After Mikhail left, I rose and bathed my tired, tearstained eyes, and pulled on my work clothes. Then I saw the time and exclaimed—it was late morning, and I hadn't even started my day's work. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw clouds moving in and heard radio announce the weather forecast for rain in the afternoon—at least I wouldn't need to water my crops. I ran out to the pasture and groomed my livestock and milked my cows, then I checked on my hens and gathered eggs from the nesting boxes. I hurried to drop them off to ship, and hurried into town. I stopped by Kana's shop to say hi. He looked surprised to see me so late, and asked if I was taking a day off. I laughed and said no, I'd just gotten a late start. He looked concerned then and opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off saying I had to run—I still had a million things to do and it was getting late. He still looked worried, but he simply nodded as I left.

After I finished making the rounds of Konohana, I returned to my house to saddle Lady up. I noticed then that she wasn't looking herself—she looked tired, worn out even. I took her over to Kana's and he looked her over, then he said that he thought she was just getting too old for the hard riding that I did. I admitted she was nearing twenty years, but I was so fond of her I hadn't considered replacing her before. He suggested I invest in a new horse, and said he had one he thought would suit me perfectly if I was interested. I agreed to take a look, although I said that I'd be terribly sad to give up Lady. He assured me that he could find a great home for her, that he even knew the perfect place, a kind family that wanted a gentle, sweet pony for their timid young daughter to learn to ride, where she'd have a much easier life. I sighed and followed him out to the pasture.

He left me at the gate, and returned a minute later with a small but muscular mare. She was pale grey with a darker grey mane and tail and dark eyes, reminding me of storm clouds. "Her sire was a champ at endurance riding, and her dam did endurance riding, too. So she's perfect for the terrain here. She's a lot younger and stronger than your pony, and I've been working with her on pulling a cart. She's a quick learner, so I think she'll be just what you need. Want to give her a try?" I said yes, and he fetched her tack from the barn and saddled her up for me.

I mounted and walked her around the field a bit. "Hey, go ahead, give her a try on the path. I'll wait here for you," Kana called to me. I nodded and turned her towards the fence as she broke into a lively canter. She sailed over the fence with graceful ease, and we headed up the path at a good clip. I rode her as far as the bridge by the waterfall, then we returned to town.

Back at Kana's shop, I dismounted, and with a grin, I said, "Yeah, you're right, she's exactly what I need. I'll take her—what's her name?"

"Whatever you decide to call her," Kana replied with a laugh, as we headed back into his shop.

"In that case, I think I'll call her Nubium."

Kana gave me an odd look. "Nubium? What kind of name is that?"

I laughed at the look on his face, and explained, "Nubium—it means 'clouds' in Latin, which I think suits her. It's also the name of one of the 'seas' on the moon: Mare Nubium. So she'll be mare Nubium!"

Kana groaned, "That's a terrible pun! But a great name. I'll be sure Lady gets a real nice home, so don't worry about her. Enjoy your ride!" he called as I headed back out the door. I said goodbye to Lady, feeling a little choked up—I loved her and would miss her terribly, though I knew Kana could be trusted to find her a good home.

I headed up the mountain, feeling somewhat apprehensive as I knew that somewhere up there Mikhail was likely lost in reflection. I wasn't ready to meet him again, not quite yet. Not until I'd had time to think, too. So I stuck to the main path, mainly to avoid him, though also because the rain started to fall as I left town. I made it over the mountain without running into Mikhail, and when I reached the river outside the Bluebell town gates, I spotted Cam on his walk as usual, holding a large umbrella to keep the rain off. I smiled at the sight—Cam hated being wet and dirty as much as any cat ever did.

I dismounted, and tying Nubium's reins to a tree, strolled over to join him. "Hi, Cam. How are you today?" I called as I approached.

He turned and smiled at me as he peered out from under his umbrella. "I'm okay, just trying to stay dry. I hate rain!" he exclaimed.

I laughed and said, "So why are you out walking in it? Why not go back home where it's warm and dry?"

He laughed, too, and said, "Maybe I will! Care to join me?"

"I'd love to," I replied. "Just let me fetch my mare. Want a ride?"

He looked over at my mare with a dubious expression. "Oh, I see you've got a new horse. I don't know, I'm not very good with horses…."

I smiled and said, "She's plenty strong if you want to sit behind me. But if you'd rather not, I'll just walk her." He looked relieved at that, so I untied her and led her along the path, walking beside Cam as we talked. He looked nervously back at her once or twice before apparently deciding she wouldn't suddenly bite him or knock him over.

We chatted about one thing and another as we slowly walked towards the town. Then out of the blue, Cam asked, "So… how's Kana?"

I stared at him in surprise for a moment before answering, "Fine, I guess. I saw him briefly this morning. My rides were getting to be too much for Lady, so I swapped horses. He sold me Nubium here, and promised to find a good home for Lady. He's really good with horses, and I trust him to do that for her."

"Oh. I see…. Horses are important to you, aren't they? You really enjoy going on rides, don't you? And I suppose since Kana also loves to ride, that you probably ride together a lot…." Cam trailed off.

I suppressed an urge to laugh—was Cam actually… jealous? But I answered him with a straight face, "Well, yeah I do love horseback riding. I ride with Kana sometimes, but not all that often really. And I do love horses, but not as much as Kana and Georgia do! Now those two would be perfect for each other!" I said with a grin.

He brightened up at that suggestion, and said, "Yeah, they would, wouldn't they? Only, I thought…." Again he trailed off, looking off into the distance.

"You thought what?" I asked him curiously.

Cam turned and smiled, saying, "Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it. So hey, I hear some great musician has moved to Konohana? That must be interesting. Have you met him yet? Hey, are you okay?" he grabbed at me to steady me as I stumbled.

"Oh, uh, yeah—sorry, I just tripped over something. I'm fine. Thanks."

"Sure, no problem. Well, here we are at the gates. Do you want to come to the café and say hi? Or do you have other things to do?"

Relieved at the change in subject, I replied, "I'll be over soon. I want to say hi to a few others on my way in, and I need to check the board. So see you there soon?"

"Yeah, thanks for walking with me. I enjoyed it," he said with a smile, then turned and walked on into the village.

I finished up my tasks and visits in Bluebell, then had a cup of coffee at the café with Cam, Howard, and Laney before returning home. Feeling a need to burn off some of my pent-up tension, I let Nubium go at a gallop on the long, straight section of path leading into town. She raced down the hill at a good clip, nimbly dodging or leaping over small obstacles and irregularities in the path. I pulled her up as we approached the gates, and we entered town at a nice, sedate walk.

As we started to turn down the drive to my farm, Kana appeared at his front door. "So how's the mare working out for ya?" he called as he strolled up.

"She's great, thanks so much, Kana!"

"I see you've been testing her speed!" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"What? Oh, well, yeah, kind of… but how'd you know?" I asked, mystified.

"Easy," he replied, laughing, "You've got twigs in your hair!" He turned and went into his house, still laughing, leaving me torn between laughter and embarrassment as I continued home.

That night, I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to sleep. The rainclouds from earlier had moved on, leaving the night balmy and breezy, and the moon was waning crescent low on the horizon, providing only a glimmer of light through the trees as it slowly rose. I sat up, and then rose, pulling on a light robe over my thin white cotton nightgown and slipping on a pair of sandals. I pulled out my violin case, then removed the violin and bow.

I carried them outside and perched on a fence, then I began to play one of the old love songs I'd been so fond of long ago. I played softly, the evening breeze teasing my hair and billowing my skirt before carrying the notes wherever it fancied. I closed my eyes as I played, simply feeling the music like a heartbeat pulsing through me. I played until the moon was high in the sky, bathing everything in a soft silvery glow. I stopped and looked around, admiring the view of my farm in the moonlight.

Just then I heard a voice call softly to me, "Please don't stop. You still play very well." I nearly dropped my instrument in surprise, and recognizing Mikhail's voice, turned towards him. He stepped from the shadows of the trees along my drive. "I'm sorry. I seem to keep appearing unexpectedly. I didn't mean to disturb you."

He walked over to me and leaned against the fence next to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "It's so late, I thought everyone in the village would be asleep by now."

He sighed and said, "I was unable to sleep. Too much on my mind, I suppose. So I decided to go for a walk in the moonlight, but when I reached the town gate, I heard music. So of course I followed it, and it led me here. I knew it had to be you, anyway—who here but one of us would be playing our old songs on a violin?" I nodded. "Please, don't let me interrupt your playing, though. As I said, you still play quite well. It's a shame you weren't able to continue your lessons."

I hopped down and looked up at him, and replied, "Yes, well… I wasn't really given a choice, remember? After that night, when I played for hours and hours, hoping that you'd come and you didn't, I put my violin away. I lost the heart to play it, once you left. I haven't touched it since, until only a few nights ago, when I heard you were coming here. It… just hurt too much."

He looked down into my eyes, and tenderly brushed a wisp of hair from my cheek. "All the more remarkable, then, how well you play. Most people would be dreadful after such a long time." He stroked my cheek with his hand, adding, "I could give you lessons, if you like. I would so enjoy teaching you…."

I blushed at his words, sensing that he wasn't meaning only the violin. I felt my knees getting weak and steeled myself. "We'll see," I replied.

"As you wish," he said, and leaned down towards me.

I stopped him, and gently pushed him back a little. "No, Mikhail. You were my first love, and oh! how I loved you. But I'm not sure that you will be my last. It's been a long time, and we aren't the same people now as we were then. We don't really know each other anymore. I'm certainly not ready to just pick up where we left off, as if the past eight years never happened. I need time… and to be honest, I just don't know how I feel now. I've finally begun dating a little, for the first time since we parted ways. I've become friends with some of the local men—and I may want to be more than friends with one of them, someday…."

He looked at me, his brow furrowed. "Are you telling me that you don't love me anymore? Because I still love you. I didn't want to—I tried very hard not to. But there it is. You are as much a part of me as music."

I leaned into his hand, still gently cradling my cheek, and closed my eyes. Right then I felt it would be so easy to fall back in love with him... but as I had told him, I really didn't know him anymore. And then there was Cam. And possibly even Kana.

I sighed and looked up at him. "No, I don't mean that. Not at all. What I'm saying is that after all this time, I feel like we're virtually strangers. I want to get reacquainted with you. I can't possibly decide how I feel about you until I know you better. And even if you don't feel that way about me, it seems as though you ought to. You've held different views of me over the past decade, and some—possibly all—of them are not accurate reflections of who I am now. Please, let's just take it slow for now. No one seems to know about our past history. So let's get to know each other all over again, as if we were strangers. But even if things don't work out, even if we decide we're no longer in love, I will still always love you, Mikhail."

He looked at me a long while, then he sighed, and said, "If you wish it to be so, then so it will be. Tomorrow we'll be as strangers just getting acquainted. But for tonight…." With that, he pulled me close to him, leaned down, and kissed me—an intense, passionate kiss that left me dizzy and wobbly and sent little electric shocks down my spine. Then he pulled away, stroked my cheek gently as he gazed into my eyes, then he kissed my hand and, without a word, turned and left. I leaned against the fence, watching him walk away, then returned to bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep within moments of closing my eyes.

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns, and most locations and characters in this story belong to Natsume Inc. and MarvelousAQL Inc. The story's plot and some characters & locations are my own invention.