Akeno's Note/Disclaimer:
Akeno: I don't own Harvest Moon or anything else protected by law that may or may not appear in this fanfiction. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why it took me so long to update this fanfiction. Well, I'll let Inu-kun answer that question, by granting him the ability to speak English! Inu-kun, what do I blame?
Inu-kun: Akeno blames the reviews.
Akeno: Exactly. I finished this chapter a while back. And then, I checked my reviews. I had one review. And it asked this: 'When is he going to meet Mary?' Well, I smacked myself. I had forgotten to introduce Mary. This chapter was going to be like this: exactly the same up until the point where Jack leaves the Harvest Sprites; then, I was going to have Jack talk with Carter and have Carter advance the plot. Instead, I revamped it so that Jack leaves Carter prematurely and meets Mary. And it took me a long time. That's my excuse.
Inu-kun: Pathetic excuse, if you ask me.
Akeno: Quiet; I gave you the ability to speak English, and I can sooo take it away.
Inu-kun: Oh yeah. And what was with that 'filler' story? Come on, that was the most pathetic excuse for humor I have ever seen.
Akeno: You really want to go back to barking in dog-speak, don't you?
Inu-kun: Whatev – woof! Yip! Bark!
Akeno: That'll teach you some respect. Ungrateful mascot…Anyway, without any more procrastination, take a look at the fourth chapter of Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning; Day 4!
Thursday: Day 4
I woke up worried the next day. I had completely forgotten the real reason that I had come to Mineral Town in the first place; to find that girl I met so long ago. But I had gotten nowhere in the last few days. I had a dream last night, which is why I woke up worried. The dream was entirely in black and white, so it could have been anyone of the girls I had met in the last few days. I felt dumb, but that was the distinguishing figure between the Mineral Town girls for me; their hair color. Popuri had pick hair, Elli had brown hair, Karen had blonde hair with brown bangs, and Anne had red hair. If my stupid dream had been in color I could've spared myself all this trouble. But no…I had to have an old school dream. And none of the girls had mentioned that summer so many years ago. Heck, for all I knew, the girl could've left Mineral Town. I sighed inwardly and let Inu-kun outside so he could pee, asking myself angrily why he would need to, seeing how he had urinated on practically every square inch of my house last night. I shoved on my shoes, ignoring the smell of dog urine on my feet. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I filled up my watering can and began to water my plants, remembering that the weather channel last night had said that it would be hot today. Then, I pulled out the bags of plants that Jeff had given me the day before. They were grass seeds, and they came with instructions.
"Grass seeds should be planted off in one area of a field, away from most crops, so that when livestock feed, they will not trample or eat crops they shouldn't. Grass seeds do not need regular watering like most crops do. Grass can be used to feed livestock once fully grown.
I sighed and planted the grass seeds off to one side, in front of my barn, and then went to let Chestnut out of the stable. I smiled as he went galloping off toward the farmland.
That day, I quickly finished my chores. I got the honey from the bee's nest, and began making plans to fix up my chicken coop and barn. Then, I got a rag and began to wash the inside of my house; it was hard work, running to the little pond near my garden to soak the rag, running back to clean a part of my house, running back to get more water; it took me about an hour to finish, but my house came out looking good. I stood outside to look at my shack from the outside, and found that it would be much, much harder to clean the outside than it was to clean the inside. Suddenly, Inu-kun walked up to me with my watering can, and I realized how stupid I was. I could have just filled up my watering can, brought it into my house, and use the water in it to soak my rag. I felt like slapping myself.
I groaned, fell to the ground and wondered what I should do that day. I decided to consult my map; it had helped me out so much before, it would be churlish to not ask its opinion now. I opened it up, set it flat down on the ground, closed my eyes, and randomly stabbed at it with my finger. I opened my eyes and sighed. It looked as if I'd be going to the Church that day.
"Well. That settles it. Once again, the map has helped me find purpose in what would have been an otherwise dreary day." I sighed. That would have been funnier if anyone had been around to hear it; and I hadn't been talking to myself. I shook my head to clear it and set off for the Church.
An hour or so later, I had said 'hello' to a few people who were walking the streets of Mineral Town, and made it to the Church. There was a guy about my age in the front pew, and a man up at the pulpit talking about a son who didn't know his mom died and so he wanted to buy an alarm clock. Right. If I said I understood that, I'd be lying. I sat down next to the guy in the front pew. He was quiet. I liked that; not many people had been quiet when near me in the last few days. But after a while, it got a little disturbing.
"Hey…I'm Jack. Who are you?" I said softly. It was strange; he seemed so detached, so uncaring. He looked up with a sad look in his eyes, but then smiled.
"Yeah…I'm Cliff. Nice to meet you, Jack," he mumbled.
"Same here," I said. I looked up at the man at the pulpit. He smiled down at Cliff.
"Hello, Cliff, always good to see you. Who is this?" His voice was kindly, like a good priest's should be.
"This is Jack, Carter," Cliff said. Carter smiled at me this time.
"Jack Hawthorne? That's nice; you're new here, right? Cliff just came to town a few seasons ago. You two should be pretty good friends." Cliff smiled and I nodded. Then, Cliff looked down at his watch.
"Oh; it's time for me to go. See you Carter; see you Jack." He got up and left. I stood up too, but Carter spoke to me.
"Tell me Jack. You are a farmer, right?" I nodded. "Good. You should go visit the Harvest Sprites. There's a little path that goes off to the woods behind the Church. If you're a farmer, you should be able to see them. They can help you with your farm chores, and if you're nice to them, they can become very good friends!" He smiled. "Of course, I've never seen one up close. They only let me catch glimpses of them when they play in the forests. And I'm sure that they only let me see that much because I'm a priest. But they'll help you. Be sure to give them some gifts, though!" I smiled.
"Thanks, Carter. I'll go see them right now." I began walking out the door of the church, found the little path Carter was talking about, and followed it.
After a few hours of walking through the forest, I began to feel…afraid. I saw patches of color flashing through the trees. I prayed to God that I wasn't going insane. Suddenly, a small man dressed in purple jumped out from behind a tree. I screamed.
"Oh my sweet god!" Actually, considering the situation, I thought I handled it quite well. The little man thought otherwise.
"Hey there, budum! You don't have to get so scared, I'm no monster!" I clutched my chest and began to breathe deeply. The little man smiled.
"My name is Bold, budum. What's your name?" I rubbed my eyes, but Bold was still there, so I decided to answer attentively.
"My name is Jack Hawthorne," I whispered, barely able to believe what I was seeing. He was a little man. And he was dressed in purple. It was crazy, and if it weren't for the fact that my knees were shaking so fast that I could barely stand I would have run away. I tried to smile, but I couldn't.
"Jack, eh? That's a nice name, budum!" Bold smiled. "So, what do you need, budum?" I steadied myself, and shook my head. Wiping my brow from the sweat that had gathered there, I responded.
"I-I just heard that the Harvest Sprites lived in the forest…Carter, the priest told me…he said that they could help me with my farm chores…but…" I looked down at the man dressed in purple, and slow realization came over me. "You…you're a Harvest Sprite!" I gasped. Bold chuckled.
"Hear that, Timid? Nothing gets past this farmer, budum!" Tiny laughs rang out throughout the forest, from who I could only assume were Harvest Sprites. Bold chuckled, and finally stopped. "Now, Jack, budum. I'd love to help you, budum, but…you see, the Harvest Sprites only help their good friends, budum. And I'm afraid we just met. Sorry, budum."
"Oh…well…" I stammered, but Bold just smiled widely and shook his head.
"I'm just kidding, budum! We're friends. But, I really can't help right now, budum. You see, Kappa's lake is a bit…dirty right now, budum, so…" I lifted a finger for him to stop; I felt it was rude to interrupt magical creatures, but I had no idea who or what 'Kappa' was, and thought I should know before we continued this conversation.
"I'm very sorry, but…what's a Kappa?" Bold giggled.
"To be honest, budum, I don't know for sure. I think, budum, that it's some kind of water spirit…thing, budum. But that's just a guess, budum. Anyway, Kappa's lake is dirty, so he's kind of staying with us for a while, budum. Just during the spring, though. So, we'll be able to help you during the summer, budum." I smiled.
"Really?" Bold shook his head.
"No! But it's funny to see that you believed me, budum!" The little voices in the trees tittered again. "Okay, I'm sorry, budum. You see, budum, Kappa is a horrible guest. He'll probably stay until next year, budum, at the least. But, if we ever have a spare moment, we'll try to help you with your farm, budum!" I grinned. Maybe these sprites weren't so bad after all.
"So, can I come back some other time?" I asked hopefully. Bold grinned.
"Of course, budum! We'll probably be having a tea party. Of course, we'll hide before you get there, budum. Only our good friends can drink tea with us, budum." Bold laughed, and the tiny voices began laughing as well. I frowned. So maybe they were so bad. Not appreciating being toyed with by woodland creatures the size of my foot, I got ready to leave. Before I did, though, I remembered what Carter had told me; that I should give the sprites gifts. I reached into my rucksack and pulled out a bottle of honey. I knelt down and gave Bold the honey. Suddenly he stopped laughing.
"Why…thank you, budum. This is great!" I smiled.
"It's nothing, really," I assured him. Bold shook his head.
"No, no. This is great, budum. This is wonderful, budum. We are your loyal servants forever, budum! We'll do anything you want, budum! Anything!" he yelled with a crazed look in his eyes. I frowned nervously.
"No…that's okay…" I said uncertainly. Bold shook his head feverishly.
"No, it's not! Do you want me to go farm for you, budum? How about take care of your cows, budum? Or maybe − I cannot believe you fell for that, budum!"he screamed at the top of his lungs. "My gosh you are the most gullible farmer who's visited us in years!" he said, rolling on the floor with laughter. The little voices in the forest began laughing at the top of their lungs as well. I had half a mind to squash them all underneath my foot, but instead, I stormed off.
It was a while before I stopped hearing the sound of the sprites laughing.
When I walked out of the forest, the sun was high in the sky. I tried to see if my time telling skills were getting better, and did the math in my head. I woke up at about six thirty-five in the morning…it was an hour until I finished cleaning my house…it was another hour till I got to the church, so at about eight thirty-five I went into the forest. It was about three or four hours until I found the Harvest Sprites, and another hour until I got out of the forest. So, in total the time should have been…anywhere from twelve thirty-five to one thirty. I checked my watch. 12:56 PM. I smiled, praising my self, but my joy faded as I stepped out of the shade of the forest and felt the heat that the weather channel had predicted beating down on my head. Almost instantly, I began to sweat.
When I walked out to the front of the church, wiping my brow with my sleeve, I saw Carter standing there with Stu and a little girl, who I hadn't met yet. I smiled.
"Hi, Carter! Hi, Stu! Hi…little…girl…" I said the last part uncertainly, and it didn't come out as the nice conversation starter I intended it to be. Usually, I wouldn't care how 'nice' I sounded, but being laughed at by sprites really brought down my self-esteem a few notches. Carter smiled at me.
"Why, hello there Jack! Stu was just telling me that you visited him yesterday." Stu nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! You came over and ate breakfast with me! Didn't you, Jack?" Stu grinned, and his smile covered a third of his face. I couldn't help chuckling. The people in Mineral Town were so…innocent.
"Yeah, I did." Then, I slowly turned to Carter, as slow as I could without being rude to Stu. "Carter…about those Harvest Sprites; that Bold had a real attitude problem." Carter nodded knowingly.
"Yes; when I first became the Mineral Town priest, Bold threw eggs at me and ate my truffles; bit of a childish prankster, that one. But he grows on you. He can be a bit sarcastic at times, but he has a great heart once you get to know him. Every year, on the Starry Night Festival, he brings me a plate of food. Of course, Chef is the one who makes it; but it's the thought that counts." I nodded.
"Yeah; I'm sure he does grow on you. Still, he was a bit rude. There was no call for that," I said, a bit childishly. Carter chuckled.
"Yes; well, I'm sure you two will get along fine in time. Until then, though, try to keep making friends with them. Chef is one of the nicer ones, so I'd suggest starting with him." The little girl had been quiet this entire time, but now was looking at me with large eyes.
"H-hi…I'm…my n-name is….May," she managed to say. I smiled uncertainly, lifted my hand up, and gave a little wave. She giggled.
"Hi, May. My name is Jack Hawthorne. I live at the Alexandria farm." I said, with a little more self-confidence in my voice, hoping to make a good first impression. She looked up at me with large, happy eyes.
"I know…my granddad, Barley, gave you your horsie!" I smiled.
"Oh yeah…Chestnut!" I said, a bit more cheerily. May nodded solemnly.
"Um…yeah…you see…I was sorta wonderin' if…um…I could come visit him sometime? I mean, visit Chestnut…" she asked fearfully. I smiled even wider.
"Of course! Barley mentioned that you had your own horse…so maybe you could teach me how to take care of mine!" May giggled a bit more, and nodded. Carter smiled and patted me on the back.
"Well, Jack, what are you going to do now? There's a whole day ahead of you! Might I suggest that you go to a confessional? After all, you must have committed some kind of sin that you want to be cleansed of…" he said knowingly. I eyed him over curiously. Then, I sighed.
"I'm not really sure. I finished my chores for the day…but I haven't had a rest in a long time. I think I'm just going to go home and hit the sack," I said. Carter nodded.
"Yes…farm life is very hard, and I'm sure that no one would blame you for wanting to take a little nap here and there. After all, we barely see any of the local farmers around here; they usually just pop by for an hour or two to pick up some seeds, animal food, or catch up on their prayers, and then they leave. I don't know about everyone else, but I sure am happy that our farmer takes an interest in learning more about our town and its people." I smiled and waved as I walked away. Then, I let my head droop. Even though I had really just wanted to get out of the confessional, the truth was I was tired. I was a city boy at heart, and all this farming had taken a real toll on me. I knew that I hadn't worked much…but before this I hadn't worked a day of hard labor. It was tiring. So I yawned as I walked down the path that led past the supermarket. Just before the turn that would lead to the path that would take me to my farm, I passed a large, stately looking building. I eyed it curiously…and then, a battle inside of me took place.
On one side was my exhaustion, continuously reminding me that I was tired, and that I could visit the building some other day. On the other side, however, was my curiosity, who said that if I didn't find out what the building was for, I'd hate myself for the rest of my life. My common sense told me that my exhaustion was right; I could always come back tomorrow to find out what was inside the house. But I had never listened to my common sense before, and I wasn't about to start then.
I slowly opened the door to the building. It creaked. I flinched. Once again, I tried to open it slowly, only to have it, once again, creak. Then I thought, the heck with it, and opened it quickly. It creaked much less that time, and I prided myself in thinking of it. Of course, my pride was diminished when I thought about how it had taken me two tries to think of it, and most would have thought of it after one. Tossing that thought aside, I walked into the building.
It was lit brightly, and had many shelves filled with books. One quick look around and I knew that it was a library. I sighed. Nothing important here. I had lived in the city my entire life, and there had been a library about two blocks away; yet I barely ever went to it unless I needed to do something for school. I shook my head. There was no reason for me to come to this library either.
"Oh! Excuse me. I didn't see you there…" a small, quiet girl's voice said from behind.
And suddenly, I found my reason.
She was beautiful. She wore glasses, but instead of hurting her, they increased he beauty. It made her look…innocent…and pure. And she looked smart as well. A frightened look was on her face, but it was evident that when she smiled, it doubled her beauty. She was wearing a nice, long dress, and she had long black hair. I smiled at her, but the frightened look on her face remained.
"Huh? Oh, it's no problem," I said cheerfully. She looked at me nervously, but not as frightened as before, so I took that as a sign that I was doing well, and continued. "Um…I'm Jack…Jack Hawthorne, from the Alexandria Farm…can I help you with anything?" Her face brightened significantly at my mention of helping her.
"Oh, no, that's alright. You see, I'm writing a novel, and I have a case of writer's block; so I was reading one of my favorite books, to try to get rid of it." I whistled softly.
"A novel? That sounds like fun…but it must be hard." She shook her head.
"At times, it is…but when you find something that really inspires you, it's the simplest thing in the world. Oh, but I've been so rude! I haven't even introduced myself yet! My name is Mary. Nice to meet you, Jack!" She smiled, and my suspicions were confirmed; she was much more beautiful smiling than she was when she was sad. Of course, I didn't dare say that…I wasn't romantic enough, and it would have sounded awkward. So I just stood there and smiled like an idiot. Mary looked back up at me.
"Um…did you come here to read a book? I bet I have some that you would need on the farm. And if you just wanted to relax, there are some good fiction novels scattered around…" she saw the puzzled look on my face. "Is something wrong?" I shook my head.
"Um…no, it's just that…this is your library?" I asked. She looked no older than I was…yet she was already running a library? I had always thought that librarians were old wrinkly hags…but Mary was not any of those. She smiled again and nodded.
"Yeah, it's mine…I've always loved books, so I decided to open up a library to let the townsfolk have access to wonderful literature…unfortunately, it's rare to see them here, unless it's a rainy day. Most of them have work to do. I suppose I won't be seeing you here very often either, right? Farm work is the hardest of them all…" She was still smiling at me…but now, it was a wistful, almost sad, smile. It hurt. I knew I had just met her, but it felt as if I had caused her this pain…and I think it hurt me more than it hurt her. I shook my head frantically.
"No! No, I'll come here as often as I can! Every time I have the time, I'll drop by and visit! I promise!" I said. Mary seemed a bit taken back at my sudden outburst, and I felt like smacking myself for being such an idiot. But then, she broke into a smile again.
"Really? I hope I see you around as often as you say I will, Jack. You seem like a nice person…" she said, with a wistful quality to her voice, smiling at me with large, shining black eyes. I blushed.
"Ye-yes…you will…" I said. Then, I gulped. "Um…I…I'd like to stay…b-but I have things on the farm, and…" she cut me off with a smile.
"Oh it's no problem! Thursday is one of the slowest days here at the library, and I was planning on trying to write some more of my novel. The point is, I was going to close up anyway," she said, a large smile on her face. I grinned stupidly.
"Um…so, is the library always open?" I asked, trying to figure out when I was going to visit this library.
"No; it's closed on Mondays, so I can go with my parents on our weekly stroll near Mother's Peak. You should go there sometime…the most beautiful flowers grow there…" she said, sighing contentedly and staring of into space, thinking, no doubt, of the flowers near Mother's Peak. I smiled, but her nose suddenly crinkled up and she began to sniff hesitantly. "Do…do you smell…dog urine?" she asked nervously. I felt my face flush, and I willed it away quickly. Of course, heat and dog pee don't mix. The stench of urine would have been multiplied in the heat that Mineral Town felt that day. I nervously scooted my left foot, the one that Inu-kun had peed on, away from Mary, and smiled dumbly.
"Well then…um…I'll see you later?" I asked, trying to change the subject quickly, and when she nodded, I took it as my cue to leave. I slowly closed the door behind me.
When I was outside, I gave a little sigh of relief. At least I hadn't made a total fool of myself in front of the girl, other than the dog urine 'incident'. At least she didn't know that I was the source of the…offending odor. I put my fingers to my temple and rubbed. Adrenaline had kept me happy and awake while talking to Mary; but now, I was exhausted beyond belief. I yawned and began slowly trudging back to my farm.
When I got there, an hour and a half had passed since I had left Carter. It was 2:26 in the afternoon when I got there, and I was beat. I walked into the shack of a house my grandfather had left me, gave an approving glance around at the new, clean interior, fell onto the bed without taking off my clothes or shoes, and waited the short time it took for sleep to overwhelm me.
When I awoke, three hours had come and gone. I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes. Stretching, I went outside. The sun was starting to set, and it cast a brilliant golden light on the farm. The small pond where I filled my watering can was reflecting the beautiful sunset. The fields, with turnip sprouts beginning to grow, never looked more beautiful. Chestnut galloped majestically off in the distance, and Inu-kun sat at my feet, panting and looking up at my contentedly. Zack was sitting on my Shipping Bin with a piece of paper, doing some math.
"Hello there, Zack! It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?" I called out to him. He looked up at me and smiled.
"Yes, it is, Jack!" he quickly scribbled a few things down on the piece of paper and stood up, stretching. "You don't have anything for me to ship today. Why?" he asked, annoyed. It was his job to pick up the shipments, and if I didn't have anything to ship, then I guess he couldn't do his job.
"Ugh. Today wasn't good. I spent all day sleeping, doing chores, or walking through Mineral Town, so I didn't get a chance to forage for some wild grasses out in the wilderness. And I wasted my bottle of honey on an ungrateful little Sprite. I'll probably have something to ship tomorrow, though," I said, still drowsy from the nap I had taken. Zack sighed and crossed his arms.
"Well, I hope so." He stretched one last time and began to walk off the farm. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. "Hey, Jack! I don't think I told you; somebody took the Nagasaki Farm just yesterday, and they're going to rebuild it!" I frowned pensively.
"The Nagasaki Farm? You were telling me about that yesterday…isn't that that farm that's cursed?" I asked. Now it was Zack's turn to frown.
"Supposedly cursed. Anyway, the new guy's name is Ryuu Zakashi. Weird, reclusive fellow. He's strange, but Mineral Town's economy is heavily dependent on farms, and it's going to be nice passing the Nagasaki Farm and seeing it open again. Just think; two new farmers in less than a week! Mineral Town's budget will soar! Maybe we can finally afford some of the new things that Thomas is always saying are too expensive…" he muttered. I smiled. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Jack! Try to get something to ship by then!" he called, waving as he left. I chuckled and picked Inu-kun up, walking to our house. The people of Mineral Town were so pure and energetic. I just wondered who this new guy, Ryuu Zakashi was…but that was a question for another day.
I opened the door to my shack, slung my rucksack over one of my bedposts, and let Inu-kun run around freely. It was only 5:30, but I was dead tired. I shed by clothing and lay in bed, but sleep didn't come right away. At first, I was plagued by the lack of things I had done today. I had reached no conclusion as to who the mystery girl from all those years ago might be; instead, I had added another choice to the already confusing repertoire, Mary. I had gotten no money, because I was too tired to pick grasses…today was more of a step backwards than it was a step forwards. I sighed, rolled over, and waited for an uneasy sleep to come.
Akeno's Ending Note:
Akeno: Alright. I was going to take down the filler episode, but I didn't, because the whole 'dog urine' thing doesn't make much sense without the small tidbits of knowledge from that filler, and I was not about to rewrite this story again just to help you people who didn't read the filler. And now, because it's boring when your mascot can't speak English, I'm giving Inu-kun back his ability of human speech.
Inu-kun: Finally! Alright, Akeno. Why did you make me pee on Jack in the last 'chapter'?
Akeno: Because…because…be quiet, I ran out of joke ideas! Stop criticizing me!
Inu-kun: Wimp.
Akeno: Be quiet; you were much cuter when you couldn't talk. Anyway, as said in last 'chapter's' Ending Note, I'm not going to make 'The Beginning' last much longer. I think I'll spread it out to the Horse Races, and then I'll start the next chapter in the Friends of Mineral Town Saga. But I digress. Ryuu Zakashi, mentioned above in the fanfiction, is not going to be a Gary Stu; although he is an original character, I'm sort of basing his character off what we know of Rion (Leon) from 'Harvest Moon: Song of Happiness', or whatever its name is. I forget; it has something to do with music. The point is, he will be very cool and calm and collected; but he is, in essence, Jack's rival farmer, and so he'll also be a major pain. Just letting you know…and yeah.
Inu-kun: Okay. Our little note here is over. Stay tuned for Friday: Day 5!