Chapter 3

And So It Began

To me you weren't just a human

You were a beast

So much so that I was afraid

Of being devoured

I am no beast

I am no human

I live separate so that

You cannot touch me

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT!"

Molly shot up in bed, hastily looking around for the source of the noise and was confused for a moment when she realized she wasn't in her bottom bunk at home. Oh yeah, I'm on Castanet now, she thought to herself. It was odd because she was just dreaming of eating ice cream sandwiches with her sister on the back porch. When she woke up, the image of her small backyard was still visible in her mind. But, it was her small wooden room that was in front of her now and also something small, orange and frantic that was waving his hands all over the place in a panic.

"Finn? Finn. Finn!" She said, having to practically shout his name to get his attention.

He stopped flailing for a moment before flying over and almost running into her face. She stopped him with her hands and set him down in her lap, asking what he was so worked up about.

"I forgot, I forgot!" He shouted in despair, shaking his head.

"What did you forget?" Molly asked, getting a bit worried.

"I forgot to take you to the Harvest Goddess yesterday! It was my job and I didn't do it! I can't believe I forgot. I'm the most HORRIBLE harvest sprite ever!" He said, his eyes watering.

"Woah, woah. Calm down, okay? Look, it's fine; we were busy yesterday and didn't have time. We can always go today, can't we?"

"We HAVE to go today, no matter what! But, it's not fine because we were supposed to go yesterday!"

"Was yesterday a special day or something?" Molly asked, confused.

"Yes, because you were to meet the Goddess," Finn responded.

"That's…well then if I go meet the Goddess today then won't today become special instead?"

Finn stared up at her and thought about it. "I guess…it would be."

Molly smiled and patted his head. "There, you see? All is not lost, we'll just go today."

"But…we were supposed to go yesterday…"

"Well, we can't go back in time so we'll just go today and everything will be fine, I'm sure the Harvest Goddess will forgive us for being a day late," Molly said exasperated.

"Of course she'll forgive us!"

"Then I really don't see what you're worrying about right now," she said, getting out of bed and going to the bathroom to get ready.

Finn pondered about what she said for a moment, decided Molly was right, and went to do his own business before they started the day.

After an hour or so they headed out the door and started for the Garmon Mine District where, according to Finn, the Harvest Goddess lived. While she was up there, Molly also planned on introducing herself to the residents that lived in that area since she didn't get to do it yesterday.

After crossing the bridge, she passed what seemed to be the carpenter's shop and went through an overgrown path in some woods. Just after she thought she'd never reach the end a small opening appeared a few meters ahead. What she saw almost took her breath away. There, in contrast to the dark woods behind them was a pond, or rather a pool, with the clearest water she'd ever seen and a stone path leading to a small area covered in flowers with a tree in the middle. As she and Finn made their way up the steps to the small clearing, she realized that a moat-like body of water surrounded the tree. Even though the rest of the island was still in its early spring stage, this place looked as if it was in the peak of the season already.

She wondered why only here the grass was so green and the water so pure rather than the rest of the island. She was just about to ask Finn when she realized he wasn't at her side anymore. Molly looked around and saw him floating in front of the tree which, upon closer inspection, didn't look as healthy as she had first thought it to be. Its branches were few, leafless and had an air of dejection about them.

Finn turned around and motioned for her to come closer. She joined him in front of the tree and he began to speak.

"Harvest Goddess, I have brought the human that will lead this island to prosperity and request that you grace us with your presence and forgive our tardiness."

Molly began to get nervous hearing how formal Finn was being and started to fidget. Nothing happened at first but then she noticed the air around the tree starting to get brighter until it was glowing with a white light. Then, a figure started to manifest in front of the tree and formed into a solid image. Molly gasped and bowed low. She only got a glance but it was enough to see why the Goddess was so important. Long bluish green hair in twin braids, bright blue eyes that seemed to shine with the energy of the ocean and a face so kind and so loving that only the mother of all nature could have it. Pair it all with lovely transparent wings and you had a full-fledged Goddess.

"You did a fine job my Finn, well done."

Finn beamed, happy he was being praised.

"Raise your head, Molly."

She slowly did as she was told and Molly's eyes locked with hers. In that moment she saw all of Earth and her goodness staring back at her. It was overwhelming.

"Do not be nervous, we are bonded by the same goal and from now on I will be relying on you, Molly, to help me restore this land to its previous state," said the Harvest Goddess, smiling down at her in a way a mother would to her child.

Molly blushed. She couldn't help but be nervous, a Goddess, a real Goddess, was standing in front of her. What was she supposed to say?

"I-I'm honored to be in your presence, Harvest Goddess," she said, not looking her in the eye.

The Goddess sighed. "I see that making you relax will not be so easy and it is too bad because I rarely have any company other than the sprites and so wish to have a normal conversation…"

Molly blinked and looked up. Was the Harvest Goddess pouting?

"We deities might not be human but we are very similar in both appearance and mind. I live and breathe and feel just as you do Molly and I enjoy companionship in much the same way. Do you understand?"

Molly smiled and relaxed her stance. "Well, if you put it that way…"

The Harvest Goddess returned her smile and clapped her hands. "Now that we're past that, I'll explain your task in more detail now."

"Yes, please, if you will," Molly said.

Molly intently listened as the Harvest Goddess explained and, although she had heard from the other villagers what was happening to the land, hearing it from the Goddess made her realize just how serious everything was. All of the elements were weakening drastically and unless she did something soon they would all go into poverty and be forced to move. The lives of so many people resting on her shoulders made her feel sick to her stomach and she had to sit down.

"Molly, what's wrong, you don't feel well?" asked Finn, coming to sit by her side.

"It's just…what if I fail?"

The Goddess glided over the ground and laid her hand on Molly's shoulder. Molly gasped and looked up into her eyes, her hand was full of warmth and her touch seemed to send energy throughout her entire body.

"You will not fail. You have Finn and I, as well as the villagers to support you. And you are strong Molly, we may have just met but I have seen your mind through your dreams and I have the utmost confidence in you. There is a reason that you were chosen, you just have to believe in yourself."

Molly took a deep breath, gaining strength through the Goddess' words. She was right, it will be hard work but…she could do it. She knew she could.

"Yes, you're right. I'm not alone," Molly said, standing up again.

Finn shouted in glee and spun around. Molly giggled and the Harvest Goddess took Finn and wrapped her arms around him.

"I am glad you feel that way. I have told you all that you need to know, so now you must go and find Alan's bell so that you can begin the process. I look forward to seeing you again," said the Goddess, letting go of Finn and watching him fly back to land on Molly's shoulder.

Molly smiled and said goodbye, going back through the woods and ending up next to the Carpenter's shop again.

"That wasn't so bad. The Harvest Goddess is really kind, isn't she Finn?" Molly said, basking in her own wonderment of the Goddess.

"Of course she is! She's the best Goddess ever!" Finn said, spinning around again.

Molly giggled.

"Um, excuse me?" said a voice coming from her left.

She jumped and looked around to see a boy, probably in his teens, staring at her. Molly blushed, realizing that he probably thought she was talking to herself. So much for first impressions.

"Uh, hi. Sorry if I bothered you. I'm Molly, the new farmer."

"Oh no, not at all, sorry to have startled you. I'm Bo, I work at the Carpenter's shop along with Dale and his son Luke, although Luke isn't home right now."

Everyone is so polite here, Molly thought. It was so different from the city where, if you were riding the bus, no one would stop talking on their phone or stop smoking to make the ride more comfortable.

"Hi Bo, nice to meet you. So all three of you are carpenters?" she asked.

"Well, not quite," he said, rubbing his neck, "I'm only an apprentice, it's mostly Dale and Luke that do all of the work."

"Oh okay, well I'm sure you're still good regardless. I can guarantee that you're much better than me, even though that doesn't count for much," Molly said. She had never even taken a wood shop class in high school so she had no idea how to fix anything.

"Well, thanks," he replied shyly.

"Uh huh. Is the shop open right now? I was hoping to introduce myself to everyone before heading back to my house."

"Oh, yeah. Dale is inside but Luke…well actually, he went to Fugue Forest yesterday and still hasn't come back."

"What? Is he okay, should we go look for him?" Molly asked, surprised. She didn't know how he could talk about something like that so casually.

"He should be okay, he's always getting lost. But, it has been awhile so…if you go in there and see him will you tell him to come back?"

"I…yeah, I'll tell him if I see him," she said. She was going to head over to Flute Fields in awhile so she could check the forest too while she was over there.

"Great! I'll go get the key for the forest from Dale, why don't you come with me so you can introduce yourself?" Bo said, gesturing for her to come inside.

Molly complied and, after talking to Dale for a couple minutes, she continued to visit the other shops and made her way back to her house in time for a quick lunch before heading back out again.

"So where are we heading to next?" asked Finn.

"We are going to Flute Fields so I can introduce myself to everyone, and then we can head over to the forest because I'm kind of worried about that Luke guy…"

"Oh, him. I've only been here for a couple months but I've seen him and he's always doing stuff like this," Finn said.

"Getting lost in forests?" asked Molly, getting more curious about what type of guy this Luke person was.

"Well, not necessarily lost but…well, you'll understand when you meet him."

"Okay…?" replied Molly, crossing the bridge that would lead into Flute Fields.

As she was walking to her right, Molly started to hear a faint sound coming from the river bank and walked down to investigate. She realized that the sound was someone whistling and she saw a man with light blue hair fishing in the river. She wondered if this was one of the men Paolo, the little boy at the Fishery was talking about yesterday.

Making her way over, Molly was just about to get his attention when he reeled in his line and threw it back to make a cast. Molly, being only a couple feet away, almost got caught by the fish hook and hastily stumbled back.

"Uwah!"

The man, startled by the noise, stopped whistling and quickly turned in her direction. Her face burned as his eyebrows rose above his hairline watching her stumble awkwardly.

"Uh, s-sorry, I was just about to get your attention but you threw back your rod to cast and I…er…got in the way, ah-ha…," Molly said, trying to cover her red face with one hand and doing the short laugh she always did when she was in an awkward situation.

The man smiled kindly and set his rod down on the ground. Molly lowered her hand away from her face to shake his hand.

"I'm sorry, I should've noticed you earlier but when I start fishing I find that my mind tends to go elsewhere."

Molly couldn't help but smile back at him, his friendliness was so contagious.

"No, no, it's okay; I should've said something earlier. Uhm, my name is Molly, I'm the new farmer."

"Hello Molly. I'm Toby, I live over at the fishery in town."

"Oh, so you're Toby," she said, and noticing the question on his face elaborated, telling him that Paolo had mentioned him to her yesterday when she got off of the boat.

"Oh, alright. Yes, he's my cousin and Ozzie, his dad, is my uncle."

"He's a very nice little boy. He even invited me to go fishing," Molly replied.

"That sounds like a great idea. You'll have to come with the three of us the next day we have off," said Toby, looking genuinely excited at the prospect of a fishing trip with her.

"Yeah, I'd like to, although someone will have to teach me how to fish…"

Toby's eyes, which were partially closed in a squint until now, popped open in surprise and said loudly, "You've never been fishing before!?"

Molly, so mesmerized by his stunning teal eyes, almost didn't hear him but managed a small, "N-no, I never got out of the city much."

"That's it," said Toby, gathering his fishing equipment, "it's decided. You're definitely coming with us; you've been missing out until now. Fishing is one of the greatest activities to do on Earth."

Molly smiled, not really seeing how fishing could be that great but not wanting to insult Toby, who obviously loved fishing, kept her mouth shut.

"Well, it's about time that I head back, the fish aren't biting anymore. I'll talk to you again and let you know what day we'll go out."

"Oh okay, sure. Enjoy your day!" she said, watching him climb up to cross the bridge.

He smiled and waved back.

She waited until he was out of sight before turning to Finn.

"He was a nice guy, wasn't he?" she asked him.

Finn nodded and bobbed his head in the direction of two houses further along. "Should we head over there next?"

Molly agreed and they headed over only to see a small boy arguing with his parents. She only caught the last part of their conversation but it seemed as if they were arguing about the seeds they were trying to grow. The little boy shouted something at his father and stalked past her, heading towards town. Molly, deciding it was a bad time to introduce herself, was just about to walk away until the man yelled out for her to stop.

She turned around and headed back towards the man and what looked to be his wife. If she had to summarize them both in one word it would be 'sullen'. They were both very average people, wearing the same looks on their faces as the ones she would see on the middle-aged adults in the subway, reading the newspaper and sighing every five minutes.

"You. Who are you?" the man asked.

Molly got nervous, noticing the hint of frustration in his voice. Talk about bad timing…

"I'm Molly, I'm the new farmer."

"Yes, yes, it is sort of obvious," he said impatiently.

Molly frowned a little bit. If it was obvious, why did he even ask who she was?

"O-oh, well then…if you'll excuse me," she said, taking a step back.

"Oh and now she's going to go ahead and leave after just an introduction, I see that all city girls act the same. No manners at all," he said, crossing his arms.

Now Molly was getting angry. "I don't have any manners? You haven't even said your name."

"And now she's talking back to me!"

His wife started to move forward, to join in or to calm down her husband, Molly didn't know, but before anyone could say anything else the door to the house on their left suddenly slammed open.

"Would you ALL just shut up? It's still early and you're shouting nonsense right outside my door," said Chase, running a hand through his strawberry hair, still tangled from sleep.

For a moment they were all shocked speechless but then the man directed his attention towards Chase and said something rude, which, in turn, Chase said something rude back.

Molly, thinking about just sneaking quietly away, was then approached by his wife.

"I'm sorry about my husband. It's just, our family has been going through some rough times and he's just taking it harder than the rest of us. He's not usually this rude, please forgive him. My name is Ruth by the way, and my husband's name is Craig."

Ruth, even though her face gave away no emotion other than boredom, seemed honest enough and Molly sighed, all of her previous anger washing away.

"No, I understand, it's okay."

Ruth gave a small smile, making her look younger and yelled for her husband to stop arguing with Chase.

"What is it?" Craig said grumpily.

"I think it's time we get back to the store, dear."

Craig just hmphed and started to make his way back to the store when Chase called out for him to stop.

"What?" asked Craig, obviously annoyed.

"I think you should apologize to Molly," Chase said, nodding his head in her direction.

Molly started waving her arms saying it was okay but Chase silenced her with a hard look.

"An apology? For what?"

"For taking out the anger over your failing store on her," he said. Wow, Molly thought, Chase sure didn't hold back his punches.

Craig turned beet red and started stuttering. He looked like he was about to explode but, instead, he turned towards Molly, barked out a short "Sorry" and stalked back to his store, Ruth following close behind him.

Molly was speechless and just stared after them. Chase, after looking at her for a moment, proceeded to turn around and go back into his house.

"Wait!" Molly said, reaching out her hand to stop him.

He stopped and faced her.

"What is it?"

Molly fidgeted nervously. She didn't know what to make of Chase. First he's rude and sarcastic and then he's caring, she didn't know if he was nice or unpleasant. She decided that she would hold off on that judgment for now.

"Um, thank you. For interfering back there."

Chase stared back at her for so long she started to get self-conscious, but before she could say anything he just shrugged, said, "No problem", and went back into his house.

Molly exchanged a confused look with Finn and continued over to Horn Ranch to introduce herself to Cain's wife and daughter and then finally made it to the entrance of Fugue Forest.

"Are we going to look for Luke now?" Finn asked, resting on her shoulder.

"I guess so," said Molly. "Is this place really like a maze?"

Dale had told her, while handing her the key, to be careful because the forest was like a natural made maze and was easy to get lost in.

Finn shrugged saying he had never been in there before.

Molly sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out," she said, unlocking the door and staring into the dark canopy of trees ahead. She had a hunch she wouldn't see the sky for awhile and with that feeling she stepped into the forest.