This chapter is a direct result of a random idea for a one-shot, to tell the truth. And then I thought of making it a one-shot based off my own story. …And then I got some sagely advice from the love of my life to stop thinking of one-shots and think about making it a chapter. And so I did. …And so I wrote!

I do not own Harvest Moon or anything else even closely related to video games! Although I did start trying to make a game with RPG Maker years ago… but it wasn't finished and got deleted, so I really don't own that anymore either. Have fun reading this very short chapter!

Forgive Me

Who is this? I've not met him before.

She watches the man, young and handsome, strong of body and will, as he walks around the meadow. He greets the carpenter as he builds the hot spring, laughs at the antics of the family of monkeys that set up their home in the trees, and peers curiously at her waterfall. He feels an urge to come closer and he obeys it. She smiles.

He has a good heart. He is a good man.

He works the farm that he inherited from dawn until dusk. Clearing the land, hoeing the ground, planting the seeds, and watering them. Then he moves on to another section of his farm and repeats the process. He works so hard, so admirably. It is more than a farm to him; it is his grandfather's legacy.

I wish he would visit more often.

She always watches him. He has grown from the young man into a wiser man, serious and contemplative, yet he continues to smile. He always smiles. Quietly and in secret, she blesses his farm. The moles find elsewhere to burrow, the weeds shrivel, and the crops grow much faster and larger than normal. The farm prospers like never before, and the man visits her daily. And though she doesn't reveal herself to him, she enjoys his presence.

Is it wrong for me to favor you so?

The town grows as his farm prospers. She watches as it expands and many more people move in. She walks its streets, invisible to all, and blesses them all with healthy children, abundant harvests, and good weather. Yet there isn't a person in the town that is as blessed as the farmer. She favors him. She loves him.

I shouldn't, but I do. Oh, how I love you. How I long for you.

But he doesn't love her. When the town expands, a woman moves in and lives across from the farm. He meets the woman and they become quick friends. She watches as they grow closer together and it hurts. On the day that he decides to spend with the woman instead of coming to visit her, she weeps. Yet the blessings continue.

Don't forget me. Don't replace me. Come back to me.

But she watches as he falls in love with the woman. She is there when they marry and she experiences a desire unlike any other she has ever had on their wedding night—she wishes that she had eyes to close. She wishes to weep, but she doesn't. For the sake of the farmer, for the sake of the man she has fallen in love with, she remains silent.

How I miss you.

When his wife becomes pregnant, he visits her once again. Oh, how it hurts her to listen to his prayers for health and safety. She wants to turn away. She is angry with him, but she loves him. The baby is born healthy and perfect. His visits grow rare as before. A wild dog drags a calf away, but his pain, she cannot bear. At once, two cows become pregnant.

It has been so long since you've visited me.

Panic sweeps over the village. Villagers walk in groups and do not go out after night. The wife agrees not to leave the farm without her husband, but not even the farm is save. Oh, she watches as the wife wanders, the young boy cradles in her arms. She watches as it draws closer. The wife cannot see it, but it sees her. It hungers for her. It will have her.

Forgive me!

For the second time, she wishes to be able to look away. The farmer comes home and sees his wife and son. His anguish is so great, his pain so strong! Oh, how she weeps for him! She guides him; she shows him the way. He delivers the town of its reason to fear, at a great cost. He is alone again. He mourns and she mourns with him.

I'll make you happier than you've ever been before.

His farm prospers more than ever, but the smiles that graced his face are so very rare now. He visits daily, but her heart is heavy. She is guilty. The town and farm prospers, but the farmer grows distant.

Let me help you.

After years, the pain begins to grow numb. Friends visit the farmer, bringing along with them a young boy. The boy reminds the farmer of his son and he treats the boy as such. Yet, when the lights are out and he is alone, he mourns for the ones he lost. The pain will never truly fade.

I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry.

She watches as the years pass. Age takes its toll and she knows that soon she will once more be lonely. He will stop coming to visit her. He grows ill and panic sweeps over the village once more, but she doesn't care. She watches over him as he sleeps in the hospital. He blesses him and watches as he slowly recovers, yet…

Why won't you let go?

He continues to recover, but he resists! He wants his wife, he silently begs for death. She watches him and wishes for the third time to be able to look away. But she can't. She obliges his wish. Invisible to everyone, she goes to him and stands over his hospital bed.

I love you.

Her lips brush his and he stops. The old farmer Louis dies peacefully in the hospital and rejoins his wife, leaving her alone forever. He will never visit her again. She can no longer watch him. The farm's blessing disappears in his death. She mourns him. The Harvest Goddess weeps for him.

All right, as you may well have noticed—especially by now—I'm doing things very differently this time around. This story is not even hinting at being a Christian Harvest Moon story, as one is enough for me. The Goddess in this story will be accurate to the Goddess in the game and though she probably won't show up too much any more, I don't want anyone expecting me to turn around and make her evil. The fact is that the games portray her as good—a bit scatterbrained at times and not really perfect, yes, but good. What I did in Revival and Search was a one-time thing for me and I don't expect to repeat it. Not because I think it was a mistake or anything like that, but simply because I've already done it.

Secondly, about this chapter… I'm sorry if it was confusing. I did it that way on purpose. If anyone's not sure, it was from the Goddess' point of view the entire chapter and she was speaking of Louis, the old farmer that just died in the last chapter.

Also, I'm hesitant about putting this into my chapter for lengthy author's notes, so I'll just make mention of it. I have posted now in my author's profile a response to concerns of delays between chapters and the slow moving plot of this story. If anyone is concerned about those things, I would direct you to my profile.

That being said, God bless to all my readers!

--Ben, AKA Harvestboy Goobus