4. Goodbye

Nami had packed all her belongings, which really didn't amount to much. A change of clothes, a couple of fossils, a big jar of Ruby spice. It was all she'd ever needed. She wiped the recently fallen tears from her eyes and sniffed. Why was she crying? She never cried. She pointlessly checked the room one last time, there was nothing left for her now.

She'd promised her father a day or two earlier that she would finally return home. She'd been running long enough, and it was time to face the deafening music. But maybe, she decided, it would be good to have a home again. The valley had never been her home, not really. They say home is where the heart is, and she'd never let her heart be there, she'd known she had to leave someday.

She heaved the rucksack onto her shoulder and looked out of the window, it was the early hours of the morning, so not one resident was slowly ambling down the path. She was ready to slip out quietly; nobody would have to know until she was long gone. She hated to say goodbye. She padded slowly down the sandy pathway, heading in the direction of Mineral town. From there she could take a boat and be back home by noon.

As she passed the farm she spotted Jack doing some early morning grass cutting. "Damn," she thought, she hadn't expected him to be up so early. But then again, he was a farmer, of course he needed to be up early. She frowned; she would have to be really sly to avoid him seeing her. She took a cautious step forward and cringed as her foot landed on a stick. A loud crack sounded through the peaceful valley and she groaned.

Jack looked over at her and smiled awkwardly, running down to meet her. He was like a puppy, with a limitless amount of energy.

"Hey Nami!" He greeted amiably, noting her rucksack. "Going somewhere?"

She cursed his intuitiveness, why couldn't he have just assumed she was going to Mineral Town.

"Away." She said shortly, it was best to be as vague as possible. He frowned and she knew he was planning to question her further. He thought for a moment and was silent.

"Are you coming back?" He asked, his eyes filled with a strange sadness, he already knew. She shook her head quietly, her eyes focussed on the stones of the ground.

"Oh, were you planning on telling anyone... no... Of course you weren't. You were just planning to leave! How do you think everyone will feel?" He asked angrily. She looked up at him, mirroring his anger, how dare he be mad at her? She had a reason not to tell anyone!

"They'll get over it." She said with a shrug. He went silent again, looking hard at her.

"You weren't even planning on telling me..." He noted quietly, his voice sad. She took a deep breath, she wanted to tell him how much she'd wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to say so many things to him that her mouth had refused to. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him and how sorry she was for everything. But for some reason she couldn't, they would never have gotten anywhere like that.

"No. You're all better off without me." She offered. He looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes and she felt her cold heart shattering like ice at the blow of a sledgehammer.

"You know that's not true. But fine... go ahead and think that. I..." He paused, pondering whether to tell her he loved her one last time. "Goodbye Nami."

They were better off without the heartbreak. Nami would never open up, and even Jack's warmth couldn't melt her icy armour.

She nodded, running a hand through her blood red hair. She glanced at him one last time, she really wanted to say how much she'd miss him. She wanted to hug him and cry into his arms, but she wouldn't, that was beneath her. Jack nodded too and sighed before turning back to his farm, not even looking back.

"Goodbye Jack, I'll miss you." Nami whispered before she disappeared from the valley.

Jack frowned as he glanced over at the pathway to Mineral town, he could have sworn he'd heard Nami say something.

"Just the wind." He muttered as he sliced his sickle through the lush grass.