spoke. "H-hello…miss hen." He recalled watching a show at one point, probably one of the Animal Planet variety, where he saw that speaking to animals calmed them down. "I apologize…for stealing your feather. It would be…quite useful for my studies on avian creatures…so I figured you wouldn't mind too much." The hen only blinked in response.

Gale cleared his throat, not quite sure whether or not his strategy was working. "A-as you know…you are living on the farm of one miss Angela…And she told me…to collect your egg. So could I possibly…?" Once again, the hen did no more than blink. Seeing no other option, Gale took this as the hen granting permission. Slowly, so as not to ruin the connection he hoped he'd established with the hen, he slid his hand into her nest and collected the egg.

This time, the hen did not sit quietly in response. As soon as her egg was removed, she began clucking loudly and flapping her wings in anger. This woke up the other hens around her, and pretty soon Gale was caught in a violent flurry of squawking and pecking and clawing.

"Gale, what's going on?" Ugh, Gale groaned internally. Just when things couldn't get any worse, Angela had to hear the commotion and come over. He definitely wouldn't be getting out of this unscathed, both figuratively and literally.

"Oh my Goddess, what happened?" Angela gasped. "Are you okay?" Quickly, she grabbed Gale's arm and pulled him out of the frenzy inside the coop. Once they were outside and away from the chickens, he saw the look on her face quickly change from one of worry to the one of amusement.

"Y-you're covered! In feathers!" she laughed. "That's hilarious! I don't think I've ever seen so many chickens attacking one person at once. And they certainly left their mark…you've got plenty of feathers to bring home as souvenirs!" As Angela practically rolled on the ground with laughter, Gale, blushing furiously, decided that this was easily the most embarrassed he'd ever been in his very long life, and contemplated what on Earth he must've done to make the Harvest Goddess hate him so.

…Well, it wasn't all bad. Seeing Ess—Angela this happy made the whole ordeal worth it. And he did get the feather he'd wanted, as well as a lot more that he didn't really want.

"I…guess I'm not very good with animals." he said, cracking a small smile.

"When the witch told me you were good with manual labor like farm work, I assume she wasn't quite telling me the truth?" Angela queried, a wry smile playing on pink lips.

"No…no she wasn't." Gale admitted. "The witch always has enjoyed putting me in…sticky situations." he explained with a sigh.

"Still, I'm really glad you came." She said, causing Gale's heart to skip. "Even though we got nothing done as far as farm work goes, it was nice having you around. It does get kind of lonely when I'm working by myself."

"I'll come every day." Gale said seriously before he could stop himself. "…T-that is, if you'd like me to."

Angela's eyes lit up. "I'd love to have you! Your company is always welcome." She told him, and Gale could tell it was earnest.

"Also…" he started, feeling suddenly bold. "I'd like to ask you something else."

"Hmm? What is it?" Angela asked, head cocked to the side.

"Well…you taught me some things today about farming that I didn't know…I'd like to…return the favor." He paused, gauging her reaction. He got no clear read, only watchful brown eyes telling him to elaborate. "So, I wanted to ask…if you'd go to the Firefly Festival with me. It's a village tradition…and I'd like to accompany you to your first." And many more, he added silently to himself.

To Gale's utter relief, Angela smiled widely at his words. "A festival? That sounds fantastic; I'd love it if you'd take me!"

"…Wonderful." Gale responded, trying to remain composed despite his excitement. He had secured his wife's reincarnate as a date for the Firefly Festival, and he couldn't afford to botch things up.

Of course, he wasn't sure if Angela knew that the Firefly Festival was supposed to be a romantic festival. Probably not, considering she had never celebrated it before. But at least, Gale thought, it'd set a good context for him to confess his romantic interest in her. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to divulge to her the entire story regarding Essa just yet, but he could at least tell her how he felt about her. Yes, the Firefly Festival would be the perfect setting for that.

"I'll…look forward to it." he told her sincerely. "And I'll…see you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Angela nodded, "come by tomorrow if you like. Thanks for a fun afternoon Gale, and enjoy your feathers!" This made Gale laugh, something he was sure the majority of Castenetians had never seen him do, and he waved to her as he walked down the path leading to Harmonica Town. All the while as he walked away, however, Gale yearned to turn around and go back to her.

Not yet, he chided himself. Patience is key. Soon…hopefully soon, everything will go back to the way it was meant to be.