To my readers—the few and the proud: It took a long time, I know, and I won't bother you with pointless excuses. I do apologize, though. I'm a lazy bum and wrote nearly all of this in the last two or three days, showing you just how fast I could have gotten this chapter underway if I just put my mind to it. To my own credit, though, I have been in a bit of a rut! It's been a while since I really wrote a Harvest Moon story and, believe it or not, it's difficult to go from two stories that have action in every chapter to Harvest Moon, which relies much more heavily on description, emotions, and character development.
Enough of my whining. I don't own Harvest Moon—any of the games—or the characters that appear in them. And, on a happier tone (I think), I have to do this all the more because I turned eighteen and could be prosecuted by law! WHOO!
Chapter Two: Reap What You Sow
A woman about seventeen years old hurried out of her large, barn-like house and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the clean air of Mineral Town. Chickens clucked from within the large coop on one side of the Poultry Farm, as the chicken ranch had been so aptly named. She hurried to the coop and slid open the small door on its side, releasing the chickens and roosters into the pen beside the coop. They hurried out and the girl grabbed a handful of corn out of a small bag hanging on the pen's fence. She threw it into the pen and did so a few more times before she was satisfied.
"I'll be back soon," she said, smiling brightly at them. She looked at one chicken in particular, a young hen that had not yet started laying eggs. "Lay me an egg, Pon!" Pon, however, merely pecked at the ground, not recognizing her own name, nor caring that the girl that had raised her from an egg was even speaking.
The girl, dressed in a bright red dress, had bright pink hair and red eyes that were never without a youthful shine. She hurried out of the poultry farm onto the road that had been nicknamed Farm Lane for the three farms, Louis' farm, the Poultry Farm, and Yodel Farm, that it connected. She turned right and then right again as she reached the edge of her own farm, turning onto a path between it and Yodel Farm.
"Hi, Popuri!" said a little girl with black hair from within Yodel Farm.
"Good morning, May! How is she?" Popuri said, motioning at the small calf that May was lovingly brushing.
"She's good! Grandpa says I can keep her!"
"Great!"
"Where are you going?" May asked, standing up and hurrying over to the fence.
"To give an offering to the Goddess," Popuri said, holding up a basket that held three white eggs in it. May frowned just slightly, and Popuri reacted with a larger smile. "You'll understand when you're older!"
"That's what Grandpa always tells me," May said, sighing.
"Well, you will!" Popuri replied, patting May on the head. After a moment's goodbye, Popuri continued down the dirt path, across the bridge, into the wood at the base of Mother's Hill. For a moment, she stopped walking and closed her eyes, basking in the morning sunlight and allowing the sounds of the birds singing happily, the soft breeze rustling the leaves of the trees, and the grunting of a man chopping up some fire wood to fill her mind.
She looked over at the man and grinned. "Hi, Gotz!"
Gotz turned and smiled at her, waving. He was a very large man with thick brown hair and an equally thick and brown beard that covered most of his face. He was the town's local carpenter and had built a great deal of the buildings and houses in the town—including a recent addition to her own chicken coop. She waved back and continued on her way, soon coming to a fork in the path. She took the right path and walked a short distance until she reached some wooden steps that had been placed in the side of a sharply inclining hill.
The moment she reached the top of the stairs, she grinned at the soft mist that lightly touched her face. The mist originated from a waterfall towards the right side of the hill, falling from a higher portion of Mother's Hill into a small pool that flowed out into the stream that flowed beside Farm Lane and eventually into the ocean. To her left was an area enclosed by a tall, wooden privacy fence. The reason for this was the hot spring inside in which people could relax freely and, quite often, nakedly.
Popuri smiled and decided to get a quick dip in the spring before heading home. But first, however, she hurried over to the waterfall and peered into its depths. The water was unnaturally clean, letting her see to the bottom of the pool, despite the rough waters that the waterfall caused. The sun reflected off the perfectly clean rocks at the bottom and Popuri smiled. Just like every day, any offerings that had been made the day before were gone without a trace.
A warmth filled her heart and she felt at ease with the world. "Good morning, Harvest Goddess," she said softly. She closed her eyes and she relished the feel of the cool mist on her face. It was like the Goddess herself was there, bringing chilly relief from the morning chores. Yes, all was right in the world. She was happy.
Jack groaned slightly in his sleep and twisted in his bed for the hundredth time since the night before. Sheets gone, replaced by a few towels, and not a blanket or pillow to speak of, he wasn't so sure that his bed was much more comfortable than the grass outside. At least the outside would have offered a view, not to mention the smell of dog urine that had managed to sink into the bed before he could get the sheets off.
Sunlight streamed in through his window, lighting up his face and making it nearly impossible for him to fall back asleep. He rolled onto his side, but the lack of a pillow made that uncomfortable. Trying his stomach, that only revealed that the smell of urine was only stronger upon moving his nose closer to the bed.
Someone knocked on his front door and he sighed, giving up all hope in getting back to sleep. Jack rolled out of bed and walked to the front door, blinking furiously in the blinding sunlight. Takakura, dressed in the same shirt and jeans he was wearing the day before, was standing in front of him.
"You might want to get dressed…" he said. "That person from the farm's here."
Jack nodded slowly and shut the door. He pressed a hand to his forehead and yawned. "Goddess, it's early," he said before crossing over to his suitcase.
Jack shivered slightly when he walked outside and took a deep breath, exhaling steam. As far as he was concerned, it was just too early. He shielded his eyes from the sunlight and sighed—this would take some getting used to.
"Jack," said Takakura and Jack looked around, spotting him next to the cattle barn. Jack walked in his direction, but slowed when he saw who was apparently the farm attendant that had been sent to help him. A young girl that couldn't have been any older than Jack stood next to Takakura, her hands behind her back and a small smile on her lips. She was wearing a modest, full-length green dress and had soft gray eyes and brown hair pulled back under an orange bandana.
"This is Celia—the one Vesta sent to help you," Takakura said, indicating the girl with a nod.
"I'm Jack Todd. I guess I'm the owner of this place now," Jack said, holding out his hand. Celia smiled warmly at him, revealing rows of perfect, white teeth, and shook his hand. Her hands were callous and rough—just as Jack was sure his hands would be soon enough.
"Celia Bower," she said, giving his hand a firm shake. "I'm going to show you what being a farmer means."
"Sounds good to me." Jack released her hand and stretched. "Does being a farmer always entail getting up so early, though?" Celia laughed happily and picked up a small, red bag from the ground.
"I brought you some tomato seeds—they're great beginning plants. They grow fast and you can get multiple tomatoes from one plant. I'll show you how to till the ground right, plant them, water them, fertilize, and raise them!" A strange twinkle had appeared in Celia's eyes and her grin had only widened. "If you're lucky and you pay attention, maybe you can even grow some S ranking tomatoes, like us."
"S ranking?"
"Yes, all crops have certain ranks and classes depending on how large and fresh they are. S is the highest, but the average is a B. Some get even lower ranks. If you get an F, it usually means that you tried to harvest it the day after you planted it. But if you just grow a plant without any extra care like fertilizer and careful spacing, you'll probably have a B or C rank crop on your hands. Anything lower than that and you probably won't be able to sell it."
Jack blinked and frowned slightly. "Who decides on the plant's ranking?"
"Well, the Flowerbud Farmer's Bureau set apart some guidelines as to what makes a good crop and the ranking system is based off their guidelines!"
"Jack," Takakura said, drawing his attention away from Celia. "I need to go into town today and pick up some things I ordered."
"Right…"
"I'll be back in the evening. Thanks for coming, Celia…"
"You're welcome," Celia said, smiling brightly at him. Takakura smiled back and trudged off the farm, leaving Celia and Jack alone. Jack yawned and covered his mouth and she smiled at him. "Tired?"
"And cold, but otherwise okay." Jack attempted a thumbs' up, but it was interrupted by another yawn.
"Need coffee?"
"I hate the stuff."
"You might want to develop a taste for it," Celia said, bending down and inspecting a flower sticking up out of the ground. She smiled and picked it, sticking it into her hair. She stood up and smiled at him. "It helps—especially on those dreary overcast days."
Jack frowned—he had a feeling that she just might be right. "I'll just eat a lot of sweets."
Celia looked at him and shook her head. "Do that and you'll burn yourself out after two days. Farm work isn't easy—every day you need to pull out weeds, make sure everything's watered well, make sure animals and bugs aren't doing away with the plants, and harvest when the time comes."
"That really doesn't seem all that hard," Jack commented thoughtfully.
"To someone growing a small little garden, maybe not! But you're going to have to grow a lot of veggies to be able to make any money. You'll probably spend hours a day tending to your crops. That's not even including your animals."
Jack's spirits fell—he had underestimated the difficulty of the work. Running his hands through his hair, he forced a smile. "Well, what have you got for me in your lesson plan today?"
"The basics," she said, not skipping a beat. "Come on, I'll show you the tools you'll need!" With that, she led him into the shed, proceeding to show him the various tools he'd use to plant, water, prune, and otherwise care for his crops-to-be.
For Jack, the next few hours moved along quickly, his mind whirling with all the information Celia was giving him. Tips on rotating crops, the best ways to fertilize, the most ideal places to plant in order to optimize the time in the sun and rain, and crop patterns to efficiently use the resources—these and much more were thrown around carelessly, leaving Jack to scramble to retain it all.
Finally, the blessed moment arrived when, after they were both thoroughly covered with dirt and perspiration, Celia's voice hoarse, and Jack's brain sore, she took a deep breath and smiled, placing down the watering can. "I think we can probably take a break now."
Yes, break, Jack thought. Goddess, I can smell Ruby's cooking…
"How about I treat you to lunch?" Jack said immediately. "I mean, it's the least I can do—you're helping me a lot."
Celia's dirt-splotched cheeks turned a bit pink, but she nodded, smiling and revealing her teeth. Jack grinned back and swept an arm dramatically towards the entrance to his farm. "After you." Celia gave a bit of a curtsy and walked past him. When they reached the inn, Jack hurried ahead and opened the door for her, bowing like a valet as she passed. Celia giggled softly and Jack smiled, rising and following her into the inn's lobby.
"I love eating here," Celia said, looking around.
"I'm beginning to," he said, grinning at the smell, which had amazing grown only more pleasing to the senses. He could almost taste it. It tasted like pork chops sizzling over a stove, melted cheese on top, some kind of vegetable stew, and a delicious cake to finish it off. His mouth watered and, unable to resist any more, walked past the curtain separating the lobby from the kitchen. Celia followed right after him.
"Jack, Celia, welcome! Come, come, sit!" Tim said happily, waving them over. "Rock, scoot over. Nami, could you move over a little bit to make room?"
Jack blinked—when he had entered, he had not only noticed Nami sitting there, but he also had noticed that she was talking more or less animatedly with Ruby and smiling while doing so. So the serpent does loosen its coils from time to time, Jack thought with a wry smile. However, when she noticed Jack, her expression went cold and she stopped speaking, moving obediently when Tim asked her to.
Giving Nami a curt nod, he sat down across from her, beside Rock. Celia ended up sitting next to Nami and gave her a smile, which Nami pretended not to see. Immediately, Ruby was up again, piling the food onto two more dishes. She set the plates before Jack and Celia and poured them some tea. Finally, she sat back down again, smiling brightly at the both of them, and continued with her meal.
Jack felt a pang of guilt—here he was, intruding on their lunch, but she was so gracious as to treat him like an honored guest. Was it like this everywhere in the village? Or was this Inner Inn unique like this? Whatever it was, he knew that it warmed his heart. It was service that one did not see in the city—service that was rare anywhere in the world nowadays. Jack made a mental note to do something nice for her later on.
"Did you bring Celia here on a date, Jack?" Tim asked slyly, bringing Jack from his thoughts. For a moment, it didn't register in his head what Tim had said, but within a moment's time he had gone very red.
"No, no, it's not that!" Jack said sharply, fumbling with his words. "She's been helping me get the farm started, so I decided to treat her to lunch!"
"Sounds like a date to me," Rock said, nudging Jack. Jack coughed and stared down at his plate, feeling stupid for being so embarrassed by this. He was an adult, for Goddess' sake! Yet a glance up at Celia revealed that she was very red just as well, which made him feel a bit better, he supposed.
"Just a friendly lunch between fellow farmers," he said with an air of finality in his voice. Neither Tim nor Rock decided to fight this, but went on eating. Nami ended up being the first to finish and she looked at Ruby.
"It was very good, Ruby. Thank you again."
Ruby smiled at her and Nami gave her a half-smile back before standing up, taking her plate, and placing it in the sink. She washed and rinsed it off clean before walking out of the kitchen. Jack's brows furrowed slightly. He knew he was probably being stupid, but there was something about that girl that didn't add up.
Or perhaps, he thought, she just doesn't like you. Which Jack had to agree wouldn't be too hard to believe considering the way she treated him. He took a breath and looked at Celia, smiling. He released Nami from his thoughts and focused on more important matters. For example, his farm and the work that needed to be done to get it running. And, as much as he tried to force the thought back, the fact that a girl was personally helping him do so.
Looking at her, Jack would say that she wasn't absolutely gorgeous—she was somewhat homely, but cute. She had a beautiful smile and twinkling, possibly mischievous eyes. The dirt on her cheeks added to the effect of cuteness, but Jack wondered what she'd look like without it—the green dress shed for something more elegant, the bandana forgotten, her hair let down and clean, her face with a light bit of make-up on it. He would bet that she'd be quite pretty—he'd be willing to bet anything on it.
And, indeed, while he tried to ignore it, below her face, her form was not bad. She was very modest, which was possibly another thing that interested Jack, having come from the city in which women flaunted what they had, not covering it up as Celia did. But the fact remained that, while she did not show it in an immodest way, she had a pretty frame. Jack blushed—indeed, he was being stupid.
After this, he sped up his pace in eating and finished quickly enough. He looked at Tim curiously. "How much do I owe you?"
"Don't worry about—the food was already made, anyway!"
This was the second time Jack had received a free meal from this man.
"Tim, I can't just keep taking meals from you…"
"You're just lucky—you keep arriving when we sit down for our meals. It's not that I'm giving you a meal; it's just that you have dumb luck!" Tim laughed happily and Jack released a sigh. He could already see that he would not convince Tim otherwise, and gave up on trying. In stead, he looked at Ruby.
"The meal was amazing. I don't think I've ever tasted such good pork chops," he said, grinning at her. Ruby blushed a tad and bowed her head.
"Thank you. It is because of a special blend of spices that my family is known for. I use them in some kind of way in nearly all of my meals."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "In that case, I guess I'll have to come back here more often."
Ruby smiled at him. "It will be a pleasure to have you dine with us."
"Uh-huh. Dad, why don't you ever invite Muffy or Lumina to eat with us? No offense, Jack, but, honestly, those are the two local hotties," Rock said with a grin. Jack was a bit taken aback by this statement considering not only were both his parents there, but so was Celia. "As far as who I want to sit beside and across from me while I eat…" He trailed off, looking a tad bit wistful.
Tim sighed. "Rock, just finish your meal."
Jack, feeling that this time was as good as any, looked at Celia. "Are you about ready to head back? I need to check up on Schala anyway."
Celia smiled and nodded, standing. "It was very good, Ruby. Thank you." She started to take her dish back, but Ruby was up a second later, taking both Jack and Celia's dishes from them. She took them to the sink and washed them, leaving Celia and Jack standing there. Again, Jack felt a twinge of guilt—stronger now—and fortified his decision to do something nice for Ruby some day. And Tim too, he reminded himself.
After bidding the three goodbye, he walked out beside Celia and headed back towards the farm. "Rock really doesn't take after his parents, does he?" Jack said, more as a fact than a question, when he knew he was out of earshot of the inn. Celia smiled slightly.
"No, I don't think he does." Yet her voice was… Sad, Jack told himself. And why not? In a way, Rock insulted her to her face. Jack felt anger rise within his gut, but quelled it, replacing it with another feeling entirely.
"He's pretty blind, if you ask me. I don't know who Muffy or Lumina is, but for him to claim that they're the only pretty ones around here…" His voice faded and his face turned very red, as did Celia's. Neither of them said anything else until after Jack had finished watering his newly planted seeds.
"I guess I'd better head back to the plantation," Celia said finally and Jack's heart sank a bit. He enjoyed her presence.
"Will you be coming back around to help?"
"Of course! I'll be back every day until you gain enough experience to handle it all on your own."
His heart rose again and Jack smiled. "In that case, I'll see you tomorrow morning—bright and early, right?"
"Yep." Celia smiled at him and looked around for a moment. "You know, you should get a few more animals. Maybe a rooster—they always seem to crow around six. On some clear mornings, you can actually faintly hear the roosters in Mineral Town crowing. I like being woken up by those much more than boring old clocks."
First priority is getting a rooster. "Well, I'll see what I can do about that, then," Jack said, nodding. After a moment of quietness, Jack held out his hand and Celia placed hers in it. "Thank you for your help and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes, you will. Thank you for lunch." They shook hands and parted, Celia walking out of the farm and Jack standing in the same place, watching her.
Yes, with a shower and a nice dress, she'd be very pretty indeed. He'd bet on it.
It was around three o'clock that Jack left his farm again, this time with plans to explore his new home a bit more. Partially out of not wanting to cross the bridge and partially out of shyness, Jack turned right upon exiting his farm and walked along the path there, past a few small houses. He stopped when he saw the Blue Bar and licked his lips. He wasn't quite twenty-one yet, but surely they wouldn't just have alcohol. Nodding to himself, he walked into the bar.
He was greeted with an empty room. It was a small bar, a single counter in the center of the room with eight stools on one side while the other side (while admittedly unmanned at the moment) was where the bartender would take the orders. There were a couple wine racks behind the counter, as well as a few small refrigeration units and other assorted shelves. Directly to Jack's right was a plain-looking door, which Jack supposed either led back into a supply closet or the owner's room. In front of him, on the back wall, was a single, flowery lamp, which didn't make much sense considering there was also a hanging lamp above the bar.
Ambiance, Jack thought with a smirk. It's all about the atmosphere.
When he had entered the bar, a bell above the door had rung and, apparently, someone in the back room had heard. The door swung open and a girl—quite possibly the exact opposite of Celia in every aspect—stepped out. She had long, wavy blonde hair that curled at the bottom, kept out of her face by a blue headband, revealing very pretty green eyes, and a perfect complexion, void of any blemishes that he could see. She had a body that would leave many women jealous, which was accentuated by a tight red dress that was a bit low-cut (revealing a good deal of cleavage for prying eyes) as well as short, stretching down just below her waist. She also wore a white jacket—possibly as a way to give her dress a bit more of a country look.
Jack, coming from spending the day with Celia, stood there, possibly in shock, for a moment. This, he expected in the city, but not in Forget-Me-Not—not even in a bar. "Are you new here?" the woman asked in a smooth, very mature-sounding voice, again contrasting Celia's nearly childlike voice and giggle.
"Y-yes, I just moved into the farm down the road," Jack answered, keeping his eyes on hers.
"Really?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow in an almost seductive manner. "I find strong farmers sexy." She giggled and Jack turned the color of her dress. The woman gave him a closed-mouth smile and went behind the counter. "Can I get you anything, sexy farmer boy?"
Jack stammered for a moment before taking a deep breath and forcing himself back into gear. "Do you have any nonalcoholic?"
"Sure. We have water, milk, a few sodas and, for the more refined, some nonalcoholic wine and other assorted beverages." She spoke in a tone that suggested that she had said this before, which gave Jack a small amount of comfort. Hopefully, he'd be able to walk around at night without being mugged by the local drunks.
"I'll just have a soda—just the regular flavor," Jack said, smiling at her. She smiled back, but didn't open her mouth in doing so.
"You got it." She began pouring the drink. "What's your name?"
"Jack Todd. Yours?"
"I'm Muffy; here you go." She handed him the drink and Jack blinked. So this was one of the "hotties" that Rock mentioned. While he did not approve of Rock's blatant disrespect for Celia, he understood why Rock would include Muffy on the list.
"Do you own this bar?" Jack asked, sipping his drink.
"Nah, I just work here part time. This bar is owned by—"
At that moment, the door in the bar opened again and a tall, older man, maybe in his later thirties or early forties stepped out. He had thick, brown hair and bangs that had been flipped up in the front as well as heavy sideburns and a mustache.
"That's Griffin—he owns the bar."
"Hey," Griffin said, reaching forward. Jack shook his hand heartily. "I'm Griffin. Please to meet you…" he trailed off, looking expectantly at Jack.
"Jack Todd. I just moved into that farm down the road."
"Jack! Well, welcome to Forget-Me-Not Valley and, more importantly, to Blue Bar. Will we be seeing you around more?"
"I'm not really twenty-one, actually," Jack started, but Griffin shrugged.
"We sell more than alcohol here, anyway. As you can see!" Jack smiled at Griffin; he seemed to be a nice man.
"Yes, I do see. I think that I'll probably be back—unless I want to order my drinks in by the case from town." Griffin smiled at him.
"Don't go doing that now. Anyway, you wouldn't be able to beat our sodas very easily." And Jack had to admit that the soda that he was drinking was different from others. It seemed to have the perfect blend of sweetness and sharpness, giving it just enough of a punch, but not so much that he couldn't relax while drinking it.
"Do you make this?" Griffin smiled and nodded.
"Nearly everything you buy here is made right here." He laughed. "And, actually, are you planning on raising some cows?"
"Well, yes, I hope to."
"Then I'll be your first customer! It's expensive ordering from Mineral Town sometimes—and the prices have risen now that Louis is sick. So get to raising those cows!" Jack blinked in surprise, but nodded, his smile widening.
"Well then, I have one cow now. I'll bring you by some milk from her now and I'll think about investing in a few more as time goes on," Jack said, quite happy that he came here now.
"Good deal, good deal," said Griffin as he ran his hand through his hair. Muffy, all the while, watched Jack with a curious expression. Maybe, she thought, he's cute and you definitely wouldn't mind settling down with a hard worker, Muffy. Jack looked at her, but she didn't look away for a few seconds. After a moment, though, she smiled at him and got back to the job of cleaning the counter.
Jack finished his drink and stood. "How much do I owe you?"
"It's on the house today," Griffin said, patting him on the shoulder. "Just bring me by some milk—we'll call it even." Jack couldn't argue this and nodded. When he left the bar, he felt quite content, knowing that he had just made his first business deal as a farmer. Yes, maybe this farming business wouldn't be so hard after all. His heart swelled. He was in business for himself now—no burgers to flip, no bosses breathing down his neck, no phones to answer, no angry customers to deal with. He was free of the dirty, dingy city and in a place where he felt could be home.
Yes, it would be good. He was happy.
A fly buzzed past his face and Jack waved it away, but two other quite courageous insects joined it moments later. He attempted to shoo them, but they merely swerved around his hand and buzzed around his head, settling in his hair. Jack rubbed his head and the flies took flight, only to redouble their attacks.
"What is with these things?" Jack demanded. He never expected an answer.
"Moi," said a gruff voice behind him. Jack swiveled around and found that a strange looking man had walked up behind him. The flies started buzzing around him instead and the man smiled. "Th-that's Taro and Hanoku and their friend. They l-like you a lot."
The man was very short—Jack towered over him by at least a head and Jack really wasn't all that tall himself. His hair was black and very greasy, caked with mud, and he looked as though he hadn't shaved for years, a very thick, curly beard covering most of his face, his nose barely visible him mouth completely covered. His eyes were big and wild with beady, brown pupils. He smelled of rotting trash and didn't look much better than it either, wearing what Jack could have sworn was nothing more than a potato sack with arm and head holes.
"Taro and Hanoku?" Jack asked, hoping that the man wasn't talking about what Jack thought he was.
"My f-friends." He pointed at the three flies buzzing around his head. "You s-smell like food, moi. Do you have food?"
"No, I don't," Jack said, hoping that the man would leave him alone.
"I-I'm Murrey. Let's be friends. C-can you b-buy me food?"
"I've…" Jack started, drawing it out while thinking of a good excuse. "Got to milk my cow!"
"S-steak!"
Jack looked around wildly for an avenue to escape and his eyes settled on another building. "Hey, you know the Blue Bar's giving out free food right now, you know," Jack said, pointing. Murrey reacted immediately, turning and walking hurriedly towards the bar. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and walked back onto his farm.
He was greeted by the same mangy mutt from the day before, sitting on the ground next to Takakura's house, his dirty tail wagging all the while. The puppy barked and sniffed Jack's leg, his nose traveling down to Jack's shoes. Jack stood there, frowning at it, and kneeled. He felt along the puppy's neck, feeling for what he already knew not to be there. With a sigh, he confirmed that, indeed, the dog had no collar.
"You got a family around here, bud?" The dog only panted happily in return. "Probably not. You'll never survive out there…" Jack rubbed his face and scratched the puppy behind the ears. The puppy's eyes glazed over and he calmed, resulting in a smile from Jack.
"In that case," he said, standing. "I guess I'll give you a bath. I'll take care of you for a while." The dog only barked his happy reply, and Jack picked him up, careful to face him away lest he have another stained shirt.
The old man coughed and hacked, spitting up some phlegm into a pail beside his bed. He took a wheezing, rattling breath and fell back onto his pillow. A heart monitor beeped steadily next to the hospital bed and an IV continuously dripped a pain relieving medicine into his bloodstream.
In an adjacent room in the Mineral Town Hospital, the local doctor sat talking with Mayor Thomas in lone tones so that the patient wouldn't hear.
"Yes, it's definitely pneumonia," said the doctor—a young man, barely in his twenties, with scruffy black hair and dressed in a surgically clean white lab coat.
"Will he be all right? Pneumonia's not so hard to take care of, right?" Thomas asked, wringing his hands. He took his handkerchief out of his shirt pocket and wiped his forehead.
"Normally, yes, but he's old, Thomas. At this age, pneumonia runs a much higher risk of being fatal than when he was in his prime. He's simply pushed himself too hard—even after becoming ill. He's strong, but…" The doctor trailed off, looking hesitant.
"Isn't there anything you can do?"
"There are many things to try, but I'll be honest, Thomas, it doesn't look good. He's very old and at peace with his life. I hear him praying to his wife every night—saying that he'll join her soon."
"Tim, you can't be serious…"
"Yes. He wishes to die."
Thomas wiped his forehead again and looked out of the window in Doctor Tim's office. It was such a beautiful day. Couples walked by, holding hands, wives hung wet laundry to dry, and two children ran by the hospital.
Thomas shuddered.