Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harvest Moon characters.
The sun sets and dawn begins to rise. Karen has no idea on what will happen to her today. Today will appear like a normal day—with a twist at the end. The Winter Formal is tonight, the one that Karen had promised Jack to go to. Karen is always good on her word and plans on going to the dance tonight—with Jack.
Karen wakes up because of her alarm clock, just like any other day, and goes to school, just like every other day. She gets home from school early because there is no basketball practice because of the dance. She has some time to kill, so she decides to call up Ann.
Dials Ann's phone number. "Hey, Ann? You wanna come over and chill for an hour or so, then get ready for the dance."
"The dance...I thought we weren't going..."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're going with Rick."
"Oh...well that's definitely some news for me..."
"Yeah, sorry it's last minute and all...you can still come, right?"
"Of course, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Like Ann said, she was over in a few minutes—seven to be exact. They listened to some music, played some computer games, and just lounged around the house for an hour or so.
The time 'til the dance drew closer and closer and Karen knew that she should probably start to get ready. She was never big on getting dressed up, but Ann certainly was.
"Oh my gosh! I HAVE to straighten your hair! You'll look gorgeous!"
Karen's hair was pretty straight, but I had a wavy (almost curly) look to it. "Ugh, whatever you want Ann..."
So Ann straightened Karen's hair, did her makeup, and miraculously had time to do all those same things to herself.
It was almost 6:20 p.m. and Jack and Rick were due to arrive any moment now. Around 6:30, the doorbell rang and Rick and Jack had showed up.
Rick was wearing a black suit with a black tie—the normal thing a guy wears to this dance; but Jack was wearing a navy blue suit with a blue tie—looked better than the normal black.
"You girls look wonderful." Jack had said while admiring their beauty as they walked down the stairs.
"...Oh yeah, you girls look great." Rick was never smooth when it came to impressing girls. He was just his usual, laid back self, which wasn't a bad thing at all.
Karen's mom had walked in from the kitchen with her digital camera. "Pictures! I need LOTS and LOTS of pictures! Now you two (pointing to Ann and Rick), stand over there, and you two (pointing to Jack and Karen) stand over here."
She some typical "couple shots" and then got some group photos. Karen then noticed that her father wasn't even here for this. She walked up to her mom and whispered into her ear so no one else would hear, "Where's dad? I thought he said he'd be here..."
"That's a good question...I called him over a half-hour ago and he said he was one his way home. Why don't you take your cell phone with you incase you get into trouble. I promise I won't call unless it's an emergency."
"Ok mom, only an emergency, no "are you guys having fun?" Karen had sarcastically said. She never thought her mom was "over" protective because she knew that she was only trying to look out for her—and there's no harm in that.
The two couples headed off to the dance and proceeded to dance the night away—or so they thought. Karen had set her phone on vibrate because there would be no way she could hear it inside the dance—the music was too loud for that.
Around 9:30, her cell phone had vibrated. A little startled at first, Karen thought she should answer it. "Excuse me Jack, can we finish this dance in a few minutes? I have to head to the bathroom."
"No problem. But I'll be expecting that we finish it...there's no way you're weaseling your way out of this one." Jack had said with a cute smile on his face. He then turned and walked to the long table at the end of the gym where the food and drinks where kept.
Karen then proceeded to hurry to the ladies room. She picked up her cell phone and saw that it was her mom who had called. She redialed the number. "Mom? Did you call me?"
Her mom sounded very out of breath as if she was running around. "Yes, I need you to come home immediately, something...terrible has happened."
"Calm down mom, what happened?"
"There's so much to tell Karen, I'd rather not explain it on the phone..."
"Mom! Please tell me what's wrong now or else I'm not coming home!"
There was a long pause. "Your father..."
"Dad...?" Karen had started to tremble because she was getting nervous.
"There's been an accident..."
"What?? Wait, how? Who??"
"I told you, it's complicated. Just please hurry home now!"
"Where's dad?"
"Come home sweetie."
"Mom! Where is dad?!" The receiver went dead—her mom had hung up.
By this time, Karen was crying and she didn't even notice it. She ran out onto the dance floor and searched for Jack. She started to explain something to Jack and he gave her a sympathetic hug. He grabbed her hand and they proceeded to run out of the building.
Within five minutes, Karen and Jack had quickly walked home from the dance—running was a difficult task for Karen in high heels. She could quickly point out her house among the rest. Not because she had lived there for 10 years, but because it was the one with the police cars parked in the driveway and street.
Karen had let go of Jack's hand and ran in through the front door. She didn't care if her dress got messed up, she needed answers. She began looking around the house, seeing police officers and neighbors, but not her mom...
She was in a complete panic now. She ran forward to the kitchen to find her mom sitting at the table with her head buried in her arms.
"Mom..."
"Oh Karen...Thank goodness you came..."
"Mom, where is dad...just tell me everything!"
"Ok sweetie, you're going to want to sit down for this..."
"Uh...okay..." She grabbed the chair that was seated next to her mom.
"It started a little over a year ago...please don't be mad with me for not telling you...I did it for the best..."
"Just tell me mom..."
"Ok, your father was diagnosed with cancer—lung cancer."
"W-hat? He doesn't even smoke!"
"But the person he works with does..."
"Ok, so he has lung cancer—what does that have to do with telling me to come home? Couldn't have this waited 'til tomorrow?"
"No, it couldn't because there's more..."
"...more?"
"Yes. Your father had left around 6:00, just like I said he did. He only made it 3 miles before..." Tears started to stream from her face and Karen started to get a feeling that the news wasn't going to be easy to handle...
"Mom, what happened to dad..."
"His heart stopped beating from the cancer...and...(long pause) he crashed off the side of the ride because he fell unconscious...."
A long period of silence. "S-so he's in the hospital now? R-right?" Karen was crying and in a complete stage of shock...
"Karen."
"M-mom..."
"Your father is..."
"Don't mom! Don't say it!" Karen didn't want to hear that last, painstaking word...
"Karen, he died."
"Mom! Don't say that! He is NOT dead!"
Karen's mom had gotten up and hugged Karen tightly. Karen was crying hysterically now and her mom had seemed to calm down a bit. "Honey, you can't deny the truth..."
"But it CAN'T be the truth! It just can't be!" Karen had broken free of her mom's grip and paced around in circles. She was looking at the floor, in hope for some sort of logical answer. She then looked up to see Jack, who was also crying, but not nearly as much as Karen was.
"Karen...I'm so sorry..." He had his arms outstretched and Karen seized this opportunity to hug him. He whispered into her ears some words of uplifting, "Everything will be alright Karen...I promise. I'll always be here for you. Always."
She pushed away from Jack. "It's all my faul—"
But before Karen could finish, Jack had placed his hand over her mouth. "Don't you dare say that. What happened tonight was fate, it was just meant to end this way..."
After a moment of silence, she got the courage to say, "Jack? Are you sure everything will be alright?"
"Of course..."
"But how do you know?"
Jack stood there for a second trying to think of a good answer. He gave a little smile. He wrapped his hands around Karen's waist and looked her in the eye. "Just trust me." And then Jack leaned towards Karen and kissed her. He pulled away slowly and looked Karen in the eyes. "Do you trust me Karen?"
She smiled and answered, "I think I'd have to be foolish not to..." She then kissed him back—they spent the rest of the night sitting on the front porch watching various people walk in with their apologetic speeches in hand. Karen rested her head on Jack's shoulder and Jack had his arm around her shoulder. They spent the remainder of the night in each other's arms, just watching everything go by...
The sun sets and dawn begins to rise. Karen has no idea on what will happen to her today. Today will appear like a normal day—with a twist at the end. The Winter Formal is tonight, the one that Karen had promised Jack to go to. Karen is always good on her word and plans on going to the dance tonight—with Jack.
Karen wakes up because of her alarm clock, just like any other day, and goes to school, just like every other day. She gets home from school early because there is no basketball practice because of the dance. She has some time to kill, so she decides to call up Ann.
Dials Ann's phone number. "Hey, Ann? You wanna come over and chill for an hour or so, then get ready for the dance."
"The dance...I thought we weren't going..."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're going with Rick."
"Oh...well that's definitely some news for me..."
"Yeah, sorry it's last minute and all...you can still come, right?"
"Of course, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Like Ann said, she was over in a few minutes—seven to be exact. They listened to some music, played some computer games, and just lounged around the house for an hour or so.
The time 'til the dance drew closer and closer and Karen knew that she should probably start to get ready. She was never big on getting dressed up, but Ann certainly was.
"Oh my gosh! I HAVE to straighten your hair! You'll look gorgeous!"
Karen's hair was pretty straight, but I had a wavy (almost curly) look to it. "Ugh, whatever you want Ann..."
So Ann straightened Karen's hair, did her makeup, and miraculously had time to do all those same things to herself.
It was almost 6:20 p.m. and Jack and Rick were due to arrive any moment now. Around 6:30, the doorbell rang and Rick and Jack had showed up.
Rick was wearing a black suit with a black tie—the normal thing a guy wears to this dance; but Jack was wearing a navy blue suit with a blue tie—looked better than the normal black.
"You girls look wonderful." Jack had said while admiring their beauty as they walked down the stairs.
"...Oh yeah, you girls look great." Rick was never smooth when it came to impressing girls. He was just his usual, laid back self, which wasn't a bad thing at all.
Karen's mom had walked in from the kitchen with her digital camera. "Pictures! I need LOTS and LOTS of pictures! Now you two (pointing to Ann and Rick), stand over there, and you two (pointing to Jack and Karen) stand over here."
She some typical "couple shots" and then got some group photos. Karen then noticed that her father wasn't even here for this. She walked up to her mom and whispered into her ear so no one else would hear, "Where's dad? I thought he said he'd be here..."
"That's a good question...I called him over a half-hour ago and he said he was one his way home. Why don't you take your cell phone with you incase you get into trouble. I promise I won't call unless it's an emergency."
"Ok mom, only an emergency, no "are you guys having fun?" Karen had sarcastically said. She never thought her mom was "over" protective because she knew that she was only trying to look out for her—and there's no harm in that.
The two couples headed off to the dance and proceeded to dance the night away—or so they thought. Karen had set her phone on vibrate because there would be no way she could hear it inside the dance—the music was too loud for that.
Around 9:30, her cell phone had vibrated. A little startled at first, Karen thought she should answer it. "Excuse me Jack, can we finish this dance in a few minutes? I have to head to the bathroom."
"No problem. But I'll be expecting that we finish it...there's no way you're weaseling your way out of this one." Jack had said with a cute smile on his face. He then turned and walked to the long table at the end of the gym where the food and drinks where kept.
Karen then proceeded to hurry to the ladies room. She picked up her cell phone and saw that it was her mom who had called. She redialed the number. "Mom? Did you call me?"
Her mom sounded very out of breath as if she was running around. "Yes, I need you to come home immediately, something...terrible has happened."
"Calm down mom, what happened?"
"There's so much to tell Karen, I'd rather not explain it on the phone..."
"Mom! Please tell me what's wrong now or else I'm not coming home!"
There was a long pause. "Your father..."
"Dad...?" Karen had started to tremble because she was getting nervous.
"There's been an accident..."
"What?? Wait, how? Who??"
"I told you, it's complicated. Just please hurry home now!"
"Where's dad?"
"Come home sweetie."
"Mom! Where is dad?!" The receiver went dead—her mom had hung up.
By this time, Karen was crying and she didn't even notice it. She ran out onto the dance floor and searched for Jack. She started to explain something to Jack and he gave her a sympathetic hug. He grabbed her hand and they proceeded to run out of the building.
Within five minutes, Karen and Jack had quickly walked home from the dance—running was a difficult task for Karen in high heels. She could quickly point out her house among the rest. Not because she had lived there for 10 years, but because it was the one with the police cars parked in the driveway and street.
Karen had let go of Jack's hand and ran in through the front door. She didn't care if her dress got messed up, she needed answers. She began looking around the house, seeing police officers and neighbors, but not her mom...
She was in a complete panic now. She ran forward to the kitchen to find her mom sitting at the table with her head buried in her arms.
"Mom..."
"Oh Karen...Thank goodness you came..."
"Mom, where is dad...just tell me everything!"
"Ok sweetie, you're going to want to sit down for this..."
"Uh...okay..." She grabbed the chair that was seated next to her mom.
"It started a little over a year ago...please don't be mad with me for not telling you...I did it for the best..."
"Just tell me mom..."
"Ok, your father was diagnosed with cancer—lung cancer."
"W-hat? He doesn't even smoke!"
"But the person he works with does..."
"Ok, so he has lung cancer—what does that have to do with telling me to come home? Couldn't have this waited 'til tomorrow?"
"No, it couldn't because there's more..."
"...more?"
"Yes. Your father had left around 6:00, just like I said he did. He only made it 3 miles before..." Tears started to stream from her face and Karen started to get a feeling that the news wasn't going to be easy to handle...
"Mom, what happened to dad..."
"His heart stopped beating from the cancer...and...(long pause) he crashed off the side of the ride because he fell unconscious...."
A long period of silence. "S-so he's in the hospital now? R-right?" Karen was crying and in a complete stage of shock...
"Karen."
"M-mom..."
"Your father is..."
"Don't mom! Don't say it!" Karen didn't want to hear that last, painstaking word...
"Karen, he died."
"Mom! Don't say that! He is NOT dead!"
Karen's mom had gotten up and hugged Karen tightly. Karen was crying hysterically now and her mom had seemed to calm down a bit. "Honey, you can't deny the truth..."
"But it CAN'T be the truth! It just can't be!" Karen had broken free of her mom's grip and paced around in circles. She was looking at the floor, in hope for some sort of logical answer. She then looked up to see Jack, who was also crying, but not nearly as much as Karen was.
"Karen...I'm so sorry..." He had his arms outstretched and Karen seized this opportunity to hug him. He whispered into her ears some words of uplifting, "Everything will be alright Karen...I promise. I'll always be here for you. Always."
She pushed away from Jack. "It's all my faul—"
But before Karen could finish, Jack had placed his hand over her mouth. "Don't you dare say that. What happened tonight was fate, it was just meant to end this way..."
After a moment of silence, she got the courage to say, "Jack? Are you sure everything will be alright?"
"Of course..."
"But how do you know?"
Jack stood there for a second trying to think of a good answer. He gave a little smile. He wrapped his hands around Karen's waist and looked her in the eye. "Just trust me." And then Jack leaned towards Karen and kissed her. He pulled away slowly and looked Karen in the eyes. "Do you trust me Karen?"
She smiled and answered, "I think I'd have to be foolish not to..." She then kissed him back—they spent the rest of the night sitting on the front porch watching various people walk in with their apologetic speeches in hand. Karen rested her head on Jack's shoulder and Jack had his arm around her shoulder. They spent the remainder of the night in each other's arms, just watching everything go by...