Three Years Later
Author's Note: Hello, everybody! Well, I am introducing Cliff in this chapter. You know when Cliff shows up in the game? This is not that time. This is a few years before. Mm-kay?
Disclaimer: I do not own a soda machine, a swing set, a spare tire, a Route44 from Sonic, a baseball team, or an accordian. Do you still think I own Harvest Moon?
~oOoOoOo~
Three years later, I was fifteen years old, almost finished with my nineth grade year. It was mid-Spring, and the village was filled with beautiful cherry blossom trees. The air was light and cheery, the atmosphere a lovely pink. Summer was fast-approaching, and Ann and I, who were still the best of friends, could hardly wait.
On a bright, sunny morning I woke up to X out another day on my wine calendar. Seeing that it was now Spring 18, I looked back on the previous X, on Spring 17, the local horse race. I grinned to myself, walking over to my dresser to finger the hundred gold coins I had won. I had bet all the money I owned on Gray Green, who had excitingly placed first not only in his heat, but beat the time of all the other racers! It had been my first betting experience, and Gray's very first race. I smiled once more.
It was a Saturday, my only day off. So I got dressed and started out the door, throwing a glance at the clock: 8:54 AM. However, when I got downstairs, I was surprised to find my parents already up, and a strange boy sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. "Karen, you're up!" my mother exclaimed, standing up from her seat at the table.
The strange boy also stood. I eyed him warily. His clothes were awfully shabby, as if they were hand-me-downs from great-great-grandparents. The shoes he wore were very similar. I looked at his face, which was decorated with a somewhat cute smile and a sparkle of dark brown eyes. His hair was kind of intriguing, with long, stringy bangs hanging about his thin eyebrows. As he turned his head, I caught a glimpse of thick blond hair in a ponytail behind his neck, contrasting with the rest of his dark brown hair. This strange feature made me touch my hair, which was up in a higher ponytail (more girly), the two golden locks of hair that I loved so much framing my face. Was there a chance that we were. . .related?
The boy seemed to sense our similarities also, but he didn't seem confused at all as he just grinned happily. What was going on?
Thankfully, my mother answered my unspoken question. "Karen, this is your cousin Cliff."
I nodded and smiled, extending a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you," I said in a friendly voice.
"Likewise," Cliff said, smiling warmly.
"Why didn't you ever tell me I had a cousin?" I asked my parents.
"What?" Mother glanced at Daddy. "I thought we told you a few years ago."
I shook my head. "No. . .but even if you did, how come I never met him?"
"Karen, he lives in Arizona, USA!" my father said, closing the magazine he'd been reading. "That's almost halfway across the world. And besides, Cliff is not doing so well money-wise, and. . .Well, I'll let you tell the story, Cliff." With that, Daddy walked out the front door to get on with his daily chores.
"Go ahead, Cliff," Mother said quietly, putting Dad's magazine away.
"Well, I know for sure that you knew my parents, your uncle and aunt," Cliff said, seating himself and motioning for me to sit.
"Uncle Andy and Aunt Pat?" I questioned.
Cliff nodded. "Yeah, that's them."
"But they. . ." I paused. "They died two years ago."
"Yeah." Cliff took a breath. "I was only thirteen when their charter plane crashed in the Pacific. So for the past two years, I've been living in Arizona with my paternal grandfather - "
"Ok, wait," I interrupted. "So your mom was my dad's sister. . .right? And your father was my dad's brother-in-law?"
"Yes."
"Ok, just making sure."
Cliff smiled. "Ok. As I was saying, I've been staying in Arizona with my dad's parents. They are not doing well with money, so they sent me here."
"By yourself?" I asked.
"Yeah," Cliff answered. "They want me to check it out and see if it would be a suitable place to live."
"Oh." I didn't really know what to say. "So," I said. "Uh, how long will you be staying?"
Cliff winced a little. "I, uh, told my grandmother it would be intrusive, but she would have none of it." He paused. "Three seasons."
I grinned. "Alright! Three seasons! Yes!"
Cliff was a little surprised. "You mean, you're ok with it?"
"Well, of course!" Mother piped up. "Guests are always welcome here, especially relatives!"
"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet my friends! You'll love it here!" I exclaimed. "Have you met Kai?"
"Uh. . ." Cliff's eyes rolled up, as if he was searching his brain. "No."
I hurried to knock on the door of Kai's bedroom. "Kai?" I called.
"Yes, Miss Karen?" came the reply.
"Are you decent?"
"Yes, Miss Karen."
I opened the door to find Kai reading a book on his bed. "Good morning," I said.
"'Morning, Miss Karen," he greeted me with a friendly smile.
"Kai, I'd like you to meet my cousin Cliff, who will be staying with us until late Fall." I grabbed Cliff's arm to pull him into the doorway.
Kai got up from his bed and walked over to shake Cliff's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Likewise," Cliff answered with a grin, repeating what he'd said to me.
My mother joined us in the doorway. "Kai, would it be alright if Cliff roomed with you while he stays here with us?"
"Well, of course, Mistress Sasha! It's your house."
Mother smiled and got back to whatever she had been doing in the kitchen. There was a brief silence, followed by my friendly invitation. "Kai, want to come with me to introduce Cliff to everyone?"
"Certainly, Miss Karen!" Kai marked his book and threw it on the bed. "Let's go, shall we?"
I grinned in response. However, when we got out the front door, I screamed in terror as a huge, ugly falcon swooped down, level with my head. "AAAHHHH!!!!" I screeched, jumping visibly. I caught my breath as the hideous creature circled above us. "What IS that?!"
Cliff chuckled. "That's Cain."
"Say whatie?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Cain," Cliff repeated. "My friend." He paused. "I found him on the ferry ride. He was standing out on the rail trying to pick something out of his wing."
"And he let you come near him?" Kai asked.
"Well, after a while. I pulled a thorn bush branch from his wing, and after that, he let me feed him."
"It doesn't LOOK like he's been fed," I stated, glaring at the bird's unhealthy thinness.
"That's because he hadn't been before that ferry ride." Cliff held up his hand, and to my surprise, the big ugly falcon landed gracefully on my cousin's fingers.
"Speaking of not being fed," I began, squinting through the sunlight as I tried to look Cliff in the face. "You ain't lookin' too chubby there, Cliff."
As if on cue, an enormous roar erupted from Cliff's mid-section. His hand flew to his stomach, and he said, "Oh, my gosh, I thought you'd never ask."
Kai's eyes widened as he started to realize Cliff's skeletal figure. "How long has it been since you ate?" he asked, eyes filling with disbelief.
Cliff took a deep breath, suddenly winded. "Ooooooooooh. . ." He drew out his word. "About two and a half days."
"Cliff!" I shrieked. "Why didn't you eat?!"
"Ran out of money buying the ferry ticket." Cliff released Cain back into the air.
"Mother!" I screeched, pushing past both of the boys and into the house.
My mother rushed frantically from her position at the kitchen sink. "What? What happened?" she immediately wanted to know.
"Cliff hasn't eaten in two days!" I blurted.
"Goodness gracious!" she exclaimed, hands cupping her cheeks. "Good thing I didn't give that last bit of oatmeal to your father! I was just going to throw it away! Cliff, honey, come back in here and eat this oatmeal!"
Cliff in was in the room in the blink of an eye. "Thanks so much Aunt Sasha," he said, obviously sincere in his gratitude. He seated himself immediately at the table. But what he did next was something very, very unexpected. He PRAYED. He prayed to something else. . .something that was very NOT the goddess. "Dear God," he began. "I thank You - "
"GOD?!" the other three of us exclaimed suddenly.
Cliff jumped visibly. "What?" was his instinctive reply.
"What is. . .'God?'" Kai asked, a quizical expression spread across his face.
"Uh. . ." Cliff was obviously shocked. "God as in the Redeemer, the Father, the Lord of lords, King of kings, Alpha, Omega, the Beginning, the End, my Savior - "
"Cliff, honey," Mother interrupted. "I'd be glad to listen to your 'God talk' some time, but, honey, you'd best not mention anything of that matter when Uncle Gotz is around. . .hm?"
I nodded. Talk of a 'God' or any Supreme Being besides our 'goddess' was strictly forbidden in our household. I had heard extraordinary arguments go on between my father and old Pappy. The old man simply would not give up, pleading constantly with Daddy to "come to the light" or to "leave his dark, sinful life" or to come to know some unheard-of name: Jesus. Daddy had ferociously fought to defend his precious goddess, the one who had seemingly brought him such great blessings as the vineyard he now owned. I had shaken my head at this, once more doubting the powers of our "great goddess." Didn't Daddy see what trouble our vineyard was in?
Cliff was silent.
"Cliff." Mother's tone softened. "Promise me you won't mention this to Uncle Gotz. He becomes angry at this sort of thing, dear. I don't want you to have to leave."
Cliff's expression became one of surprise. "I promise," he said, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes. "But, Aunt Sasha, I want you to know: I am a follower of Christ Jesus, and nothing. . .NOTHING. . .can ever change that."
After respectfully nodding, Mother busied herself cooking more and more food for the nearly starved young man. After scarfing down the oatmeal, a bowl of instant macaroni, three baked potatoes, and a half-carton of frozen yogurt and drinking multiple glasses of OJ and water, Cliff announced he was ready. I sighed, glaring at the clock. "It's noon," I stated monotonously.
"Yeah, I know!" Cliff lept from his seat, re-energized. "Let's hit the road!"
"I think I'll pass," Kai said, emerging from his bedroom. "Feelin' kinda hungry myself. You two go ahead."
"'kay." I grabbed Cliff's arm and we headed out the door. "Bye, Mother!"
"Thanks again, Aunt Sasha, it was delicious!" Cliff called before letting the door slam shut behind him. We met Cain at the gate and started toward Green Ranch. I had an idea of who'd want to meet Cliff first.
~oOo~
"So, what do you think?" I asked Ann excitedly after introducing her to Cliff.
My best friend looked over in Cliff's direction, and I noticed she was sort of glaring. My eyes found what she was looking at, and I grimaced. Cliff was feeding Cain. It wouldn't have been bad; Ann loves animals! But, looking closer, I saw that what Cain was eating was nothing other than a young white rabbit.
"Uh, Ann - " I began.
But she interrupted in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Gee, Karen, I don't know. He just seems a little, you know. . .EVIL!"
"Ann, let me explain. You see, falcons are carniv - "
"Karen! Your cousin just ended the life of a young, beautiful, innocent bunny rabbit so he could feed his outrageously, hideously ugly old bird! What did the bunny ever do to him? What did the bunny do to make that, that, that THING want to eat her?!" Ann's face was red with fury.
"It's the way the food chain goes, Ann!" I said, trying to be calm. I had thought Ann and Cliff would really hit it off, but I guessed I'd been proven wrong.
My friend disregarded my comment and angrily tapped her foot and crossed her arms. "I guess so. The bird has to eat, too. Fine, you're right."
I was a little surprised that Ann didn't put up a fight, but I tried not to look it. "Thank you. Just please try to be nice."
Ann sighed and shrugged. "Ok, I will." She started walking toward Cliff after the bird was finished eating. "So, Cliff. . ." She continued chatting with Cliff, but I didn't listen. I didn't want to interrupt.
I heard a door open and close behind me. "Karen?" a voice said.
I spun around. "Hi, Gray."
Gray nodded in response. "Who's he?" he said, motioning to Cliff.
"Uh, that's my cousin Cliff."
"Why is he hanging around Ann?"
Gray started to take a step forward, but I held up my arms and kept him from doing so. "They're just having a friendly conversation, Gray! It's ok!"
The orange-haired young man was quiet for a second. "Fine," he said softly.
I shook my head. Gray had always been over-protective of Ann. Ever since we were little kids, there hadn't been a time when Gray didn't know where Ann was or who she was with. It was actually kind of scary.
"So. . ." I said, suddenly a little nervous. "How are you?" I stammered. I had the biggest crush on Gray, and Ann said he liked me, too. But I was still anxiously awaiting his confession. I wanted so badly to tell Gray how I felt, but my mother had warned me over and over that that would only lead to heartbreak. I had to agree with her. Besides, it was always the boy's job to tell first.
Gray looked at the ground, and I could tell he was a little nervous, too. "Fine," he said plainly. "You?"
"Fine." I scratched my head. Silence fell between us for a moment.
"Listen, uh. . ." Gray fiddled with his cap. "I, um, I want to tell you. . ."
Muscles tightened all over my body; my fingernails dug hard into my palms as I clenched my fists nervously.
Gray kind of smiled at me. "I want to tell you that I - "
"Hey, Karen!" Cliff called from his spot near the fence.
I closed my eyes, frustrated. "Yeah," I said plainly, eyes still closed, body still in the same tight position.
"Ann says I should meet some more people in the village!"
I sensed Ann looking in my direction. "Cliff!" she shrieked. "Can't you see Gray and Karen are talking?!"
"Sorr-EE!" Cliff said sarcastically.
I turned around to face the two. "It's ok," I lied. I faced Gray again and looked him in the eye, as if I hadn't been anticipating what he was about to say at all. "Want to come with us?" I asked with a smile. "You should get to know Cliff with us."
Gray grinned and started to nod, but his father, Doug Green, emerged from the house. "Gray, I need you to-. . .Oh, hello, Karen. How are you doing, honey?"
"Just fine!" I replied gregariously. "And you?"
"Great!" Mr. Green responded politely. He turned toward Gray again. "Gray, I need you to clean out the horses' stalls. They've been waiting all week, son! Why haven't you done them?"
"Sorry, Dad," Gray apologized respectfully. "I'll get to them right away."
"It's alright, son," Mr. Green said. "The broom is in the shed."
I was dumfounded. How did Gray and Doug get along so well? They hadn't even fought! Gray hadn't even defended himself against the accusation! Mr. Green hadn't even shouted! I couldn't help but think about what had happened a few months before, when my father had gotten so angry with me.
**A FEW MONTHS BEFORE**
"Karen!!!" Daddy yelled forcefully from the wine cellar. "KAREN!"
I hurried from my position near the old tree in back of the tree grove. "What?" I said rudely, with a touch of disrespectfulness.
"Whyisyourstupidstuffstillinthiswinecellarafteraweekyouareinbigtroubleyoungl ady!"
I stared at him, scarcely blinking. "What?" I asked, hands on my hips, defying his authority with sour body language.
"Karen Andreya Mundell, I know for a fact that you heard and understood me!" My father leaned his head toward me, as if he thought he could scare me.
But he couldn't. "HowcouldIunderstandyouwhenyouaretalkinglikethis?!"
"Well, let me clarify!" he shouted angrily. "Last week I very graciously allowed you to have your friend over to spend the night. Then you very ungratefully took advantage of your privelege, and the the two of you filled the wine cellar with your junk! And it is STILL THERE!!!"
"I am SO SORRY, dearest Daddy!" I screamed, my words filled to the rim with sarcasm. "I didn't know you cared about the vineyard so much! After all, it's pretty hard to tell when YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!"
**BACK TO NORMAL TIME**
After that comment, I got a hard spanking (even though I was fourteen years old) and a long restriction from television. I hadn't spoken to my daddy like that since then. I was too afraid that I'd get whooped again. However, my feelings hadn't changed. My dad was still the same fat, sloppy, bearded, hard-headed, stubborn, inconsiderate, controlling old fart. Sometimes I wondered if the bum even had feelings. He had done a good job, though, keeping the promise he had made to me three years before. He only went to the bar on special occasions, and then he limited himself to only two beers or one glass of wine.
The front door of the Greens' house closing with a click behind Mr. Green snapped me back to the present. Gray was looking at me with disappointed eyes. "Sorry, I can't go, Karen."
I was really disappointed. Was he about to say what I thought he was about to say? Now I'd never know. But I shrugged and told him, "It's no big deal."
Gray stared me in the eye, as if to say, "It is to me."
It was one of those moments where you go, "Awww!"
But I restrained the urge and smiled hopefully. "Catcha later. At the bar, maybe," I joked.
"Karen!" Gray laughed. "See ya."
"Bye." When I had walked over to where Cliff and Ann were standing, my fiery carrot-top friend was still angry with my cousin for interrupting. "It's alright, Ann," I said calmly.
"But. . ." Ann paused, a bit confused. "Was he about to say what I'm thinkin' he was about to say?"
I shrugged my shoulders but gave her a look that said, "I think so."
Ann rounded her mouth into the shape of a Lifesaver and said, "Oooooh!"
I forced myself to giggle. I was kind of upset that Gray couldn't come with us, and really afraid that he might never get up the courage to tell me how he felt again. I think Ann understood because she didn't mention the topic again as we walked the dusty road to the lower portion of Flower Bud Village.
When we arrived, we found four-year-old Stu and five year-old Kent (grandsons of the old Potion Shop dealer) running wildly about. I guessed they were playing their own two-person version of tag. "Hey, guys!" Ann greeted them enthusiastically. She's always loved little kids.
The boys waved and mumbled their greetings before returning to their game.
"Tag is funner with three people," Ann explained, kneeling down so she could have level eye contact with the children. "Why don't you get little May to play with you?"
"Aw, May's just a baby!" Kent replied. "Besides, we're not playing tag! This is cops and robbers!" Then he glared at his brother and reminded him that he got to be the robber next.
Ann, Cliff, and I just laughed. "Cliff, this is Kent and Stu. The potion shop dealer is their grandfather, but you can meet him later," I explained. "Kent and Stu!" I called, interrupting their game, and having to use a loud voice so they could hear me. "Meet my cousin Cliff."
They nodded and said hi, once again focused on their playful game.
We walked on until we were in front of the midwife's house. Ann explained, "Baby May is probably in there with her grandmother, the midwife."
"Midwife?" Cliff asked, a little surprised. "You mean. . .you people don't just go to the hospital to get babies delivered?"
Ann and I laughed. "Uh, honey," I said, with an amused smile on my face. "There is no hospital here."
"If you're pregnant, you go to the midwife," Ann explained. "If you're sick, you go to the potion shop dealer."
"And drink potions?" Cliff asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.
"No," Ann and I said in unison.
Cliff shook his head and massaged his temples. "This is confusing."
"Yeah, we know," Ann said.
"The 'potion shop dealer' really just makes medicines. Way back when, they used to think the medicine was magical because of its healing power. So I guess the name just stuck with it," I concluded.
Cliff was silent for a moment. "Right," he finally said, with a smile. "This place sure is different," he laughed.
"Anyways, baby May is probably in there right now because her daddy is at work right now. And she's is only two years old! She's such a cutie!" Ann said happily.
I rolled my eyes, but had to agree.
We kept walking until we reached the mayor's house. It was pretty big in comparison with the majority of other homes in Flower Bud. However, I had to admit that mine was bigger. It was a nice house though, I knew. Ann and I took Cliff inside and introduced him to the mayor and his wife. They made small talk for a little while, and then we moved on. "They seemed nice," Cliff said, as we made our way to the library.
"Yeah, they are," Ann said. "They have a daughter, too. She works here at the library part-time. She'll probably own the library one day. She's a sweetie."
Cliff nodded as we walked inside the small, cozy building. We found Maria stacking books in the juvenile fiction section. "Hello, Karen, Ann," she said in a friendly tone of voice.
"Hi, Maria!" Ann greeted warmly. "This is Karen's cousin, Cliff. He'll be staying in Flower Bud for a while."
"Oh, w-w-well, it's, um, it's nice to meet you, C-Cliff." Maria laughed nervously.
I shook my head and smiled. Maria was always so shy, and often found herself nervous in front of new people.
Cliff returned the comment, and we said good-bye. I knew my cousin realized Maria's shyness, but I thought it was sweet of him not to say anything about it. All he said was, "Yeah, she's nice."
We moved on quickly, because the sun was starting to dip closer and closer to the horizon. As we walked, Ann and I introduced Cliff to Rick, who was about four years older than us and starting his own craft shop, Saibara, the old artisan next door, Duke, the bartender at the Inn, Brother Jacobson, who still served as our teacher, and Lillia, the local florist, as well as her husband Basil, the traveling botanist.
While we were still chatting with Basil and Lillia, their daughter Popuri walked into the shop. After exchanging friendly greetings, Ann and I introduced Cliff. "He's my cousin," I explained after telling her his name. "He's staying until the end of fall."
"Oh, that's nice! I'm Popuri." She held out her hand, and he shook it gregariously.
"Well, we'd better go," Ann said. After saying good-bye, we headed out the door and across the sidewalk to the bakery. When we arrived, we noticed right away that it was busy. People were sitting around at the tables outside, munching on cakes and pies, sipping their tea as they socialized with friends. Upon opening the door, we saw that it was just as busy inside. There were quite a few people waiting in line for Jeff, who worked part-time at the bakery, to take their order.
"Elli!" Ann and I both cried when we got through the door. With big smiles and happy greetings, we embraced our good friend.
"Girls!" Elli exclaimed. "How have you two been?"
"Great!" I said.
"Wonderful," Ann added with a grin.
"That's good," Elli said. "Y'all want some cake or something?"
"Sure!" Ann exclaimed, pulling out a few coins. [A/N: I know in the game that cakes cost 300G but I think that's ridiculous, and it's my story so I'm changing it!] She turned to Cliff and I. "My treat!"
"Thanks, Ann," I said, looking at Cliff. "I don't know. . .Cliff scarfed down enough food to feed the whole village today at lunch. You up to it, Cliffy-boy?"
Cliff rubbed his tummy and chuckled. "You can never have too much!" he said, making Ann and I laugh.
Elli's head popped up from behind the counter. She walked up to us, wiping her doughy hands off on her white apron, saying, "I'm sorry! My name is Elli!" She held out her now clean hand for Cliff to shake. Then she pointed back behind the counter, where her grandmother was hurrying back through the kitchen door to bake another order. "That's my grandma, aka Granny Ellen."
"Cliff," my cousin responded. "I'm Karen's cousin from Arizona."
Elli still talked as she walked back behind the counter to put Ann's coins in a drawer. "That's interesting! Maybe I can meet y'all later, and we can chat!"
"Sounds like a plan!" Ann replied happily.
Elli nodded and grinned. "Alright! Crossroads at six?" The crossing of paths between Flower Bud Village, Moon Mountain, the Vineyard, the beach, and the Green Ranch was the general meeting place for our small island's inhabitants. It was the easiest place for everyone to get to; you have to come through to get anywhere.
After confirming Elli's suggestion, we let her get back to work. We seated ourselves at a small table near the wall, and within a few minutes, our cakes and pie were brought out. I rubbed my hands together, eager to enjoy the spring-time taste of the veryberry pie I had ordered. My favorite!
When Cliff bowed his head and closed his eyes before his scrumptious- looking white cake, Ann and I were caught off-guard. My cousin said nothing, but it was obvious that something was going on in his mind. Ann leaned towards me in her chair and whispered, "What's he doing?"
I shrugged, letting my surprise at Cliff's sudden action show. I noticed that Cliff's rough hands were folded neatly on the table, and then it hit me. I leaned in Ann's direction, but before I could say anything, she guessed, "Is he praying?"
"That's what I was going to say," I replied in a soft voice.
"I didn't think he'd know anything about the goddess!" Ann whispered in disbelief.
"He's not praying to the goddess," I tried to explain. "He believes in something different. Some God or something."
"Like the Greek ones we study at school?" Ann's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I thought they were only myths. I didn't think anyone still believed in them."
Again, I shrugged. Before I could reply, Cliff ended his prayer and looked up at us. Ann spoke up before I had a chance to hush her. "What was that?"
"Oh, I was blessing the food," Cliff explained. Ann and I glanced at each other, but my cousin, ignorant of our conversation, just forked a bit from his cake and ate it.
I knew Ann was about to say something, so I said, "Ann, it's not really importan - "
"Blessing the food?" Ann asked slowly, as if she was learning the words. She'd heard and said them all before, but never all in one sentence. "What do you mean?"
Cliff swallowed his bite of cake and looked at us for a second. "Well, whenever I eat, I pray that God will bless the food to my body and make it a good nourishment."
"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Ann said.
"Ann, can we just drop the subject?" I asked, remembering my mother's warning.
But Ann just kept going, ignoring my suggestion. "Who is 'God?' I thought all the Greek gods had names and stuff."
"He's not a Greek god," Cliff said. "He's not a myth. He's real. He is the One who created the earth and everything in, on, and around it."
"You mean you think someone created us?"
"Yeah. Why, what do you think?"
"I dunno. I've never really thought about it."
"How can you never think about it? You live next to a mountain! And look at all the trees around you! And the OCEAN! Oh, the ocean. . ." Cliff paused for second and took a deep breath, as if he was just soaking up the beauty of it all. "You can't tell me you think it all just happened."
"Look," Ann said, her voice firm and determined. "I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't care. I don't think it really matters how we got here. We're here, and that's that. Why do we need to know where everything came from? What good does it do?"
By now, I'd given up trying to shush Ann. In fact, I was getting pretty interested in Cliff's theory. I kind of agreed that we didn't really need to know how we got here, but I was curious about what my cousin had to say. Had someone created us? How weird! It sounded extremely strange to me, but something inside me told me that I should look into it a little more.
Cliff's mouth opened like he was on the verge of saying something, but I beat him to the punch. "Well, I think it kind of matters. I mean, I've always wondered about it. . .like, you know in class, how Brother J always tries to make us understand logic? Like 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?' I mean, one of them had to come first! That question has always puzzled me."
"It was the chicken," Cliff said bluntly, in a flat voice.
I stared at him, not blinking, not saying anything. I was thinking about Cliff's idea, wondering how it could be the chicken. Didn't chickens hatch from eggs? But then again, SOMETHING has to lay the egg. I couldn't speak; I was too deep in thought. However, Ann was suddenly defensive. "How do YOU know?" she asked, obviously trying to contain her urge to scream out the proof of her point.
"Because I have this." Cliff pulled a big book out of a large pocket in his pants that I didn't know he had. Somehow, I recognized the book, but I didn't know where from. This forgotten memory gave me something else to mull over, and once again, I found myself without words. Cliff opened up the book to the first few pages and read, "Genesis 1:24-25: 'And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals each according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.'"
"And what is that?" Ann inquired, pointing at Cliff's book. He held it out to her, and she snatched it from his hand. "'Holy Bible'?" she read from the front cover, raising her eyebrows doubtfully.
I closed my curious eyes, my pastel-colored lips moving swiftly as I mouthed the words over and over, combing through my brain. 'Holy Bible. . .Holy Bible. . .Holy Bible. . .Where have I seen that before?'
Once more, my thoughts were interrupted by Cliff's voice in response to Ann's demeaning inquiry. "Yes."
"Oh, GOD-dess!" Ann cried out shrilly, putting extra emphasis on the first syllable of the word. Her voice was so loud that surrounding people glanced at our table in question of what was going on. But, my short-fused friend didn't seem to notice as she rolled her eyes, huffing out an angry breath. She threw her weight on the back of her chair, and crossed her arms across her midsection. After kind of an awkward pause, she said, "I'm sorry, Cliff. Can we please talk about something else?"
I sighed, grateful. 'Sweet relief!' I thought. My head was pounding relentlessly from all the hard thinking that had come with such a provoking conversation topic. "Yes, please," I added, my voice unexpectedly pleading.
Cliff scratched his head, his dark eyes suddenly covered by soft eyelids. "Yeah," he said, finally resting his chin on curled fingers, as if deep in thought.
I felt the tension in the air, especially between my cousin and Ann, and immediately decided to banish it. "So, Cliff!" I said, to the obvious surprise of both of my tablemates. "Wanna hear about the Flower Festival?"
~oOoOoOo~
A/N: Whew! I am soooooo sorry about how long that took! It has been MONTHS! =[ Please forgive me! And don't forget to review! It's always helpful!
Author's Note: Hello, everybody! Well, I am introducing Cliff in this chapter. You know when Cliff shows up in the game? This is not that time. This is a few years before. Mm-kay?
Disclaimer: I do not own a soda machine, a swing set, a spare tire, a Route44 from Sonic, a baseball team, or an accordian. Do you still think I own Harvest Moon?
~oOoOoOo~
Three years later, I was fifteen years old, almost finished with my nineth grade year. It was mid-Spring, and the village was filled with beautiful cherry blossom trees. The air was light and cheery, the atmosphere a lovely pink. Summer was fast-approaching, and Ann and I, who were still the best of friends, could hardly wait.
On a bright, sunny morning I woke up to X out another day on my wine calendar. Seeing that it was now Spring 18, I looked back on the previous X, on Spring 17, the local horse race. I grinned to myself, walking over to my dresser to finger the hundred gold coins I had won. I had bet all the money I owned on Gray Green, who had excitingly placed first not only in his heat, but beat the time of all the other racers! It had been my first betting experience, and Gray's very first race. I smiled once more.
It was a Saturday, my only day off. So I got dressed and started out the door, throwing a glance at the clock: 8:54 AM. However, when I got downstairs, I was surprised to find my parents already up, and a strange boy sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. "Karen, you're up!" my mother exclaimed, standing up from her seat at the table.
The strange boy also stood. I eyed him warily. His clothes were awfully shabby, as if they were hand-me-downs from great-great-grandparents. The shoes he wore were very similar. I looked at his face, which was decorated with a somewhat cute smile and a sparkle of dark brown eyes. His hair was kind of intriguing, with long, stringy bangs hanging about his thin eyebrows. As he turned his head, I caught a glimpse of thick blond hair in a ponytail behind his neck, contrasting with the rest of his dark brown hair. This strange feature made me touch my hair, which was up in a higher ponytail (more girly), the two golden locks of hair that I loved so much framing my face. Was there a chance that we were. . .related?
The boy seemed to sense our similarities also, but he didn't seem confused at all as he just grinned happily. What was going on?
Thankfully, my mother answered my unspoken question. "Karen, this is your cousin Cliff."
I nodded and smiled, extending a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you," I said in a friendly voice.
"Likewise," Cliff said, smiling warmly.
"Why didn't you ever tell me I had a cousin?" I asked my parents.
"What?" Mother glanced at Daddy. "I thought we told you a few years ago."
I shook my head. "No. . .but even if you did, how come I never met him?"
"Karen, he lives in Arizona, USA!" my father said, closing the magazine he'd been reading. "That's almost halfway across the world. And besides, Cliff is not doing so well money-wise, and. . .Well, I'll let you tell the story, Cliff." With that, Daddy walked out the front door to get on with his daily chores.
"Go ahead, Cliff," Mother said quietly, putting Dad's magazine away.
"Well, I know for sure that you knew my parents, your uncle and aunt," Cliff said, seating himself and motioning for me to sit.
"Uncle Andy and Aunt Pat?" I questioned.
Cliff nodded. "Yeah, that's them."
"But they. . ." I paused. "They died two years ago."
"Yeah." Cliff took a breath. "I was only thirteen when their charter plane crashed in the Pacific. So for the past two years, I've been living in Arizona with my paternal grandfather - "
"Ok, wait," I interrupted. "So your mom was my dad's sister. . .right? And your father was my dad's brother-in-law?"
"Yes."
"Ok, just making sure."
Cliff smiled. "Ok. As I was saying, I've been staying in Arizona with my dad's parents. They are not doing well with money, so they sent me here."
"By yourself?" I asked.
"Yeah," Cliff answered. "They want me to check it out and see if it would be a suitable place to live."
"Oh." I didn't really know what to say. "So," I said. "Uh, how long will you be staying?"
Cliff winced a little. "I, uh, told my grandmother it would be intrusive, but she would have none of it." He paused. "Three seasons."
I grinned. "Alright! Three seasons! Yes!"
Cliff was a little surprised. "You mean, you're ok with it?"
"Well, of course!" Mother piped up. "Guests are always welcome here, especially relatives!"
"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet my friends! You'll love it here!" I exclaimed. "Have you met Kai?"
"Uh. . ." Cliff's eyes rolled up, as if he was searching his brain. "No."
I hurried to knock on the door of Kai's bedroom. "Kai?" I called.
"Yes, Miss Karen?" came the reply.
"Are you decent?"
"Yes, Miss Karen."
I opened the door to find Kai reading a book on his bed. "Good morning," I said.
"'Morning, Miss Karen," he greeted me with a friendly smile.
"Kai, I'd like you to meet my cousin Cliff, who will be staying with us until late Fall." I grabbed Cliff's arm to pull him into the doorway.
Kai got up from his bed and walked over to shake Cliff's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Likewise," Cliff answered with a grin, repeating what he'd said to me.
My mother joined us in the doorway. "Kai, would it be alright if Cliff roomed with you while he stays here with us?"
"Well, of course, Mistress Sasha! It's your house."
Mother smiled and got back to whatever she had been doing in the kitchen. There was a brief silence, followed by my friendly invitation. "Kai, want to come with me to introduce Cliff to everyone?"
"Certainly, Miss Karen!" Kai marked his book and threw it on the bed. "Let's go, shall we?"
I grinned in response. However, when we got out the front door, I screamed in terror as a huge, ugly falcon swooped down, level with my head. "AAAHHHH!!!!" I screeched, jumping visibly. I caught my breath as the hideous creature circled above us. "What IS that?!"
Cliff chuckled. "That's Cain."
"Say whatie?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Cain," Cliff repeated. "My friend." He paused. "I found him on the ferry ride. He was standing out on the rail trying to pick something out of his wing."
"And he let you come near him?" Kai asked.
"Well, after a while. I pulled a thorn bush branch from his wing, and after that, he let me feed him."
"It doesn't LOOK like he's been fed," I stated, glaring at the bird's unhealthy thinness.
"That's because he hadn't been before that ferry ride." Cliff held up his hand, and to my surprise, the big ugly falcon landed gracefully on my cousin's fingers.
"Speaking of not being fed," I began, squinting through the sunlight as I tried to look Cliff in the face. "You ain't lookin' too chubby there, Cliff."
As if on cue, an enormous roar erupted from Cliff's mid-section. His hand flew to his stomach, and he said, "Oh, my gosh, I thought you'd never ask."
Kai's eyes widened as he started to realize Cliff's skeletal figure. "How long has it been since you ate?" he asked, eyes filling with disbelief.
Cliff took a deep breath, suddenly winded. "Ooooooooooh. . ." He drew out his word. "About two and a half days."
"Cliff!" I shrieked. "Why didn't you eat?!"
"Ran out of money buying the ferry ticket." Cliff released Cain back into the air.
"Mother!" I screeched, pushing past both of the boys and into the house.
My mother rushed frantically from her position at the kitchen sink. "What? What happened?" she immediately wanted to know.
"Cliff hasn't eaten in two days!" I blurted.
"Goodness gracious!" she exclaimed, hands cupping her cheeks. "Good thing I didn't give that last bit of oatmeal to your father! I was just going to throw it away! Cliff, honey, come back in here and eat this oatmeal!"
Cliff in was in the room in the blink of an eye. "Thanks so much Aunt Sasha," he said, obviously sincere in his gratitude. He seated himself immediately at the table. But what he did next was something very, very unexpected. He PRAYED. He prayed to something else. . .something that was very NOT the goddess. "Dear God," he began. "I thank You - "
"GOD?!" the other three of us exclaimed suddenly.
Cliff jumped visibly. "What?" was his instinctive reply.
"What is. . .'God?'" Kai asked, a quizical expression spread across his face.
"Uh. . ." Cliff was obviously shocked. "God as in the Redeemer, the Father, the Lord of lords, King of kings, Alpha, Omega, the Beginning, the End, my Savior - "
"Cliff, honey," Mother interrupted. "I'd be glad to listen to your 'God talk' some time, but, honey, you'd best not mention anything of that matter when Uncle Gotz is around. . .hm?"
I nodded. Talk of a 'God' or any Supreme Being besides our 'goddess' was strictly forbidden in our household. I had heard extraordinary arguments go on between my father and old Pappy. The old man simply would not give up, pleading constantly with Daddy to "come to the light" or to "leave his dark, sinful life" or to come to know some unheard-of name: Jesus. Daddy had ferociously fought to defend his precious goddess, the one who had seemingly brought him such great blessings as the vineyard he now owned. I had shaken my head at this, once more doubting the powers of our "great goddess." Didn't Daddy see what trouble our vineyard was in?
Cliff was silent.
"Cliff." Mother's tone softened. "Promise me you won't mention this to Uncle Gotz. He becomes angry at this sort of thing, dear. I don't want you to have to leave."
Cliff's expression became one of surprise. "I promise," he said, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes. "But, Aunt Sasha, I want you to know: I am a follower of Christ Jesus, and nothing. . .NOTHING. . .can ever change that."
After respectfully nodding, Mother busied herself cooking more and more food for the nearly starved young man. After scarfing down the oatmeal, a bowl of instant macaroni, three baked potatoes, and a half-carton of frozen yogurt and drinking multiple glasses of OJ and water, Cliff announced he was ready. I sighed, glaring at the clock. "It's noon," I stated monotonously.
"Yeah, I know!" Cliff lept from his seat, re-energized. "Let's hit the road!"
"I think I'll pass," Kai said, emerging from his bedroom. "Feelin' kinda hungry myself. You two go ahead."
"'kay." I grabbed Cliff's arm and we headed out the door. "Bye, Mother!"
"Thanks again, Aunt Sasha, it was delicious!" Cliff called before letting the door slam shut behind him. We met Cain at the gate and started toward Green Ranch. I had an idea of who'd want to meet Cliff first.
~oOo~
"So, what do you think?" I asked Ann excitedly after introducing her to Cliff.
My best friend looked over in Cliff's direction, and I noticed she was sort of glaring. My eyes found what she was looking at, and I grimaced. Cliff was feeding Cain. It wouldn't have been bad; Ann loves animals! But, looking closer, I saw that what Cain was eating was nothing other than a young white rabbit.
"Uh, Ann - " I began.
But she interrupted in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Gee, Karen, I don't know. He just seems a little, you know. . .EVIL!"
"Ann, let me explain. You see, falcons are carniv - "
"Karen! Your cousin just ended the life of a young, beautiful, innocent bunny rabbit so he could feed his outrageously, hideously ugly old bird! What did the bunny ever do to him? What did the bunny do to make that, that, that THING want to eat her?!" Ann's face was red with fury.
"It's the way the food chain goes, Ann!" I said, trying to be calm. I had thought Ann and Cliff would really hit it off, but I guessed I'd been proven wrong.
My friend disregarded my comment and angrily tapped her foot and crossed her arms. "I guess so. The bird has to eat, too. Fine, you're right."
I was a little surprised that Ann didn't put up a fight, but I tried not to look it. "Thank you. Just please try to be nice."
Ann sighed and shrugged. "Ok, I will." She started walking toward Cliff after the bird was finished eating. "So, Cliff. . ." She continued chatting with Cliff, but I didn't listen. I didn't want to interrupt.
I heard a door open and close behind me. "Karen?" a voice said.
I spun around. "Hi, Gray."
Gray nodded in response. "Who's he?" he said, motioning to Cliff.
"Uh, that's my cousin Cliff."
"Why is he hanging around Ann?"
Gray started to take a step forward, but I held up my arms and kept him from doing so. "They're just having a friendly conversation, Gray! It's ok!"
The orange-haired young man was quiet for a second. "Fine," he said softly.
I shook my head. Gray had always been over-protective of Ann. Ever since we were little kids, there hadn't been a time when Gray didn't know where Ann was or who she was with. It was actually kind of scary.
"So. . ." I said, suddenly a little nervous. "How are you?" I stammered. I had the biggest crush on Gray, and Ann said he liked me, too. But I was still anxiously awaiting his confession. I wanted so badly to tell Gray how I felt, but my mother had warned me over and over that that would only lead to heartbreak. I had to agree with her. Besides, it was always the boy's job to tell first.
Gray looked at the ground, and I could tell he was a little nervous, too. "Fine," he said plainly. "You?"
"Fine." I scratched my head. Silence fell between us for a moment.
"Listen, uh. . ." Gray fiddled with his cap. "I, um, I want to tell you. . ."
Muscles tightened all over my body; my fingernails dug hard into my palms as I clenched my fists nervously.
Gray kind of smiled at me. "I want to tell you that I - "
"Hey, Karen!" Cliff called from his spot near the fence.
I closed my eyes, frustrated. "Yeah," I said plainly, eyes still closed, body still in the same tight position.
"Ann says I should meet some more people in the village!"
I sensed Ann looking in my direction. "Cliff!" she shrieked. "Can't you see Gray and Karen are talking?!"
"Sorr-EE!" Cliff said sarcastically.
I turned around to face the two. "It's ok," I lied. I faced Gray again and looked him in the eye, as if I hadn't been anticipating what he was about to say at all. "Want to come with us?" I asked with a smile. "You should get to know Cliff with us."
Gray grinned and started to nod, but his father, Doug Green, emerged from the house. "Gray, I need you to-. . .Oh, hello, Karen. How are you doing, honey?"
"Just fine!" I replied gregariously. "And you?"
"Great!" Mr. Green responded politely. He turned toward Gray again. "Gray, I need you to clean out the horses' stalls. They've been waiting all week, son! Why haven't you done them?"
"Sorry, Dad," Gray apologized respectfully. "I'll get to them right away."
"It's alright, son," Mr. Green said. "The broom is in the shed."
I was dumfounded. How did Gray and Doug get along so well? They hadn't even fought! Gray hadn't even defended himself against the accusation! Mr. Green hadn't even shouted! I couldn't help but think about what had happened a few months before, when my father had gotten so angry with me.
**A FEW MONTHS BEFORE**
"Karen!!!" Daddy yelled forcefully from the wine cellar. "KAREN!"
I hurried from my position near the old tree in back of the tree grove. "What?" I said rudely, with a touch of disrespectfulness.
"Whyisyourstupidstuffstillinthiswinecellarafteraweekyouareinbigtroubleyoungl ady!"
I stared at him, scarcely blinking. "What?" I asked, hands on my hips, defying his authority with sour body language.
"Karen Andreya Mundell, I know for a fact that you heard and understood me!" My father leaned his head toward me, as if he thought he could scare me.
But he couldn't. "HowcouldIunderstandyouwhenyouaretalkinglikethis?!"
"Well, let me clarify!" he shouted angrily. "Last week I very graciously allowed you to have your friend over to spend the night. Then you very ungratefully took advantage of your privelege, and the the two of you filled the wine cellar with your junk! And it is STILL THERE!!!"
"I am SO SORRY, dearest Daddy!" I screamed, my words filled to the rim with sarcasm. "I didn't know you cared about the vineyard so much! After all, it's pretty hard to tell when YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!"
**BACK TO NORMAL TIME**
After that comment, I got a hard spanking (even though I was fourteen years old) and a long restriction from television. I hadn't spoken to my daddy like that since then. I was too afraid that I'd get whooped again. However, my feelings hadn't changed. My dad was still the same fat, sloppy, bearded, hard-headed, stubborn, inconsiderate, controlling old fart. Sometimes I wondered if the bum even had feelings. He had done a good job, though, keeping the promise he had made to me three years before. He only went to the bar on special occasions, and then he limited himself to only two beers or one glass of wine.
The front door of the Greens' house closing with a click behind Mr. Green snapped me back to the present. Gray was looking at me with disappointed eyes. "Sorry, I can't go, Karen."
I was really disappointed. Was he about to say what I thought he was about to say? Now I'd never know. But I shrugged and told him, "It's no big deal."
Gray stared me in the eye, as if to say, "It is to me."
It was one of those moments where you go, "Awww!"
But I restrained the urge and smiled hopefully. "Catcha later. At the bar, maybe," I joked.
"Karen!" Gray laughed. "See ya."
"Bye." When I had walked over to where Cliff and Ann were standing, my fiery carrot-top friend was still angry with my cousin for interrupting. "It's alright, Ann," I said calmly.
"But. . ." Ann paused, a bit confused. "Was he about to say what I'm thinkin' he was about to say?"
I shrugged my shoulders but gave her a look that said, "I think so."
Ann rounded her mouth into the shape of a Lifesaver and said, "Oooooh!"
I forced myself to giggle. I was kind of upset that Gray couldn't come with us, and really afraid that he might never get up the courage to tell me how he felt again. I think Ann understood because she didn't mention the topic again as we walked the dusty road to the lower portion of Flower Bud Village.
When we arrived, we found four-year-old Stu and five year-old Kent (grandsons of the old Potion Shop dealer) running wildly about. I guessed they were playing their own two-person version of tag. "Hey, guys!" Ann greeted them enthusiastically. She's always loved little kids.
The boys waved and mumbled their greetings before returning to their game.
"Tag is funner with three people," Ann explained, kneeling down so she could have level eye contact with the children. "Why don't you get little May to play with you?"
"Aw, May's just a baby!" Kent replied. "Besides, we're not playing tag! This is cops and robbers!" Then he glared at his brother and reminded him that he got to be the robber next.
Ann, Cliff, and I just laughed. "Cliff, this is Kent and Stu. The potion shop dealer is their grandfather, but you can meet him later," I explained. "Kent and Stu!" I called, interrupting their game, and having to use a loud voice so they could hear me. "Meet my cousin Cliff."
They nodded and said hi, once again focused on their playful game.
We walked on until we were in front of the midwife's house. Ann explained, "Baby May is probably in there with her grandmother, the midwife."
"Midwife?" Cliff asked, a little surprised. "You mean. . .you people don't just go to the hospital to get babies delivered?"
Ann and I laughed. "Uh, honey," I said, with an amused smile on my face. "There is no hospital here."
"If you're pregnant, you go to the midwife," Ann explained. "If you're sick, you go to the potion shop dealer."
"And drink potions?" Cliff asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.
"No," Ann and I said in unison.
Cliff shook his head and massaged his temples. "This is confusing."
"Yeah, we know," Ann said.
"The 'potion shop dealer' really just makes medicines. Way back when, they used to think the medicine was magical because of its healing power. So I guess the name just stuck with it," I concluded.
Cliff was silent for a moment. "Right," he finally said, with a smile. "This place sure is different," he laughed.
"Anyways, baby May is probably in there right now because her daddy is at work right now. And she's is only two years old! She's such a cutie!" Ann said happily.
I rolled my eyes, but had to agree.
We kept walking until we reached the mayor's house. It was pretty big in comparison with the majority of other homes in Flower Bud. However, I had to admit that mine was bigger. It was a nice house though, I knew. Ann and I took Cliff inside and introduced him to the mayor and his wife. They made small talk for a little while, and then we moved on. "They seemed nice," Cliff said, as we made our way to the library.
"Yeah, they are," Ann said. "They have a daughter, too. She works here at the library part-time. She'll probably own the library one day. She's a sweetie."
Cliff nodded as we walked inside the small, cozy building. We found Maria stacking books in the juvenile fiction section. "Hello, Karen, Ann," she said in a friendly tone of voice.
"Hi, Maria!" Ann greeted warmly. "This is Karen's cousin, Cliff. He'll be staying in Flower Bud for a while."
"Oh, w-w-well, it's, um, it's nice to meet you, C-Cliff." Maria laughed nervously.
I shook my head and smiled. Maria was always so shy, and often found herself nervous in front of new people.
Cliff returned the comment, and we said good-bye. I knew my cousin realized Maria's shyness, but I thought it was sweet of him not to say anything about it. All he said was, "Yeah, she's nice."
We moved on quickly, because the sun was starting to dip closer and closer to the horizon. As we walked, Ann and I introduced Cliff to Rick, who was about four years older than us and starting his own craft shop, Saibara, the old artisan next door, Duke, the bartender at the Inn, Brother Jacobson, who still served as our teacher, and Lillia, the local florist, as well as her husband Basil, the traveling botanist.
While we were still chatting with Basil and Lillia, their daughter Popuri walked into the shop. After exchanging friendly greetings, Ann and I introduced Cliff. "He's my cousin," I explained after telling her his name. "He's staying until the end of fall."
"Oh, that's nice! I'm Popuri." She held out her hand, and he shook it gregariously.
"Well, we'd better go," Ann said. After saying good-bye, we headed out the door and across the sidewalk to the bakery. When we arrived, we noticed right away that it was busy. People were sitting around at the tables outside, munching on cakes and pies, sipping their tea as they socialized with friends. Upon opening the door, we saw that it was just as busy inside. There were quite a few people waiting in line for Jeff, who worked part-time at the bakery, to take their order.
"Elli!" Ann and I both cried when we got through the door. With big smiles and happy greetings, we embraced our good friend.
"Girls!" Elli exclaimed. "How have you two been?"
"Great!" I said.
"Wonderful," Ann added with a grin.
"That's good," Elli said. "Y'all want some cake or something?"
"Sure!" Ann exclaimed, pulling out a few coins. [A/N: I know in the game that cakes cost 300G but I think that's ridiculous, and it's my story so I'm changing it!] She turned to Cliff and I. "My treat!"
"Thanks, Ann," I said, looking at Cliff. "I don't know. . .Cliff scarfed down enough food to feed the whole village today at lunch. You up to it, Cliffy-boy?"
Cliff rubbed his tummy and chuckled. "You can never have too much!" he said, making Ann and I laugh.
Elli's head popped up from behind the counter. She walked up to us, wiping her doughy hands off on her white apron, saying, "I'm sorry! My name is Elli!" She held out her now clean hand for Cliff to shake. Then she pointed back behind the counter, where her grandmother was hurrying back through the kitchen door to bake another order. "That's my grandma, aka Granny Ellen."
"Cliff," my cousin responded. "I'm Karen's cousin from Arizona."
Elli still talked as she walked back behind the counter to put Ann's coins in a drawer. "That's interesting! Maybe I can meet y'all later, and we can chat!"
"Sounds like a plan!" Ann replied happily.
Elli nodded and grinned. "Alright! Crossroads at six?" The crossing of paths between Flower Bud Village, Moon Mountain, the Vineyard, the beach, and the Green Ranch was the general meeting place for our small island's inhabitants. It was the easiest place for everyone to get to; you have to come through to get anywhere.
After confirming Elli's suggestion, we let her get back to work. We seated ourselves at a small table near the wall, and within a few minutes, our cakes and pie were brought out. I rubbed my hands together, eager to enjoy the spring-time taste of the veryberry pie I had ordered. My favorite!
When Cliff bowed his head and closed his eyes before his scrumptious- looking white cake, Ann and I were caught off-guard. My cousin said nothing, but it was obvious that something was going on in his mind. Ann leaned towards me in her chair and whispered, "What's he doing?"
I shrugged, letting my surprise at Cliff's sudden action show. I noticed that Cliff's rough hands were folded neatly on the table, and then it hit me. I leaned in Ann's direction, but before I could say anything, she guessed, "Is he praying?"
"That's what I was going to say," I replied in a soft voice.
"I didn't think he'd know anything about the goddess!" Ann whispered in disbelief.
"He's not praying to the goddess," I tried to explain. "He believes in something different. Some God or something."
"Like the Greek ones we study at school?" Ann's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I thought they were only myths. I didn't think anyone still believed in them."
Again, I shrugged. Before I could reply, Cliff ended his prayer and looked up at us. Ann spoke up before I had a chance to hush her. "What was that?"
"Oh, I was blessing the food," Cliff explained. Ann and I glanced at each other, but my cousin, ignorant of our conversation, just forked a bit from his cake and ate it.
I knew Ann was about to say something, so I said, "Ann, it's not really importan - "
"Blessing the food?" Ann asked slowly, as if she was learning the words. She'd heard and said them all before, but never all in one sentence. "What do you mean?"
Cliff swallowed his bite of cake and looked at us for a second. "Well, whenever I eat, I pray that God will bless the food to my body and make it a good nourishment."
"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Ann said.
"Ann, can we just drop the subject?" I asked, remembering my mother's warning.
But Ann just kept going, ignoring my suggestion. "Who is 'God?' I thought all the Greek gods had names and stuff."
"He's not a Greek god," Cliff said. "He's not a myth. He's real. He is the One who created the earth and everything in, on, and around it."
"You mean you think someone created us?"
"Yeah. Why, what do you think?"
"I dunno. I've never really thought about it."
"How can you never think about it? You live next to a mountain! And look at all the trees around you! And the OCEAN! Oh, the ocean. . ." Cliff paused for second and took a deep breath, as if he was just soaking up the beauty of it all. "You can't tell me you think it all just happened."
"Look," Ann said, her voice firm and determined. "I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't care. I don't think it really matters how we got here. We're here, and that's that. Why do we need to know where everything came from? What good does it do?"
By now, I'd given up trying to shush Ann. In fact, I was getting pretty interested in Cliff's theory. I kind of agreed that we didn't really need to know how we got here, but I was curious about what my cousin had to say. Had someone created us? How weird! It sounded extremely strange to me, but something inside me told me that I should look into it a little more.
Cliff's mouth opened like he was on the verge of saying something, but I beat him to the punch. "Well, I think it kind of matters. I mean, I've always wondered about it. . .like, you know in class, how Brother J always tries to make us understand logic? Like 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?' I mean, one of them had to come first! That question has always puzzled me."
"It was the chicken," Cliff said bluntly, in a flat voice.
I stared at him, not blinking, not saying anything. I was thinking about Cliff's idea, wondering how it could be the chicken. Didn't chickens hatch from eggs? But then again, SOMETHING has to lay the egg. I couldn't speak; I was too deep in thought. However, Ann was suddenly defensive. "How do YOU know?" she asked, obviously trying to contain her urge to scream out the proof of her point.
"Because I have this." Cliff pulled a big book out of a large pocket in his pants that I didn't know he had. Somehow, I recognized the book, but I didn't know where from. This forgotten memory gave me something else to mull over, and once again, I found myself without words. Cliff opened up the book to the first few pages and read, "Genesis 1:24-25: 'And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals each according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.'"
"And what is that?" Ann inquired, pointing at Cliff's book. He held it out to her, and she snatched it from his hand. "'Holy Bible'?" she read from the front cover, raising her eyebrows doubtfully.
I closed my curious eyes, my pastel-colored lips moving swiftly as I mouthed the words over and over, combing through my brain. 'Holy Bible. . .Holy Bible. . .Holy Bible. . .Where have I seen that before?'
Once more, my thoughts were interrupted by Cliff's voice in response to Ann's demeaning inquiry. "Yes."
"Oh, GOD-dess!" Ann cried out shrilly, putting extra emphasis on the first syllable of the word. Her voice was so loud that surrounding people glanced at our table in question of what was going on. But, my short-fused friend didn't seem to notice as she rolled her eyes, huffing out an angry breath. She threw her weight on the back of her chair, and crossed her arms across her midsection. After kind of an awkward pause, she said, "I'm sorry, Cliff. Can we please talk about something else?"
I sighed, grateful. 'Sweet relief!' I thought. My head was pounding relentlessly from all the hard thinking that had come with such a provoking conversation topic. "Yes, please," I added, my voice unexpectedly pleading.
Cliff scratched his head, his dark eyes suddenly covered by soft eyelids. "Yeah," he said, finally resting his chin on curled fingers, as if deep in thought.
I felt the tension in the air, especially between my cousin and Ann, and immediately decided to banish it. "So, Cliff!" I said, to the obvious surprise of both of my tablemates. "Wanna hear about the Flower Festival?"
~oOoOoOo~
A/N: Whew! I am soooooo sorry about how long that took! It has been MONTHS! =[ Please forgive me! And don't forget to review! It's always helpful!