Chapter 2, Mineral Town

A/N: Welcome readers! Sorry it took me SO darn long to complete this chapter. This is a longer chapter and I have been very busy in the past weeks. I will be able to write more of this story soon. I am thinking of a choosing your own adventure stories about Harvest Moon. That will take a long time to plan! Enjoy this chapter! The next chapter will be up probably at the end of next week or so. I want at least 5 reviews so please help out!

"I smell an affair, uh, yeah..." Gotz fainted.

"Jack..." Harris muttered to himself.

Jack slipped into his rock hard bed and thought about all the things that happened throughout the day. In the morning, he was back at his city apartment with his roommate, Tony. They were packing Jack's clothing and items he treasured deeply. It almost felt like being here in Mineral Town was all just a dream. He didn't feel right being here in a small town with forty people. He missed his roommates, college friends, and most of all, the excitement of his city. Jack would rather be sitting at his small apartment with one bedroom, a kitchen, a washroom, and a living room by a busy street, sipping on some Cola, sitting by his computer sending online messages with his college buddies and watching boring sitcoms than to be here, in this stupid shack with just a bed, a television, a table, an old fridge and a small stove with old rusty pans.

'I better go to sleep,' the dark haired male thought to himself, 'Tomorrow I'll have to be up at 6 o'clock in the morning...'

-The Next Morning-

"Oh crap, is it morning already?" stretching his arms out in front of him, Jack rolled out of bed and thought it would be wise to cook himself some breakfast, "Let's see if there is anything in the fridge." When Jack opened the old rusty metal fridge, it was completely empty, "Perfect, just perfect." He rolled his eyes and decided to go down to the grocery store to buy some breakfast. Opening the small drawer in the house, he found a bag full of money. On it had a label that read, "Grandpa's Rainy Day Savings". It had about 3000 Gs in it so if he added that amount to the amount of money his parents gave him; he has about 10,000 G's to start his farm.

Using the map the Mayor gave him on his day of arrival, he found out that the store doesn't open until 10 am in the morning, meaning, he would starve for four more hours before finding something to munch on. To kill time, he planned to go up by the Goddess Pond shown on the map.

Just before he opened the door, someone on the other side was knocking loudly. Jack slowly turned the doorknob and saw an old man carrying a puppy in his arms. The old man wore a white beard and was completely bald. He had thick, thick glasses with a light brown rim and his attire was just a simple green work shirt and some gray cargo pants.

"Good Morning Jack, the name is Bailey. I would like to welcome you to Mineral Town. I work at the Yodel Farm and I hope to see you later on this year when you purchase cows and sheep. Mind you, our animals are top quality. Anyways, I came here to tell you about this puppy. He has been with me since the death of your Grandfather and I suppose it is best for you to take care of it as a pet or something. He is actually the son of your grandfather's canine. Take good care of him Jack. Give it a name now!" Bailey put the small brown and soft puppy in Jack's arms. Jack quickly got along with the puppy as it licked Jack in the face lightly.

"Thank you Bailey. Hmm..." Jack studied the little dog carefully," I shall name you, Doughnut. You are one adorable little puppy aren't you?" Jack hugged it and stroked the pup behind its soft brown ears, "He is absolutely adorable."

"I am glad you two are getting along just fine. I will be leaving now. Good luck on your farm Jack! If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Bailey exited the farm from the north exit. He seemed like a sweet old man.

The pup jumped out of Jack's arms and ran towards a little fountain. Doughnut drank the water and then ran towards the other end of the farm to explore. Jack thought it was best to leave the pup alone to explore on his new farm. He on the other hand, should probably head over to Goddess Pond and view the beautiful scenes the captain of the boat described on the day of his departure.

The south exit on Jack's Farm connected to the beginning of the forest area. Once Jack reached to the forest area, he could see a spaciouslog housebelieved to be Gotz' Cabin according to his map. Northwest of the forest area led to the Goddess Pond, West led to the base of Mother's Hill.

When Jack saw the Goddess Pond, he could not believe his eyes. There, lying there surrounded by many trees was the pond. The water glimmered in the sunlight and the butterflies fluttered and danced for its greatness. Beside the pond were two girls, one with the long dangling pink hair wearing a black dress and the other, with orange hair tied back into a ponytail in overalls.

"Whoa... she's so pretty," Jack admired the orange haired girl and smirked, not noting the fact that he was staring directly at her and wandering into his own little world.

"Jack! Jack! JACK! HELLO!" A loud voice brought Jack back into the world of reality. It was Ann, she looked at him strangely, "Why were you staring? Is there something on my face?" (A/N: Here it is, the Classic Comeback ha!)

"Oh... sorry, I was just staring at the pond, I think it is beautiful. What are you doing up here so early?" He questioned, trying to look down to conceal his blushing face.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I always hang here with Popuri in the morning. OH YEAH! Popuri, this is Jack the new farmer. Jack, this is Popuri, she lives at the Poultry farm with her mom and brother Rick." Ann smiled happily as she introduced her two friends to each other.

"Hi Popuri, nice to meet you," Jack sustained his hand in midair, waiting for a handshake.

"He... he...he...Hello there Jack!" Popuri blushed madly as she took his hand and quickly shook it. She then hid her hands behind her long dress, "What... a... nnn...nn...nice day it is!"

Raising an eyebrow, Jack answered politely, "Yes indeed. I just came by to check out this place since Ann told me so many stories. It is really nice here. You guys even have a spring built here! It looks nice and comfy to just sit and relax there the whole day."

"Gotz built it. He is one amazing carpenter! He built most of the furniture for the Inn all by himself. He is also Harris' best friend." Ann gazed into the pond, leaning back on a tree that was right beside her, "Maybe you should pay Gotz a visit. The farm really need some fix up! It sure looks different than what it once looked like."

"Ann... can we go back now? I think we should go because I have a lot of work today at the Poultry farm today." Her best friend grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the pond.

"Later Jack, come by the Inn for some refreshments!" Ann hollered out.

"Um... buh...buh...buh...bye Ja...Jack!" Popuri ran away.

"Weird... but okay..." Jack beamed, knowing that Popuri was nervous because of him. He personally liked Ann a lot better. She's caring, loving, active, smart, talented and just wonderful to look at. He skipped a few pebbles surrounding the pond across the pond. As soon as he was about to leave, the wind grew stronger, and the pond's water drained and then a glowing figure appeared.

"Who...who...who are you!" Jack trembled as he glared at the glowing figure unexpectedly.

"Who dares to wake me up so early in the morning and offering me such gifts as pebbles? Speak now or suffer the consequences!" The glowing light commanded, leaving Jack struggling to get away from the light.

"I'm sorry... who... are you?" Jack quivered as he backed away even more, "I am Jack... I'm new here... I didn't know..."

"Oh, so you are Jack? Do you remember me from your childhood memories?"

"I don't quite recall who you are..."

"I, am, the Harvest Goddess!" The intensity of the light dropped as a woman figure with fairy liked wings appeared. She was dressed in a white dress with colorful stains all over. And she had beautiful turquoise hair. Jack couldn't believe his eyes.

"I thought you were make-believe!" Jack said, now starting to calm down.

"You didn't think I was make-believe as a child. Well, I thought you were one of the villagers who constantly throw their garbage and random stones at me. Never you mind that. I am glad that you came back to Mineral Town. Your grandpa was such a wonderful man. A pity that he left so soon... but at least someone's taking over his farm. That was his life long dream did you know? I hope things are going well for you. No one ever visits me because they think I am some make-believe figure like you just did. Ann and Popuri would come and sit by the pond everyday, but they've never tried giving me an offering like YOU just did. I don't like stones okay? Don't you dare give me another one of those disgusting pebbles or I shall have you cursed for eternity! Just kidding! Go along, have fun at the farm and visit the town's people. Most of them are very nice. Give me your map for a second." The Goddess snatched the map from Jack and it floated beside her. She lifted her finger and barely touched the map, "There done!"

"You didn't... oh yeah... you can do anything! You are a Goddess." Jack chuckled at the fact that he thought she didn't write anything on the paper. When he got it back in his hands, the map had a glowing sign on the top right corner. It read, 'Harvest Spirit's Hut' with subtitles, 'Asks us to help you with your farm work'.

"Yes Jack, they are the Harvest Spirits. You must note that no one can know that they are helping you. They are only supposed to help the farmer of the town. You must befriend them before recruiting them. Come back and visit me whenever you feel the need to talk or need help. Tata for now!" In an instant poof, the Goddess disappeared and every looked as if was back to normal. Jack's stomach began to grumble.

Another poof! The Goddess reappeared, "Oh, are you hungry? Why didn't you say so? Here take some sandwiches!" She snapped her fingers and some cheese sandwiches appeared in front of Jack.

"Thank you Goddess!" Jack appreciated the fact that such a highly respected figure just offered him breakfast and helped him with his new life.

"Don't mention it! I really got to go now!" Another poof, she disappeared.

"Talk about a surprise," Jack mumbled as he stuffed his map back into his rucksack and headed back towards the town, munching the holy sandwiches he was given.

- Midday in Mineral Town –

Opening his trusty map again, Jack pointed at the Grocery Store located beside the town clinic. He had to purchase seeds to plant and groceries so he won't have to starve to death. When he opened the door, a fairly pretty girl dressed in shorts and a vest greeted him.

"Welcome, wait a minute? Who are you?" The girl snapped at Jack, eyeing him carefully, "I haven't seen you around at all."

"I am Jack, the new farmer." He introduced himself to her.

"Oh, hello. Welcome to the Grocery Store! I am Karen and I am the daughter of the owner of the Grocery Store, Jeff. We have seeds, food, and even bigger rucksacks. If you need anything, just ask me or my dad." The blonde was apologetic for her attitude.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Karen. What kind of seeds do you sell for this season?" Jack glanced at the small shop holding a great variety of items. They had bread, rice balls, and sacks of rice, noodles, oil, flour, and even cake. In the middle of the room was a counter full of bags.

"There are Turnips, Potatoes, and Cucumbers. We even have grass seeds if you need them. Wait a minute!" Karen ran towards the cash register counter and pulled out a small dark green bag. "Here, take this bag of grass seeds. My dad and I thought if you came by to our store we should at least give you a bag of seeds to start off your farm. Do you need anything else Jack?"

"Yes, may I please have 5 bags of each of the different plants and another 5 bags of grass seeds? I also would like five sticks of bread, maybe four rice balls, a slice of cake, and maybe two slices of cake?" Jack requested as Karen went around the room and collected his items. Then she walked towards the cash register.

"This totals up to 2400 Gs. Do you think you can fit all this stuff in your rucksack? Do you want me to help you?" Karen gaped at the piles of items Jack needed to take home, "Why don't you take the seeds because I think they fit, and I'll deliver the food and put them in your fridge for you later today?"

"I can help him take it to his farm if you needed any help." Another customer entered the store. The customer had short brown hair and wore a light blue dress. She was carrying a small basket. "My name is Elli by the way. I work at the Clinic. And let me guess, you are the new farmer Jack. Welcome to our little town!"

"Thanks very much for your offer Elli." Jack nodded, the two of them headed towards Jack's farm right after.

On their way, they bumped into someone who looked angry just by glaring at Jack.

"Well, well, if it isn't Jack again."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading another one of my chapters. This one is quite long. I'll be finishing a chapter of OMG Who Killed Karen before working on this. The next chapter will be fun and I hope you all are enjoying this story so far.