Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of the characters. I wish I
did. Mazrim is C to me however. Do not take credit for him if you wish to
live. No furry woodland mammals were harmed during the making of this
Fanfic. At times, flashy curse words may cause little children to go
insane. Because of this, this fanfic is rated R. Anyone under 13 must
stop reading under the penalty of death. This fanfic may cause seizures.
Please consult your doctor before reading this fanfic. This fanfic
contains .3245 grams of sodium. And for the love of God. It's just make
believe.
Chapter 7: Goddess Festival
It was a very cold night. A gust of wind sent a chill through my body, causing me to pull my jacket even closer than it already was. I brushed one of the long blond strands of hair away from my face. I was sitting on the dock, staring out at the ocean. The slow sound of waves and the smell of salt in the air was just what I needed to relax at the moment. I took a deep breath, savoring the moment.
I had heard about Mazrim's fight with the strange man earlier today. When I had found out that he had lost one of those beautiful eyes to that maniac, I had been furious. It took Elli, the doctor, and Gotz, who had just been passing by, to restrain me from going to the mountains and tearing the bastard's corpse to shreds. I had then broken down in tears in front of all of them. When Mazrim had woken up, I had kept clear of him... I would have broken down in tears again if I had seen him.
I had to admit it. I had fallen deeply for him despite the fact I had only met him a few weeks ago. It had surprised me more than anything. There was something about him though, that just seemed so... right.
It was as if I had known him all my life.
I sighed. I had seen the look of surprise in his face when I had asked him escort me to the Goddess Festival. Hell, I had surprised myself when I had asked him. It had been kind of a spontaneous spur-of-the moment type of thing. Yet, when he said yes, I had felt more happy than I had ever been in a long time...
I sighed once again. It was getting pretty late. Standing up, I left the pier and started making my way home. I had plenty more time to think about this later.
**********
Four days later...
Those goddamned chickens woke me up at 6:00 like usual. I had a splitting headache. It didn't help that I had lost my eye four days ago. The whole side of my face felt like it was on fire. The doctor had told me the pain would be there for a while, until the nerves died off.
God damn that bastard Luca.
Standing up, I felt a wave of nausea strike me. Sitting back down, I struggled to keep the contents of my stomach where it was.
Suddenly I noticed Leno.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened next.
Walking up to the chest, the little bastard started to sniff around.
"Don't you even think about it." I grumbled, shooting a glare at him. He looked up at me, wagging his tail happily. Standing up, I fought the feeling of pain as I rushed to pick up Leno.
He started lifting his leg.
Almost there...
"NNNOOOOOO!!!!!" I yelled, as I dove towards him. I was too late. Snatching him up, I dashed out of the house holding Leno, leaving a trail of urine in my wake. I gritted my teeth as I set him down. Once again, he had finished the moment he was outside. I was shaking in rage.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS, DAMNIT?! DO NOT PISS ON ANYTHING IN THE GODAMNED HOUSE!!!! WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE OUTSIDE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"
Looking down, I realized Leno had fallen asleep.
There was no doubt about it.
He was doing this on purpose.
Gritting my teeth, I stormed back inside to clean up the mess.
Grabbing what I had dubbed the "Piss Rag," I set to cleaning up the chest. I was getting pretty damn fed up with Leno pissing on everything in the house. Sooner or later, I was going to have to do something about it. Maybe the library had something on pet training. I would have to look later.
Groaning, I rubbed the temples of my forehead. First things first. I had to get my daily chores done.
After taking another ass-freezing bath, I went to the horse stable. Johnson was wide awake, pacing the length of the stable impatiently. When I came near him, I pulled out an apple and held it out to him.
"Go on, eat it." I said, somewhat impatient.
It was the one of the worst ideas I had ever had.
Turning around, Johnson planted a swift kick to the crotch, bringing me down to my knees in tears.
Turning around, he started tearing into the apple that I had dropped.
Asshole.
After somewhat regaining my composure, I limped out of the stable.
All these damned animals had it out for me.
Heading into the house, I went to grab my tools. While I had been in no condition to work for the past few days, I had convinced Elli to take my hoe and water can to Sabria's. After the doctor had finally released me, I had gone immediately to pick them up. Today, I was going to finally plant some godamn seeds.
Walking back outside, I went over to the area I had cleared by the shipping bin. To my surprise, it was still in good shape. Pulling out the hoe, I began tilling the soil. My head was pounding, but I'd be damned if I was going to let anything else stop me from planting my crops again. Sweat poured down my face as I labored through the morning.
Two hours later, I stood triumphantly over 18 freshly planted squares of turnips. It had taken two weeks, two fights, the loss of an eye, and getting kicked in the crotch, but I had finally done it. Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I took a moment to catch my breath. Grabbing my watering can, I went to the nearby pond to fill it up.
"Hi Mazrim." The voice came so suddenly, it startled me. Jumping up into the air with a yelp, I dropped the can as I fell face first into the pond. Laughter filled the air as I came up to the surface, gasping from the cold water. Grudgingly, I looked up to see who the hell had snuck up on me.
My anger melted away immediately as I looked up to see Karen in the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. The white dress was elaborate, cutting off just above the knees. Lace lined the hem of the dress, and a flower brooch was pinned neatly between her breasts. Another group of flowers had been set up in her hair, only serving to strengthen the features of her beautiful face.
She looked like a goddess.
Wait a minute? Goddess? Oh shit.
Karen's laughter died down as her emerald eyes looked straight into my eyes. They had a look of irritation.
"You forgot, didn't you? Today's the Goddess Festival."
Nervously, I gulped as I nodded.
Shaking her head, a smirk came to her face.
"Well, are you going to get out of that pond? You have less than an hour to get ready."
It took less than a fraction of a second for me to pull myself out of the water and run to my house to get ready.
**********
As I watched him run off, soaking wet, I couldn't help but laugh. He reminded me of a kid who had just gotten caught stealing a cookie. Idly, I sighed as I waited for him to return.
Quite frankly, I couldn't blame him for forgetting. He had been through a lot of pain during the last few days, not to mention this was his first time ever going to the Goddess Festival. Looking down at the ground, I saw the fresh patches of dirt.
I had actually arrived a half hour earlier. He had been so intent on planting those seeds, though, that he didn't even realize I was there. I knew by the way he was wincing that he still was in pain. It was so obvious.
To tell the truth, however, his determination had impressed me.
Of course, I wasn't going to let him get away with it that easily.
I couldn't help but giggle as I remembered the look of surprise on his face as he had fallen into the pond...
*********
Ugh...
That was all I could think when I looked into the mirror.
The only formal piece of clothing I had was my old military outfit I had received when I had first joined the army. I had worn it into a few battles, however, and it was a little banged up. There were a couple of rips in the sleeves, and a few stains that were permanent. Not to mention the eye patch I was wearing...
Thinking back to how beautiful Karen's dress was, I couldn't help but sweat drop. This was the best I had, so it was going to have to do.
Walking back out, I felt my face heat up the moment I saw Karen. She was staring at me, unsure as to what to say. It only made things worse.
"Sorry, this is the best I have." Karen could only smile.
"It looks fine. Let's hurry, or we're going to be late."
As we walked down the road together, I couldn't help but be nervous. I had no idea in hell what was going to happen. I had never been to a festival around here before. What the hell was I supposed to do as Karen's escort? Unable to take it anymore, I simply asked her.
"Well, basically, you just have to accompany me there." started Karen. "When we start, all the girls walk down the row with their escorts. Once we get to the front, the men brake off to the left while we go onto the stage. After that, all you do is just watch us dance."
"Sounds simple enough..." I said, scratching the back of my head.
Suddenly, Karen started acting a little nervous.
"By the way..." she said, blushing slightly. "At the end of the dance, the escort has to kiss the goddess."
"What?!" I said, stumbling slightly. Karen suddenly started laughing.
"Just kidding! Geez, you believe anything, don't you?"
"No..." I said, smirking, " just whatever my goddess tells me to believe."
The both of us started laughing as we continued on. Finally, we arrived at the town square. Mayor Thomas came to greet us.
"You two are just in time! Hurry up, get into your places." he said in a high-pitched voice. Two minutes later, we were about to start. I stood next to Karen nervously, hoping I wouldn't make a fool out of myself. I looked around, taking in the sight of the festival. The whole town was here. Looking ahead, I saw the other girls and there escorts. Some of them I recognized. Elli and the doctor stood together, both blushing slightly. I had become somewhat of a regular at their hospital. Ann, the girl who I had met at the inn, stood next to some rough-looking kid. Maria was standing next to Gray, squinting to see what was happening because she wasn't wearing her thick glasses. There was also a pink-haired girl I had never met, standing next to some blond guy with glasses. Karen leaned over and whispered to me.
"After this, do you want to go somewhere else?"
Hell freaking yes.
"Sure." I answered. All these people were making me nervous.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we were finally walking down the aisle. Everyone else was clapping and cheering as we made our way down, and a band was playing some music in the background. When we got to the front, I followed the other guys to the side as Karen and the others went up on stage. Then, the music changed and they all started to dance.
It was mesmerizing, to say the least. Karen was a damn good dancer. The others weren't too shabby either, though Maria seemed to be having a hard time seeing where she was going. As they danced away, one of the other guys leaned to say something to me.
"Hi Mazrim, my name's Rick." It was the blond guy with the glasses I had seen earlier. I nodded as I shook his hand. He continued. "Karen's told me all about you. It's good to finally meet you face to face." The music's pace changed and the girls started dancing slower.
"Really? How do you know her?" I asked, glad to get into a conversation. Rick smirked.
"Well, around here, it's difficult to not know someone. If you must know, however, I was going out with her for a while before you came along."
This caught my attention immediately. I tensed up, hoping I wasn't going to get into a fight.
"Hey, relax. That was a while ago. We broke up before you got here. We're still good friends. She talks about you a lot, though. She seems to like you a lot." He smirked again.
The beat in the music picked up again, and the girls started dancing faster. Rick continued on.
"You see that girl with the pink hair?" I nodded. "That's my sister, Popouri. She didn't have an escort today, because her good-for- nothing boyfriend doesn't live here. That's why I came with her today."
"Who's her boyfriend?" I asked, curiously. Rick scowled.
"A city punk by the name of Kai. He comes here every summer, stirs up hell around here, and then leaves. I hate him, but Popouri and Mom won't listen to me."
I smirked, realizing the situation. He just wanted to protect his sister. Of course, it was her decision, but at least he cared about her.
The music came to the climax, as the girls did some elaborate dance moves.
"Looks like they're almost done. Why don't you stop by sometime at my place, and we can talk more. I live at the Chicken Farm, down the road."
That caught my attention. Turning around, I was about to say something to him when the music stopped and people started cheering. Deciding to leave it alone for the moment, I turned back to the girls and clapped enthusiastically as they made their bows to the audience. They looked beat. I noticed Karen was looking at me, so I gave her a thumbs-up. She laughed, as she bowed to the audience again and made her way off stage.
Twenty minutes later, she had changed and we were at the beach. Sitting down on a log, Karen kicked off her shoes and motioned for me to join her. Following her example, I took off my shoes and sat next to her.
"So, what did you think of our dance?" she asked, striking up a conversation.
"It was great. You were pretty damn good back there!" I said, smiling. She blushed. "How long did it take for all of you to learn that dance?" I asked, curiously.
"We started practicing during the winter time. There's not a lot to do during that time, so it gives us plenty of time for practice." she said. "Poor Maria had a hard time, though. She is very nearsighted, and can't see without her glasses. She had a hard time keeping up with us."
I couldn't help but chuckle as I remembered the part in the dance where she had almost lost her balance. The look of panic in her eyes had been priceless. Karen gave me a questioning look. I decided to keep that thought to myself.
Changing the subject, I asked her about Rick.
"Yeah, I thought I saw him talking to you earlier. He lives with his mother and sister at the chicken farm down the road from your house." A sad look came to her eyes. "His mother has been diagnosed with same sort of rare heart disease. His father is out somewhere looking for some plant that Maria's father, Basil, had told him about. Because of that, Rick feels that it's his job to take care of the family while his dad's out."
Suddenly, I felt less enthusiastic about telling him to shut his chickens up.
"He and I were together for a little bit, but as it turned out, we both found that it just wasn't going to work out." said Karen, sighing.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well, we both had different views on how a family should be. He felt it was the guy's sole responsibility to take care of the girl in a relationship. He didn't like the thought of me working." she sighed again. "I, on the other hand, wanted to help my father at the shop. Plus, I don't like having someone there telling me what I can and cannot do. In the end, the both of us agreed to break up, but still stay as friends. Enough about that, though. What about you? Haven't you had any relationships before?"
I looked down, embarrassed.
"No. I haven't had any time for them. The army kept me too busy to even think about girls."
"What about when you were younger? You didn't have any crushes or anything?"
"Come to think of it, there was one girl I had liked a long time back. Funny thing is, I can't remember her name, where I met her, or what she looked like."
Karen laughed.
"Geez, you can't get any more vague than that."
I felt my face heat up. Karen settled down and looked deep into my eyes. I stared back, noticing how beautiful she was. Slowly, we leaned towards each other. My heart threatened to burst through my chest as I came mere inches to her face. Distantly, I felt my toe throbbing....
Wait a minute... toe throbbing?!
I yelped in pain as I jumped up off the log, sending a surprised Karen off the log and toppling head over heals into the sand. I started hopping on one foot as I looked down to see what had happened.
A small crab had snuck up on me and was currently dangling off my foot. I muttered every curse known to man as I tried desperately to pry it off.
Karen had by now realized what was happening. Bursting into laughter, she sat on the ground watching as I hopped around trying to get the crab off. Finally, the little prick let go and rushed into the sea. I sat on the ground, rubbing my toe furiously. Karen was rolling in laughter.
Finally, the both of us calmed down. It was getting close to 6:00. We both stood up and started walking to our homes. When we got to Karen's, we stopped at the door. Karen looked back at me.
"Hey Mazrim... thanks for today." she said, blushing slightly. "I had really good time." Leaning forward, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before saying goodnight and walking into the house. I stood at the door, stunned for a few minutes. Finally, I went back home.
*******
As I finished watering the seeds, my mind wondered about. Everything was just perfect right now. Staring up into the night sky, I noticed some clouds were starting to come in. It looked like a storm was coming in. Idly, I scratched at my eye patch. The pain was starting to die down.
Sighing, I wondered how long everything was going to last.
Deciding to give optimism a chance, I chased the previous thought out of my mind as I went back inside.
It would all last as long as it lasted. I would just have to deal with everything as it came.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder what this feeling of dread was all about.
Lying down in bed, I drifted off to sleep.
****************
Hey all! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I had kind of a miniature writer's block going on for a while. What do you all think about this chapter? It's a little mushy, I know, but I wanted to take a slight break from action. Anyways, as always, please R&R. 'Till next time!
Chapter 7: Goddess Festival
It was a very cold night. A gust of wind sent a chill through my body, causing me to pull my jacket even closer than it already was. I brushed one of the long blond strands of hair away from my face. I was sitting on the dock, staring out at the ocean. The slow sound of waves and the smell of salt in the air was just what I needed to relax at the moment. I took a deep breath, savoring the moment.
I had heard about Mazrim's fight with the strange man earlier today. When I had found out that he had lost one of those beautiful eyes to that maniac, I had been furious. It took Elli, the doctor, and Gotz, who had just been passing by, to restrain me from going to the mountains and tearing the bastard's corpse to shreds. I had then broken down in tears in front of all of them. When Mazrim had woken up, I had kept clear of him... I would have broken down in tears again if I had seen him.
I had to admit it. I had fallen deeply for him despite the fact I had only met him a few weeks ago. It had surprised me more than anything. There was something about him though, that just seemed so... right.
It was as if I had known him all my life.
I sighed. I had seen the look of surprise in his face when I had asked him escort me to the Goddess Festival. Hell, I had surprised myself when I had asked him. It had been kind of a spontaneous spur-of-the moment type of thing. Yet, when he said yes, I had felt more happy than I had ever been in a long time...
I sighed once again. It was getting pretty late. Standing up, I left the pier and started making my way home. I had plenty more time to think about this later.
**********
Four days later...
Those goddamned chickens woke me up at 6:00 like usual. I had a splitting headache. It didn't help that I had lost my eye four days ago. The whole side of my face felt like it was on fire. The doctor had told me the pain would be there for a while, until the nerves died off.
God damn that bastard Luca.
Standing up, I felt a wave of nausea strike me. Sitting back down, I struggled to keep the contents of my stomach where it was.
Suddenly I noticed Leno.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened next.
Walking up to the chest, the little bastard started to sniff around.
"Don't you even think about it." I grumbled, shooting a glare at him. He looked up at me, wagging his tail happily. Standing up, I fought the feeling of pain as I rushed to pick up Leno.
He started lifting his leg.
Almost there...
"NNNOOOOOO!!!!!" I yelled, as I dove towards him. I was too late. Snatching him up, I dashed out of the house holding Leno, leaving a trail of urine in my wake. I gritted my teeth as I set him down. Once again, he had finished the moment he was outside. I was shaking in rage.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS, DAMNIT?! DO NOT PISS ON ANYTHING IN THE GODAMNED HOUSE!!!! WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE OUTSIDE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"
Looking down, I realized Leno had fallen asleep.
There was no doubt about it.
He was doing this on purpose.
Gritting my teeth, I stormed back inside to clean up the mess.
Grabbing what I had dubbed the "Piss Rag," I set to cleaning up the chest. I was getting pretty damn fed up with Leno pissing on everything in the house. Sooner or later, I was going to have to do something about it. Maybe the library had something on pet training. I would have to look later.
Groaning, I rubbed the temples of my forehead. First things first. I had to get my daily chores done.
After taking another ass-freezing bath, I went to the horse stable. Johnson was wide awake, pacing the length of the stable impatiently. When I came near him, I pulled out an apple and held it out to him.
"Go on, eat it." I said, somewhat impatient.
It was the one of the worst ideas I had ever had.
Turning around, Johnson planted a swift kick to the crotch, bringing me down to my knees in tears.
Turning around, he started tearing into the apple that I had dropped.
Asshole.
After somewhat regaining my composure, I limped out of the stable.
All these damned animals had it out for me.
Heading into the house, I went to grab my tools. While I had been in no condition to work for the past few days, I had convinced Elli to take my hoe and water can to Sabria's. After the doctor had finally released me, I had gone immediately to pick them up. Today, I was going to finally plant some godamn seeds.
Walking back outside, I went over to the area I had cleared by the shipping bin. To my surprise, it was still in good shape. Pulling out the hoe, I began tilling the soil. My head was pounding, but I'd be damned if I was going to let anything else stop me from planting my crops again. Sweat poured down my face as I labored through the morning.
Two hours later, I stood triumphantly over 18 freshly planted squares of turnips. It had taken two weeks, two fights, the loss of an eye, and getting kicked in the crotch, but I had finally done it. Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I took a moment to catch my breath. Grabbing my watering can, I went to the nearby pond to fill it up.
"Hi Mazrim." The voice came so suddenly, it startled me. Jumping up into the air with a yelp, I dropped the can as I fell face first into the pond. Laughter filled the air as I came up to the surface, gasping from the cold water. Grudgingly, I looked up to see who the hell had snuck up on me.
My anger melted away immediately as I looked up to see Karen in the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. The white dress was elaborate, cutting off just above the knees. Lace lined the hem of the dress, and a flower brooch was pinned neatly between her breasts. Another group of flowers had been set up in her hair, only serving to strengthen the features of her beautiful face.
She looked like a goddess.
Wait a minute? Goddess? Oh shit.
Karen's laughter died down as her emerald eyes looked straight into my eyes. They had a look of irritation.
"You forgot, didn't you? Today's the Goddess Festival."
Nervously, I gulped as I nodded.
Shaking her head, a smirk came to her face.
"Well, are you going to get out of that pond? You have less than an hour to get ready."
It took less than a fraction of a second for me to pull myself out of the water and run to my house to get ready.
**********
As I watched him run off, soaking wet, I couldn't help but laugh. He reminded me of a kid who had just gotten caught stealing a cookie. Idly, I sighed as I waited for him to return.
Quite frankly, I couldn't blame him for forgetting. He had been through a lot of pain during the last few days, not to mention this was his first time ever going to the Goddess Festival. Looking down at the ground, I saw the fresh patches of dirt.
I had actually arrived a half hour earlier. He had been so intent on planting those seeds, though, that he didn't even realize I was there. I knew by the way he was wincing that he still was in pain. It was so obvious.
To tell the truth, however, his determination had impressed me.
Of course, I wasn't going to let him get away with it that easily.
I couldn't help but giggle as I remembered the look of surprise on his face as he had fallen into the pond...
*********
Ugh...
That was all I could think when I looked into the mirror.
The only formal piece of clothing I had was my old military outfit I had received when I had first joined the army. I had worn it into a few battles, however, and it was a little banged up. There were a couple of rips in the sleeves, and a few stains that were permanent. Not to mention the eye patch I was wearing...
Thinking back to how beautiful Karen's dress was, I couldn't help but sweat drop. This was the best I had, so it was going to have to do.
Walking back out, I felt my face heat up the moment I saw Karen. She was staring at me, unsure as to what to say. It only made things worse.
"Sorry, this is the best I have." Karen could only smile.
"It looks fine. Let's hurry, or we're going to be late."
As we walked down the road together, I couldn't help but be nervous. I had no idea in hell what was going to happen. I had never been to a festival around here before. What the hell was I supposed to do as Karen's escort? Unable to take it anymore, I simply asked her.
"Well, basically, you just have to accompany me there." started Karen. "When we start, all the girls walk down the row with their escorts. Once we get to the front, the men brake off to the left while we go onto the stage. After that, all you do is just watch us dance."
"Sounds simple enough..." I said, scratching the back of my head.
Suddenly, Karen started acting a little nervous.
"By the way..." she said, blushing slightly. "At the end of the dance, the escort has to kiss the goddess."
"What?!" I said, stumbling slightly. Karen suddenly started laughing.
"Just kidding! Geez, you believe anything, don't you?"
"No..." I said, smirking, " just whatever my goddess tells me to believe."
The both of us started laughing as we continued on. Finally, we arrived at the town square. Mayor Thomas came to greet us.
"You two are just in time! Hurry up, get into your places." he said in a high-pitched voice. Two minutes later, we were about to start. I stood next to Karen nervously, hoping I wouldn't make a fool out of myself. I looked around, taking in the sight of the festival. The whole town was here. Looking ahead, I saw the other girls and there escorts. Some of them I recognized. Elli and the doctor stood together, both blushing slightly. I had become somewhat of a regular at their hospital. Ann, the girl who I had met at the inn, stood next to some rough-looking kid. Maria was standing next to Gray, squinting to see what was happening because she wasn't wearing her thick glasses. There was also a pink-haired girl I had never met, standing next to some blond guy with glasses. Karen leaned over and whispered to me.
"After this, do you want to go somewhere else?"
Hell freaking yes.
"Sure." I answered. All these people were making me nervous.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we were finally walking down the aisle. Everyone else was clapping and cheering as we made our way down, and a band was playing some music in the background. When we got to the front, I followed the other guys to the side as Karen and the others went up on stage. Then, the music changed and they all started to dance.
It was mesmerizing, to say the least. Karen was a damn good dancer. The others weren't too shabby either, though Maria seemed to be having a hard time seeing where she was going. As they danced away, one of the other guys leaned to say something to me.
"Hi Mazrim, my name's Rick." It was the blond guy with the glasses I had seen earlier. I nodded as I shook his hand. He continued. "Karen's told me all about you. It's good to finally meet you face to face." The music's pace changed and the girls started dancing slower.
"Really? How do you know her?" I asked, glad to get into a conversation. Rick smirked.
"Well, around here, it's difficult to not know someone. If you must know, however, I was going out with her for a while before you came along."
This caught my attention immediately. I tensed up, hoping I wasn't going to get into a fight.
"Hey, relax. That was a while ago. We broke up before you got here. We're still good friends. She talks about you a lot, though. She seems to like you a lot." He smirked again.
The beat in the music picked up again, and the girls started dancing faster. Rick continued on.
"You see that girl with the pink hair?" I nodded. "That's my sister, Popouri. She didn't have an escort today, because her good-for- nothing boyfriend doesn't live here. That's why I came with her today."
"Who's her boyfriend?" I asked, curiously. Rick scowled.
"A city punk by the name of Kai. He comes here every summer, stirs up hell around here, and then leaves. I hate him, but Popouri and Mom won't listen to me."
I smirked, realizing the situation. He just wanted to protect his sister. Of course, it was her decision, but at least he cared about her.
The music came to the climax, as the girls did some elaborate dance moves.
"Looks like they're almost done. Why don't you stop by sometime at my place, and we can talk more. I live at the Chicken Farm, down the road."
That caught my attention. Turning around, I was about to say something to him when the music stopped and people started cheering. Deciding to leave it alone for the moment, I turned back to the girls and clapped enthusiastically as they made their bows to the audience. They looked beat. I noticed Karen was looking at me, so I gave her a thumbs-up. She laughed, as she bowed to the audience again and made her way off stage.
Twenty minutes later, she had changed and we were at the beach. Sitting down on a log, Karen kicked off her shoes and motioned for me to join her. Following her example, I took off my shoes and sat next to her.
"So, what did you think of our dance?" she asked, striking up a conversation.
"It was great. You were pretty damn good back there!" I said, smiling. She blushed. "How long did it take for all of you to learn that dance?" I asked, curiously.
"We started practicing during the winter time. There's not a lot to do during that time, so it gives us plenty of time for practice." she said. "Poor Maria had a hard time, though. She is very nearsighted, and can't see without her glasses. She had a hard time keeping up with us."
I couldn't help but chuckle as I remembered the part in the dance where she had almost lost her balance. The look of panic in her eyes had been priceless. Karen gave me a questioning look. I decided to keep that thought to myself.
Changing the subject, I asked her about Rick.
"Yeah, I thought I saw him talking to you earlier. He lives with his mother and sister at the chicken farm down the road from your house." A sad look came to her eyes. "His mother has been diagnosed with same sort of rare heart disease. His father is out somewhere looking for some plant that Maria's father, Basil, had told him about. Because of that, Rick feels that it's his job to take care of the family while his dad's out."
Suddenly, I felt less enthusiastic about telling him to shut his chickens up.
"He and I were together for a little bit, but as it turned out, we both found that it just wasn't going to work out." said Karen, sighing.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well, we both had different views on how a family should be. He felt it was the guy's sole responsibility to take care of the girl in a relationship. He didn't like the thought of me working." she sighed again. "I, on the other hand, wanted to help my father at the shop. Plus, I don't like having someone there telling me what I can and cannot do. In the end, the both of us agreed to break up, but still stay as friends. Enough about that, though. What about you? Haven't you had any relationships before?"
I looked down, embarrassed.
"No. I haven't had any time for them. The army kept me too busy to even think about girls."
"What about when you were younger? You didn't have any crushes or anything?"
"Come to think of it, there was one girl I had liked a long time back. Funny thing is, I can't remember her name, where I met her, or what she looked like."
Karen laughed.
"Geez, you can't get any more vague than that."
I felt my face heat up. Karen settled down and looked deep into my eyes. I stared back, noticing how beautiful she was. Slowly, we leaned towards each other. My heart threatened to burst through my chest as I came mere inches to her face. Distantly, I felt my toe throbbing....
Wait a minute... toe throbbing?!
I yelped in pain as I jumped up off the log, sending a surprised Karen off the log and toppling head over heals into the sand. I started hopping on one foot as I looked down to see what had happened.
A small crab had snuck up on me and was currently dangling off my foot. I muttered every curse known to man as I tried desperately to pry it off.
Karen had by now realized what was happening. Bursting into laughter, she sat on the ground watching as I hopped around trying to get the crab off. Finally, the little prick let go and rushed into the sea. I sat on the ground, rubbing my toe furiously. Karen was rolling in laughter.
Finally, the both of us calmed down. It was getting close to 6:00. We both stood up and started walking to our homes. When we got to Karen's, we stopped at the door. Karen looked back at me.
"Hey Mazrim... thanks for today." she said, blushing slightly. "I had really good time." Leaning forward, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before saying goodnight and walking into the house. I stood at the door, stunned for a few minutes. Finally, I went back home.
*******
As I finished watering the seeds, my mind wondered about. Everything was just perfect right now. Staring up into the night sky, I noticed some clouds were starting to come in. It looked like a storm was coming in. Idly, I scratched at my eye patch. The pain was starting to die down.
Sighing, I wondered how long everything was going to last.
Deciding to give optimism a chance, I chased the previous thought out of my mind as I went back inside.
It would all last as long as it lasted. I would just have to deal with everything as it came.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder what this feeling of dread was all about.
Lying down in bed, I drifted off to sleep.
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Hey all! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I had kind of a miniature writer's block going on for a while. What do you all think about this chapter? It's a little mushy, I know, but I wanted to take a slight break from action. Anyways, as always, please R&R. 'Till next time!