The rest of summer flew by in a blur of tomatoes, corn, blazing heat, and sand. He had visited Karen at the beach every Sunday of that hot month. She was slowly opening up to him, but their conversations hadn't breeched any inner subjects. They talked of swimming and fishing; the city and the festivals; friendly conversations. Jack had no complaints. He was able to talk to her without her snapping at him, and he loved it. He thought the more time he spent with her, the less her beauty would knock him over—but he was wrong. The closer he got to her, the more beautiful she became. In fact, the closer he came, the more beautiful life was. He no longer had any second thoughts about his choice to move to Flower Bud Village. His happiness was noticeable to his overall appearance. He was always smiling, and his face glowed. His heart was light, and he was more energetic. Harris and Zack had been trying to get him to confess his secret of happiness for weeks, but Jack knew better. He wanted to keep his and Karen's conversations to himself, at least until Kai wasn't in the picture anymore. Jack's happiness had even affected the other townspeople. Harris had finally confessed his feelings to Maria. Cliff had decided to stay in Flower Bud Village longer than he intended. Jack had also seen him over at Green Ranch a lot. Perhaps Ann could be happy with Cliff.

All this bliss had carried Jack straight into fall. Fall was in full force; leaves were falling everywhere, Karen was busy harvesting grapes, Jack's eggplants were growing… and it was all a blur. Time was moving so fast, and Jack was scared that he wouldn't be able to keep up. Nevertheless, he kept positive, and lived for his and Karen's friendly chats on the beach. He had earned so much money from tomatoes and corn that he no longer had to worry. Time moved so fast when he began visiting Karen at the beach and he was oblivious to the pace it was going. He would look at his calendar and be amazed that it was already fall, when to him it still felt like spring. Every day he worked and every night he slept; that is, except for one fateful night in early fall.

Jack had been working all day on the farm. The beauty of autumn was following down around him, and though his farm had one measly tree, it still managed to be covered in leaves. His first harvest of eggplants had grown and it took him nearly all day to get them all into the shipping bin. He had ninety individual plants and had forgotten to plant some a day late as he usually did so that he could avoid harvesting them all in one day. He tossed the last egg plant into the shipping bin just as Zack appeared on the farm.

"I've got a lot for you, today," said Jack.

"Well then I've got a lot of money for you!" said Zack. "So how are things going?"

"Things are—well, they're going great."

"Any particular reason why?" Zack gave a big grin.

"Well—" Jack blushed.

"I knew it! Who is she?!" Zack punched him in the shoulder, and Jack continued to grow red. He kept refusing to tell Zack who she was, and was surprised he didn't know. After all, he had questioned him about her at the flower festival, and then he was present at the drinking contest…

"Anyone home?" Karen had walked onto his farm at the most ironic moment. Zack turned around quickly.

"Well, hello, Miss Karen," he said. "I guess I'll be going now. Bye!" He gave a look of understanding to Jack, and took the crops. Jack wondered for a moment how he managed to carry all those eggplants.

After Zack had left, Jack approached Karen. "Hey! What are you doing here so late?" Night had just fallen. Shouldn't she be at work?

"The Kiefu Fairies are here, Jack!" she said excitedly. Jack looked at her with confusion. "When I was a little girl, they would come in early fall and bless the grapes, but they haven't been here for over twenty years!"

Jack suddenly understood. The Grape Spirit must have attracted the Kiefu Fairies back, just like they had come when Karen's Grandmother was alive.

"Anyway, in honor of their dance, I thought I could take you up on those dancing lessons." She flashed a wide, excited grin at him.

He was amazed that she actually wanted to do something with him. "And what about Kai?" he asked, still questioning the one thing that was in his way. Why was she inviting him instead of Kai, anyway?

"Like I said, Kai doesn't have to know." She grabbed his hand and they ran all the way to the vineyard. Jack was excited about the dancing. He would get to hold her body in his arms and look into her beautiful green eyes. And maybe then she could see him the way he saw her.

At the vineyard, Jack saw beautiful balls of light dancing around the Grape Spirit's tree. They were beautifully silhouetted against the dark night sky. As he and Karen approached, he could see tiny fairy bodies laughing with glee as they danced into the grape vines. One swirled around their heads, and they laughed in unison. The fairies laughter turned to singing.

"Come on!" Karen said, grabbing Jack's hand again and pulling him against her. He couldn't help but shudder. He put his arms around her, and she around him; and they danced. Jack didn't need Karen to teach him. He was caught up in the moment, and it seemed like he knew every step perfectly. He was pleased with himself when he noticed that Karen was impressed. They twirled and tapped to the fairies' song for almost half an hour until they both, laughing uncontrollably, plunged down into exhaustion. The fairies continued to sing, and Jack and Karen shared a gaze. Jack wanted desperately to kiss her, but he controlled himself.

"I have a surprise," she said. "Wait here." She was up fast and ran into the big house on the other side of the vineyard. Jack remained laying on the ground with his elbows propping him up. The fairies were still dancing and singing. One tiny fairy came and perched on his hat. Jack smiled and tried to look up at it, though it was impossible to see it on top of his head.

"You love her," the fairy giggled. Jack's smile vanished.

"No," he shook his head. He didn't love her. It would be foolish to fall in love with her when she was so obviously tied to Kai.

"You think it would be foolish to love her," said the Fairy. Jack was stunned. The fairy must be reading his mind. Did that mean she was reading his heart, too? "It's never foolish to love. You love her!" The fairy giggled and flew off to rejoin the other fairies. Jack thought about what it had said for a moment. Yes, deep inside his heart, beneath the layers of common sense in his brain, he did love her, and he knew it was wrong, no matter what the fairy said. He glanced over at the house and saw that Karen had emerged with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She sauntered over to him, and plopped down beside him.

"You've got wine. Big surprise," Jack said teasing.

"This isn't just any wine," she said. She blushed and continued, "I made this wine the other day with the grapes you gave me that night back in summer." She blushed deeper.

"Wow," was all Jack could manage. He didn't think she had even noticed the grapes. She poured him a glass and then poured herself one.

"They only fermented during summer, so the alcohol content isn't very high," she said taking a sip.

"Good," Jack said, "I'm not going to pass out this time."

They laughed and gulped down the wine. A moment later, Karen pulled out a camera, snapped a shot of them in front of the fairies, and promised to send him a copy soon. They spent the rest of the time talking. The night was theirs and they stayed watching the beautiful fairies dance under the moonlight. It was truly a perfect evening.

"Is it coincidence that this is your first year here and the first year the fairies have come back?" Karen asked softly.

Jack said nothing. He just looked into the mass of dancing fairies and sipped on his wine. He wasn't going to tell Karen that it was because of him that the fairies had come back. He preferred her to just think that they came back out of faith for the glorious old vineyard. Or maybe just to see her eyes.

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I know this chapter is pretty short, but the next one is longer, I promise! I hope the turn of events doesn't anger you Karen haters too much. Just pretend her name is "Kari," and that she isn't the "evil" Harvest Moon character you think she is!! Haha! Much love to my reviewers...