Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harvest Moon

Karen got her cast off the day before the Flower Festival, but the Pastor still insisted that she had to be careful about dancing. When the day of the festival arrived, I rushed to get the cows milked, brushed, and fed, and to get my chickens fed and the eggs picked up. Then it was time for a quick shower, and a hurried ride on Adonis to get to the town square on time.

"The girls will be out in a minute, Jack," the mayor assured me when I arrived. "You'll find out who will be this year's Goddess then. Until then, mingle." Following his orders, I went over to talk to the Potion Shop owner's two young grandsons, and the shipper's daughter. After talking to them for a good fifteen minutes, I made my way over to Rick's little shop to buy a couple of glass bottles, and then over to where Lillia was standing to buy some pink flower seeds.

By the time I finished shopping, the girls were coming out. First came Maria, dressed in a simple dress and carrying a fistful of yellow flowers. Next, Elli walked out. She was followed by Popuri. All three girls were similarly dressed, with flowers in their hair and hands. Last out was Karen. She was dressed in her normal clothes, but wore a simple skirt over her pants.

Like everyone else, I got in line to receive the Goddess' "blessing." What that meant was that each girl kissed each person on the cheek and gave them a flower, saying "May this year be good to you," or something like that. I wasn't paying much attention to what anyone was saying. I was just looking forward to the dance.

Karen kissed my cheek for a second longer than necessary, conveying her thanks for what Ann and I had pulled off. When I got to Ann, she skipped the kiss on the cheek to give me a hug. "You so owe me big for this," she assured me in a whisper quiet enough that Kai, who was standing right next to her couldn't hear. The dress she was wearing shimmered around her, casting off glints of light that were every color of the rainbow. I found myself wondering what Karen would look like in the dress.

After going through the ceremony, I stopped to watch the others go through. It seemed that the mailman, Harris, stood looking into Maria's eyes longer than necessary; also, you could see the dark-haired girl blush. Gray let his fingers linger on Popuri's when she handed him his flower. Jeff, the bakery owner, and Elli both blushed when their fingers touched. I started to wonder.

Once everyone had finished, the mayor yelled for everyone to grab a dance partner. Kai and Ann walked together to the center of the square, followed by Gray and Popuri, Elli and Jeff, Harris and Maria, Lillia and her husband, and Sasha and Gotz. Karen limped over to stand next to me as the music for a fast dance started.

I chuckled as the dance pairings confirmed my suspicions. It seemed as though everyone in the town had someone they wanted to be with, with the exception of Ann. I knew that she wasn't interested in me as anything more than the friend I was, but that didn't leave anyone I knew about to pair up with her under other circumstances.

"What are you laughing at?" Karen demanded, giving me a small grin.

Still laughing, I told her. "Who would have thought that strong, silent Gray would be interested in Popuri?" I asked.

She started to giggle, too. "Well, Ann always has said that he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed," she replied. That made me laugh even harder as the music soared through the town square.

The fast music started to wind down, and a slow song took its place. "Since Kai still has to dance with Ann, will you dance with me?" I asked the brunette girl I was with.

Karen gave me a small smile, one small enough that no one on the dance floor would see it and know that this had been planned, and we moved out onto the dance floor. Even with her obvious limp, she still proved better at dancing than me as we swept our way around the others.

"The fireworks show is going to happen in a week," Karen reminded me as we moved.

"So?"

"I'm going to spend the night at Ann's for the fireworks," she answered with a grin. "You wouldn't believe the view from their fields."

I nodded. "So . . . . . What about Kai?"

Karen shook her head, her hair bouncing so that it hid her eyes. "What about Kai? I want to spend the time with my best friend."

That's when the music cut out. "That's a wrap everyone!" the mayor called out. Karen pulled herself out of my arms.

"Thanks for the dance, Jack," she said, walking over and grabbing Kai's hand. Even though I knew why she did it, the action still hurt. I turned my head to see Ann looking at me.

"Can I walk you home?" I asked her, holding my arm out. She smiled at me and slipped her arm through mine, allowing me to lead her out of the square. "So, I hear Karen's spending the night at your place for the fireworks," I began.

Ann arched an eyebrow at me. "That's not what she told me," she answered. We stopped walking, and I looked down at her face. I was confused for a moment, until I caught the meaning in the smile and the twinkle in Ann's eyes. We started walking again.

"You know," I said conversationally, "if she overuses that excuse, somebody's gonna figure it out. I mean, what's going to happen if Gotz shows up over at you place wanting to talk to Karen?"

"He won't," Ann assured me. "All Dad will do is say that we're doing 'girl stuff' and Gotz will leave us alone."

I groaned. "So, your dad is in on it, too."

The redhead smiled at me as we turned off of the path to head to her family's ranch. "And Grey and Zack the crop buyer and Jeff and Harris and . . . Actually, the only people I know of that haven't figured it out are Kai, Gotz, the mayor, his wife, Maria, and Popuri. Everybody else has gone so far as to ask me questions about you two."

"I should have known that you can't keep a secret like that in a village this size," I sighed. We walked in silence for a couple of moments until I remembered the dream I had been having, the one where my grandfather was talking about praying to the Goddess. I asked Ann if she knew anything about it.

She frowned. "I might. Can you be done with your chores by noon tomorrow? And can you have some of your harvested crops with you?"

"Sure."

"Good. Have Adonis saddled and ready to ride. We'll see about finding the Goddess Pond, if I remember where it's at."

True to her word, Ann did remember. She led me halfway up Moon Mountain, then turned us off of the well worn path. The path we were then on had obviously not been used a lot, but she still seemed confident about our destination. As we rode, Ann told my about this guy she was interested in, Cliff. He was Karen's cousin, she told me, and usually only came around for half of the year each year. After she told me about him, she started asking about what I had done with myself back in the city. I talked about the psychology, gym, and science classes that I had taken at the college, and told her about the hellish fast food job I had tried to work.

Ann laughed, saying it was funny that someone with that background would end up running a farm. I didn't see anything particularly amusing about it.

Before long, we rode into a sheltered glade. In the middle of the peaceful little meadow there was a pond with a stream starting at its edge and running away. We got off of our horses, and slowly walked towards the pond. "Okay," Ann said, "here's what you need to do. Throw the potato that you brought into the pond, and then wait."

As soon as the potato hit the water, we heard a startled exclamation. Both of us jumped, startled, and began to look around for the source of the voice. The water in the middle of the pond began to bubble and froth, and out of the center of the disturbance rose a woman. The woman was tall and had green hair, and wore a dress somewhat similar to the Goddess dress Ann had been wearing the day before. The difference was, this woman's dress seamed to be woven out of a rainbow itself. She was a beautifull woman, but no age showed on her face. You couldn't tell how old she was until you looked in her eyes. The smile she wore traveled up into her green eyes, but they showed countless years of wisdom.

"Well," the Goddess exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "a worshipper! And it's a grown up Jonathon!"

Ann and I looked at gaped at the Goddess, then at each other. "How do you know who I am?" I asked cautiously.

The Goddess smiled at us. "I can remember a time that you came up here with your grandfather," she answered. Her smile grew wider. "You asked if I could play with you. It was very cute. Now, I can grant you one wish. Would you like someone to love you a little more, would you like to be a little stronger, or would you like the chances of good weather to be better?"

I was shocked. I hadn't been prepared for a game of "20 Questions." "Weather would be nice," I mused.

The Goddess inclined her head. "Than that's what you'll get," she told me.

"Wait!" Ann shrieked as the surprise wore off. She kicked me in the leg. "That's not what we're here for. Focus, Jack!"

"Right," I said sheepishly, looking back at the expectant Goddess. "Here's the problem. The vineyard isn't doing well. They say that the grapes haven't been the same since Karen's grandmother died. I. . . We came up her to ask for your help in restoring the grapes to what they were."

"That's the job of the Grape Spirit," the Goddess answered, giving me a blank look. Understanding washed over her face. "The spirit must be asleep.

"I'll make a deal with you, Jack," the Goddess told me, gliding towards the edge of the lake. "I'll go wake up the Grape Spirit and grant your wish about the weather if you promise to come up here more often."

I stood there staring at her for a minute, my mouth hanging open. "I. . . I . . .Of course," I stammered. The Goddess smiled at Ann and I, waved her hand, and disappeared.

Ann and I rode down the hill in near silence. The only talking we did was agree not to say anything to Karen until we knew that the Goddess had done what she said she would.

We split up when we passed my house. I took enough time to check on my animals, and then I headed down to the beach to think. Karen wasn't there, so I sat there by myself until it started to get dark. That's when I headed home to go to sleep.