Harvest Moon: Magical Memories

Chapter Eleven:

Luna woke, the gentle light of the morning caressing her tender face. She sighed, stretching lightly and then reaching over to pet Skruskru, who lay on the foot of her bed. She looked out the window, eyes still clouded with sleep. For a moment, she thought she saw a goddess staring back at her, smiling at her, arms open. But it was only the large Mora tree that stood outside, like a kindhearted giant guarding its keep. She stood carefully from her bed, still aware of her wounds, and made her way to the fridge.

Empty. But what else could be expected from a poor farmer who felt no need to farm, day in, day out, munching on the food the wild animals themselves lived off of. Sighing, she shut the refrigerator door, stomach grumbling in protest. She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled out the money from her forages. 10, 20, 30... 697 gold pieces in total. Enough to buy me some breakfast. She was hesitant about spending the money at first but her decision was made by another loud rumble, courtesy of her aching stomach.

"Hey! There's a new face!" Doug welcomed her in excitedly. Gwen stuck her head out from behind the doorway.

"Luna! Hi! Ellen's told me a lot about you." I bet she has.

"Oh... Gwen right?" She pretended this was the first time she met Gwen, yet she was so sure she had seen her somewhere before, even spoken to her. She couldn't name the time or place so there it was, a memory of Gwen that existed without her ever having known its residence. She sat at a table after ordering some Sunny Side-up eggs, matching the glorious sunshine outside. Her fingers tapped the smooth surface of the table, which gleamed back her own reflection. She hardly recognized herself. Her hair, usually so neatly tied into perfect pigtails, was mussed, her clothes in disarray, muddy in some spots, torn in others. Her nails, which she hadn't noticed before, had dirt caked beneath them, some chipped and others torn. She had a small slash of mud followed by a scratch written across her cheek and her pants had grass stains smeared across the faded fabric.

"Order up!" Gwen said, setting down a plate with a flourish.

After eating, she decided to go for a swim. First she had to find somewhere private. Swimming in the local river or ocean was considered a travesty in the small village, so she made up her mind to visit Sunny Lake.

The air was cool and quiet, so different from the strong light seen around the town. Everything seemed considerably toned down here; the sounds were softer, the light was diminished, the wind temperate if blowing at all. Here, the water swirled and bubbled, the birds' song was light and airy, and the world seemed to calm even as she entered. Glancing around and realizing she had the entire space to herself, she slowly lowered herself into the water. Smiling, she dove under. Down, down, down. The light danced across the surface of the placid lake and even its newest inhabitant didn't disturb this docile nature. The fish didn't seem to note, or if they did, didn't mind, Luna's presence. The water engulfed her, absorbing her disruptive thoughts, and cleansing her entity.

She came up for air with a muted gasp as she surfaced.

"Didn't know I'd be catching Luna when I cast my line." She spun in the water and reddened. "Sorry!" Ray said with a good-natured laugh. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Or disturb you." He frowned at this. "Do you want to have a picnic? I bought sashimi!" His smile spread across his face as easily as honey over toast, sweet and warm.

"I..." still blushing, she swam to the edge, grabbing her shirt. "Uh... could you give me a moment?" At this a confused look crossed his face. She stared.

"OH right right! No problem!" He blushed a deep red and turned on his heels. Luna pulled herself out and dressed quickly, back turned to Ray.

"Ok." She told him after dressing. He hesitated, then turned.

"Right so uh... sorry."

"It's... ok..." He smiled nervously. That's when a snapping twig echoed throughout the quiet wood. Luna looked over Ray's shoulder, eyes growing in surprise.

"I would never have thought. Swimming with Ray? Now that's too low, even for you." It was Jamie. He stood like a dark tower, looking over Ray, who was shying away, mumbling something about a squid he'd seen the other day. Purple hair surrounded his face, hanging loosely over his ice blue eyes which stared coldly out between his bangs. "I thought you had your eye on Kurt? Or was it Joe? Could be Alex too, I wouldn't be surprised." A small tinge of pain lit in her leg and the back of her head seared with oncoming pain. Her fight or flight stress response was screaming in terror and confusion, every molecule shrieking for her to run. Run. Run run run. But she was powerless. She stood as he approached her, his hat off, wind tousling that wildly colored hair. "So which is it, I wonder?" As if reading her mind, he shot Luna straight where it hurt. "I think you like Kurt. But you know what? Kurt doesn't like you. Kurt doesn't like anyone. You know what Kurt likes? Nothing. Nothing but his tools and his silence. He'll never like you." He glared her down, then, with a cool laugh said, "You're shaking you know." He turned and slunk away, making his way straight for the heart of the town, his laugh still disturbing the tepid air.