Disclaimer:Harvest Moon and all characters are owned by Nastume. I do not stake any claim to any of the characters used in this story.

Chapter 2-Funeral

The funeral for Mary would have been held on the same day that Jack was going to be married. But Carter, thinking how much harder it would be on Jack, decided to hold it a day early.

When Jack walked in the church, he saw that there were people already there. He walked up to Mary's coffin, which had the top half open. Jack touched Mary's face, as the tears started falling.

"How could this happen?" Jack thought. "We were engaged to be married, our whole life ahead of us, and then, someone kills her."

As Jack sat down in one of the pews, Carter started talking.

"Mary was a smart child. She ran the library in town, and was an aspiring author. She was engaged to be married, and her whole life was ahead of her. But an unknown killer tragically cut her life short.

Carter took a deep breath, as he tried to stop his own tears before continuing.

"Mary's favorite place in Mineral Town was Mother's Hill, and her family asked for her body to be buried at the foot of the mountain. After the funeral, the reception will me held at the house of Anna and Basil."

About ten minutes later, everyone was at the foot of the mountain. Mary's sealed coffin, carried by Gotz, Anna, Basil, and Jack, was lowered into her freshly dug grave. As the grave was lowered, Jack took a look at the tombstone. The tombstone read "Mary. She was loved, and loved by others."

Anna stepped forward to talk to Jack, who was kneeling in front of her grave, crying.

"Here," Anna said. "I found this in Mary's secret jewelry box, where she keeps her most precious items. I'm sorry that you weren't able to become a part of our family."

It was a blue feather. The same blue feather that Jack gave Mary only days before. Jack looked at it for a minute, then dug a hole in Mary's grave, and dropped the feather into it.

Jack didn't go to the reception. His grief was so great that all he did was sit at home. He looked at the big bed he bought a few days before he proposed. He looked at the vase, which had a wilted Toy Flower in it. And he looked at the novel Mary gave him. The last thing he has to remember her by.

"I have to find who did this," Jack thought. "Somebody killed Mary in cold blood, and I have to bring her killer to justice. For Mary."

Then, something came to him. He could do just that, because he thinks he knows who the killer is. With his grief lightened, he got up and walked to the mayor's house.

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Yes, I know, short chapter. The next one will make up for it.