A/N: Okay. Chapter twenty was officially NOT the last chapter. This is too annoyingly addicting to write. Before I knew it, I topped 3000 words, and I didn't want the epilogue to be so long as to make you guys barf over. So THIS is the last chapter, I guess. Or not. And the next is the epilogue… for sure this time. Really.
P.S. Do not read my after-spoilers author's notes. They usually lie -.-
Thank you The Scarlet Sky, klutz586, Radioactive X-Naut, and RainbowMelody for reviewing. –is flattered you stuck by me in times of… uh, peril-
Disclaimer/Warning: I don't own Harvest Moon. Mild language.
Her Name In Blood
Six days later…
Dia lay alone in her hospital bed, contemplating all that had happened. So many lives had been taken, some without explanation. So much destruction had been caused, to humans and houses. An incredible amount of help was required to help rebuild the frail, thread-standing Flower Bud Village, but despite this each and every last villager, down to the youngest child, opted to pitch in. People truly could be wonderful.
But as wonderful as the people could seem, no one was perfect in the eyes of others. And sometimes, when you love someone, who you aren't perfect to, you're forced to hate them.
Earlier, when she was sleeping in recuperation, she had been awoken by a sudden cry. She hadn't even a second to orient herself in the hospital bed when the air's tranquility was intervened when she heard hushed whispers coming from the other room. She tried not to eavesdrop, but as the voices grew louder and louder, it was impossible to blockade them.
"Where is she? I could've sworn she was just here. Do you know, Martha?"
"…Quiet, Gina."
"What? Is something the matter?"
"Gina… do you remember how Alex said he'd give us all checkups… just in case?"
"Yes, I… oh my Goddess, you're not…?"
"No. No, I'm not. But someone else is. You see…"
"…What is it, Martha…?"
"Look, Gina. You must promise not to tell her yet."
"Tell her what? Why can't I— oh…"
"… I'm sorry. We couldn't help her in time."
"…No…"
The very tones of their voices sent chills down her spine. Who could they have been talking about?
"Gina? Gina?"
Dia climbed delicately out of bed, careful not to let anything collide against the sling over her left arm or the patch concealing her right eye. The white bandages strapped against her gave her a somewhat mummified appeal, but as long as she was slowly healing overtime, she didn't so much mind.
"Are you there, Gina?"
Her voice resounded off the expanding walls of the sanatorium, for the clinic had fallen under too great damage to allow her to rest in. "Oof!" She rolled on her heels once her bare feet met the ground and she slipped forward, straight into the arms of a further presence.
"Are you okay, Dia?" a soft voice asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for—" Her throat caught in bitter resentment when her eyes scanned the handsome features of Doctor Alex's concerned face. The way his eyebrows knit were genuine, and his worry was as well. But Dia tried to wrought up all the insincere thoughts about him she could and pulled away searingly. "What do you want? I said I'm looking for Gins," she tried to say as angrily as she could, her throat incarcerating with each word. She looked away to prevent excess tears. "Where is she?"
Alex seemed to try to make his voice sound even as well. "She's downstairs," he answered, in a pre-composed, gentle tone. "Do you want me to go get her for you?"
She hated the babysitter-demeanor trapped in his words. "No," her tongue solidated, "I want to go see her."
"But in your condition—"
"Excuse me, Doctor, but I'm afraid you haven't heard me correctly. I said I wanted to go see her." She did her best to restrain any traces of weakness. Now that she loved him, she had to hate him. He was gone now. He was her best friend's. He was Gina's.
She planted back upon the soles of her feet and dragged her clumsy body away, only to fall forward once more. The instant she felt warm hands wrap around her waist, she reacted and whipped away.
"I don't need your help!" she screamed, so loudly her lungs throbbed. She noted Alex rear back in shock, so she took it as an opportunity to get back up. Limping until she could grasp the banister, she gave him a sobbing leer and clambered down the stairs, tripping momentarily despite her tight grip of support.
Everything was supposed to be better now. The storm was over. Many lives had been spared. The village was starting again on a fresh page of the book. All the townspeople were united and close as ever. Why… why weren't things better for her?!
She pounded against the solid wood wall so hard her fist throbbed, but she ignored it, feeling hot tears glide down the burning edges of her eyes. They slid gracelessly down the pale sides of her cheeks, clasping one hand before the perimeter of her eye. She was half-blind now; half dead. Her true love wasn't hers anymore. Worst of all, he was her best friend's.
She wanted to be happy for Gina. Screw Alex. But she loved Gina. They were as close as chewed bubble gum. Why couldn't she just feel glad for her?! If she, in her dying state, couldn't get what she wanted, shouldn't she be overjoyed that the closest person to her could?! Why?! "Dammit, why?" she hissed in the quietest voice imaginable.
"…Dia? Is that you? Are you alright? Are you… crying?" an unmistakable, trembling voice said, no higher than a mouse, but no lower than a whisper.
"Gina." She swiped quickly at the tears fluttering freely on her face, trying to find her composure. "Yes, don't worry, I was jut thinking about things in the village."
Gina faltered, unable to find the right words to intonate. Dia provided one, dread and discomfort capsizing the innards of her darkened heart. Bitter songs encrypted from the strings of her unreal harp, sending off-key dimuendos through either of her ears. She tried to block them out. "I like your new glasses. They suit you well."
"Oh… thank you. I ordered them, recently, from the city…" She glanced about nervously. "Um…"
Dia swallowed, her ears ringing with the words she didn't want to hear.
"I love you, Gina."
"I love you, Alex."
…Why couldn't I be in her place?
"It's a shame I can't help rebuild the town," she relented, just to hear the sound of her own voice, and not Alex's. "If I hadn't had this cast, I would've worked right alongside with all the others…"
"I think it's the thought that counts," Gina reminded her, looking oddly sheepish.
Dia nodded, and again a small hush plastered against them. Feeling at a cross between generous and afraid for what a silence could bring, she spoke into the crisp, morning air. "Flower Bud's gonna be back, better than ever," she trailed on, oblivious to her own words.
Gina was staring at the ground. "Yeah. It will be."
For the third time, no one said a word, and no one was able to indicate what to say. Dia shuffled, and before she knew it, more spilled from her mouth. "So, I heard you and Alex are dating." She wanted to slap her hand against her lips the instant the words came out.
For some reason, Gina looked hurt. "We are."
"Oh." She tried to push away the guilt in her that wished she'd answered in a state of shock. What? Of course we aren't! Where'd you here that? "Well, I'm happy for—"
Her sentence was pierced with a bonecrushing hug from Gina, catching her completely off-guard. A startled gasp escaped her as her best friend's arms wrapped around her, and her eyes widened when she saw tears stain the nurse's face.
"I'm sorry, Dia," she whispered, still tight in their embrace. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I mean, I did, but… love is such a stupid thing. Love's the biggest bitch out there. I'm so, so sorry. I don't want this to ruin out friendship. I know how you feel about him, and I'm sorry…"
Dia managed to pat her friend on the back, restraining from prying her off, finger by finger. Her actions were drawn through her numb limbs, for she couldn't think straight at all. Bending, twisting analogies blared from every vein of her body until she wanted to just explode. "You liked him first. Don't worry about it."
Gina suddenly pulled away. "It doesn't matter. What matters is, you still like him, and I had no right to start anything…"
"Hey." Dia forced a terrible smile. "Feelings mutual, right?" With the exclusion of myself.
Gina looked ready to implode with guilt. "No, but it's not just that," she suddenly burst out, colour draining from her cheeks. "That's not all. Dia, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you, it's about…"
Feet pounded from the top landing, and Alex was soon standing before them, in the flesh. He looked surprised when he saw Dia and Gina bawling all over the place. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" he questioned, entirely out of place. Then his eyes traveled to a thin slip of paper Gina had began to tug out of her pocket and reacted with a yelp. "NO!" he thundered, causing Dia to inwardly jump. "Now is not the time!"
Completely oblivious, the injured girl watched as Gina took a weary step forward. Her expression was brave, however. "She's not a child, Alex. We have to tell her eventually."
Alex shook his head roughly. "I realize that. But, Gina, I want to tell her."
"Why? Why can't I? I'm her best friend, you're…" Her tongue caught, and she decided to stop at that.
Alex interrupted with ease. "No, Gina. I have to."
"But… but why?" She was beginning to give in. Maybe it was something couples easily did, Dia inwardly remarked.
"Because I… want to." His eyes flickered to meet Dia's dazzling, yet fading green ones. He stepped up. "Can I…"
"Is it something bad?" Dia cut through him, without really meaning to. She rearranged her words immediately. "I mean, something negative? That will make me feel… horrible?"
Alex seemed surprised once again, so she took it as a yes. "Dia…"
"Please," she blurted out, again without intention. She couldn't stand her name being said through his tongue. "Please don't get touchy with me."
"I'm sorry." He sounded mixed between sardonic and apologetic. Finally he weakened, and said, "Is now a good time?"
Dia wanted to scream and point to all the wounds scarred forever against her. "DOES IT FUCKING LOOK LIKE A GOOD TIME FOR ANYTHING?" was all she wanted to say. But she sucked in her resolve and managed a shaky, "Yes."
Alex gave Gina an approving nod, so she brought a trembling hand to the slip of paper. Extracting it, she passed it to the waiting palm of the doctor, who took it before Dia could glimpse at its contents.
"There's something we haven't told you yet," Alex said, quietly. "Something you should really know."
Dia didn't interrupt, like one normally would. But Alex felt too serious to falter. Being a doctor, he was used to spreading bad news, as was Gina. "I'm sorry, but the surgery was unsuccessful."; "The baby could not be delivered… I'm sorry…"; "Your house has just been burned to the ground." He apologized, yet he could never, not even in his dying, wishing ability, could he aide or fix things. He apologized, yet he was usually the one blamed for the bad news, though he was merely the messenger. There was no 'good' or 'bad' to describe the execution of the task, but the outcome never ended okay.
"Six days ago, your mother, Elvira came… she came to the sanatorium." He tried to ignore the look of shock twisted upon her face. "She was looking for you, she said. But at that point, of course, you weren't here. After that, she met Martha here, and then they met Kurt. They were then led up the mountaintop, where they were deceived, and pushed down a great…"
"Alex, she doesn't need to know that much," Gina hissed uncharacteristically, not daring to glance at a stone-still Dia.
Alex gave her a "Gina, please" look before resuming. "They suffered slightly, but while they were trapped in Moonlight Cave, something happened. The air in the cave was no normal air. I'm sure you're familiar with all the tales of the horrible things that lay in its core. Orange gas, sharp rocks, beasts— which is a total myth— but in this case, miasma. Somehow, one of the rocks were open, and the deadly gas appeared to have infected her. Elvira… pardon me, your mother… was greatly affected by this. Her immune system was poor to begin with, so when we brought her back here…" He paused, as if awaiting a slap or a punch, just to stop the words from coming.
Instead, he heard a tentative, "Continue, Alex." He drew in his breath for a moment; he hadn't heard Dia refer to him by just his first name since the night she ran away…
"Oh," he muttered when he was brought back to reality. "Dia…" I'm sorry, but your mom's dead. He was used to delivering bad news, but… he wasn't used to doing it with people he knew so well. He wished he could've let Gina tell her. He wished he could have been in any other position.
But just for the sake of finishing, he gurgled out a strained, "I'm sorry. We've tried every medical help in the area. Not even the medics could help. She, she… I'm sorry… but she died."
The thickest silence erupted the instant he punctuated his sentence. It was only moments later a reply came.
"…O-o-o…" Tiny squeaks spilled out of Dia. At that instant, she went suddenly numb. It was only seconds later she fell coldly to the ground that Gina caught her, bawling to no end. Tears stained her dress and the cool linoleum flooring. Finally she was sobbing on her stomach, heart-borne breaths racking her body.
"I'm sorry—"
"OH, SHUT UP! DON'T EVEN SAY IT!" Dia hollered, continuing to scream even if it hurt. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE DIE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FEEL HOW I DO!"
The truth was, though… he did. At the age of twelve, both of Alex's parents had died from a similar disease. It was the reason why he'd chose to pursuit the lifestyle of the doctors. He hadn't even bothered to share the story with her, but he knew he didn't need to. He stood silently through a thousand personal insults, and a few times Dia even spilled out a few secret truths he wanted no one else to know. Ignoring Gina's gaping mouth, he continued to listen intently, not interrupting her to breathe.
She concluded with a dying, "Why did she have to die?" And then she fell back to the ground, crying until no tears were found in her body.
Alex nodded to insinuate for Gina to leave her. She needs to be alone. Wordlessly, they trudged out of the building itself, Dia left on the floor.
"Alone," she voiced, once she had found sound in her lungs. "Once again, I'm alone." She rolled onto her back, ignoring the imploding pain sinking into her. "Go ahead and leave me. Leave me like everything, and everyone else."
However, Gina was waiting by a hidden corridor. She revealed herself to a startled Dia, the trace of a smile on her lips. "I would never leave you."
Then they hugged once more, and cried, tears that understood each other's pain.
xoxo
Jack stabbed his shovel bitterly into the dirt, all traces of humour swept clear off his dirt-smeared face. "Sucks, huh, that we have to get stuck with a job like this?" he grunted to Jamie, who was shovelling away parallel from him.
Jamie said nothing in reply, so he continued begrudgingly. "You'd think if you're a farmer, they'd damn let you build things. Or even run around selling drinks. But no, we get stuck with this shit-ass job…"
"Stop complaining. It's for a good cause."
Jamie had barely registered even his own words before Jack stopped suddenly. "Is that all you have to say?" he finally snapped. "We're stuck digging caves for all the idiots that died, and you're saying it's for a good cause? Don't you ever complain… ever?"
Jamie was taken aback. "What's the point of complaining? I'll just get things done before I can waste my breath."
Jack scoffed, "But that's just the thing! It's stupid! Don't you have anything you dislike? Anything at all?"
"Yeah. You," Jamie snapped before he could stop himself. However, Jack wasn't offended. Instead, he seemed… amused.
"There you go, regaining your edge," he said chipperly, and to his utter shock, resumed digging.
"That's all you're gonna say?" Jamie finally said. "I expected you to rant on for hours. Are you letting me down?"
Jack snorted. "Well, maybe you're right, barely. Complaining won't get me through things." He brought in a slight pause. "But that still doesn't mean I want to do this."
"Who would?" Jamie said. He withdrew his shovel. "…I think it's time for the hard part now."
"What's that?"
"Burying everyone."
Jack's face grew ridiculously stony once more, again a devoid of jokes. "Oh. Well, I suppose we could work together with this."
Jamie nodded after a small glance. Jack was a very different person when he was serious. Maybe even different enough to be… to be…
No. Nah. He couldn't.
Jack worked alongside Jamie silently. When their gazes met, Jack forced a silly grin— its origination anonymous. For some reason, it only made the inward sirens of Jamie's mind blare louder and louder. Inexplicably, the recent scene struck him as an opportunity. An opportunity to make a new… a new…
"…Friends?"
He seemed shocked that Jack would be first to ask. He scowled. "No way, you freak. I'd never be friends with you."
He smirked when a crestfallen dance fell upon the man's lips.
"But would you be friends with me?"
Jack scowled openly. "That's so old, you loser. Just for that, I don't want to be friends with you anymore."
Jamie reared up in his defence. "Oh yeah? Well maybe I don't wanna be friends with you, either!"
"Fine with me!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
There was a short pause.
"I suppose we should get back to work…" Jamie suggested briskly.
Jack glared at him. "Fine."
Jamie glared back. "Fine!"
As the rivals turned away, they found smiles. It was fine just the way it was.
A terrible groan suddenly erupted from the left. Ears perking, they gave each other nods before setting off in the same direction. Arriving to the source of the noise, they stopped in their tracks, Jamie even letting out a surprised shriek.
Two charred bodies were shuffling in the clearing.
"What happened?" one whispered, her hair blonde and her limbs thin. She turned, soot dripping from the tip of her nose. "Carl?"
xoxo
After-read spoilers: I told you not to read these, but oh well. Yeah, I decided last minute that they shouldn't be dead. Or… should they? Shut the hell up…