A.N.~ If you ask me, the mayor always looks stoned. I don't know why a
'village' would have a 'town' square but I am making it the 'village'
square instead. LMAO, I just looked back at "It's My Life" and realized
that MirriNight also described the mayor as a clown. JadeMoonWing did too.
Sorry about that, I'm not copying either of you, I guess its hard to
describe him any other way heh heh heh. n.n' Anywho, I still don't own
Metallica, and sadly enough I don't own Harvest Moon although the game
would be much better if I did, I could write longer than this chapter a
list of ideas that would improve the game series... but I don't have time
to. o.O`
Chapter 3- Cold Water
I dreamed again that night, I had been dreaming quite often lately. I would be on the farm with Grandpa, playing with his dog. The dog was rather big.. no.. I was smaller.. It was a dream of my childhood on the farm. The house was larger too and was painted white and it was considerably larger.. Must have been my imagination. I didn't see Grandma but Grandpa was watching me. I heard a little girl's voice behind me and when I turned around I was surrounded by trees. I didn't see anything or anyone, just trees. Trees as far as you could see and far beyond. I heard the voice again. The voice of a child, sad as if about to cry. I turned to see where the voice was coming from and as my body swung around toward the source of the sound a sudden loud ringing burst from right beside my ear. I jumped with a start and found myself now in darkness, the ringing still continuing beside me. I swung my arm around realizing I was awake now and my hand met metal with a sharp pain. I screamed obscenities at the object but at least the ringing had stopped. I didn't remember seeing an alarm clock the night before, but it was off now. I layed back down slowly and raised my arm to check my watch wondering why my dream had been interrupted. Two after Six? This was way too early to get up and I was still too tired so I closed my eyes again.
I soon drifted back to sleep hoping to see whose voice had drawn me into the forest. I slept for another hour but no dream, and then I heard a noise, a knock to be exact. Someone was knocking at the door. I closed my eyes again and pretended not to hear the intruder of my peaceful sleep, but if there is one thing that irritates me more than anything else could, this is it. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most irritating thing is to be trying to sleep while someone is making noise anywhere in my range of hearing. It drives me up the wall. Throwing the blanket off of me, I sat up and walked across the cold floor to the door. The nasty windows blocked out the morning light and I was glad this house was so empty. I would clean these windows before I left. First I was going to open the door and try not to scream at whoever woke me up. There was a short man at the door. I stood at five foot, eleven inches. This fellow was maybe five foot, 6 inches. He was comical looking. He wore a red top hat, a little to small for his head. It didn't even cover the bald spot that spread from his forehead all the way across the top of his head. The man's brown hair was shaggy despite the large bare spot and it curled away from his head. His mustache was thick and nealy covered his mouth. He was wearing a red coat that matched his hat and he wore a white shirt with a green tie. is eyes were small and beady, and he had these tiny spectacles on a large, noticably red nose. His pants were red like his coat and hat, completing the suit. The pants ended at a pair of black shoes, and he looked almost like a clown that forgot to put make-up on.
"Good morning, I am Ralph, the Mayor of Flower Bud Village," the Mayor said, introducing himself. "We are having Eddie's wake in the village square this morning. He was a great man and we will all miss him."
"His... wake?" I asked, figuring it to be some kind of funeral.
"Yes, friends and family gather to guide his spirit to heaven with prayer after he is buried, and everyone talks to each other afterwards," he explained.
"Count me in, but I need to wash up first," I said just before remembering that I hadn't noticed a bathroom anywhere.
Ralph looked at me quizzically for a minute. I reckon that meant that there wasn't a bathtub here.
This was not looking good. That must have been why Dad went to the motel. This was still better by far than the disgusting room I had stumbled upon there. There was no bathroom though, not even a nasty one.
"I'm the mayor and I have many things to do today so I'll leave you to prepare," he started. "There isn't a wash room here though."
"I noticed," I grumbled with more than a hint of distaste. "I can find 'some' way though," I hoped.
"The wake will start at Nine. Don't be late," he finished, extending his hand.
"Yeah, I'll be there..," I shook his hand firmly, just like Dad had told me. 'Always give a strong handshake with a firm grip,' he would say and had been saying ever since I started school. Ralph walked away hurriedly the way he had went to the old man's house the night before. He must have been proud of his Mayor status. I imagined him running around saying "I'm the mayor and you aren't" laughing. I could barely hold back my laughter, he looked like a clown, and he waddled like a duck. I was still wearing all my clothes from yesterday so I just needed to put my shoes on before going outside. After slipping them on, I took a stroll out into the yard, looking around. The morning dew glistened by the light of the rising sun like tiny shards of crystal sprinkled across the lawn, a magnificent sight, stunning... You would never see this where I came from. The air, ever so pure, refreshed me incredibly with each breath I took, the chilly air filling my lungs seemed alien to me. So clean.. I could live here, bathroom or not.
In front of me was an old dog house, much in the same condition as Grandpa's ramshackle house. I turned to look back at Grandpa's house in comparison and noted that the roof was red whereas the dog house had an unpainted wooden roof. I didn't see a dog anywhere though. I guess little Jiro grew old and died long ago, I believe that is what Grandpa had named the dog, but my mind was very hazy on the subject of that part of my childhood. I took a look behind the house but I was only half satisfied with my findings. An outhouse, how fun... At least it was better than making like a cat and digging a hole, as I had read in a few adventure novels. It was a typical outhouse, four walls and a door, shaped almost like a telephone booth, and there was a crescent moon etched into the door. As I opened the door, I prayed silent prayers for toilet paper. There was a bucket of water and a towel. More fun... Maybe staying here wasn't such a grand idea after all.
At the very least it was peaceful and the air was clean, but it sure came at an inconvenience. I needed a bath too, though. I turned from the outhouse and after seeing what lay before me, my jaw dropped. What surely was once a splendid field full of produce was now overrun with weeds. The lot had grown several trees as well, and they had been chopped down, the stumps a remainder and a reminder, a testament to the neglect and disuse of the land. Several stones and rocks, various in size, also littered the old farm land, the earth concealing them having been washed away by seasons of rain. It no longer looked like a farm here except for the barn. The barn, I noticed, had a horse stable on the left side and a silo built alongside on the right. Both barn and stable had a blue roof and, like everything else, were composed of wood. The silo, however, was made of large stone blocks and its circular roof was red, much the same as the color of the roof of the house. The silo stood between the barn and a smaller building, I remembered it; Grandpa kept his chickens in there. They all appeared to be rather run down, but overall seemed to be in better condition than the house. Walking by the barn and chicken coop, I observed what was probably a box for storing lumber. There was none there but the box contained many scraps of bark and a few twigs.
I continued on and I came upon a well, I suppose you could call it that. It was a hole in the ground full of water and it was very deep. It was fairly big and it was lined with stone as far down as I could see into the depths of the water. I was quite thirsty, so, kneeling down, I cupped my hands together and dipped them into the cold water and drank my fill. I had an idea and it was likely the only way I was going to clean up for the funeral. Mayor Ralph called it a wake, but I was pretty sure it would be just like a funeral. I returned to the house and took some clothes from my bag and returned to the well. I pulled my shoes and socks off first, and set my clothes on top of them and sat down by the side of the well. Or at least that's what I had in mind... As I stopped to sit down, my feet slipped on the dew-wettened grass and plunged into the icy water with a big splash.
"Shi...!!" I yelled in surprise, quickly disappearing beneath the surface. I caught a mouthful of water and frantically flailed in the cold water. Struggling, I reached the surface and scrambled out as fast as I could. I collapsed abruptly on the ground, shivering. I was still clothed and my clothes were soaked with the ice-cold water, and my teeth chattered.
"C-COLD!!!" I stammered, getting to my feet and grabbing my clothes. They were soaked too from the splash. "Shit..." I collected my clothes and my still dry shoes and hurried back to the house again. The cold air stung my wet skin as I half walked-half ran to the door. After entering the house, I swiftly disgarbed, casting my wet clothes aside on the floor. I now wished I had brought a towel with me from home. There was not a towel in sight, not one to be found. Of course, there was still that towel in the outhouse, but that was not considered an option, not in any scenario. Though I was pretty sure it was only there for drying off, I wasn't about to take that chance. I wrung the water out of my wet clotes and tried to use them to dry off a little, with minor results except for my hair, which easily was drenched more than my shirt. The best I could do now was put on my other change of clothes and get back in bed under the blanket. I checked my watch first, wondering how much time was left before I had to leave. Seven-forty three? That left me with plenty of time to warm up under the blanket before nine. After slipping on a black shirt, short sleeved, and a pair of blue shorts, I pulled the blanket back on the bed and layed down. It felt nice, lying under the blanket again. I've heard that the average time it takes for someone to fall asleep is seven minutes; it took well over thirty minutes for me to fall asleep last night, closer to an hour. My thoughts were heavy, and didn't subside until I was too tired to think and only then did the sleep come. My mind was relatively at ease today, but he was still in my thoughts. I really wanted to know what he was trying to tell me, if only he lived a minute longer...
I was in the forest again, whether it was the same place as the dream I had earlier, I couldn't tell; when you are lost, I imagine all forests would look the same, or they might as well. Was this a place I had been before? Was it just a strange recurrence? I turned all the way around, looking for anything, a path, another person, animals... anything. All I could see were trees extending for what seemed forever in every direction. Forbidding me to leave, daring me to try to find my way out. No thoughts as to where to go, almost infinite possibilities of going nowhere no matter which direction I walked.
"Shane..."
I opened my eyes and I was in bed again. It was that voice. Where was it coming from? There hadn't been anyone in sight. The voice of a child, a little girl, coming from nowhere.. Then it hit me.
"Damn, I fell asleep!"
A.N.~ Nope, no girls yet. I decided to divide this day into 3 chapters to cut down on the length of each chapter. Thanks to MirriNight for her advice on that matter. After 2 months of being broke up with my girlfriend, Amber, I talked to her for 4 hours Saturday night and we are together again n.n Yay! umm.. n/m. If I keep writing about Amber I will end up with 2,000 words here so I'll be quiet now. x.x' I love you Amber!
Chapter 3- Cold Water
I dreamed again that night, I had been dreaming quite often lately. I would be on the farm with Grandpa, playing with his dog. The dog was rather big.. no.. I was smaller.. It was a dream of my childhood on the farm. The house was larger too and was painted white and it was considerably larger.. Must have been my imagination. I didn't see Grandma but Grandpa was watching me. I heard a little girl's voice behind me and when I turned around I was surrounded by trees. I didn't see anything or anyone, just trees. Trees as far as you could see and far beyond. I heard the voice again. The voice of a child, sad as if about to cry. I turned to see where the voice was coming from and as my body swung around toward the source of the sound a sudden loud ringing burst from right beside my ear. I jumped with a start and found myself now in darkness, the ringing still continuing beside me. I swung my arm around realizing I was awake now and my hand met metal with a sharp pain. I screamed obscenities at the object but at least the ringing had stopped. I didn't remember seeing an alarm clock the night before, but it was off now. I layed back down slowly and raised my arm to check my watch wondering why my dream had been interrupted. Two after Six? This was way too early to get up and I was still too tired so I closed my eyes again.
I soon drifted back to sleep hoping to see whose voice had drawn me into the forest. I slept for another hour but no dream, and then I heard a noise, a knock to be exact. Someone was knocking at the door. I closed my eyes again and pretended not to hear the intruder of my peaceful sleep, but if there is one thing that irritates me more than anything else could, this is it. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most irritating thing is to be trying to sleep while someone is making noise anywhere in my range of hearing. It drives me up the wall. Throwing the blanket off of me, I sat up and walked across the cold floor to the door. The nasty windows blocked out the morning light and I was glad this house was so empty. I would clean these windows before I left. First I was going to open the door and try not to scream at whoever woke me up. There was a short man at the door. I stood at five foot, eleven inches. This fellow was maybe five foot, 6 inches. He was comical looking. He wore a red top hat, a little to small for his head. It didn't even cover the bald spot that spread from his forehead all the way across the top of his head. The man's brown hair was shaggy despite the large bare spot and it curled away from his head. His mustache was thick and nealy covered his mouth. He was wearing a red coat that matched his hat and he wore a white shirt with a green tie. is eyes were small and beady, and he had these tiny spectacles on a large, noticably red nose. His pants were red like his coat and hat, completing the suit. The pants ended at a pair of black shoes, and he looked almost like a clown that forgot to put make-up on.
"Good morning, I am Ralph, the Mayor of Flower Bud Village," the Mayor said, introducing himself. "We are having Eddie's wake in the village square this morning. He was a great man and we will all miss him."
"His... wake?" I asked, figuring it to be some kind of funeral.
"Yes, friends and family gather to guide his spirit to heaven with prayer after he is buried, and everyone talks to each other afterwards," he explained.
"Count me in, but I need to wash up first," I said just before remembering that I hadn't noticed a bathroom anywhere.
Ralph looked at me quizzically for a minute. I reckon that meant that there wasn't a bathtub here.
This was not looking good. That must have been why Dad went to the motel. This was still better by far than the disgusting room I had stumbled upon there. There was no bathroom though, not even a nasty one.
"I'm the mayor and I have many things to do today so I'll leave you to prepare," he started. "There isn't a wash room here though."
"I noticed," I grumbled with more than a hint of distaste. "I can find 'some' way though," I hoped.
"The wake will start at Nine. Don't be late," he finished, extending his hand.
"Yeah, I'll be there..," I shook his hand firmly, just like Dad had told me. 'Always give a strong handshake with a firm grip,' he would say and had been saying ever since I started school. Ralph walked away hurriedly the way he had went to the old man's house the night before. He must have been proud of his Mayor status. I imagined him running around saying "I'm the mayor and you aren't" laughing. I could barely hold back my laughter, he looked like a clown, and he waddled like a duck. I was still wearing all my clothes from yesterday so I just needed to put my shoes on before going outside. After slipping them on, I took a stroll out into the yard, looking around. The morning dew glistened by the light of the rising sun like tiny shards of crystal sprinkled across the lawn, a magnificent sight, stunning... You would never see this where I came from. The air, ever so pure, refreshed me incredibly with each breath I took, the chilly air filling my lungs seemed alien to me. So clean.. I could live here, bathroom or not.
In front of me was an old dog house, much in the same condition as Grandpa's ramshackle house. I turned to look back at Grandpa's house in comparison and noted that the roof was red whereas the dog house had an unpainted wooden roof. I didn't see a dog anywhere though. I guess little Jiro grew old and died long ago, I believe that is what Grandpa had named the dog, but my mind was very hazy on the subject of that part of my childhood. I took a look behind the house but I was only half satisfied with my findings. An outhouse, how fun... At least it was better than making like a cat and digging a hole, as I had read in a few adventure novels. It was a typical outhouse, four walls and a door, shaped almost like a telephone booth, and there was a crescent moon etched into the door. As I opened the door, I prayed silent prayers for toilet paper. There was a bucket of water and a towel. More fun... Maybe staying here wasn't such a grand idea after all.
At the very least it was peaceful and the air was clean, but it sure came at an inconvenience. I needed a bath too, though. I turned from the outhouse and after seeing what lay before me, my jaw dropped. What surely was once a splendid field full of produce was now overrun with weeds. The lot had grown several trees as well, and they had been chopped down, the stumps a remainder and a reminder, a testament to the neglect and disuse of the land. Several stones and rocks, various in size, also littered the old farm land, the earth concealing them having been washed away by seasons of rain. It no longer looked like a farm here except for the barn. The barn, I noticed, had a horse stable on the left side and a silo built alongside on the right. Both barn and stable had a blue roof and, like everything else, were composed of wood. The silo, however, was made of large stone blocks and its circular roof was red, much the same as the color of the roof of the house. The silo stood between the barn and a smaller building, I remembered it; Grandpa kept his chickens in there. They all appeared to be rather run down, but overall seemed to be in better condition than the house. Walking by the barn and chicken coop, I observed what was probably a box for storing lumber. There was none there but the box contained many scraps of bark and a few twigs.
I continued on and I came upon a well, I suppose you could call it that. It was a hole in the ground full of water and it was very deep. It was fairly big and it was lined with stone as far down as I could see into the depths of the water. I was quite thirsty, so, kneeling down, I cupped my hands together and dipped them into the cold water and drank my fill. I had an idea and it was likely the only way I was going to clean up for the funeral. Mayor Ralph called it a wake, but I was pretty sure it would be just like a funeral. I returned to the house and took some clothes from my bag and returned to the well. I pulled my shoes and socks off first, and set my clothes on top of them and sat down by the side of the well. Or at least that's what I had in mind... As I stopped to sit down, my feet slipped on the dew-wettened grass and plunged into the icy water with a big splash.
"Shi...!!" I yelled in surprise, quickly disappearing beneath the surface. I caught a mouthful of water and frantically flailed in the cold water. Struggling, I reached the surface and scrambled out as fast as I could. I collapsed abruptly on the ground, shivering. I was still clothed and my clothes were soaked with the ice-cold water, and my teeth chattered.
"C-COLD!!!" I stammered, getting to my feet and grabbing my clothes. They were soaked too from the splash. "Shit..." I collected my clothes and my still dry shoes and hurried back to the house again. The cold air stung my wet skin as I half walked-half ran to the door. After entering the house, I swiftly disgarbed, casting my wet clothes aside on the floor. I now wished I had brought a towel with me from home. There was not a towel in sight, not one to be found. Of course, there was still that towel in the outhouse, but that was not considered an option, not in any scenario. Though I was pretty sure it was only there for drying off, I wasn't about to take that chance. I wrung the water out of my wet clotes and tried to use them to dry off a little, with minor results except for my hair, which easily was drenched more than my shirt. The best I could do now was put on my other change of clothes and get back in bed under the blanket. I checked my watch first, wondering how much time was left before I had to leave. Seven-forty three? That left me with plenty of time to warm up under the blanket before nine. After slipping on a black shirt, short sleeved, and a pair of blue shorts, I pulled the blanket back on the bed and layed down. It felt nice, lying under the blanket again. I've heard that the average time it takes for someone to fall asleep is seven minutes; it took well over thirty minutes for me to fall asleep last night, closer to an hour. My thoughts were heavy, and didn't subside until I was too tired to think and only then did the sleep come. My mind was relatively at ease today, but he was still in my thoughts. I really wanted to know what he was trying to tell me, if only he lived a minute longer...
I was in the forest again, whether it was the same place as the dream I had earlier, I couldn't tell; when you are lost, I imagine all forests would look the same, or they might as well. Was this a place I had been before? Was it just a strange recurrence? I turned all the way around, looking for anything, a path, another person, animals... anything. All I could see were trees extending for what seemed forever in every direction. Forbidding me to leave, daring me to try to find my way out. No thoughts as to where to go, almost infinite possibilities of going nowhere no matter which direction I walked.
"Shane..."
I opened my eyes and I was in bed again. It was that voice. Where was it coming from? There hadn't been anyone in sight. The voice of a child, a little girl, coming from nowhere.. Then it hit me.
"Damn, I fell asleep!"
A.N.~ Nope, no girls yet. I decided to divide this day into 3 chapters to cut down on the length of each chapter. Thanks to MirriNight for her advice on that matter. After 2 months of being broke up with my girlfriend, Amber, I talked to her for 4 hours Saturday night and we are together again n.n Yay! umm.. n/m. If I keep writing about Amber I will end up with 2,000 words here so I'll be quiet now. x.x' I love you Amber!