I don't own HM or any of it's poorly made characters (which I hope to fleshen out some in this fic)! That being said… READ!

Chapter 11: Pink Haired Girl

Popuri sat in her room looking at the rain that cascaded down her window. She sighed. Rainy days were always depressing. They make me feel like a slug… She paused and then blanched. My mom says that, not me!

After groaning at the fact that she not only looked like her mother but also now was starting to act like her, she looked at her calendar. Her eyes followed the 'X-ed' off boxes to the point where the X's ended and, in their place, was an empty box. Popuri got up and wrote a big, red X in the next box signifying another day passed.

When she looked at the next empty box, the one that signified today, she gasped. Dad's coming home today! I can't believe it! How could I forget that? Then, the events of last night came rushing back… It nearly put her in tears again…

Popuri had long since known the way that she acted. She knew that people talked about her and it behind her back, but nobody had ever said it to her face. Not with the passion that Jack had. Maybe that's what Popuri had needed all along—a good slap across her emotional face.

She looked at the clock that sat on her nightstand. It was eight-thirty in the morning. Dad usually arrives around noon… plenty of time.

Immediately, she began taking off her nightclothes and began putting on her usual ensemble. When she was fully dressed she looked into the large mirror that her father had gotten her on his last trip 'around the world'.

For the first time since she could remember, she saw what she was wearing. She was wearing a high-cut skirt that rose high above her knees along with her normal, tight pink shirt that showed off her figure.

After fighting with herself for a little while longer, she sighed and began taking the clothes off again to find something more… conservative.

She exited her house wearing a long, pink and even frilly dress that covered her from her shins up to the bottom of her neck.

The dress was a pain to get on, a pain to walk in, a pain to look at, but, for once, she was wearing something that left little to imagination. "I have to get some new clothes…" She muttered as she headed next door to the familiar white church.

It was a Saturday, so there was nobody in the small building but the pastor and, now, Popuri.

When Popuri entered the building she saw the pastor walking up and down the aisles, sweeping the wooden floor, dusting the pews, ect.

"Popuri? What are you doing here on a Saturday?" Pastor Brown asked when he noticed her. Popuri just sighed, "Can I talk to you?"

Brown motioned for Popuri to follow him into his study where the two could talk. While they walked, the pastor noticed what Popuri was wearing. "Popuri, what are you wearing?" He asked incredulously.

Popuri looked back down at the dress and blushed slightly. "Um… This is kind of one of the reasons I came to talk to you." Pastor Brown nodded and the two continued into the office.

"Now, what's wrong, child?" The pastor asked in a loving, but concerned tone.

Jack smiled when he saw that the rain had stopped. He walked outside to inspect his field.

"Whoo-hoo!" Jack cried out when he saw the field. It was easily visible that he had a load of turnips to sell.

Jack ran back into the house and grabbed the largest basket he could find. Before exiting the house again, he called to Cliff to wake him up. "Cliff, get up!"

Cliff woke with a start and rolled off the couch. He landed on the ground with a thud. "What?" He asked groggily. Jack grinned, "Get dressed. It's harvest time!" Cliff's eyes widened, and Jack ran back outside to get started.

"You see, Pastor Brown, I think that Jack might be right. Maybe we're not meant to be together after all!" Popuri said meekly. The pastor sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Popuri. This prophecy came to me straight from the Goddess herself. The only way it won't come true is if you lose faith." Popuri nodded slowly, but she wasn't really convinced.

"So, because of what Jack said to you, you've decided to dress like… that." The pastor said after Popuri explained why she was dressed that way. Popuri nodded. "Once again, I think Jack's right. I was the one being slutty all this time, not Karen. She's never tried to get a guy. I've tried to get every new guy who's come to town. It's not her fault that men are more drawn to her."

Pastor Brown sighed heavily, "Popuri, you haven't really done anything wrong here. It doesn't matter how you're dressed. You should be comfortable with what you're wearing. As to being 'slutty', you weren't being slutty. You were expressing your love for Jack, that's all." Popuri tried to reply, but Brown held up his hand. "You came to me for advise, so let me advise." Popuri fell silent.

"If Jack doesn't like what you were wearing, don't worry about it. Wear what makes you comfortable. You two will be together regardless of what you wear." Popuri didn't reply. "Is that all?" The pastor asked. She nodded slowly and got up.

She thanked Pastor Brown and left the near-empty church.

Cliff pulled on the underground turnip to no avail. It just wouldn't come up. He wiped his brow and looked to where Jack was steadily pulling up turnips and placing them in a basket.

He sighed and tried pulling on the turnip again. Before he could tug on it, though, two hands wrapped around his. He looked behind him and into Ann's eyes. "Need some help?" She asked with a grin. Cliff smiled widely and turned back to the turnip that had been causing him trouble.

Together, Cliff and Ann ripped the turnip out of the ground and fell back in a heap. Cliff landed on top of her. Not wasting any time to stay that way, Cliff rolled off of her, got up, and held out his hand to help her up. Ann smiled and grabbed Cliff's hand and he pulled her up quickly…

…So quickly that she ended up within inches of his face. After a moment of staring into his brown eyes, she stepped back, making sure to hide her beet-red face.

Popuri walked around slowly pondering the things that Pastor Brown had said. I'm just so confused. What Jack said seems right… but… Pastor Brown speaks with the Goddess. Who's right? She wondered.

Sighing, she decided to do her favorite pastime—shopping.

It didn't take that much longer for Jack, Cliff, and Ann to finish the harvest. After they finished, Jack decided to take a nap. He told them that he was just tired, but, in truth, he was just looking for an excuse to get away from them lest they start talking about their God again.

There was an awkward silence after Jack walked into the house. "So… did you… talk to him last night?" Ann asked to break the silence. Cliff sighed heavily, "Yeah… in fact, I talked to both of them." Ann's eyes widened, but before she could ask about it, Cliff said, "Let's head to the church. We're gonna need to pray."

It only took them around fifteen minutes to climb the mountain via the tree and enter the dark church. "So, what happened?" Ann asked.

After a few minutes of shopping, Popuri got fed up with the stares coming from the assorted villagers because of what she was wearing, paid for the items she had bought, and headed home.

She looked at the clock in her room and sighed. It was only 9:15. She quickly decided to get dressed in something more comfortable and to take a walk on the mountain.

Popuri walked out of her home dressed in loose-fitting blue jeans and a semi-tight red shirt. She had a denim vest on to top it all off.

Popuri walked quickly towards the meadow and Mt. Moon.

After Popuri climbed the tree, she began walking up the path that led to the mountain peak.

She was stopped halfway up the pathway by the noise of a door shutting. It originated from the old church that sat on the side of the mountain.

Popuri walked quietly towards the church. She kneeled by a broken window and listened for anyone inside. She heard two voices. One she recognized as Ann and the other she recognized as Cliff.

"Last night, shortly after I went home, Karen stopped by. She wanted to know my testimony. Well, I told her. She was listening up until I told her about the encounter with the 'goddess' I had a few nights ago. That's when she lost it." Popuri heard Cliff say. "She started yelling at me about how I shouldn't be making up lies and such."

Ann sighed heavily, "I was afraid she would act like that…" Cliff nodded slowly, "I'm not finished though. Shortly after Karen left, I had another encounter with the goddess."

Popuri's eyes widened. Cliff has talked to the Goddess? I thought that only Pastor Brown could do that!

"She told me that Karen was hers and that I'd never win her over. After a few seconds of that, I finally rebuked her and she left." Popuri sat in stunned silence. The Goddess would never act like that! He must be mistaken!

Ann shook her head. She just couldn't believe she had ever followed something so… evil. So vile! How could she have ever been fooled?

Cliff continued, "A little while later, Jack came in. He… uh… well, I asked him about where he had been. He told me that he had messed up with Karen and that he was 'making it up to her'." Ann put a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Anyway, he asked me why I had never told him about being a Christian. I asked him if it would make a difference. He said yes!" Ann's eyes widened. "Why?" Cliff began telling her Jack's testimony.

It took all of ten minutes for Cliff to finish the story. Ann was speechless. Popuri was too… not that she would have said anything anyway.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Ann spoke. "Poor Jack… He's been through a lot…" Cliff nodded, "Yeah, he has. That's why we have to pray."

Popuri began to hear the two pray. Ann simply murmured near silent prayers, but Cliff was speaking loudly…

…in a language that Popuri had never heard before.

The 'language' was strange. Popuri could hardly make out the words as they flowed from Cliff's tongue. It sounded more like gibberish than a real language really.

After a few moments, Popuri decided to break the two up and find out why they were praying to someone else than the Goddess. Jack the old farmer had done it too, and it had always interested Popuri, who had been raised to believe that the Goddess was the only real deity.

The door creaked loudly and Cliff and Ann immediately stopped praying as Popuri entered the church. "Hello!" Cliff called, not recognizing the pink-haired girl at first. Ann, on the other hand, recognized her immediately. "Popuri!" She said in a low tone. "What are you doing here?"

Popuri put her hands on her hips. "I could ask you the same question! Oh, wait… I already know! You're a traitor to the Goddess!" Ann growled and moved toward Popuri.

Cliff put a hand on Ann's shoulder and stopped her dead in her tracks. "No." He commanded with authority. Ann didn't meet his eyes.

"Would you like to sit down?" He asked indicating a dusty pew. Popuri looked down at it and sighed. "If you insist." She mumbled. This attitude was making Ann's blood boil. Cliff saw it and gave her an encouraging look.

They all sat down. Popuri in the pew; Ann and Cliff grabbed a few chairs from the altar.

"So, what's this about?" Popuri asked. Cliff decided to answer truthfully. "Popuri, do you remember Jack? The older one?" Popuri nodded. "Well, I know I wasn't here at the time, but I've heard that Jack had a different set of beliefs than the town. Is that correct?" Popuri nodded again.

Cliff smiled; this might be a little easier than he thought! "Well, we, Ann and I, have the same beliefs as Jack did before he died." Popuri was silent. Then, just barely above her breath, she mumbled, "Traitor."

Ann caught wind of the word and she stood up, out of the chair that she sat in, in fury.

Cliff's mind whirled. He immediately grabbed Ann and pulled her out of the room and into the former pastor's study. Not before telling Popuri that they'd be right back, of course.

"What are you doing?" He hissed. Ann didn't answer for a few seconds. Finally, she managed out, "You don't know her…" Cliff frowned. "You're right! I don't know her, but that doesn't make a difference!" He said.

Ann scoffed, "You don't know what she's done." Cliff sighed, "Tell me." Ann frowned. "A year ago, she tried to seduce my brother. She accomplished it remarkably quickly. Within two weeks, she had managed to bed him and ended up accomplishing her true goal. Sex." Cliff nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"Within a week after Gray decided he was in love with the little—" Cliff gave her a hard look and Ann stopped what she was about to say. "Well, anyway, a few days after Gray told her that, he walked in on her while she was sleeping with a visitor to the town. Although, Gray had been hurt a while before that, she was the main reason that he was pushed into a depression. She's the reason that he's such a social disaster!"

The church seemed cozy to Popuri. Although it was in serious need of repair, it still had an air of… importance to it. Although the pulpit was sunken low from rotting boards, in her mind's eye, Popuri could see a pastor speaking fervently on it.

Something that hung on the wall above the platform caught Popuri's eye. It was a large cross. Nothing much, just two pieces of wood nailed together to make the familiar shape.

Although Popuri had never listened very much to the deceased Jack, she had heard the cross be brought up on many occasions. She didn't remember why though. She seemed to remember something about some important man being crucified, but that didn't explain why there was a large cross in the church building.

"Ann, look." Cliff said while peaking out the door that led into the church sanctuary. "What do you see?"

Ann came over and Cliff moved out of her way so she could look.

Outside, she saw Popuri milling about looking at random things in the church. One thing that she seemed to look at often was the large cross on the wall above the pulpit.

Ann frowned and looked back at Cliff. "I see a real—" Cliff gave her another look and Ann was cut short. "Get rid of the biased feelings toward her and look again."

Ann looked again and this time, she saw Popuri bend down and pick up a book that sat on an empty pew. The book just happened to be Cliff's Bible.

Popuri opened up the book and began reading. "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." She read the next few verses and skipped ahead a few chapters.

Ann looked back at Cliff. "She's… interested…" She said void of emotion. Cliff smiled, "Exactly. Now, Ann, I know you don't like Popuri. Quite frankly, I don't like her very much either, but we have to let those bad feelings go and look at her as God does."

Ann sighed, "I know… it's just—" Cliff hushed her and reached into the late pastor's desk and produced a pocket New Testament. "Let me read you something. It's Luke 7:36-48. Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner.'
Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to tell you.'
'Tell me, teacher,' he said.
'Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?'
Simon replied, 'I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.'
'You have judged correctly,' Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.'
Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.' "

Ann looked at Cliff in silence. Cliff smiled, "I'm not finished. 2 Corinthians 5:15-17. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!'

"You see, Ann. God is willing to forgive, no matter what the circumstances are. I know that Popuri has hurt you, but that doesn't mean you should leave her for Satan! God still wants her! He desires her soul! He wants her to live forever with him! We've all sinned, but God is still willing to forgive! Why is this any different?"

Ann just looked up at Cliff in awe. Finally, she mustered a sheepish smile. "You're right." Cliff smiled, "I've got an idea."

I just can't believe how cruel I am! HAHAHAHAHA!!! I make this whole chapter that leads up to a big part in the story and then… I leave it at a horrible cliffhanger!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm mean!

Anyway, how'd you like it? Tell me by clicking the button just a little bit farther down the page that says 'Submit Review'!

God Bless!

--Ben