The green foothills of Luna Mountain were the perfect spot for a graveyard. Modest, somber plains, near a tall, everlasting peak.

The perfect place to forget the dead.

A young man, dressed in a leather jacket and blue jeans was the only live human in the literal valley of death.

"My boy, it's time you learned to stand up for yourself. We won't always be here to protect you."

Those words, spoken by a familiar face, had given him confidence.

Who knew they'd be true so soon?

Three stone graves were the man's focus. They were barely legible, simply markers meant to act as an acknowledgement of their existence to world.

He didn't have to read the epitaph to know what it said. Those words, spoken by no one, had taken it all away.

His name was Jack, and he had finally stopped running away.

10 Years Earlier

July 4th

Fireworks of all colors exploded in the night sky. Jack and a young girl sat together, admiring the colorful bombs.

"They're so pretty!"

The girl pointed at the lights as if each one was the first she'd ever seen. Jack simply smiled, taking in the night sky. When a pause in the show came, the girl turned to him.

"One day, you'll come back here, right?"

Silence.

"You'll come back, and we'll get married. Right?"

Silence.

She tugged his shirt. "At least promise me you'll come back. Please."

Finally, he nodded and spoke. "I promise." The girl hugged him tightly, as the final volley lit up the sky.

The promise Jack made had long since been broken. His reasoning for returning to Flowerbud was simply because he had no place else to go. Jack's life had been burned to the ground, but like a phoenix, he had risen from the ashes. Now the only thing he had was the deed to his Grandfather's farm. The young man walked down a dusty road, and its familiarity scared him. Had he really taken this path so many years ago? When he reached the end of the way, he ran his hand along the rickety wooden fence. Ahead of him was a field full of weeds, stones and trees. Behind the field, an old cabin seemed to beckon to him. He crossed the field and stepped up to the porch. The wild provided the only sounds that could be heard. A deep breath passed through Jack's lungs as he opened the door. The house's interior completely belied its outside appearance. It was well furnished, and seemed almost untouched. A thick layer of dust covered everything in sight. Jack put his bag on the ground and walked further into the house. He entered the bedroom, and made his way to the dresser next to the double sized bed. A picture sat atop it. Jack picked it up, then let out a silent gasp and slammed it face down.

An hour later, the young man had finished unpacking and cleaning the dust from the farm cabin. He stepped outside the house to sit on the porch. The sun had begun to set, and Jack could look across past the lake to see the orange orb dissipate. On one side, the giant Luna Mountain. On the other, Flowerbud.

"Well, Jack, I see you've made yourself at home. When I heard you were returning, I had your water and electricity turned back on."

Mayor West, the longtime leader of Flowerbud Village, came in through the open gate. His red jacket and thin, circular glasses gave him the appearance of a scholar.

"You know Jack, you'll have to come into town some time."

Jack watched the short, plump Mayor walk past his fields.

"It's quite a mess out here. But you've got your Grandfather's blood in you. If anyone can replenish this place..."

"I didn't come here to be a gardener, Mr. West."

"Then why did you?"

The short man walked closer to Jack's porch.

"None of us thought we'd ever see you again."

Jack sighed.

"It was the only place I could go." There was a pause. "I got into trouble. Just like him."

"Jack, his problems are not your own."

Jack glared at the Mayor, stood up and started to walk into the house.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for your father's mistakes!"

Jack turned. "I don't. I blame him for mine." With that, he walked into his house and slammed the door.

The Mayor shook his head. "What are we going to do with you, Jack?"

The Next Day…

Sunlight streamed through into the cabin bedroom for the first time in years. Jack slowly got out of bed to meet a new day. He checked his watch. Nine o'clock. After taking a shower, brushing his teeth and putting his clothes on, he looked himself in the mirror. He knew he'd have to go into town today, and he dreaded it. Memories of the last time he had seen Flowerbud were still fresh in his mind. A small part of him wished everyone could forget about the past, but if he was incapable of doing so, so was everyone else.

Jack walked into town, and the strange feeling of deja-vu he had felt yesterday returned. Flowerbud hadn't changed. The welcome sign, a wooden tulip with the words 'Welcome to Flowerbud- Where families can grow.' caught his eye. A lady in a white and blue outfit passed him by.

"Well hello there, stranger."

He looked away from the welcome sign into her eyes. She stepped back.

"Oh… oh my. Oh my god."

The woman turned as quickly as possible and made a beeline for her house. Off to a great start, thought Jack. He continued down the cobbled road. Any person who glanced out the window immediately began staring. Jack finally reached the grocery store. The bell rang as he entered. A girl with strange pink hair- a trait that ran in her mother's side- looked up at him. "Hey there, uh… Do I know you?" Jack decided to skip the explanation. "Probably not. I'm new." She smiled, obviously glad to have more men her age in the town. "Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Flowerbud. And to Lilia's Market. Is there anything I can do for you?" He nodded, and decided to humor her for being the first person in town to not shun him. "I need some instant noodles, a pack of Coke and another smile, please." She giggled. "So," she said, as he brought the items to the counter. "Roughing it?" He passed her the packs of noodles and spoke. "How'd you know that?"

"Well, you're new to town and you're buying Ramen and Coca-Cola."

Jack laughed. "You got me."

"Well, if you're that bad off, why not come have dinner with us tonight?"

Uh-oh. Jack figured Lilia and her husband would remember him, even if their daughter didn't. "No, I couldn't, I mean…"

"Oh… I came on too strong, didn't I? I always do that, damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Great. Now he had alienated the one person who didn't hate him. "Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet." he thought.

"No, no, it's not that. Not at all. Really, dinner sounds great."

She calmed down instantly.

"Alright then. Come back around 6:30… by the way, what's your name?"

No use lying now. "Jack."

"Popuri. See you tonight, Jack."

Jack nodded. Now he was in trouble. He just hoped Lilia would be more understanding than most of the villagers.

Later That Night

Jack returned to Lilia's Market, and knocked on the door opposite the store side of the house.

A woman began to talk as she opened it. "I think it's Jack. Pleasure to meet you Ja-" She literally froze with the door wide open. Jack shifted his eyes to the ground, and an uncomfortable silence followed until Popuri came to the door. "What are you doing, Mom? Come in, Jack." Jack walked inside, avoiding eye contact with Lilia. Popuri's father entered the room. He, like Popuri, was oblivious to Jack's real identity. "Hello, Jack. Nice to meet you. I'm Greg." He extended his hand, and Jack shook it. "I see you've met Lilia as well… We're about eat, so have a seat at the table." Jack was eager to get away from Popuri's mother. As dinner was served and eaten, Lilia constantly stared at the familiar face, trying to disprove the resemblance. But it was there. It was him. Conversation was largely unimportant, with Jack's answers being broad. Specifics were something he tried to avoid.

"So, Jack. Where are you from?"

"New York."

"Really? You've come a long way. And to such a small town! Why?"

"Um, well… one of my relatives owned a farm here."

Lilia's eyes widened.

"Oh, really? Who was he, I'm sure I knew him."

That's it. There's no way Jack could worm his way out of this one.

"Martin. Martin Walker. He was my grandfather."

Lilia dropped her fork.

"Oh! Yeah! Martin, I remember him. So that must make you Jack Walke-"

Everything clicked in Greg's head, and he turned pale.

"You… you're…" Lilia almost screamed.

Greg summoned up every bit of his courage.

"Get… get out of my house." Popuri was confused and angry with her father. "Dad, what the hell!" Through the confusion, Jack stood up and headed for the door. So much for that, he thought.

Popuri tried to follow him, but her father stopped her, and began talking too low for Jack to hear. He left the house and then the town. After he made it by the buildings, he began to run towards Luna Mountain. It was a relatively long way to the summit. When he came to the top of the mountain, Jack collapsed panting. After he caught his breath, he simply gazed at the stars.

"This town will never accept me."

He heard light footsteps. It was the pink-haired girl. He tried to ignore her.

"Jack, those things they said… They aren't true, right?"

She waited for an answer, but none came. "I mean, you can't be related to him, can you?"

She asked again. "Are you his son?"

"Yes."

Popuri stuttered for a moment, then turned and ran.

Once again, Jack was alone.

Dark here. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of No Looking Back. Please take the time to tell me what you thought in a review. Thanks for reading.