I don't own HM or any of its characters.

Chapter 19: Bitter Farewells

Jack would never forget the moment. It would be burned forever into his brain. The moment that Karen ran into the room would rank up pretty high in Jack's worst moments. Yes, this would rank up with losing his mother and then God.

Karen rushed past Rick in a whirl. "Wait, Karen! Don't go…" It was too late. Karen had already entered the door.

"W—what's… going on here?" She demanded of the ten people in the room. "Jack? What are you…" The cross on the back wall caught Karen's eye. There was a moment of silence before Karen nearly broke out into tears. "O—oh… I see… it's a meeting of the…" She looked straight into Jack's eyes. "Traitors."

The look in Karen's eyes was the worst for Jack. There were the expected emotions. Anger, betrayal, frustration. But the worst was, by far, the hurt that stood above the rest. Her eyes said what she didn't: "How could you?"

Karen stormed out quickly, Jack on her heels.

"Karen! Stop!" He cried. Karen just sped up making Jack break into a run.

Jack's boots pounded on the brick walkway as he fought to catch up to Karen, who was running now also. "Karen!" Jack cried again, but to no avail; Karen ran on in the direction of the ranch.

Jack followed as Karen rounded a familiar corner and ran towards the sandy beach where Jack would be able to corner her.

"Karen… please." Jack said when Karen finally stopped running. She was at the edge of the dock, looking out into the rolling waves.

"Do you… know how much I… loved you?" She asked quietly without turning to face Jack. She's using past tense. Jack thought. He answered with a simple, "I…"

"I was at Rick's shop to see if you had bought a Blue Feather!" Karen roared, but she still didn't look back at him. "Karen, if you'd just—"

"How did you feel about me, Jack?" Jack was taken back by the direct question. "Did you love me the way I loved you, or… did you just feel the need to use me… for your own pleasure?" Jack winced but answered nonetheless.

"I… I don't… I didn't… I do…" At that moment, at that very moment, Jack realized how much he cared for Karen. At that one painful moment, Jack realized that… he loved her.

He never had the chance to answer because Karen finally turned to face him.

Karen's face was red with anger. Her eyes were already puffy from the sobbing that she had done on the way to the beach. Bruises were already beginning to show on her arms from when she slammed into the door leading out of Rick's shop. Her hair was a mess. Her clothes were dirty. Her make-up was blurry and drippy at some places. But, even in the face of the horrible blemishes, Jack could only think about how beautiful Karen actually was.

"How do you feel, Jack?" She hissed. Jack swallowed his apprehension and answered truthfully. "Karen, I… I love… I love… I love you more than life itself." Karen's eyes softened for but a moment before hardening again. "If you love me so much then why did you—"

"Karen, you've known Ann all your life. She's your best friend. Now, would you disown her just so that you could spend a few minutes with me?" Jack asked seemingly out of nowhere.

Karen was stunned at the absurdity of the question. "Of course not! I love Ann like my sister! I would never do something like that just for a few minutes!"

"Than why do you criticize me for doing it?" Karen looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about?" Jack took a deep breath. "Karen. I love you. I really do. But God… Jesus… He's my best friend. He's always been there for me. When I wanted Him to anyway! And I'm not going to pretend to hate Him, just so I can spend a few minutes with you." Jack continued when he saw Karen's confused look. "This lifetime is merely a few minutes, seconds even, compared to eternity."

Karen didn't answer for a few minutes. When she did, it was so quiet that Jack could hardly hear. "Is that all our relationship is: a few minutes? Doesn't it mean anything more to you?" Jack sighed. "Of course it does, Karen. But God means that much more to me also! I love God.

"You know, He was willing to die for me! He did die for me! He died a horrible, gruesome death on the cross so that I could live! He left Heaven, where He was worshipped, and to earth where He was mocked, despised, hurt, tortured, and, eventually, killed. All of this just so that we could live!"

Karen scoffed. "So. It's out in the open. You love your God more than you care about our relationship."

Jack sighed heavily. "You know, my old youth pastor had a saying. 'I'd rather you hate me and know the truth, than love me and perish.' He'd say. For the longest time, I never really fully understood that seemingly cold statement. Now… I do.

"You see. Now, I've been given a choice. I had to choose what I wanted more: your love… or your salvation. I had to make that choice and I did. I made the decision that if I truly loved you that I'd have to risk it all. I love you Karen, and because of that love, I need to tell you the truth.

"God loves you. The Goddess… she's a big lie. God created the world. He parted the seas. He came to earth and died for our sin. He rose from the dead so that we could live forever in Heaven."

Karen growled, "So… that's it then. You just want me to suffer." Jack sighed once more. "Karen, please! I don't want you to suffer, but I also don't want you to perish! And, yes, I'd rather you suffer a tiny bit here then suffer for all eternity in Hell!"

Karen looked away. "How could you do this, Jack? We had such a… great thing going! We could have been married in a matter of months! We could have had 'love at first sight'! We did have it! We loved each other and now… you're throwing it all away for a stupid religion!"

Jack nearly groaned. "Karen, I'm not the one who is throwing anything away here! You are! I'm never mentioned doing anything different about our relationship! You are the one who is pretending that it's over!"

Karen glared at him. "Isn't it?" Jack took a step back. "Karen… don't…" Karen's eyes hardened even further. "Well? What do you expect, Love? Do you expect me to ignore this whole thing and pretend that every time I hear the word 'God' that the knife isn't twisted for added torture?"

Jack shook his head. "Karen, I just want you to listen to me!"

"I've done enough listening for one night! I'm done with listening! Now it's your turn to listen!

"One by one, my best friend, my cousin, and my worst enemy have all betrayed the Goddess! To top it all off, my enemy is great friends with my best friend, who, up until last week, hated her guts!

"My dad beat me! The vineyard is virtually gone! This town has gone insane!

"You were the only light in this darkness. You were the one who reached through the anger and bitterness in my life and brought me out into the 'light'. You were the one who loved me even when I was such a… a…" Karen trailed off as she was overcome by emotion.

"I loved you, Jack! I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you! Why did you… why did…" Tears began streaming down her face and Jack moved to comfort her. At Jack's touch, Karen broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably.

All bitterness and anger were forgotten in that moment. In that one moment, Karen's relationship with Jack was restored to an even greater point. She realized that he indeed didn't betray her as she said. But that he was just following his heart.

"What do you think she'll do?" Ann asked Cliff. Cliff sighed, "I don't know… if she let Jack talk to her… she might be able to be calmed down and maybe even saved. He has an even stronger testimony than the rest of us, after all. For Karen anyway. She and him both have terrible fathers and have grown without knowing what a good father is like."

Cliff and Ann were sitting at her house, eating lunch. They were alone that day. Doug and Gray where delivering produce to the farmer's market in a nearby village.

"And if she doesn't listen?" Ann asked hesitantly. Cliff sighed. "I don't know… she may… leave for good…"

Karen and Jack stayed that way for a long time. After a while, they decided to sit down on the dock and watch the ocean together.

"So… what are you going to do now?" Karen asked. Jack sighed. "I don't… I don't know… I just keep thinking about how I wasted the last six years of my life in ignorance… I'll stay here and manage the farm for sure, and I guess I'll be joining Cliff, Ann, and everybody with their attempt to reach out. I don't like their tactics as much though. I'm more of a stand-up-on-picnic-tables-and-preach kinda guy."

Karen didn't answer for a long time. Instead she just watched the ocean roll in and out. Finally, she asked a seemingly random question. "How did you… become a Christian in the first place?"

Jack looked at her and hesitated. This could be it. He could win her soul now. He wasn't ignorant on how much they could relate to each other. So, with this in mind, he began.

"What will happen if she leaves?" Ann wondered aloud. Cliff shook his head. "I don't know. Jack will be devastated, that's for sure. It'll be ####### all of us." Ann nodded and fell silent.

For a while, she looked like she was thinking hard about something and Cliff figured that she was just thinking about Karen.

Finally, Ann spoke. "Cliff, I need to… tell you something." Cliff looked at her. "What is it?"

Ann bit her lip. This was going to be hard. "For the last few days… I've been thinking about my relationships with people. About what has happened ever since you and Jack came to town and… what I've discovered." Cliff nodded, prompting her to continue.

"Well… I know that this may not be the right time, but… I've been also thinking about what we have, Cliff." Cliff froze, already he could see where this was going.

"When you were kidnapped, I was so worried. I was so worried that I was blinded to what God wanted us to do. I was more worried than anyone else.

"For a while… I didn't understand that. And I passed it off as just a feeling because you've been kind of my mentor lately. But… I… I've realized what it was."

Cliff paled, but Ann didn't seem to notice. "I… I'm falling for you, Cliff. Every day that I see you and talk to you, my feelings grow deeper and deeper. Sometimes, they are just so… intense that I can hardly…" She trailed off, knowing that she got her point across.

Cliff was silent for a few moments. Long enough to where Ann sighed heavily and stood. "I'm sorry… I've made you uncomfortable. I should have known that you didn't—"

"I feel the same way." Cliff said suddenly, much to Ann's surprise and glee. "Ann, for a long time, I too have been plagued with feelings for you. I've tried to ignore them for so long… Ann… I think I'm falling in love with you."

Jack finished up his testimony explaining how he had gone though the last six years without a purpose. "…and now… now that I've found God again. I have a purpose! I have a reason for living! I no longer wander through my life wondering what if. Now I run confidently the race that has been set before me. Never looking back, I'm running this race to the best of my ability and more."

Karen didn't reply for a long time. She wanted so much to be able to just accept what Jack was saying. She wanted so much to just give up and accept the fact that maybe she was wrong all these years. She wanted so much to be able to bridge the newly formed gap between her and Jack by becoming a Christian.

But she didn't. Instead, she rose to her feet and brushed the dust off of her. "Jack… it's just all so much… I… I really need to… think. I'm sorry about leaving you like this, but… I need some time alone." Jack nodded solemnly. "That's perfectly alright, Karen. I'll see you soon then." Karen nodded slowly and began walking back toward Green Ranch, leaving Jack alone on the beach.

Karen watched apprehensively as Jack walked out of the beach and back to his farm.

She was hiding behind a fence post next to the pathway that led into the beach.

When Jack was out of sight, she rose, jumped over the fence post, and ran back down the pathway to the beach.

Once there, she quickly ran to the dock and looked at a wooden sign that had a large piece of paper tacked to it. "Tomorrow at 7:30… got it." She said quietly, dreading the decision she had just made. "I'm sorry, Jack, but… I have to do this…"

"So… what do we do now?" Ann asked, quite embarrassed at the revelation she had just made. Cliff was silent for a few seconds. When he did reply, it was in the form of a grin.

"What are you smiling about?" Ann demanded, although she was smiling herself. Cliff shrugged. "I don't know… It just… feels good to get this out into the open. Like a weight lifted…"

Ann's smile grew. "Yeah! You're right! It feels real good!" From there, silence enveloped the two. The silence lasted for a few minutes. It was only interrupted by a small gasp from Ann when Cliff took her hand in his.

"Cliff, I…" Cliff hushed her. "Let's just… stay like this… no talking." He said quietly. Ann smiled softly and said no more.

The next morning came all too quickly for Karen. The past day had blown by so quickly after she and Jack had spent that small amount of time together. And now… there would no longer be the loving days she had grown accustomed to. She would no longer see Jack every day. She would no longer let her heart guide her. It only led to pain, after all.

No. Today, that very day, she was taking control. She was giving up this pitiful village and the insane people inside it. She was leaving Flowerbud Village for good. She had no plans to come back. Ever.

As she trudged down the path to the beach, bags in hand, she realized how much she would miss this village. She had spent her entire life here. She was born in her own house! She had only seen the city once, maybe twice, back when her grandmother was still around.

Eve would sometimes take Karen with her when she would make runs to the city to drop off some wine when Zach was sick or something like that.

Even then, Karen's parents abhorred the thought of their innocent daughter being influenced by the city and they would hardly ever allow her to go. Hence Karen had only managed to go once or twice.

But now… Now Karen was throwing her old life away. Her friends: gone. Her job: gone. Her home: gone. Her memories: gone. Jack: gone.

She was heading to the city to start anew. She would never look back. She had only one thing on her mind and that was to sing and dance and act on Broadway!

If she was missed, so be it! They deserved the pain because of what they did to Karen!

Yes, she reasoned, they deserve it so much.

Ann walked out of her house, a shrill tune emerging from her puckered lips. She doubted that she had ever been so happy. The last day had been amazing!

After she and Cliff had stayed like that for a while, they ended up having their first date! It took place at Elli's Market. It wasn't fancy, but Ann loved it!

Afterwards, Cliff had walked her home and they shared their first kiss! It wasn't a passionate kiss, but, instead, a simple goodnight-kiss. But it ignited Ann's heart nonetheless!

And she would never forget the amusing view of Cliff's jump for joy and yell of victory when he thought she couldn't see him!

After pausing to relive the past day's events once more, she continued on with her chores. She stopped though; when she saw someone with bags hanging off the person, walk into the beach.

Her curious nature soon took over and she followed the person. It didn't take long to figure out what the person was doing.

He's… leaving! I wonder who he is? Ann wondered as she inched closer to the person. When she was close enough to make out the person's figure and clothes, Ann gasped. Karen? What is she… oh, God. I need to get Jack!

Ann abandoned any and all pretence of spying and ran as fast as she could out of the beach and towards Jack's house…

Ann ran into Jack's farm, not surprised to see him tilling the soil, in preparation of planting his next batch of seeds. "Ann? What's going on?" He asked when she reached him. Ann spent no time in explaining what was happening. "It's Karen! She's leaving!" It took only seconds for Jack to realize what Ann meant, and then he whistled for Thunder who was finally large enough to be ridden.

He and Ann climbed upon Thunder and they found out why he was appropriately named Thunder.

Jack jumped off Thunder when they reached the steps that led down the beach and promptly jumped over the steps, landing in the hard sand with an, "Oof!"

He ran across the sand towards the nearby dock, but, in his mind, he knew that it was already too late. The ferry was already pulling out of the dock and back into the sea. Karen stood at the rear of the boat just waving.

Jack's feet echoed heavily as he pounded across the short dock and towards the leaving ferry. Almost there. He said to himself. He reached the end of the dock and with one great bound, leaped off of it and just barely missed the ferry. He splashed into the water harshly, but that didn't hinder him.

He swam towards the accelerating boat, ignoring the fact that the water was extremely cold.

Jack reached the boat fairly quickly and reached out to grab the ladder that hung on the side of it. He managed to get one hand wrapped around it and struggled against the current to grab it with his second hand.

He failed though, when the captain of the ferry kicked up the boat speed. The propellers began spinning much faster and the current began pulling Jack away from the boat.

Soon, he began losing his grip on the ladder. Within seconds, he was just barely holding on. "Karen! Help me!" He cried out.

Karen just looked down at Jack. She wanted so much to just reach down there and grab his hand. She wanted so much to pull him up to join her. Instead, she watched in dismay as Jack lost his grip and fell back into the sea. She watched sadly as he burst from the water's surface and just watched as the ferry pulled away in the direction of the city…

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Oh yeah. I was nowhere near ready for this…

This one was hard to write. I've spent a lot of time slaving over this story and now… now it's over… well… it still has an epilogue and one to two more parts, but still!

Anyway, book one of the Revival in Flowerbud Duo/Trilogy is finished (except for the epilogue)!

How'd you like the end? Eh?

R&R!

God Bless!

--Ben