- Harvest Moon, A Wonderful Life -
== A Changed Life ==
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- "Remembrance" -
Seth slowly made way to his house. Everything seemed blurry to him. He felt sick, as though he were going to vomit.
He may as well have torn the door off, the way he opened it. He pushed it behind him, hearing a click as it shut. He fell atop his bed.
Galen... dead... this adds to the list... Muffy, Murrey, Fiona, and now Galen... how many people have to keep dying? If it didn't happen so much, he'd be happier... he's lucky enough he didn't burst out like a Drama queen the way he did for almost four months.
He thought for a moment. Maybe he just needed more sleep... maybe he should stop getting up too early... but, if only Galen hadn't died after the words he had said to him. That feeling of guilt wouldn't leave, he could tell, for at least a while.
Seth punched the bed, trying to calm himself. Then he realized what he was doing, and sat up.
"Here I am, feeling guilty, and now I'm taking it out on a bed," he said to himself. "Damn, I'm pathetic."
He fell back down face first onto the bed, closing his eyes.
Sleep... all he needed was sleep...
---
Seth woke up, thinking he had heard something. He blinked, adjusting his eyes to the darkness. Looking around, he tried to find out what was making the noise.
Then he heard it again, and realized it was knocking. Somebody was at his door.
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up, and looked at the clock. "Ah, damn, six. Go figure, this happens when I resolve to wake up less early..."
He quickly got off his bed, since he hadn't gotten under the sheets last night. He pulled the door open irritably. "I'm tryin' to sleep here-"
It was Celia.
"Wha- Oh, Celia... it's just you..."
"I can leave you alone, if you want," Celia said, turning to leave.
"Oh, no, it's fine," Seth assured her. "Um, do you need anything? It's pretty early..."
Celia hesitated. "I was hoping if we could talk..."
Seth thought for a moment. "Sure, let me get ready."
---
Once Seth came outside, they began their walk.
"So, anything in particular you want to talk about?" Seth asked.
"Not in particular," Celia said. "Anything, I guess."
"Well, Galen..." Seth said, but stopped. "No, I'd better not talk about that..."
"It's fine," Celia said. "Go ahead."
They walked out onto the path, and continued up towards the Springs.
"Well... the last thing I said to him... I just feel so guilty."
Celia looked at him with concern. "Well... what did you say?"
"Well, I can't quite remember, but he was grumpy, so I spat in his face," Seth said. "The next thing I know, he dies. I swear, it seems like everyone around me is dying..."
"Don't go thinking that," Celia said, restraining a laugh. "It isn't true."
"Yeah, but still..." Seth said. "It kinda all seems to be happening so fast, and the events are so close together, that..."
Celia put her hand over his mouth, and he stopped talking. Removing her hand, she laughed. "You worry too much, Seth."
"Yeah, maybe I do. But you can't blame me," he added.
Celia looked up the path. "You're right, I can't."
They finally reached the springs, and observed the glowing lights.
"These are so pretty..." Celia claimed. "I swear, sometimes I could just sit here and watch for hours..."
"Pretty glowing things do seem to have that kind of effect," Seth mused.
They both sat down at the edge of the small lake.
"Heh, it is pretty early," Seth said, looking at his watch. "And yesterday I vowed not to wake up too early. You made me break my vow on the first day."
Celia laughed. "Another accomplishment, I suppose."
"Hey, I can easily sleep in. I just need to go to bed late."
"I can find more ways to wake you..."
"Oh, no, you can't."
"You'll see..."
"You don't mean every day?"
"Of course not, I'm just kidding. I only wake up this early at least every few days... lighten up, Seth."
"I'm fine, it's cool..."
They sat silently for a few moments more, Seth paddling his feet in the water. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mukumuku wandering around at far end of the springs.
"Mukumuku is such a weird creature..." Seth said aloud.
"The weird white thing?" Celia asked, looking for herself. "Yeah, he's weird, but I find him kinda cute. He doesn't seem hostile in any way..."
Seth looked into the water. "I'm glad we had this talk, Celia."
Celia was taken aback, but she hid it by giving a smile. "Yeah... me too."
As they looked at each other, their eyes focused. They slowly moved their heads closer to each other.
Suddenly, Seth blinked, realizing what he was doing. He moved away only the slightest inch.
"No, no, I can't, not- huh?"
Celia held out her hand, touching his face.
"It's alright, Seth."
Their heads moved closer and closer, for what seemed like hours, until finally, the wonderful moment came. Seth and Celia engaged into a kiss.
Seth's mind went blank. His body felt numb. He couldn't think. He didn't know if he'd breathe again.
As soon as they parted, the both looked at each other. Celia gave a quiet laugh.
"Wow," was all she could say. She didn't know, but Seth thought exactly the same thing.
Slowly, the sun began to rise, marking the beginning of another sunny day.