Thank you so much for the reviews! I love you guys :D Aww, but what's with all the hate for Calvin?

Oh, I'm finally playing Tree of Tranquility by the way. It's so awesome~

No matter how hard it gets

I must continue smiling

Bittersweet

A loud and unsynchronised chorus of hammers broke the usual peaceful morning ambiance.

The town's apprentice carpenters, Luke and Bo, were up on the roof of Holly's house today. Their tools clattered and thumped as they worked at removing the worn outer wooden slats. For months the crack in the bedroom ceiling had seemed harmless enough, that is, until a few days ago when the farmer came home to find her bed covered in wood chunks.

Holly was busy with her own chores in the nearby farming plot, sowing rows of tomato seeds. Even though she carried on diligently, each hammer hit echoed painfully through her already throbbing head. Maintaining the farm was hard work, made even harder by the unrelenting summer heat. She wouldn't let the weather get the best of her, that she was determined about, so Holly simply ignored the pain and continued on.

Everything needed to be perfect before Angela arrived.

It wouldn't make a difference to her younger sister really – Holly knew that. Angela would be happy to spend the night in a leaky tent if it allowed them to see each other after so much time apart. She wouldn't care what the farm or the house looked like.

But to Holly, it mattered a lot. Her family had been nothing but supportive when it came to her decisions, regardless of how strange and unexpected those decisions had been. They believed in her and supported her, no matter what, whether she failed or succeeded – of course they'd hoped for the latter. Because of that faith, she needed to prove to her family that she could take care of herself. To put their minds at ease, to reassure them that there was no need to worry; she was independent now.

The pressure had begun to get to the farmer though, as the date of Angela's arrival loomed nearer.

Aside from the barn and cow, her land didn't look much like a farm. Crop growing was still her biggest hurdle. With the fertility returned to the earth, the condition of the island couldn't be blamed anymore. It was her incompetence that held her back. Seedlings had sprouted – she over watered them in excitement. New seeds were planted – the wild birds had themselves a feast. Of course, only the weeds managed to thrive without any problems.

Holly paused for a moment. She glanced down at the row of tomato seeds and sighed softly. Was there really any point to going through this same routine, day after day?

"What's wrong Holly? You look sad again," Finn said, with a concerned crease in his brow. That look was becoming familiar; she saw it everywhere whenever she ventured into town.

With other people present, she was unable to answer aloud. Holly forced herself to smile. No need to worry, everything was fine, just keep at it – this became her personal mantra as she finished planting the remaining seeds and moved on to the watering, which she was extra careful with this time.

Finn circled her head a few times before he landed on her shoulder. The little Harvest Sprite seemed even more restless than usual, as if something was bothering him. What that was, she could probably guess.

"Hey Holly?" He finally spoke up. The farmer stopped again and pretended to stretch, to show him he had her full attention. "I know you're really busy 'cause your sis is visiting and all, but, um… when are we going to ring the next bell?"

"Soon," The farmer mouthed, casting a wary eye towards the carpenters above them.

"…Really?"

Her brow creased with rare annoyance. While the bells hadn't been her primary concern for a few weeks, she never could put it out of her mind completely – Finn himself was a constant reminder. Besides, the island seemed stable enough for now. A few more weeks of waiting wouldn't do any damage.

Finn hopped off her shoulder and hovered around her face. He was doing this on purpose now. Trying to be a distraction.

It was working.

"I'm not nagging or anything…it's just… I think something weird is gonna happen. Like, bad weird! I can feel it in my wings!" The Sprite cried. When Holly didn't react, he added, "We have the map! It'll be real easy to–"

Holly dropped her watering can.

"Finn, please, just be quiet!"

It slipped out. Her words reverberated through the air, each syllable leaving behind thick tension as it faded away.

Finn's face crumpled slowly, "H-Holly?"

"Didja say something Holly?" Luke called out. He peered down at her around the eaves, his blue eyebrows raised high into his hairline. Nothing seemed wrong to him.

But the farmer didn't hear.

Holly stared at the heartbroken expression on Finn's face. Automatically her mouth opened to apologise though she found herself unable to. A simple apology would not be sufficient enough this time, she realised. There was so much more that needed to be said.

She pointed towards the barn – they could speak in private with no need to worry about any curious bystanders.

The orange Harvest Sprite headed off in front of her, as he had done so many times before. But this time, he did not smile, nor did he call out to her in an excited voice.

They were already drifting apart.

Finn meant well, Holly knew this. It was his duty as her partner to worry and to keep her focused. Yet, when the barn door closed, it all rushed out of her. Feelings that had been building and building inside her for so long, thoughts that she never allowed to cross her mind before. Her true thoughts and feelings.

"I know Finn! I know that the island needs saving and I know I'm the only one who can do it. I'm trying my best to juggle that along with my farm work. But I need a break. Please, let me forget about it, just for a little while."

Silence hung heavy in the air as Finn took it all in.

"You… you want to forget?" The Sprite murmured slowly. Confused and hurt eyes met with hers, "About the Harvest Goddess? About… me?"

Holly willed herself to speak but her lips felt too numb to move.

"No, of course not. That's not what I meant!" She choked out at last.

It was too late. Finn seemed to understand. He sniffled and shot off towards the door, managing to squeeze through a small gap in the bottom corner.

"Finn, wait..!"

Holly scrambled after him. She burst through the barn door but lost sight of the small Sprite in the bright sunlight. In a rush and not looking where she was going, Holly almost collided with the blue-haired carpenter; he managed to catch her by the shoulders just in time.

"Whoa, whoa slow down! You'll hurt yourself if you ain't careful!" He exclaimed.

"Can you really be the one to talk, Luke?" Came a remark from the blond boy behind him.

Luke craned his neck around, "Huh, what was that Bo?"

"N-Nothing, nothing!"

Holly smiled weakly at the exchange, but found her thoughts drifting back to Finn again. Where did he go? Would she catch up in time? Those questions were pushed away for now – he could be dealt with later.

"How does the roof look? Is it repairable?" She asked.

Luke scratched his head as an apologetic frown crossed his face. "It's not lookin' good… a huge part of it is rotting away. We gotta replace it as soon as possible. But you were lucky the whole thing didn't collapse on ya!"

It was that bad – how did she let that go unnoticed?

Her head lowered. "Just… do whatever you need to do."

She hoped her budget could take another blow like this. Part-time jobs had managed to keep her financially afloat, but between her farm and the bells, Holly hadn't had much of a chance to work lately.

Even if Angela didn't care, she couldn't let her family know she lived like this.

Luke and Bo filled her in on the rest of the details and left soon afterwards, with the promise that they would return early the next morning to start on the repairs.

Alone again, Holly buried herself deep into her work. The hours flew by as she bustled about from one chore to the next, trying everything and anything to keep her mind off the Harvest Goddess and the bells. If only for a little while, she would be nothing more than a simple farmer struggling to get by.

The afternoon sun was low when Holly let her cow out of the barn to graze. She took a moment to just stop and watch as the black and white bovine happily wandered into the green grass. Finn loved to fly off after it; he would spin and wave energetically until he collapsed from dizziness.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Holly nearly jumped at the voice. The blood rushed to her cheeks as she swerved around.

He was on time, as always.

Calvin smiled widely. "Good afternoon, Holly."

It had taken some effort for Holly to realise that she'd inadvertently started to ostracise herself from the rest of Waffle Town. With her farm work keeping her so busy she hardly ventured into town nowadays, only when she needed to stock up on supplies. However, some people wouldn't allow her to hide away like this. Maya made it a habit to drop by on her break, with food and a friendly conversation; she kept her up on the happenings around town and the gossip – things like the mayor's son, Gill, would be returning on the next ferry and that Anissa apparently had a mystery man in her life.

And there was Calvin. Since that day Maya had unexpectedly shown up at her farm and dragged her back to the Sundae Inn, he dropped by her house in the afternoon, at times just to talk and others to help around the farm. Sometimes it confused her – didn't he need to study the ruins? – but he always was a welcome diversion and a great help.

"H-Hi Calvin…" She greeted.

"Is something wrong? You look like you have a lot on your mind…" He noted lightly.

"It's nothing important," Holly assured.

Calvin didn't press any further. "So what can I do today?" He asked instead.

The only thing left to do was cleaning out the barn. The farmer got out her sickle – an old and rusted, but still very reliable, tool– and cut clear paths of fresh fodder from the grassy field next to her house, as Calvin worked in the background clearing the old hay.

Even though she tried to focus on her work, her thoughts turned to Finn again. He'd been gone for so long. Where did he run off to? Would he even return? It worried her; he was so small and the island was so big – what if he couldn't find his way home?

Dark spots began to swirl around her vision. Her head felt light, her body heavy.

Holly's legs suddenly gave way beneath her. The sickle slipped out of her grasp. The rusted blade came down across her left forearm and easily sliced through the skin. She cried out in pain as her hand instinctively lifted to cover her injury.

"Holly!" A dark figure approached her through the blinding sunlight.

She blinked furiously. Calvin's worried face came into clear view. "I'm okay… I-I'm just feeling a little light-headed…"

"But you're bleeding."

He was right. Lines of blood dripped through her fingers. Bizarrely, it didn't hurt that much; probably because the pain seemed dull in comparison to ache of her heart.

Calvin pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket to help stop the bleeding. Then, he braced a strong arm against the underside of her ribs and hoisted her up on to her feet with unsurprising ease. His arm remained there as they slowly walked towards the house.

Inside, Calvin helped Holly settle into the seat by the kitchen table and fetched a cold glass of water from the refrigerator.

"Where's your first aid kit?" He asked once she finished drinking.

The water was already easing her weary mind. She pointed to the door that was her bathroom. The archaeologist disappeared for a moment and soon reappeared holding on to a small white box.

Placing the box on the table, Calvin took a seat in the adjacent chair. He leant closer and took her arm, gently easing the bloodied handkerchief away from the cut with his free hand. Holly grimaced and looked away. The lesion ran the lengthwise across her upper forearm, but fortunately it didn't seem too deep.

"I told you not to overwork yourself…" He murmured softly.

She rested her forehead against her palm. "I didn't."

Calvin frowned but chose not to argue. "It doesn't look too bad," He observed, "You should probably get it checked at the clinic though, just in case."

His hands, although rough, were gentle and able to expertly disinfect the cut with minimal pain. Sparks erupted beneath her skin wherever his fingers touched her arm, a strange yet thrilling tingle. It sent her heart racing.

"Holly? Are you feeling all right?"

He watched her with that familiar creased eyebrow.

She had been staring.

"O-Oh um…yes. I-I'm feeling a lot better." That was true. Now hydrated, her head no longer felt as if it was about to float off her shoulders. Her thoughts, on the other hand, were still muddled – why couldn't she stop thinking about the feel of Calvin's touch?

"Are you sure? You seem a little flushed…"

Holly quickly shook her head. "Y-You're good at that," She commented, pointedly examining the way he wrapped her arm in gauze.

The tension left Calvin's shoulders as a smile spread across his lips. "It comes with the job. You have to be prepared for anything on a dig."

Another story was coming; he always had a story to tell.

"Once I was excavating a stone tablet – over a thousand years old it was – and suddenly, the whole cavern started to collapse around me…" He began.

Holly listened intently. The sound of his voice was soothing. Just hearing him speak allowed her that brief escape she so desperately desired.

Calvin was so easy to read. His blue eyes always lit up and his voice took on a childlike excitement when he recalled his adventures. He had seen so much, even though he was only a few years older than her.

"That sounds really tough," Holly said when his tale had ended. He'd also finished dressing her wound and was packing away the first aid kit.

Something wistful touched his eyes again. "It can be… it's not the hardest part, though."

Holly thought it best not to delve too deeply into the details. "Why did you become an archaeologist?" She asked in an attempt at changing the subject.

"Well, what better career is there for the nerdy kid who loved to play explorer," Calvin explained with a laugh.

Holly giggled. "Nerdy kid? I can't imagine that."

"You're too kind, Holly." He grinned. Though, it faded a little as he looked off to the side, "My folks weren't too happy with my decision… everyone said that if I wanted to do something as useless as archaeology, I should at least be a professor. And I tried that, but…"

Her lips parted, but words escaped her. Someone like Calvin, who always seemed confident and cheerful, still had it rough. She started to wonder if she really had any right to be so selfish.

"What changed your mind?"

A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I knew that it wouldn't make me happy. I enjoy travelling around, seeing the sights and meeting new people."

There was still something sad in his voice.

Calvin suddenly laughed, "Listen to me, rambling on like this. What made you want to be a farmer?"

"It's nothing special or exciting, actually. My grandparents had a farm. I always loved it there when I was young…" Holly smiled warmly as she remembered, "And I was never really good at school… but I wasn't very athletic either, so it's no wonder I find farming so difficult."

"Everything is difficult at first. But if it's something you love and truly want to do, it'll get easier. You've been coping well, as far as I can see," He said, looking her straight in the eye.

Words so kind and so comforting. The blush spread all the way up to her ears. She broke the eye contact, trying to focus on anything that wasn't Calvin's face.

Then she realised it.

His hand had been resting on her arm all this time.

"Holly, will you have dinner with me tonight?"

It no longer came as a surprise. Calvin asked the same question every night. A few weeks ago, a few days ago even, the answer would've been yes. Something had changed since then. The archaeologist stirred up something inside her now, something uneasy and she had no idea why. So each time she turned him down, even though it was getting more and more difficult to come up with original excuses.

She kept her eyes low. "I… probably shouldn't. I need to save my money for the roof repairs…"

"My treat?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "Calvin…"

He looked away, partially covering his face with his hand. "What am I saying? After you almost collapsed… I'm very sorry."

She smiled apologetically, "Next time?"

"I'll hold you to that." He winked as he spoke, but she had seen the sadness that had flashed across his face.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a minute before Calvin stood up. "I should probably get going," He announced.

Holly almost protested – "No, please… stay just a little bit longer" – but decided against it, choosing to remain silent and nod. She stood up, stumbling slightly as she regained her sense of balance, to walk him out.

Calvin paused at the door. "Take care of yourself Holly."

The thought of his touch resurfaced.

"I-I will…" Looking at him directly still felt awkward but she managed a smile. "Thank you for everything."

With one last warm look, the archaeologist tipped his hat and turned around, starting down to the path that led away from her house. Holly was about to close the door when something – or rather, someone – in the distance caught her attention.

Calvin nodded a greeting at the man as he passed by, which was half-heartedly returned with a smile.

Holly stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

The blond man hung back at the end of the path, hesitant.

"Chase?" She called out.

He startled slightly. Still dressed in his work apron, Holly noticed – he must've been on his break – and he was holding something in his hands.

Chase waited until Calvin was out of sight before he made any effort to move nearer. His eyes immediately darted to her bandaged arm but he didn't ask. It wasn't in his nature to pry.

He held out the container to her. "Here."

"More food? Yolanda is really trying to fatten me up, isn't she?" Holly giggled softly as she inspected the container. Cake today, it seemed. Usually Yolanda sent heartier dishes.

Chase's gaze was firmly anchored on something over her shoulder. "Actually… I baked it. The cake – an orange cake. And well, Maya thought you should have some and… yeah."

"T-Thank you," Holly stammered.

Silence fell over them, as they both struggled to find something to say.

"Uh… you know, if you want me to cook you something again, you can just a–" Chase stopped. Colour suddenly washed over his cheeks and he changed his mind, "…Just come to the inn. Like always."

"I will."

Chase stood there, unspeaking and seemingly lost, still aversive.

Then: "Can I ask you something? But… you have to be straight with me."

Holly's heart jumped up to her throat. There were so many questions she was sure he wanted to ask but which one would he choose this time?

She forced out, "Go ahead."

"Are you all right, Holly?"

The question echoed in her head.

"I-I am–"

He chuckled dryly. "I thought you were going to tell me the truth this time."

"I… I'm not lying."

"Just stop it Holly!" The volume of his voice took her by surprise. Chase finally met her eyes; the look in his own was forceful and intense. "Stop pretending everything's fine!"

Everything stopped.

Holly forced herself to take a deep breath to calm her heart that suddenly pounded too loudly. In the silence, she became attuned to even the smallest movement: as he realised what he had said, his eyes widened, and then his head lowered, bangs falling and casting a shadow across his face.

A tremble travelled down Chase's arm. He closed his hand into a fist to steady himself.

"…You haven't been yourself lately…and I'm…"

He swallowed. His voice was so soft.

"Chase…" Holly murmured. It jolted him to reality. His face contorted into a pained expression and he abruptly turned away, half-running down the dirt path.

She stared at his retreating form, more confused and shocked than ever before.

"Holly!"

The voice caught her off-guard. Too high to be Chase's, too dismembered to be real; she glanced around wildly, looking for the source. There was nothing.

Hearing things again.

Holly felt tired. She couldn't handle anymore oddities. It was time to head back inside.

As her hand touched the door knob, the voice returned. "Holly!"

She blinked and Finn was in front of her.

"Finn!"

A strange feeling awoke within her. Something was definitely wrong, she knew it, but at least Finn had come back.

"Thank goodness, I was so worried!"

The orange Sprite didn't speak, didn't smile, didn't react in the slightest. He must've still been upset and she didn't blame him.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier..." Holly held out the cake, a peace offering, "Look, we can eat this together."

Nothing.

She sighed, "I know you're angry… but I've just been feeling the pressure a lot lately and…"

Finn moved his mouth, but not a word came out.

Her brow furrowed, "Finn, what are you saying?"

He continued to mouth silently. The panic bubbled up within her.

Then, when she blinked again, Finn was gone.

"F-Finn?"