anime26angel: hey it's me again, here with chapter 2, set in Jack's p.o.v.
And here to bring out the disclaimer, everyone's favorite turtle (well, not
Mokoto's) from Love Hina, Tama-chan!
Tama-chan: myuu, myyuuu, mmyuu, myuuu, mmmmyyu!
anime26angel: Errr.....I think what it said was, "anime26angel doesn't own harvest moon back to nature or Love Hina, so don't sue her cause she's flat broke." Umm....yeah...anyways, on with the chapter!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 2
I open my eyes and gaze at the love of my life. I quickly turn my gaze from her and look at my friends enjoying themselves on this Christmas Eve.
Everything was too good to be true. I had a girlfriend, dozens of friends, and my farm was successful. I was no longer a stranger in this town, and soon I would be able to stay here forever.
But was this what I've wanted?
My family had a law firm in Nagasaki and I being the eldest, was expected to take up the family business. I dreaded the thought of being a lawyer, so when I heard that my ojíisan had died and had left me his farm; it was my chance to escape the chains of legal affairs. I decided to take over the Shukaku Tsukí Farm and my younger sister, Jill, was to take over the law firm. She had more interest in law terms than I ever did. She's in college and plans to attend law school.
Everything seems to be going well for me. The farm was successful, and I was already accepted as a fellow townsperson. In a year, the farm would be legally mine, completing the 3-year contract stating that I had 3 years to restore the farm in order to be accepted as the true owner of the Shukaku Tsukí Farm and a member of the town.
When I'm working on the farm, I feel like I'm alive. You know, truly alive. Everything I did on the farm seemed so natural to me. Like I've done it a million times and never tire of it. Maybe it's due to the fact that everything was still so new to me, or that I love working outdoors. This might sound cheesy, but I feel that farming has become a part of my soul. Everything I did seemed so right.
I guess this is what I've wanted.
But why did I feel that something wasn't right?
Karen slips out of my embrace and goes off to talk to Ann. As they talk, Cliff comes over and punches me on the arm.
"So how are things with Karen?" Cliff smirked.
I look at her and she blows me a kiss. "Fine, I guess."
Cliff looks at me like I'm mentally insane. "That's your reply? Fine, I guess? You're with one of the prettiest girls in town and you say, 'Fine, I guess?' "
"Hey, you're married to Ann."
"I said one of the prettiest. Nobody compares to my Ann."
"Whatever you say."
"You think you two will get married?"
Now it's my turn to look stunned. "How should I know? I've only gone out with her for about a season now."
"I married Ann two seasons later when we started going out."
"But you pined over her for almost a year."
"3 seasons. What difference does that make?"
"Plenty. I'm not sure if I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with her. I mean, she's a nice girl and all, but I think we're better off as friends than husband and wife."
"If not Karen, then who do you want to spend the rest of your life with-" He ended abruptly, realizing something that I was unable to comprehend. Cliff smiled for a second, and folded his arms across his chest. "You're in love with-"
"Err. I gotta go check on the kids in the other room. Later!" I managed to say, leaving him alone with his conclusions. I think.
As I entered my bedroom, I saw May, Stu, and Tama-chan curled next to the fireplace. They were listening to Barley as he told them the story of Santa Claus. Also in the room was Ellen, who slept soundly in her wheelchair.
"..Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Well howdy Jack, what are you here for?" Barley looked at me, while Stu and May were playing with Tama-chan.
"Nah, just came to check on you guys. You kids giving Barley a hard time?"
"No." May and Stu replied simultaneously. "Grandpa just finished telling us about Santa Claus."
"And we've been playing with Tama-chan." Said Stu.
"Hey, has your sister come by yet?" Then I mentally slapped myself, realizing that I would have seen her come through the door.
"Elli's not here yet? She said she'd be here at 7." Stu and I looked at the clock that stood over my bed.
8:00.
Looking up at everyone, May said, "Maybe she's still at home."
Maybe she is. Maybe she's not. She should be fine, but why isn't she here yet? She came by earlier to help me set up for the party. Karen came over, and Elli said she had to leave.
Seeing the worry on Stu's face, I promised that I would tell him when I saw Elli. I walked out the bedroom and looked into the crowd of people.
I saw Doc talking to Rick about raising chickens, but no Elli in sight. Earlier when I saw him come through the door, I thought Elli would be in tow. Although the thought of Doc and Elli being together brought chills up my spine, I assumed Doc would bring her to the party. I knew he was deeply in love with her and he had been trying to ask her on a date for quite some time now. Every time I'd visit the Clinic, he'd tell me on how he was going to ask her out on a date and the following day he'd tell me how he chickened out. I was really glad when he told me that he didn't ask her out.
"Why do you care if Doc and Elli become a couple?" Spoke a tiny voice inside my head.
"She's my best friend. I want to know if he'll treat her right." I retorted.
"No it's not that. Whenever the thought of Elli being with someone else crosses your mind, it makes your flesh craw. Doesn't it? She isn't your girlfriend, Karen is. So you shouldn't worry about her. She can take care of herself."
"But-"
"Why do you care?"
"Well, because, I-"
Before I could come up with an answer I felt a pair of lips on my own. Karen looks at me for a minute, obviously sensing that something was wrong. Awaiting an answer, I tell her that I need to go outside for a minute. I grabbed my jacket and I walked out the door.
As snowflakes pile on top of my hat, I trudge through the snow. I peered into the darkness and hoped to see the familiar outline of my friend.
"Elli, where are you?"
My response was the sound of my breathing and the sound of the snowflakes hitting the ground.
Elli.
I remember the first day we met. It was the first day of Spring and it was still snowing. At 8:50 a.m., I got off the boat from Nagasaki and made my way into town. I wasn't feeling too good at the time and I think I caught pneumonia. Traveling can drain a lot of energy out of a person, and the trip to Mineral Village drained whatever energy I had left in me. Just as luck would have it, I collapsed in front of the Clinic. To be more precise, I collapsed in Elli's arms. From what she told me, she was on her way to work. When she saw me in my weakened condition, she ran towards me. I became unconscious, and she caught me before I hit the ground. She pushed the door open and dragged me into the clinic.
For the next 2 weeks, she nursed me back to health. While I was bedridden, we watched an anime called Love Hina. One day, while we were watching Shinobu trying to save the flying myuing turtle, Tama-chan, from being turned into turtle soup, May and Stu brought in a small puppy that was found on my grandfather's farm. I didn't know what to call him, and all four of us were thinking up names for the puppy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bear!" May said as she patted the little ball of fuzz that was the puppy.
"Nah, he doesn't look ferocious. Let's call him cha-iró!" Stu replied, looking at the brown ball of fuzz.
"Brown? No, that doesn't suit him." I looked at the little puppy tried to think of a name.
Suddenly, the puppy extended his ears and began flapping them as if they were wings. Much to my surprise, he began flying around the room! Elli looked at the TV screen and looked back at the puppy.
"Tama-chan! Let's call him Tama-chan!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And from that day forth, the little puppy was named Tama-chan, after the flying myuing turtle in Love Hina.
Although I find it very odd, Tama-chan has been a very helpful flying dog. He can easily scare the wild dogs that live in the mountains that try to take a bite out of my chickens. Who wouldn't be scared of a dog that's floating midair in the middle of the night? It defies logic! But I don't question his ability of flight. He can fly, that's all I need to know.
When I got better, Elli gave me a tour around town and introduced me to everyone. She helped me move into my house, and on Wednesdays she'd help me on the farm. She'd stop by for lunch and we'd go over to the restaurant to meet up with our friends. We did a lot of things together.
Soon enough, the farm was up and running and I wasn't considered a stranger in town. I was friends with everyone. I even had a girlfriend.
Karen.
I supposed we started going out on the day of the Moon-Viewing Festival.
The Moon-Viewing Festival is when the Harvest Moon appears on Fall the 13th. At 6 p.m., the townsfolk come outside to gaze at the large silvery orb in the sky, and eat Moon-Viewing dumplings and other treats that can only be eaten at the Moon-Viewing Festival.
I've also learned that you could go to a secluded spot where you and your sweetheart can watch the moon together.
How?
Karen asked me to watch the moon with her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was walking towards the clinic, when I realized the clinic was closed on Wednesdays. I also realized that I needed to buy some groceries at the supermarket. I walked in and bought a couple of seeds, rice balls, and bread. I was about to walk out with my purchases, when I saw Karen come from the backroom.
"Jack!" She walked towards me with a grin on her face.
"Hey. Did something good happen to you?"
"No, it's just nice to see you. Are you doing anything tonight?"
"No, why?"
"Well, tonight's the Moon-Viewing Festival. In this town, it's a tradition for a girl to go watch the moon with the guy she likes. Do you want to go watch with me?"
"Um...." I had a crush on her for a little while and I was glad that she wanted to spend the Moon-Viewing Festival with me.
So what was holding me back from saying yes?
At that moment, I turned around and saw Elli come through the door. Karen looked at me impatiently, awaiting my answer.
I took one last look at Elli who was rapidly approaching us, and gave my reply.
"Sure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She told me to meet her at the beach at 6. Sitting in the sand, she fed me moon cakes and moon dumplings that she made herself. At first I didn't recognize that the small cinder blocks were moon cakes and dumplings until she told me what they were. I washed my mouth with Listerine at least 5 times that night.
As I munched on dumplings that could pass off as lumps of coal, I learned a lot about Karen. I learned that she loved alcohol seeing as she told me that the secret ingredient in all her cooking was wine, thinking it would give the food more flavor. I learned that she loved to dance when we waltzed under the moonlight, with the sound of the waves crashing at our feet. I knew she cared about animals, since she told me that she helped out at the Poultry Farm on Sundays. I already knew that she was kind and friendly when I first met her at the clinic.
Around 9 or 10, I dropped her at her house, kissed her goodnight, and invited her for dinner at my house.
We've been dating ever since.
Karen is a great person, but when I do think about it she's not as great as Elli. No matter what happened, Elli was always there for me. Whenever I needed to talk to someone, she was there. When I needed someone to help me out, she was there. Whenever I needed anything, she was there.
Elli's a sweet person. She constantly helps everyone in the town and doesn't ask for anything in return. Whether it's helping Mary stack books in the library, taking care of the animals on the Yodel Farm, or helping me with farm chores, she's there to help. She also has a sweet personality. She's easy-going and slow to temper. She's pleasant and easy to get along with. She's my confidante and I can trust her with anything. She's special to me.
But something's different. Ever since I started going out with Karen, Elli and I haven't been spending much time with each other. I'm always with Karen. I eat with lunch with her, go on dates with her, and do just about everything with her!
In the few times that I've seen her in the past season, I noticed that there's something different about Elli. I don't know what, but it seems as if..she had the life sucked out of her or something. There used to be a spark in her eyes that were filled with life and such joy, you could feel its warmth from across the room. Now..every time I look into her eyes, that spark gets duller with each passing day. On the outside, She still acts like the same sweet Elli we all know and love, but on the inside..I can't tell anymore.
I look up into the starry sky. Elli told me that tonight was also the Star Night Festival, when the stars shined their brightest on the darkest day of the year. I can also see the moon, glistening amongst the stars.
"You're in love with-"
Yeah I am.
Now that I think about it, I wanted to be the guy that Elli watched the moon with.
Tama-chan: myuu, myyuuu, mmyuu, myuuu, mmmmyyu!
anime26angel: Errr.....I think what it said was, "anime26angel doesn't own harvest moon back to nature or Love Hina, so don't sue her cause she's flat broke." Umm....yeah...anyways, on with the chapter!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 2
I open my eyes and gaze at the love of my life. I quickly turn my gaze from her and look at my friends enjoying themselves on this Christmas Eve.
Everything was too good to be true. I had a girlfriend, dozens of friends, and my farm was successful. I was no longer a stranger in this town, and soon I would be able to stay here forever.
But was this what I've wanted?
My family had a law firm in Nagasaki and I being the eldest, was expected to take up the family business. I dreaded the thought of being a lawyer, so when I heard that my ojíisan had died and had left me his farm; it was my chance to escape the chains of legal affairs. I decided to take over the Shukaku Tsukí Farm and my younger sister, Jill, was to take over the law firm. She had more interest in law terms than I ever did. She's in college and plans to attend law school.
Everything seems to be going well for me. The farm was successful, and I was already accepted as a fellow townsperson. In a year, the farm would be legally mine, completing the 3-year contract stating that I had 3 years to restore the farm in order to be accepted as the true owner of the Shukaku Tsukí Farm and a member of the town.
When I'm working on the farm, I feel like I'm alive. You know, truly alive. Everything I did on the farm seemed so natural to me. Like I've done it a million times and never tire of it. Maybe it's due to the fact that everything was still so new to me, or that I love working outdoors. This might sound cheesy, but I feel that farming has become a part of my soul. Everything I did seemed so right.
I guess this is what I've wanted.
But why did I feel that something wasn't right?
Karen slips out of my embrace and goes off to talk to Ann. As they talk, Cliff comes over and punches me on the arm.
"So how are things with Karen?" Cliff smirked.
I look at her and she blows me a kiss. "Fine, I guess."
Cliff looks at me like I'm mentally insane. "That's your reply? Fine, I guess? You're with one of the prettiest girls in town and you say, 'Fine, I guess?' "
"Hey, you're married to Ann."
"I said one of the prettiest. Nobody compares to my Ann."
"Whatever you say."
"You think you two will get married?"
Now it's my turn to look stunned. "How should I know? I've only gone out with her for about a season now."
"I married Ann two seasons later when we started going out."
"But you pined over her for almost a year."
"3 seasons. What difference does that make?"
"Plenty. I'm not sure if I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with her. I mean, she's a nice girl and all, but I think we're better off as friends than husband and wife."
"If not Karen, then who do you want to spend the rest of your life with-" He ended abruptly, realizing something that I was unable to comprehend. Cliff smiled for a second, and folded his arms across his chest. "You're in love with-"
"Err. I gotta go check on the kids in the other room. Later!" I managed to say, leaving him alone with his conclusions. I think.
As I entered my bedroom, I saw May, Stu, and Tama-chan curled next to the fireplace. They were listening to Barley as he told them the story of Santa Claus. Also in the room was Ellen, who slept soundly in her wheelchair.
"..Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Well howdy Jack, what are you here for?" Barley looked at me, while Stu and May were playing with Tama-chan.
"Nah, just came to check on you guys. You kids giving Barley a hard time?"
"No." May and Stu replied simultaneously. "Grandpa just finished telling us about Santa Claus."
"And we've been playing with Tama-chan." Said Stu.
"Hey, has your sister come by yet?" Then I mentally slapped myself, realizing that I would have seen her come through the door.
"Elli's not here yet? She said she'd be here at 7." Stu and I looked at the clock that stood over my bed.
8:00.
Looking up at everyone, May said, "Maybe she's still at home."
Maybe she is. Maybe she's not. She should be fine, but why isn't she here yet? She came by earlier to help me set up for the party. Karen came over, and Elli said she had to leave.
Seeing the worry on Stu's face, I promised that I would tell him when I saw Elli. I walked out the bedroom and looked into the crowd of people.
I saw Doc talking to Rick about raising chickens, but no Elli in sight. Earlier when I saw him come through the door, I thought Elli would be in tow. Although the thought of Doc and Elli being together brought chills up my spine, I assumed Doc would bring her to the party. I knew he was deeply in love with her and he had been trying to ask her on a date for quite some time now. Every time I'd visit the Clinic, he'd tell me on how he was going to ask her out on a date and the following day he'd tell me how he chickened out. I was really glad when he told me that he didn't ask her out.
"Why do you care if Doc and Elli become a couple?" Spoke a tiny voice inside my head.
"She's my best friend. I want to know if he'll treat her right." I retorted.
"No it's not that. Whenever the thought of Elli being with someone else crosses your mind, it makes your flesh craw. Doesn't it? She isn't your girlfriend, Karen is. So you shouldn't worry about her. She can take care of herself."
"But-"
"Why do you care?"
"Well, because, I-"
Before I could come up with an answer I felt a pair of lips on my own. Karen looks at me for a minute, obviously sensing that something was wrong. Awaiting an answer, I tell her that I need to go outside for a minute. I grabbed my jacket and I walked out the door.
As snowflakes pile on top of my hat, I trudge through the snow. I peered into the darkness and hoped to see the familiar outline of my friend.
"Elli, where are you?"
My response was the sound of my breathing and the sound of the snowflakes hitting the ground.
Elli.
I remember the first day we met. It was the first day of Spring and it was still snowing. At 8:50 a.m., I got off the boat from Nagasaki and made my way into town. I wasn't feeling too good at the time and I think I caught pneumonia. Traveling can drain a lot of energy out of a person, and the trip to Mineral Village drained whatever energy I had left in me. Just as luck would have it, I collapsed in front of the Clinic. To be more precise, I collapsed in Elli's arms. From what she told me, she was on her way to work. When she saw me in my weakened condition, she ran towards me. I became unconscious, and she caught me before I hit the ground. She pushed the door open and dragged me into the clinic.
For the next 2 weeks, she nursed me back to health. While I was bedridden, we watched an anime called Love Hina. One day, while we were watching Shinobu trying to save the flying myuing turtle, Tama-chan, from being turned into turtle soup, May and Stu brought in a small puppy that was found on my grandfather's farm. I didn't know what to call him, and all four of us were thinking up names for the puppy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Bear!" May said as she patted the little ball of fuzz that was the puppy.
"Nah, he doesn't look ferocious. Let's call him cha-iró!" Stu replied, looking at the brown ball of fuzz.
"Brown? No, that doesn't suit him." I looked at the little puppy tried to think of a name.
Suddenly, the puppy extended his ears and began flapping them as if they were wings. Much to my surprise, he began flying around the room! Elli looked at the TV screen and looked back at the puppy.
"Tama-chan! Let's call him Tama-chan!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And from that day forth, the little puppy was named Tama-chan, after the flying myuing turtle in Love Hina.
Although I find it very odd, Tama-chan has been a very helpful flying dog. He can easily scare the wild dogs that live in the mountains that try to take a bite out of my chickens. Who wouldn't be scared of a dog that's floating midair in the middle of the night? It defies logic! But I don't question his ability of flight. He can fly, that's all I need to know.
When I got better, Elli gave me a tour around town and introduced me to everyone. She helped me move into my house, and on Wednesdays she'd help me on the farm. She'd stop by for lunch and we'd go over to the restaurant to meet up with our friends. We did a lot of things together.
Soon enough, the farm was up and running and I wasn't considered a stranger in town. I was friends with everyone. I even had a girlfriend.
Karen.
I supposed we started going out on the day of the Moon-Viewing Festival.
The Moon-Viewing Festival is when the Harvest Moon appears on Fall the 13th. At 6 p.m., the townsfolk come outside to gaze at the large silvery orb in the sky, and eat Moon-Viewing dumplings and other treats that can only be eaten at the Moon-Viewing Festival.
I've also learned that you could go to a secluded spot where you and your sweetheart can watch the moon together.
How?
Karen asked me to watch the moon with her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was walking towards the clinic, when I realized the clinic was closed on Wednesdays. I also realized that I needed to buy some groceries at the supermarket. I walked in and bought a couple of seeds, rice balls, and bread. I was about to walk out with my purchases, when I saw Karen come from the backroom.
"Jack!" She walked towards me with a grin on her face.
"Hey. Did something good happen to you?"
"No, it's just nice to see you. Are you doing anything tonight?"
"No, why?"
"Well, tonight's the Moon-Viewing Festival. In this town, it's a tradition for a girl to go watch the moon with the guy she likes. Do you want to go watch with me?"
"Um...." I had a crush on her for a little while and I was glad that she wanted to spend the Moon-Viewing Festival with me.
So what was holding me back from saying yes?
At that moment, I turned around and saw Elli come through the door. Karen looked at me impatiently, awaiting my answer.
I took one last look at Elli who was rapidly approaching us, and gave my reply.
"Sure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She told me to meet her at the beach at 6. Sitting in the sand, she fed me moon cakes and moon dumplings that she made herself. At first I didn't recognize that the small cinder blocks were moon cakes and dumplings until she told me what they were. I washed my mouth with Listerine at least 5 times that night.
As I munched on dumplings that could pass off as lumps of coal, I learned a lot about Karen. I learned that she loved alcohol seeing as she told me that the secret ingredient in all her cooking was wine, thinking it would give the food more flavor. I learned that she loved to dance when we waltzed under the moonlight, with the sound of the waves crashing at our feet. I knew she cared about animals, since she told me that she helped out at the Poultry Farm on Sundays. I already knew that she was kind and friendly when I first met her at the clinic.
Around 9 or 10, I dropped her at her house, kissed her goodnight, and invited her for dinner at my house.
We've been dating ever since.
Karen is a great person, but when I do think about it she's not as great as Elli. No matter what happened, Elli was always there for me. Whenever I needed to talk to someone, she was there. When I needed someone to help me out, she was there. Whenever I needed anything, she was there.
Elli's a sweet person. She constantly helps everyone in the town and doesn't ask for anything in return. Whether it's helping Mary stack books in the library, taking care of the animals on the Yodel Farm, or helping me with farm chores, she's there to help. She also has a sweet personality. She's easy-going and slow to temper. She's pleasant and easy to get along with. She's my confidante and I can trust her with anything. She's special to me.
But something's different. Ever since I started going out with Karen, Elli and I haven't been spending much time with each other. I'm always with Karen. I eat with lunch with her, go on dates with her, and do just about everything with her!
In the few times that I've seen her in the past season, I noticed that there's something different about Elli. I don't know what, but it seems as if..she had the life sucked out of her or something. There used to be a spark in her eyes that were filled with life and such joy, you could feel its warmth from across the room. Now..every time I look into her eyes, that spark gets duller with each passing day. On the outside, She still acts like the same sweet Elli we all know and love, but on the inside..I can't tell anymore.
I look up into the starry sky. Elli told me that tonight was also the Star Night Festival, when the stars shined their brightest on the darkest day of the year. I can also see the moon, glistening amongst the stars.
"You're in love with-"
Yeah I am.
Now that I think about it, I wanted to be the guy that Elli watched the moon with.