Chapter 1: Return to Mineral Town
Hello good sirs and ladies. Here is the first chapter in my epic novel, Darkness Falls on Mineral Town. Please read it and review, because so far, all I have is one review, and it had jack squat to do with the story. Please have pity on a poor gentleman.
I looked out across the deep ocean towards Mineral Town. The ferry drew closer and closer, and I saw a crowd gathering on the beach. They were waiting for me. It had been a long time since I had last been here, and I was very glad to be returning. The Mayor of the Town had told me over the phone that my Grandpa had died, and willed his farm to me. I was heart broken by this, and wanted to do nothing else but to continue in his legacy. That was why I was returning.
The boat stopped by the dock, and I slowly walked out, along with the other passengers. Besides me, two other people had come to the town. One was a strange Chinese man with a ponytail, and dark glasses. The other was a strange tired looking person with brown hair. I was tall, with brown hair and brown eyes.
They both walked down, and were greeted by the villagers. I watched as this happened, unsure of what to do now. I could just walk away, to my Grandfather's farm, or expect the same warm reception as them.
"What are you here for?" a boy about my age with a slanted hat covering most of his face asked.
"I came here to see Mineral Town again, for I haven't been here in years . By the way, my name's Zach," I said as I extended a hand.
The guy mumbled something like: "Newcomers," and turned away.
I frowned. The first person I had met had shunned me at first site. I turned and looked around at the other villagers. I didn't feel welcome. Apparently neither did the brown haired dude. He kind of looked like he wanted to get out of the situation which he was in.
I turned, and walked away, down the beach, into the village.
"Hey!" the Mayor shouted after me. "Wait!"
But I was already gone.
I entered the farm slowly, fearing that the memories would be too much for me. I closed my eyes and remembered long ago when I had visited this place. I remembered a dog, a horse, and a very friendly old man. But I also remembered a girl. I stopped thinking as tears came to my eyes. It was hard. But I just knew that the reading of the will tonight would be even harder.
We all met at the inn, and the Mayor read the will aloud.
"Now I am going now. Off to heaven to meet my forefathers. I will not tell you not to mourn and cry for me, for I know that you will, even if I tell you not to. Please accept my eternal thanks to all of you. All of you who have made my life so wonderful. Carter. To you I give my books, read them, and remember me. We never completed our disagreement, but let me tell you, I forgive you for what you did twenty five years ago. I forgive you for bringing her to Mineral Town. To Lilia I give my old cane. Use it on days when your strength abandons you. Zack, you inherit my golf clubs. Perhaps you could set up a golf course on the beach."
At that point I stepped forward to receive my clubs, but a large deeply tanned man stepped up before me. The mayor sighed. "They go to Zack Runif."
I stepped back.
"Now to Doug, I give my old recipe book. Ellen, to you I give my old rocking chair. Saibara, I give you my bike. Now to all of you, I give my advice. To the young women of the town, may you all find good husbands, and may all the young men find good wives. And parents of those yet to marry, help them to make the right choices, but do not oppress them. My hopes is that all of you will learn to respect each other, and your futures. Oh, and one more thing. To my grandson Zach Chandrata, I give my farm. Please keep it alive, and bring it back to the way it was before. And Zach. Find a nice girl in the town and get married. You have many choices. There's Popuri, Ann, Karen, Mary, and Elli. All of them are wonderful people. Find the one who is right for you."
Applause broke out, and I blushed at the thoughtfulness of my grandfather, and also because all of the girls in the town now were eying me and sizing me up.
"Now thanks to all of you who made this life so wonderful. May God bless you all. And please look after Zach now. He is a man with a good heart."
I blushed even further, and tears began falling as I began to realize that the old man who I had loved so much was gone.
"Does anyone want to say a few words?" the Mayor asked, looking pointedly at me.
I stepped to the front of the Inn, and smiled through my tears.
"My Grandfather was a good man. Everything he did was done with love. I visited his farm long ago, and he took me in. He let me play with his animals, and ride his horse. You never met a nicer man. I will be moving into the farm, and I will try and bring it back to its former state. Grandpa, I love you, and miss you. Please wait for me in heaven, for I know that you made it there."
More applause. I stepped away from the front, as the people in the village patted me on the back, and offered their sympathy. A few others spoke, then I went to the farm, fell into bed, and cried myself to sleep.
The next morning, I awoke at six o'clock, and stepped out to view the farm. It would take some time to bring it back to its former state, but that would have to wait. Now, my first concern was meeting the people of the town. Suddenly I heard a bark. I looked around, and saw a small dog running over to me. It must have belonged to my Grandpa.
"I guess I'll name you Buster," I said as I looked at the small dog. I picked it up, and it began licking my face. I petted it, and placed it back on the ground before walking out into the village.
I walked along, unsure of where to go. I was mostly looking for a place where I could buy seeds, but who knew where that was. Finally I just decided to walk into the nearest building to me. That building turned out to be the inn.
I walked in, and looked around. I then turned, and saw the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She appeared to be about my age, with orangish hair up in a ponytail. Her skin had a nice fair tint, and she had attractive freckles. She was beautiful. Heck, she was drop dead gorgeous.
"Hello," her voice breaking through my trance. "You must be the new guy on the farm. My name is Ann. What's yours?"
I extended a hand, which she grabbed and shook vigorously. "My name is Zach. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Ann smiled warmly. "Since you're new here, I think we should give you a free meal. Don't you think so Dad?"
"Of course," said a tall man with orange hair who had just walked into the room. "My name is Doug. I'm Ann's father. You can have today's special on the house."
"Thank you very much," I said smiling. "It means a lot to me."
Doug chuckled, and placed a dish of lobster and a glass of milk in front of me. I downed them all, smiling at the delicious taste.
"It's great!" I exclaimed with much pleasure.
Doug smiled. "I've decided I like you Zach," he said. "Come visit the inn any time. I would appreciate it. Ann would appreciate it a whole lot as well."
Ann's face turned bright red. "Father stop teasing me," she said flustered.
I smiled, and left.
Far back in the mountains of Mineral Town, a creature waited. Soon the time would come. Soon it would be time. For now, it rested in the cool atmosphere surrounding the place. But soon it would begin its quest, and it would not be a pretty one.
Ever since the moment I had layed eyes on this town, something seemed wrong about it. The people seemed friendly, and the town seemed to be happy, but something overshadowed it all. I didn't understand any of it, but I didn't like where I was now.
When I left the inn I visited several places in the town, and was now heading back to the farm, for it was getting dark all of a sudden. I didn't know why I felt urgency rise up inside me, but things did not seem to be right about the darkness. It was as if dark beings were crouching in the darkness, watching me.
I increased my pace, and was now looking behind me as I walked. Suddenly I ran into something. I almost screamed, but stopped and looked at what I had hit. A man stood before me in a yellow suit. From the looks of things, he was from the Orient. He was the same Chinese man who had come here on the same ferry as me.
"Watch where your going!" he yelled as he glared at me.
"I'm sorry," I said. "My name is Zach."
For the second time that day I was hated at first sight. This man sure didn't seem to like me. I gave up trying to be friendly, and walked away towards my farm. But as I walked, I became aware that the man was watching me.
The next day, I began planting my seeds, planting some Turnips, Potatoes, and Cucumbers. I finished up, and was about to go back inside.
"Hey Zach," said a voice.
I turned, and saw Ann standing at the entrance to my farm with a piece of cake held in her hands. I ran over to her, and said hi.
"Here," she said as she handed me the piece of cake. "I figured you might like some cake."
"Why thank you," I said as I took it, and began eating it. "Its delicious!"
Ann blushed a deep crimson. "I made it myself."
"Oh," I said, "so now you're a cook. You didn't tell me that yesterday when we met. I like cooking as well."
Ann smiled. "So how is life on the farm."
"Kind of hard, but I'm beginning to get the hang of it."
"Great!" she said happily. "Say, do you want to go somewhere with me?"
"Sure," I said finishing up the cake. "But I don't know much about the Town, so I don't know many good places to hang out."
"How about the beach?" Ann suggested.
"Lets go," I said, and then whistled loudly. A horse bounded up to me.
"Oh my gosh," Ann said in amazement, "you have a horse?"
"Yeah," I said. "One of the men in the town gave him to me as a "sympathy" gift for the death of my Grandpa. I decided to name the horse Shannon."
I climbed aboard. "Do you want to ride down there?" I asked.
Ann nodded, and climbed on behind me. The horse broke into a gallop. Through the town we rushed, past stores, homes, and trees. Ann grasped my sides tightly as the horse continued at a massive velocity.
When we reached the beach I stopped Shannon, and hooked his reins around a tree branch. Then, the two of us took a walk down the beach, while talking about our lives. Then, we got bored, and decided to go swimming. It was quit an enjoyable afternoon.
When we were getting out, Ann abruptly said: "Wait. I forgot a towel."
Now it was still spring, and was warm enough to swim, but it was not warm enough to walk around while being wet and still not be cold. My tolerance to cold was not very high, but my conscious kicked in, and I handed my towel to Ann.
"But... you need to dry off too," she protested, clearly not wanting to make me the victim of her mistake.
"Doesn't matter," I said. "You use it. I'll just grab a towel back at home."
"But you'll be cold," Ann replied sympathetically.
"Then I'll be cold," I replied shivering as the wind blew by. "But if I take the towel, and you don't, then you will be cold. So you see, no matter what, one of us will be cold. And I'd rather it be me than you."
"Aww, that's sweet." Ann said happily. "Thanks Zach. Your a real gentleman."
I blushed. "I try to be."
It was cold without a towel. I had been only too right with my words. Ann and I just sat on the beach and talked again, but when she noticed how I was shivering, Ann dragged me home to the inn, and got me a towel. Doug apparently thought it was the most hilarious thing which had ever happened in the town in a long time. He laughed as we explained the situation to him. But even in his laughter, I could tell that he was proud of me for what I did back at the beach. Doug was becoming like a father to me.
For a while Ann was my only friend in the town. But two weeks later I became good friends with Cliff, the brown haired dude who had come to the Town on the same ferry as I had. But once I got to know him, he was as outgoing as anyone I knew. We became good friends. Later Cliff introduced me to his other friend, Carter, the minister of the Church.
"Hello Zach," Carter said when he met me. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I thank the Harvest Goddess for bringing you here."
A chill went down my spine at those words. Sure, the man was nice enough, and I knew that what he said was intended to be a friendly gesture, but something didn't seem right about this Harvest Goddess theory.
Now granted, you must know that I am a strong devout Christian, so naturally the fact that the Church turned out to worship this Harvest Goddess disturbed me, but something seemed different about this. Many religions of the world included a Mother Earth Goddess, or some form of Harvest God/Goddess. I didn't understand the strange feeling which plagued my mind, for I had dealt with religions like this before, and had never felt this way about them.
Carter and I got along quite well, except we occasionally had our arguments about religion as is relatively normal between two good friends of opposing faiths. Carter kept telling me to go to the Goddess Spring and drop in an offering, and I would see. I, however, would not partake in a sacrifice to the Goddess. For as a Christian I not only believed in God, Jesus, and his angels, but also in fallen angels, also known as demons. That was my theory, that many of the false Gods/Goddesses were either demons in disguise, or ideas coined by demons and given to man. So I never did give an offering, and I explained to Carter why I would not. But as much as he pretended to be my friend, I could sense something inside him, preventing him. Maybe it was his loyalty to the Harvest Goddess. I was one who was used to religious tolerance, so I was not used to religious discrimination.
I wouldn't have given anything to the Goddess, had I not been walking by the spring five days after meeting Carter when I dropped the apple I had been planning to eat, and it rolled into the spring. I saw a flash, and then to my amazement a figure appeared on a small cloud before me. The figure was a girl with green hair. She was beautiful, to say the least. She was dressed in a sky blue dress which shone with a watery aurora. Light shone all around her as water dripped from her body.
"Zach," she said in a soft voice as she faced me. "You do not believe in me do you?"
I said nothing, for I had fallen to the ground in amazement. I was breathing heavily, for this had never happened to me before.
"But here I am," the girl continued. "Now that you have seen the Harvest Goddess with your own eyes, do you not believe in me?"
I just stared in amazement.
"I am the Harvest Goddess," she said as if I didn't already know that. "I watch over this town, and all of its inhabitants. Every one of them believes in me, and sacrifices to me. Everyone but you."
I stared deep into the eyes of the being before me, struggling as to what I should think of all of this. I had always been a strong follower of God, and had clearly seen truth of His existence during my life, but here stood another deity, claiming to be the true one. But my faith could not be broken. Not even by this being which stood before me.
"No," I said truthfully. "I am a servant of the one true God. And he is much mightier than you."
The Harvest Goddess frowned, and even glared at me. Her glare held annoyance, disappointment, and anger. But the volume of the anger amazed me. Staring back in those eyes, I could not help thinking that another emotion existed in those deep eyes besides those three emotions. It seemed as if heartless rage was hidden behind the mask which was her face. I could not help thinking that the Harvest Goddess wasn't taking this news lightly at all.
"This will not last long," the Harvest Goddess said in a dark voice. "Soon you will see that even your God bows before me."
"Not so," I said. "My God rules all the heavens and the Universe. You claim only this town."
The Harvest Goddess stared deeply at me.
"Have you ever seen your God face to face? What makes you so sure he even exists? But I stand before you right now? Seeing is believing."
"No," I said once again. "The scripture tells us that man must not see God, for his glory is too great. Man must see God in their minds eye. Men must have faith. More things are wrought by faith than things brought along by seeing something."
"I control the weather in this area." I just nodded and smiled at this. "All of the forces on this island obey my very command."
I just nodded and smiled.
"I can make a drought cover the land, killing all plants which grow."
"There," I said, "that just shows that you are not greater than my God. By bringing a drought you would not only harm me, but you would harm your own people as well, for if a drought came then the water in the area would dry up. If that happened then what would the people drink? Do you intend to harm your own people."
"The people benefit from worshiping me!" The Harvest Goddess screamed with fire in her eyes. "I COULD CRUSH THEM INTO DUST! But instead I help them. Basil always finds the exotic plants which he searches for. I could help your plants grow and help your farm prosper."
"I cannot accept that offer," I said. "I know who my father is. And I intend to follow him even after my death."
Suddenly a flash rushed through the eyes of the Harvest Goddess. I backed up, for she seemed really steamed. Then, with a bright streak of light, the "Goddess" disappeared into the spring. A new conflict had arisen from this. Now the Harvest Goddess was trying to get me to worship her, and I was trying to worship God. Only one of us would win this conflict. But I wasn't worried. What was the worst a little false Goddess like her could do to me? I was so confident back then. I would never have guessed what would have happened after that. I would never have guessed what would happen as a result of my strong faith. I had underestimated the power of my enemies.
I know what many of you are thinking. "Oh great, another Christian Harvest Moon fanfic." Ah, but this is not "just another Christian Harvest Moon fanfic." Ever read any of Frank Peretti's books? I am basing many of my ideas in this story after his works, so as such, this will be darker than the other Christian HM stories. But please, keep reading it, because I am sure that many of you will enjoy it, even those of you who do not share my faith. But as you already know, the Harvest Goddess is real in this story, she is not just a made up Goddess like in some Christian HM stories, so what could this mean? How can this Goddess be here, if there is only one true God? It is a dark and mysterious mystery. Till I write again, farewell.
