Another Perfect Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with the games and merchandise from Marvelous/Natsume. Otherwise this story is my original work and any similarities between it and any real people or events are coincidental. Please note that this story is based off of the Harvest Moon: Back to Nature and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town video game titles.

Chapter 4: Good Goddess!

"So I do look pretty, right? You wouldn't lie, right?"

"Yes, you're pretty May. No, I wouldn't lie." Jack attempted to reassure her as brightly as he had the first time she asked him those two questions, but he had lost his steam around the tenth repetition.

"If you say so. Grandpa sometimes says I'm pretty when I'm not, then Stu tells me I'm ugly."

Jack looked down at May, who was only about as tall as his hips. She was a cutie, with her fat, black pigtails and moondrop-bedecked pink dress. If her hair was blond, she would've resembled a classic cherub. Well, a very depressed cherub at any rate; her face seemed to have a permanently downcast expression. You really had to listen to her voice to tell how she was feeling.

"Is Stu your boyfriend, May?" Jack asked with just a tiny hint of joking condescension.

It was a mistake. "Boyfriend? Ewwwww! He still tries to throw his boogers at me, and he's eight years old! Popuri says that boys need to be nice to girls when they reach that age!"

She halted right there in the middle of the path and refused to move until she divulged even more instances of Stu's immaturity, all the while looking down at her feet. Jack couldn't coax her any further.

"A-and then I pushed him. He deserved it, right?" In her sudden surge of passion, tears were starting to form at the corners of her eyes which still gazed solidly at her feet, only rising on occasion to confirm Jack was in hearing distance. "He fell and starting crying, saying he broke his back and it was all my fault… I felt so bad, but Elli said he was just being a crybaby." She grimaced and the tears began leaking out. "Then Popuri yelled at me for pushing Stu, saying girls shouldn't do that. But she wasn't there! It was all Stu's fault, right?"

"C'mon, May, we're already late." Jack was getting a little desperate. He didn't want to be seen dragging the little girl into the square, and they were only a few feet away… "Can't you tell me later? If we wait too much longer, you won't be able to dance-"

"Oh, you're just like Popuri! You don't believe me! Well, Stu did call me stupid! He said all girls were stupid, even my mom! He's never even met my mom!" The tears were pouring now, which worried Jack; it was just as bad to forcefully drag her into the square as it was to haul her in weeping. "I hate Stu!"

Luckily, Jack and May weren't the only two late-comers.

"May? What's wrong, honey?"

A young woman wearing a white dress very similar to May's glided over to her side and knelt down. Jack was more than a little caught off-guard by her hair color: pink, as bright a shade as cotton candy. It wasn't so much that he hadn't seen unusually-dyed hair before, but he wasn't expecting someone like that in a place such as Mineral Town…

Then he noticed the girl's eyes were red, which signified something very odd about this individual. Jack was almost positive there were no eye specialists on the island, so it was very unlikely that she was wearing special contact lenses; no, it appeared that red was her natural eye color. Does that mean that the pink is natural too…?

"May, stop crying sweetie. No one's being mean to you, right?" She looked up at Jack, eyes blazing with anger. It was pretty obvious who she was trying to blame.

"Hold on a second! We were just talking about her friend Stu when-"

"He's not my friend! At least, he isn't anymore." May's uncontrollable tear storm seemed to have abided as quickly as it appeared.

"Really? Is that all?" The odd girl's suspicions regarding Jack evaporated surprisingly fast. "But you two are sooo cute together!" She looked back towards Jack, narrowly avoiding May's indignant glare. "And you're supposed to be her escort? She's a little young for you, you know." She grinned. "As long as you're nice, though, I guess it's not a problem."

"Wh-what are you trying to say? I'm going as a sort of big brother, know what I mean?" Why is everyone in this town so freaky when it comes to dating? She's six, for Christ's sake! Jack shook his head in exasperation. "And who are you anyways?"

"Oh, haven't we met? I'm Popuri." She stood up, placing one hand on her hip. Jack suddenly realized what an amazing figure she had. "You're too nice if you're supposed to be her big brother. Why, my brother is never nice to me… Oh! I'm supposed to ask your name, aren't I?"

"Uh, Jack," he offered half-heartedly.

"Oh, the guy who took over Ben's old farm? Wow, we're neighbors! It's so weird that I haven't seen you before!" She looked him over, excited all of a sudden.

"Uh, Popuri? Jack? You guys are ignoring me. 'Sides, we're supposed to be at the festival." May started to tug gently at Popuri's dress, her manner now completely meek. Jack felt suddenly relieved. It's not just my problem anymore.

"Oh yeah! Good Goddess, I'm late! I still have to dance!" She grabbed both Jack's and May's sleeve in her excitement, yanking them into the Rose Square alongside her.

While May attempted to protest, Jack noted the odd expression she had used. 'Good Goddess', not 'Good God.' What a weird thing to say… and I think I've heard it used before…

Where, of course, he couldn't recall.

"And now for the event you've all been waiting for!" Mayor Thomas, elevated by a tiny "podium" (a cardboard box, really), was truly in his element: basking in the center of the village's attention.

Popuri had disappeared almost immediately after dragging Jack and May into the square. Roughly a minute later, Mayor Thomas, looking like a self-satisfied lobster, pushed his little box into the middle of the square and began his equally-little speech. May was now clinging to Jack's pant leg, her previous dramas with Stu forgotten.

"Every year, we gather to celebrate the rejuvenation of Spring and to dedicate yet another season to the hard work and earnestness of the Harvest Goddess!" Various cheers erupted throughout the crowd, which Thomas attempted to soothe by raising his tiny arms towards the sky. No one noticed, and a few minutes later the cheers died on their own.

"To thank the Harvest Goddess for her efforts in this beautiful time, I now give you our Spring Goddess Dancers!" Thomas quickly hopped off of his box and pushed it to the outside of the square, away from the center of attention.

To Jack, the whole 'introduction speech' was some sort of boring tradition or protocol. If he had maybe listened a little closer to Thomas's words, he might've saved himself a great deal of confusion and mind-wrenching thought later on.

Unfortunately, he treated the tiny mayor like he treated all of his previous authority figures: the same way one treats a telephone solicitor when they screw up your last name, even though it's a pathetically simple one like Wendt or Menz (a telemarketer's worst nightmare is filled with words ending with odd consonants). In other words, you hang up and forget about them completely within a few minutes. Such was the case with Thomas's speech, only minus the "hanging up" part.

There was an awkward moment of silence before an energetic flute ditty began somewhere out of sight. It was shortly accompanied by a fiddle adding an opposing tune, creating a sort of joyous harmonic romp. About a second later, the bongos began and the five dancers entered the square.

Jack recognized three of them as they arranged themselves in the unoccupied center of the square: two of the girls were closest to the audience while the other three filled out the spaces in between from a few feet behind. Jack imagined them forming a sort of "W."

Karen, unsurprisingly, was in the center of the second row. At her sides were two girls Jack didn't recognize, one with long black hair and another with short brown. Popuri and Ann formed the bottom of the "W," and were the closest to the audience of villagers. Every girl wore a similar dress as well as a thin, white tiara that was also ringed with flowers. People in Mineral Town really seemed to hit you over the head with clothing themes.

The girls began tapping their legs in time with the bongos, which was when it became very obvious that the black-haired girl was going to be having a tough time: her steps were already out of tempo.

One of the hidden musicians suddenly let out a sharp cry and the dancers began twirling. The ones in back leapt forward while the ones in front treaded backwards, exchanging places.

Twirls to the right, spins to the left. Back steps, elegant leaps, foot taps… It was all in perfect harmony with the music. The dancers formed a sort of visual aspect to the song, personifying its spirit and character perfectly. It was all very mystical…

As long as you focused on Karen. Popuri had stopped dancing long ago as she doubled over in laughter. Ann had this constipated look on her face; though her movements seemed in time with Karen's, it was obvious she was trying too hard. And the girl with black hair appeared to have tripped and taken herself out of commission; Jack wondered if she couldn't see very well as she had almost taken Ann out with her. Ann had started out several feet in front of her, you see.

The only girl who appeared to rival Karen was the one with short brown hair. Both of the girls were perfectly together, which was especially apparent since they were always in the same row. Jack still couldn't get a good look at the girl, but it was plain that she was a bit a plumper than Karen. Even so, she was almost as graceful and seemed a bit more comfortable with dancing than, say, Ann. Plus she seemed to be enjoying herself.

The music gradually grew softer and its pace slower, which the dancers expressed in their movements (the three who weren't incapacitated anyways). Finally, the song ended its gradual descent into nothingness and the dancers finished their final, slow twirl. There was silence…

Followed by tremulous, stormy applause from the audience. There were whistles and cheers, too; parents rushed out to their daughters and hugged them proudly. You would never have guessed that they'd been doing this same act for the last five years.

Jack found himself being carried away by the tide of cheery villagers. May gripped his hand tightly, beaming the whole while. Jack was actually afraid her face might crack from the strain.

Popuri, still experiencing a bout of hysterics, was being helped to a bench at the side of the square by a taller man with bushy red hair and glasses. Jack decided to leave her alone for the time being.

Karen was no where to be seen, but Ann was standing in the center of the square with her father, Doug, talking to Duke and a dark-haired woman Jack took to be his wife.

"Hey May! Did you see my sis dance? She did pretty good!" shouted an energetic voice from below Jack's field of vision. He looked down at a little boy with a thin mat of black hair and bright, brown eyes. Must be Stu, he thought.

"She did pretty well, not 'good!'" May rolled her eyes. "Boys!"

"Aw, May, why do you have to be such a no-it-all?"

"I'm not a know-it-all, you've just been mean to me lately. I don't have to be nice to mean people."

"Fine, then I won't show you this old boot I found on the beach the other day." Stu took a rubbery object out from beneath his overalls.

Now how didn't I notice him hiding that before? Jack shook his head in amazement and decided to let the conversation take its natural course. He let go of May's hand and started towards Ann and Doug, who had just finished talking with Duke and his wife.

He could hear the remnants of May and Stu's spat behind him: "Oh! I think that will fit Hannah's paws!"

"No, more like her tail…"

The rest was drowned out as Doug greeted Jack. "I was wondering when you'd show up! Wasn't Ann perfect out there?"

"Dad! Stop it!" Ann blushed fiercely and stomped on her dad's foot. "You know I stink at dancing!"

"Ow- Ann! Quit it!" he bellowed, gently shoving his daughter off of him. "This is between us guys! Why don't you go talk with Karen?"

"She went to help her dad pack up the instruments, and besides-"

"So anyways, did you think my daughter looked alright in her dress? I haven't seen her wear anything with flowers in ages!" continued Doug as though Ann wasn't standing right next to him. Her face was starting to look like it had an angry sunburn, to the point where Jack could no longer see her numerous freckles.

"You were great, Ann!" A tall, long-haired man dressed in brown came to stand beside her. His hair was an interesting combination of blond at the tips and brown towards the back, where it was gathered into a pony-tail. With the exception of his dark-brown eyes, he bore a great resemblance to Karen.

"Oh, Cliff! What great timing!" Ann glared at her dad, who had an odd "I've-been-foiled" look. Some instinct told Jack that the nonverbal exchange was one of those things best not explored by one's curiosity. "Jack, this is my escort," she twisted her mouth distastefully at the word. "Cliff. He lives at our inn and does odd jobs for my dad."

She elbowed Doug, who was now wearing a sour expression. "Yeah, he's a great guy. Helps us out whenever he can," he grunted.

Nice change of subject there, noted Jack. She appears to be a sharp one.

He smiled. "Nice to meet you Cliff."

Cliff, however, frowned. "So you're Jack? I guess I'm sort of the reason you ended up coming alone." He smiled back apologetically and took a shy half-step away from Ann, who completely missed the significance of the gesture.

"Oh, I didn't come alone. Barley had me bring May since he had to stay back at his ranch." Jack pointed behind himself towards where May was still engrossed with Stu's boot. By the looks of it, they had discovered some sort of dead beetle within.

"That's awfully nice of you to think of the little ones," replied Doug heartily. "You must really like kids a lot. Much of a family man, are you?"

Ann glared at her father for the umpteenth time while Cliff gave Jack a somewhat quizzical stare. Jack just shrugged and Cliff nodded in understanding. It's surprising how much body language can express between two like-minded people. To everyone else, it means absolutely nothing and is best left at that.

"Well, I'm going to go see where Karen ran off to. There's been plenty of time to pack up, and I don't think she'll want to miss the Couples' Dance." Ann strolled off, making sure to step on her dad's toes on the way. He gave a surprised yelp and followed her, a look of murder fixed on his face.

"Uh, later Jack. Nice meeting you and all." Cliff gave another apologetic nod, then took off after Ann and Doug.

Jack turned back towards the rest of the crowd, which was beginning to thin out as those not interested in the Couples' Dance made their way home. The sun was finally starting to leave the horizon and was leaving in the Square in a hazy purple glow which Jack found relaxing. That is, until Elli came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

Slightly surprised, he spun around and found himself face-to-face with the short-haired girl who had managed to keep up with Karen so well during the dance.

She was fairly pretty, though he had been right about her body; she was slightly heavier-set than the rest of the Mineral Town girls. However, it was the way her face looked at that moment which truly piqued Jack's interest. And his memories.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe we've met." The girl gave Jack a polite smile. "I'm Elli, the nurse at the local Clinic." Her smile suddenly faltered and she blinked worriedly. "He-hello? Are you okay?"

"Oh! Sorry," said Jack, surfacing from his unexpected reverie. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm Jack. Pleased to meet you."

"O-okay… Well, anyways, I wanted to say how thankful I am that you brought May." She tried smiling again, but it looked like she swallowed a lemon slice instead. Her big, tawny eyes still bore into Jack with their worry. "Barley has lots of responsibilities and he's too old to do everything now. It would've been too bad if May had to miss out on this festival, though."

"It's not a problem," replied Jack, who was oblivious to her medical concern. "I'm always happy to help a neighbor out."

"That's a good thing. People around here really appreciate gestures like that." She clasped her hands in the center of her dress and gave Jack a genuine smile, office-politeness completely thrown aside. "You know, adults really do need to look after children. May is such a sweet little girl, and I don't think you realize how much she was looking forward to this festival. I'll bet my brother is happy, too, seeing as she's the only kid in the village that's his age."

"Stu must be your brother then? Yeah, she talks about him a lot."

"Oh, how sweet! Just goes to show that they're best friends."

If you only knew… "Kids tend to like being with other kids," he mumbled nonchalantly.

"Well, it was nice talking with you Jack, but I really should be going now. I have lots of charts to sort at the Clinic. The doctor couldn't even take a break today!" She gave one last parting smile as she moved away. "Don't overwork yourself. If you ever feel nauseous or dizzy, go to the Clinic. Not the bar. "

"Yeah, I'll be sure to." How that sorry episode got around so quickly was beyond Jack, but he figured he couldn't be blamed for things he couldn't remember, so he let it slide.

Jack's diary, Spring 8 of his first year on the farm

Elli. I don't I've ever met anyone like her… I've imagined people like her, of course, but never actually thought they really existed…

I mean, ever since I was little I wondered what a real mother looked like, the ones that you read about in stories and see on sitcoms. They care about their kids more than they care about themselves, make dinner for them, ground them… Stuff a lot of my "old friends" were always complaining about.

Hah, but I never had any of that. My mom was always gone, and when she was at home she was almost always putting on makeup or trying on new clothes or something like that. When I was little, she used to call me a Peeping Tom when I tried to talk to her and told me to get out of her room. She was always in that damn room.

Melanie came close, but she wasn't a mom. She was an aunt, and at the end of the day that's what she wanted to be, nothing more. She was the epitome of a caring person to me for as long as I can remember.

But then, here of all places, I meet someone like Elli. There's something in her eyes, some sort of natural, I don't know, instinct? Is that the word? Well, she's the only person I know who looks like she'd be ready to stick Advil down your throat or give you CPR at any provocation. By provocation, I mean a threat to your life. Sounds kinda evil the way I wrote it.

Oh, I wouldn't really know all that, I guess. But her face, her eyes… just gave me that type of feeling about her, I suppose.

You know, this town is full of weird people. Was it just me, or did it seem like that innkeeper, Doug, was trying to marry Ann off to me? And that Popuri! Wow, she's like some incarnation of a drug addict's worst hallucination! Babbles like one, too.

Stu and May decided to dance together during that "Couple's Dance" thing that they do when night falls, so I found myself with Popuri (thank God for that; I was getting tired of trying not to look like a pedophile). Apparently, she didn't have a date, I mean "escort," so she didn't have anyone to dance with. Well, I ended up with her and she talked during the whole thing, explaining in length about her brother and how awful he is.

Speaking of her brother, I met him, too. He seemed okay to me, though I didn't talk to him for very long. He and Karen are "childhood friends" I guess, and they always went to this festival with each other. I didn't see them dance together, though, nor did I see Ann or her little posse after Doug tried to pimp her out to me. Oh well; more is the pity.

Well, I'm starting to get tired. Before I forget, though, I'm going to note that weird saying they have around here, "Sweet Goddess" I think it was (or maybe "Good Goddess). Going to have find out what that's supposed to mean; I thought I saw a church when I was first touring the town, a perfectly normal-looking Christian one (don't know which denomination though). Isn't using "Goddess" instead of "God" a bit on the blasphemous side?

AN: This "little" chapter took a very, very long time to write. I think it shows, which to me isn't a good thing. I hate slow-moving chapters, which nearly all of them have been so far. Hopefully I'll get a chance to pick up the pace a bit in the next few additions. If it's not too much trouble, leave a review after reading the story and give me a idea of how I'm doing. Do you like the direction? Grammar okay? I always appreciate comments about elements like that. Otherwise, I hope you've enjoyed this story so far!