A Chaotic Experience
Chapter 36: The Mountain
The group woke up on the 28th and ended up staying for quite a while on this last day. They left right before it got dark and got home right when it did get dark.
"It's so great to see you again." Ewan ran over and gave Popuri a hug, "How was everything?" he wondered. Popuri explained that the animals and plants were fine, as well as her work.
"How about you?" wondered Raffi to her husband, giving him a kiss.
"Oh, just same old." Joe explained nonchalantly, with his arms in his pockets. He laughed a little and then they walked back to the carpentry.
"How was Rick?" wondered the mailman.
"Oh, he was fine." Maria said with a smile, keeping his decision with the Orange Feather a secret between him and herself, "I'm sure that he'll be back soon." the librarian nodded to her husband and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Well that's nice. That's great." Harris said with a nod and a smile. The group all walked back to their respective places and Popuri decided to go back with Ewan.
"So what did I miss?" the farmer asked as he jumped up and landed on his bed, "Man, I miss lying down in my own bed." Ewan laughed a little and then found Rosie. He whistled and she ran over to the bed and jumped up. Popuri giggled a little and then brushed her hair a little bit out of her face.
"Oh, nothing really." she said with a nod, "Although, Thomas did decide to put the Fireworks back to the 1st for this month and then the swimming on the 24th." Popuri said, putting her hand on her chin.
"Why?" Ewan asked as he was petting Rosie's head.
"Something about the city having a huge fireworks bash on that day." Popuri said with a small nod, "Everyone's going. Well… everyone except me." she said with a little blush.
"Why not you?" wondered Ewan, although he wouldn't want to go either. Especially if Popuri wasn't going.
"Well… this would be our first fireworks together and we haven't been able to watch the fireworks at the mountains for a long time…" explained the florist with a smile, "And it is the first place where we watched fireworks together."
"Of course I remember that…" Ewan said with a smile, "I was thinking the same thing. I knew that you loved watching fireworks up on Moon Mountain."
"Aw, you're such a sweetheart, Ewan." Popuri said, getting up and kissing Ewan, petting Rosie at the same time. She let out a meow and Ewan and Popuri both laughed.
"So literally everyone's going to be gone?" wondered Ewan as he scratched his head. Popuri nodded her head.
"Yes. Except us and the couple up on the mountains. But then again, they never go anywhere." she said with a nod. Popuri was obviously very fond of the couple on the mountain summit, as she would visit them every Friday.
"Amazing to think how abandoned Flower Bud will be for such a long amount of time." Ewan said as he thought about it, "Someone could just go and smash up the place!" he joked and then laughed a little. Popuri laughed thinking about that too.
"Yeah, I suppose that they could."
The 30th came and it seemed like a very passive day. There wasn't a lot of emotion for no real reason, it was a very calm day. Ewan looked outside and saw the clouds in the sky that were about to roll over Flower Bud.
"That's very ominous…" muttered Ewan as Rosie was looking outside with him. He petted his cat and then got ready to go outside, already feeling the heat. There wasn't a huge heat wave yet, so he decided to wear his Spring attire for tomorrow as well. Opening the door, he smiled a little and walked outside. Ewan took a breath of the Spring air and finished off his Spring crops. This included using his sickle on all the crops that would die by tomorrow.
"It's always sad to kill crops." Ewan muttered to himself after he did this. His animals were outside, as they were to embrace the sun being out until the clouds rolled over the village. Letting out a breath, he stood back and then headed towards the greenhouse, tending the crops in a normal fashion.
"Odd that no one would come to the farm." he thought, looking at the entrance to Rancho Farm. Ewan scratched his chin a little, "I suppose that they're all getting ready for the fireworks tomorrow." Ewan shrugged and then decided to head off to find Popuri. He encountered Maria, Ann, and Elli all at the crossroads.
"Hi, Ewan…" Maria muttered, looking closely at the clouds, "We're just here watching the clouds." the librarian explained.
"They're very ominous." the rancher put her hand to her braid and fixed it a little before looking back up at the sky.
"I think we're all just a little worried about it." Elli said with a small nod. A little worried about the group, Ewan decided to leave and found Popuri watering the flowers in the pots around the flower shop.
"Oh, hi Ewan." the pink-haired girl greeted Ewan, putting her watering can away, "Do you want to go find some grass and just lie down for a while?" Popuri suggested.
"What is with everyone's need to stare at the sky today?" wondered Ewan as he lifted his shoulders up in a shrug. However, this didn't mean that he didn't want to. Lying down on the grass with Popuri seemed like a great way to end Spring.
"Then let's go." the florist nodded and Ewan led the way to the forest. They found a spot between the Clinic and the pond, which were both very close to each other, and laid down together.
"Today seems like a really… odd day, don't you think?" wondered the farmer. Popuri agreed with Ewan's accusations of today being an odd day.
"It is… it feels like something's going to happen, but it's not." Popuri said as they watched some clouds beginning to close in on Flower Bud, "it's so strange when clouds pass the sun and then come out… it gets dark and then light."
"Well, I'm not so sure about nothing happening." Ewan went back to Popuri's first comment, "You never know." however, he had nothing to say about the latter comment and simply watched the clouds. Popuri got closer to Ewan and then cuddled up next to him and held him.
"I haven't cuddled with you in a long time…" she noted and then closed her eyes as she held Ewan. "It just feels as if the whole world is gone when I'm with you, or holding you." Popuri said in a calming breath." Ewan smiled and closed his eyes, too, holding Popuri back.
"Um, how long have we been lying here?" the farmer opened his eyes and saw that most of the clouds had parted and Popuri was slowly getting up, too. The two had been sleeping for the entire time that their eyes were closed.
"An hour or two?" Popuri wondered with a small laugh and a smile, "Wow, haha." Ewan had the same reaction and the two decided to go and see Raffi.
"Did you see us sleeping out there?" Ewan asked Raffi and Trent when they walked into the clinic. The doctors said that they hadn't and then asked how long they were out there. They both laughed a little together.
"About two hours, maybe?" the pink-haired girl said.
"Two hours! Wow, how did we miss you?" wondered Trent with an astonished face. They both shrugged and Raffi laughed.
"Well, I'm sure that it was fun." she said.
"Are you lot all ready for the fireworks tomorrow?" wondered Ewan, "Make sure you tell us how it is in the city when you get back."
"Oh, we will." Trent nodded and then looked at his papers before writing something down.
"I'm sure you all will be having fun tomorrow up on Moon Mountain, too." Raffi told Ewan and Popuri. They both laughed and nodded.
"I'm sure we will. It'll be just like old times." Popuri smiled and turned to Ewan. He smiled and nodded and then looked back outside. It seemed that clouds had covered Flower Bud Village once more.
Finally, the day of the fireworks came. The group would be leaving at about 5pm, just before it was going to be dark. Ewan had been spending all day with everyone so that he wouldn't miss everyone later in the day, so he had no farm work done.
"Bye, have fun!" Ewan and Popuri were waving to everyone as they boarded the ship, "Boy, that ship is going to be such a party." Ewan told the pink-haired girl with a laugh.
"You have fun, too!" Raffi called to them from the boat.
"Karen's already drinking!" called out Kai with a laugh, lifting a wine glass. Ewan and Popuri saw a hand reach out and grab the glass, assuming this to be Karen's hand. They both laughed and watched the boat depart from the dock.
"Well, we can be out for a long time tonight! Full moon, you know. It'll light up everything, so they'll be home late, too." explained Popuri, looking up at the sky. The sun had just barely set, so the moon could not yet be seen.
"Do you want to go up to Moon Mountain right now?" Ewan asked his girlfriend, but she shook her head a little.
"No… I'm curious to see the village completely deserted." the pink-haired girl said with a grin. They both held hands and started strolling around the village. However, they weren't entirely alone, as they thought that they'd be.
"Oh, hello!" called out the blue-haired farmer, listening to the echo. The two were standing on top of the village square, calling out random things across the village.
"This is amazing." Popuri said with a laugh, coming closer to Ewan for an embrace. They both looked to the sky and saw the moon come up, but just barely.
"Come on, let's go out to the racetrack!" decided Ewan, running to the gate and opening it, running out and hopping the fence to where the actual racing took place. The two pretended that they were horses and held hands, running around the racetrack while laughing. The other, shadowed figure looked on in an angered manner and then walked off.
"Oh, that was so much fun!" the florist told Ewan with a laugh, tackling him to the ground where some grass was somewhere in town. They both kissed and then got up carefully.
"Why don't we go up to Moon Mountain now? I think we have an hour or so until the fireworks start." Ewan suggested. Popuri nodded and they both went up to the mountain.
"So how was your day?" wondered Popuri as the two sat down, waiting for the fireworks, "What did you do?" they were sitting for awhile until this rather basic question came up.
"Well, I didn't do much. I just talked to everyone and that was… really… it." he realized his lack of tending to his farm and then quickly got up, "Um, Popuri, I have to take care of the farm before I can come back."
"What? Why?" Popuri asked in a sad manner.
"Because… I just do." Ewan felt embarrassed and didn't want to tell Popuri that he had actually neglected his farm work, regardless of the fact that this was the first time that he did so, "I'll be back, don't worry."
"Um… alright…" she could tell that there was something rather fishy about this. They both got up and kissed each other good-bye, although it was a rather long kiss. Ewan smiled and rushed down the mountain and headed off to Rancho Farm. He had been working for a while and was now outside, tending to his new crops. Ewan heard a loud whistling noise overhead and turned to look at the dark, starry sky.
"Oh no…" Ewan muttered, watching the first firework and then turning back to his crops and tending to them as fast as he could. He had been at the farm for a while. Meanwhile, Popuri was watching the fireworks, alone.
"Ewan… come back soon, please." Popuri pleaded, looking up to the fireworks. Ewan was unable to do so, as his work ran past the end of the fireworks. He sighed in anguish as he toiled away on his farm.
"Popuri, I'm sorry." he whispered and then continued. Up on the mountain, Popuri pulled out some sparklers. At about this time, the two would light some sparklers, but Popuri sighed a little and got the old couple to come out with her. She was lucky that they were still awake this night.
"I'm sure that Ewan will be back soon." Sue replied, "I don't think that he could do any harm." Barley agreed with this and then the three lit up their sparklers.
"This is nice." said Barley with a smile, holding his sparkler. Popuri flashed a half-smile and agreed with him, but looked on in hopes of Ewan's return. Finally, Ewan finished his chores and ignored everything and was only focusing on the path ahead of him as he returned to Moon Mountain.
"Ewan!" Popuri got up and rubbed her eyes out of being sleepy, "Finally!" she sighed a little and held Ewan.
"I'm so sorry for missing the fireworks. Come on, let's go down and meet everyone." however, enough time had passed for the people from Flower Bud to return and gather a little bit at the beach. The two walked down from Moon Mountain and then they looked at the Clinic.
"What happened!" gasped Popuri, looking at its smashed windows and what was smashed inside. Ewan stared at the clinic with his mouth agape and then ran across the bridge with Popuri to see that, essentially, the same thing had happened to the carpentry.
"Am I dreaming?" Ewan asked himself, looking around, "If this is what it's like with the rest of the village, I'm worried." he ran into the village with Popuri and saw an image of the same with practically every house… minus the florist's shop and greenhouse.
"Why not my house?" Popuri wondered, looking on. Ewan had no idea and then looked around, seeing all the random destruction, scratching his head a little bit.
"Oh my!" gasped a voice from behind them. Thomas had returned with everyone behind him, "What happened!" he called out.
"We don't know, Thomas! We're trying to find out…" explained the florist. The group all slightly spread out and looked around.
"Hey… whose fishing rod is this?" wondered Raffi, holding up a fishing pole that was next to the tool shop. Ewan walked over and took the fishing pole.
"That's mine! What was it doing here? I thought that I had lost it…" he scratched his head again, even more confused. Maria appeared from her library.
"Ewan… is this your bell…?" wondered the librarian, holding the bell that he had previously lost in front of him. He gasped a little and nodded, taking the bell. Everyone started to give Ewan cold looks now.
(A/N: Obviously this stuff being what I had asked you to remember from previous chapters. Him losing his bell and other stuff being important? Well, here it is now.)
"Are you all honestly thinking that I could have done this!" yelled Ewan angrily, "Why would I do something like this?"
"Well all the evidence points to you." Hall said rather gruffly, walking into the area with his arms crossed, "I just checked your ranch and it seems to be the only place that wasn't destroyed, minus the flower shop."
"Oh my God… I'm being framed!" muttered Ewan as he started mindlessly wandering off back towards the forest area next to the bridge that led to the carpentry, everyone following.
"Ewan couldn't have done something like this…" Joe said under his breath, although he obviously didn't sound very sure of himself.
"Popuri, where was Ewan when the fireworks were going off?" the mayor asked Popuri, who was strolling along a little in absolute shock. She could barely catch her breath to answer.
"He said, um… that he was tending to his farm… for the entire time…" Popuri muttered, holding her head, "And he kept talking about how the village would be abandoned… and how someone could do something to it if they wanted…" she began to cry and turned to Ewan, "Did… did you do this?" Ewan could only shake his head, but Popuri looked at her with tears in her eyes.
"Look, I know that all the evidence points to me… but I didn't do it! Someone must have some ulterior motive against me…" he thought for a moment, but his head was feeling so cloudy, just like the skies from the days before.
"Why would you do this to Flower Bud?" Karen asked. Obviously, his friends were feeling very weird about this situation.
"I suppose someone who's nice to everyone can't always be perfect…" a voice muttered in the crowd. They all muttered in agreement.
"Well something has to be done." Mayor Thomas said with an indefinite nod.
"But, you can't kick him out of the village or anything!" Kai declared, "He has a home here and animals to take care of!" the mayor thought about this very closely as some others looked on at Ewan, who seemed to be looking down in utter shock.
"We can send him to Moon Mountain. Live with Sue and Barley until he is fit to return to normal society." Thomas suggested with a small nod, "Obviously, Ann and them can take care of his animals and Popuri can take care of his plants and Rosie." but Popuri only shook her head.
"I can't go back to that farm, not anymore." she said with obvious sobs, "I wouldn't be able to do that." Popuri turned away and looked at the ground. Ewan looked up to look at Popuri and was absolutely amazed at what was going on. It didn't feel real. But it was.
"I'm sure I can take care of Rosie and try to take care of his crops… when I can…" Raffi suggested, after mentioning something under her breath about this not feeling right. Most of the group dispersed after the information regarding Ewan's punishment was taken care of and Popuri silently walked towards a figure in the group and just sobbed a little.
"…" the figure said nothing and Popuri suddenly gave this person a hug and started sobbing on his shoulder. Gray. If Ewan had truly been in this world, he would have had justified suspicions against Gray, but he felt too hurt, too betrayed.
"Okay…" his voice cracked a little with this whisper and Ewan turned his back to the people who lived in the same village as him for over a year now and walked on. Up the steps. One foot. Then the next. Hot springs. Bridge next. Seeing all the people. Meaningless. The old couple's house, "I'm to stay here a while." he told them solemnly. They didn't ask. Not yet. The door was open, but he walked the wrong way.
"Don't you want to come in?" Barley asked Ewan. He half-turned towards him and shook his head very slightly, carrying on to the true summit of Moon Mountain. He felt sorrow, grief, and betrayal all in his head. Ewan shed a tear that night. But he didn't sleep. He only sat there and stared off into the distance. For him, he saw his adventure had come to an end.