Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon, Karen, or any related characters or
events; to the best of my knowledge, they're all owned by Natsume. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely
coincidental. This story is based primarily on the plot of Harvest Moon 64.
Wine Red no Kokoro
by flame mage
Part 17: A Joining and a Separation
**********
Winter was coming to an end. The snow began to stop falling, piling up in drifts that melted slowly in the growing sunlight.
I woke up early one morning the week before my birthday and went outside to check the mail. The sky was a pale violet and the sun was beginning to emerge over the horizon.
I nearly knocked Ann over.
"Ann, what are you doing here at six in the morning?" I asked, yawning.
Her eyes were shining, her cheeks flushed. "Karen, Cliff and I are getting married today!"
"You are?" Where had I been? My best friend and my cousin, and they tell me the morning of the wedding?
"Yeah! C'mon, you gotta help me get ready!" She grabbed my arm and started to drag me toward the ranch.
Her room was a total mess, even more than usual. Everything was thrown everywhere, lace and flowers and horse brushes thrown everywhere in one big mass. I stood in the doorway for a minute, totally lost on where to begin. Ann hurled herself into a chair and ordered "flowers!" Right.
After five minutes of wandering around totally blindly, I finally shipped Gray off to go get someone who had some clue what they were doing. He was back in ten minutes with Maria, Elli, and Popuri, who immediately started working.
Popuri managed to sort out all the flowers. When she had them all piled up in a two-foot stack on the floor, she looked them over and shook her head decisively: "Not enough!" She took off out the door and was back within minutes, her arms loaded down with blossoms in every color. She grabbed the corner by the bed and started arranging madly until it looked like a floral hurricane had hit. Finally she dragged a totally bewildered Gray over to help her.
Elli marched across the farm into Gray's shack and commandeered the kitchen. I caught the scent of cake drifting on the wind, and I smiled. I could practically see the frosting fly.
Maria and I, who weren't particularly brilliant at cooking or the fine art of ikebana, started working on Ann. Through a concerted team effort, we got her hair brushed and put up, and the veil set on her head. I left the two of them to deal with the dress while I ran back to the vineyard and started crating up wine for the reception. If memory served me well, we'd need a lot.
The wedding was beautiful. If you had to pick the person least likely to get sappy at a wedding on the whole island, it'd probably wind up a tie between me and Gray, but both of us were nearly crying by the time it was over. I had a really hard time keeping a straight face when Cain led the flock of white doves soaring over the church, though.
The party was held in the square. The best thing about weddings is that they're like festival days. Everyone is happy, the wine flows like a waterfall, and there's music and laughter and dancing. Ann and Cliff really seemed to like my gift, too--the first official bottle of the new wine from the vineyard. Harris, Jack, Kai, Jeff, and Gray played an ocarina quintet while I danced to the wedding tribute song.
We were there all day and well into the night. It was past midnight by the time the happy couple left for the ranch. I was busy cleaning and packing up the rest of the wine when Kai came over.
"Hey, Kai," I said, wiping down the long tables. "Great party, huh?"
"Umm...yeah." He was smashing his toe into the ground, looking down.
"You need something?"
"I have...I have to talk to you," he almost whispered.
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
"Mi--Karen, I..." He trailed off, then forced himself to look at me. "I want to go back to the city. And you...I mean..." This time he stopped totally. "Karen, will you marry me?"
It was only then that I saw the glint of blue clenched in his fist.
For an instant, a thought flashed through my mind: say yes. This may be your only chance to get away from here. Never to hear Dad yell again, never to hear Mom sobbing late at night. Get out, Karen. Take off and never look back.
The yes was on my lips.
And then two more thoughts shot through my mind like lightning. I loved the vineyard. Since the Kifu fairies had returned, I felt almost like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. And things were starting to change. My parents were beginning to smile.
And then I realized that the vineyard wasn't the only reason I wanted to stay.
Memories of a blue and orange baseball cap returned to me. The image of fireworks on the beach, a music box, the silver glint of fairies on grapevines, a glass of red wine by firelight. A warm smile and a pair of chocolate brown eyes, the feeling of a mouth moving against mine. They pounded against my skull, crescendoing until there was only thought in my mind.
I was in love with Jack.
The thought formed in my head, and as soon as I had it, I knew it was right. There was no longer any hesitation.
"Kai...I can't," I said.
Confusion crossed his face for a moment, and then it was gone, replaced by understanding and a quiet resignation.
I really felt bad now. "Look, Kai," I began, "for what it's worth, you're a great guy, and I know you're going to make some girl out there really happy. Just...not me."
He looked at me. "Does he know?"
I shook my head. "It took me a long time to realize it myself."
"You should tell him." I felt his eyes burning into mine. He was telling me something important. "You deserve someone who will make you happy."
"I..." I began.
He pressed a finger to my lips. "Go after him, Karen."
Then he turned his back on me and crossed silently down the stairs, leaving me alone in the darkness.
Wine Red no Kokoro
by flame mage
Part 17: A Joining and a Separation
**********
Winter was coming to an end. The snow began to stop falling, piling up in drifts that melted slowly in the growing sunlight.
I woke up early one morning the week before my birthday and went outside to check the mail. The sky was a pale violet and the sun was beginning to emerge over the horizon.
I nearly knocked Ann over.
"Ann, what are you doing here at six in the morning?" I asked, yawning.
Her eyes were shining, her cheeks flushed. "Karen, Cliff and I are getting married today!"
"You are?" Where had I been? My best friend and my cousin, and they tell me the morning of the wedding?
"Yeah! C'mon, you gotta help me get ready!" She grabbed my arm and started to drag me toward the ranch.
Her room was a total mess, even more than usual. Everything was thrown everywhere, lace and flowers and horse brushes thrown everywhere in one big mass. I stood in the doorway for a minute, totally lost on where to begin. Ann hurled herself into a chair and ordered "flowers!" Right.
After five minutes of wandering around totally blindly, I finally shipped Gray off to go get someone who had some clue what they were doing. He was back in ten minutes with Maria, Elli, and Popuri, who immediately started working.
Popuri managed to sort out all the flowers. When she had them all piled up in a two-foot stack on the floor, she looked them over and shook her head decisively: "Not enough!" She took off out the door and was back within minutes, her arms loaded down with blossoms in every color. She grabbed the corner by the bed and started arranging madly until it looked like a floral hurricane had hit. Finally she dragged a totally bewildered Gray over to help her.
Elli marched across the farm into Gray's shack and commandeered the kitchen. I caught the scent of cake drifting on the wind, and I smiled. I could practically see the frosting fly.
Maria and I, who weren't particularly brilliant at cooking or the fine art of ikebana, started working on Ann. Through a concerted team effort, we got her hair brushed and put up, and the veil set on her head. I left the two of them to deal with the dress while I ran back to the vineyard and started crating up wine for the reception. If memory served me well, we'd need a lot.
The wedding was beautiful. If you had to pick the person least likely to get sappy at a wedding on the whole island, it'd probably wind up a tie between me and Gray, but both of us were nearly crying by the time it was over. I had a really hard time keeping a straight face when Cain led the flock of white doves soaring over the church, though.
The party was held in the square. The best thing about weddings is that they're like festival days. Everyone is happy, the wine flows like a waterfall, and there's music and laughter and dancing. Ann and Cliff really seemed to like my gift, too--the first official bottle of the new wine from the vineyard. Harris, Jack, Kai, Jeff, and Gray played an ocarina quintet while I danced to the wedding tribute song.
We were there all day and well into the night. It was past midnight by the time the happy couple left for the ranch. I was busy cleaning and packing up the rest of the wine when Kai came over.
"Hey, Kai," I said, wiping down the long tables. "Great party, huh?"
"Umm...yeah." He was smashing his toe into the ground, looking down.
"You need something?"
"I have...I have to talk to you," he almost whispered.
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
"Mi--Karen, I..." He trailed off, then forced himself to look at me. "I want to go back to the city. And you...I mean..." This time he stopped totally. "Karen, will you marry me?"
It was only then that I saw the glint of blue clenched in his fist.
For an instant, a thought flashed through my mind: say yes. This may be your only chance to get away from here. Never to hear Dad yell again, never to hear Mom sobbing late at night. Get out, Karen. Take off and never look back.
The yes was on my lips.
And then two more thoughts shot through my mind like lightning. I loved the vineyard. Since the Kifu fairies had returned, I felt almost like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. And things were starting to change. My parents were beginning to smile.
And then I realized that the vineyard wasn't the only reason I wanted to stay.
Memories of a blue and orange baseball cap returned to me. The image of fireworks on the beach, a music box, the silver glint of fairies on grapevines, a glass of red wine by firelight. A warm smile and a pair of chocolate brown eyes, the feeling of a mouth moving against mine. They pounded against my skull, crescendoing until there was only thought in my mind.
I was in love with Jack.
The thought formed in my head, and as soon as I had it, I knew it was right. There was no longer any hesitation.
"Kai...I can't," I said.
Confusion crossed his face for a moment, and then it was gone, replaced by understanding and a quiet resignation.
I really felt bad now. "Look, Kai," I began, "for what it's worth, you're a great guy, and I know you're going to make some girl out there really happy. Just...not me."
He looked at me. "Does he know?"
I shook my head. "It took me a long time to realize it myself."
"You should tell him." I felt his eyes burning into mine. He was telling me something important. "You deserve someone who will make you happy."
"I..." I began.
He pressed a finger to my lips. "Go after him, Karen."
Then he turned his back on me and crossed silently down the stairs, leaving me alone in the darkness.