Days turned into weeks as Jack continued working for the Green Ranch. Life was good. He felt like he had a home in the people there. Doug was almost a father to him within a matter of weeks, Gray had shown him ways of looking at nature he'd had never even considered and Ann… Well, Ann quickly became his favorite person in the world. It was as if the tragedy he'd been through never happened. Doug paid him well enough to afford food, but Jack ended up eating at the Green Ranch most of the time. The money was stored in a bottle above Jack's fridge. He figured it would come in handy one day. One day in particular, Jack and Gray were out near Mother's Hill, the lower part of Luna Mountain, watching the animals. Gray, as usual, had a sketchbook, filled with detailed images of wildlife.

"So Jack, see anything good?"

"Well, I see some grasshoppers on that log over there… I think that might be an owl in that oak tree… hey, what's that?"

The biggest bird Jack had ever seen landed in a tree across from his location. It looked like a cross between a falcon and a crane, and was… bright red, with yellow contours.

"Oh man… I've never seen anything like it! Quick, draw it!"

Jack remembered he had brought along an old disposable camera that was in his pack. He pulled it out and snapped a picture of the bird. Gray continued to sketch the fowl. After a couple minutes, it simply flew off- as if it had come to pose for the two men, then continue on with its day.

After they returned, they found Doug sitting outside his house.

"Find anything interestin'?" He had become much more accepting of Gray's ways since Jack entered their lives. Still, he pretended to be the gruff farmer he always was.

"The strangest bird I've ever seen." Gray showed his father the now colored sketches. "Jack got a picture of it, too."

Even Doug was taken aback. "I'll be damned. You sure it looked just like that?"

Gray nodded.

"That really is strange. Anyway, as fer the picture, give it to me, I'll send it off to Mineral Town. They have a pharmacy that kin develop pictures there."

Jack put the camera in Doug's hands, then thanked him.

"Oh, and Jack. Ann needs your help in the barn. And Gray, could you please get the cows back in the barn? There's a storm coming."

Gray smiled. "Already did, Pa."

A friendly cackle came from Doug. "Fine, fine. You need to go see Saibara, right? Go on. Tell the old coot I said hey."

Jack was happy to see the two get along so well with each other. In time, maybe the might even see eye to eye. He walked over to the barn and pushed open the huge red door. "Ann? You in here?"

A voice came from the rafters. "Up here, Jack."

Jack climbed the ladder up to the loft, sitting next to Ann on a bale of hay. "Enjoying the view, Ann?"

Ann smiled, looking at the small opening in the wall. A scenic view of Flowerbud and Luna Mountain was laid out before them. "It's nice to look at things from another side." said Jack.

He put his arm around her, and pulled the redhead closer. From his farm, the village looked unattainable. But from the Green Ranch, it looked like home.

"One day, it will be your home, Jack."

Jack rolled his eyes. "What is it with farmers and latent psychic abilities?" They both laughed.

The sun set on another day, and Jack was on his way home. The path home was surprisingly free of bad memories. It gave Jack time to think about his situation. About Gray, Doug… and Ann. There was little the three didn't know about him. After living a life of secrets… that felt nice. Jack decided he'd get Ann a present, something she'd really like.

But he wasn't able to consider what the gift would be. At that moment, he noticed a collapsed figure on the ground. "Damn, who's that!" Jack dashed to the person on the ground. It was a man, about his age. His hair was dark brown, with streaks of lighter blonde in the front. Jack prodded the man, then felt his pulse. He was alive, but out cold. The farmer picked up the injured stranger and carried him home, then laid him on his couch.

It was the middle of the night when the man awoke. Jack quickly came to his side.

"Hey, buddy… you alright?"

He slowly pulled his head off the pillow."groan… Where the hell am I?"

"Outside of Flowerbud. You collapsed near my house."

"You… brought me here? Damn. Thanks."

"No problem. What happened to you anyway?"

The man sat up, feeling a little bit better. "I was on my way…somewhere when some punks attacked me."

"Attacked you? What is this, the Wild West?"

"Don't ask me. All I know is that I have to… Oh… oh no!"

"What? What's wrong?"

Now in a frenzied panic, the man looked through his jacket, throwing things on the ground. He pulled out a wallet and flipped through it. "Yep… that's me. Cliff Kamsey. At least, I think that's me."

"You think?"

"I don't remember a damn thing about who I am or what exactly I was doing. All I know is that my name is Cliff."

"Amnesia. Perfect."

Cliff stared at the wall for a while. "Yeah. I don't know where to go."

Jack knew he'd regret this, but something made him do it anyway. "Well Cliff, you can stay here, at least until you figure out what you needed to do."

"Really? You'll just let me stay?"

"Yeah. Knowing the people in this town, it'd probably be a mistake to let you go wandering in alone."

"Bit judgmental, are they?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Heh."

For the next two hours, Cliff and Jack began to talk. They got along well, and Cliff learned all about Jack's past, the problems with the townspeople, and the Green Ranch. They became fast friends, their personalities complimenting each other perfectly.

"And that's where I am now."

"Doesn't seem too bad." Cliff slowly got up off the couch, rubbing his head and mumbling something about men in purple hats. "So, this is a farm?" He began to head for the exit to the house.

Jack paused. "I uh… I guess you could kind of say that."

The door opened, and Cliff looked nonplussed. "Um… well… The weed crop seems to be coming along nicely."

Jack chuckled sarcastically. "Like I said, I inherited this farm. I mostly do work for the Green Ranch. This place is dead."

"Are you crazy?"

"Huh?"

"Look at this. You've got maybe 15 acres of land out here. Why the hell are you working for someone else when you could be doing it all yourself?"

"What could I do with this hellhole?"

"Plenty!" Cliff turned and started walking towards Jack. "Grow something! Revitalize the place! There's a barn out there, buy some animals!"

Jack wasn't convinced. "Where would I get that kind of money?"

Cliff began to survey the room, then took a jar from the top of the fridge.

"This is plenty to buy all the tools and seeds you need. Grow some plants, sell them, and buy some animals, you know! We could work together, clear this land out. If your story was true, this used to be a great farm. Come on Jack, we could do this."

"I dunno Cliff…"

"Jack, you've been given something you can hold on to for the first time in your life. Are you just going to ignore it?"

Jack scratched his chin, thinking deeply. "You're right. But who would work at the Green Ranch?"

Cliff, always ready, came up with a solution. "We both can. In the day, we'd work on the farm. Afterwards, we could both go to the Green Ranch. Two times the manpower means we'd only need half the time. You know this could work, Jack."

Jack accepted defeat. "Cliff, I'm beginning to think Flowerbud just got a lot more interesting."

Cliff gave him the thumbs up. "I think so too."

Jack's workload doubled in the next few weeks, but it was fine with him. Doug was sure he added years onto his life by getting Jack to work for him, so he didn't have to think twice about hiring Cliff. And so, Jack's makeshift family grew. The farm itself improved as well. The pair cleared out sections of land every day, and often Ann, Doug and Gray came to help. After about a month of work, it was beginning to look like an actual farm. Gray even helped make a second bed for Cliff, which, in turn, impressed Doug. Everything seemed perfect in the land outside Flowerbud. Too perfect. Jack had noticed the growing friendship between Cliff and Ann. Before long, their relationship had become serious, and Jack's chances with Ann were out the window. But, he realized having Ann as a friend was just as good. And there would always be more fish in the sea, right?

Jack had no idea how horribly, horribly right he was.

Dark here. Hope you enjoyed chapter three. Yes, the chapter title is a reference to my favorite Harvest Moon fic of all time, by Ferocious Death-Kappa. Check it out, it's in my favorites. Anyway, thanks to the lone reviewer, KarieLuisaSaja. Who is the strange assailant that Amnesia'd Cliff? And what does that ominous last line mean? Find out next chapter. Adios!