A/N: I don't know if anyone has noticed, but my section breaks aren't being shown on this site and it's driving me nuts. Makes the story look cluttered. I'm going to try different ones to see if any of them actually show up. If they are distracting let me know. As always, read and review!

Chapter 14: Just a Farmer

One event that happened before 'that fateful day' stuck out in Jack's mind. He was up by the Goddess Pond having a nice early morning chat with Ann. He was really there to see Popuri but she must have been late that morning.

"The fireworks festival is coming up," Ann commented. "I guess you are going to go with Popuri?"

"Yeah that was the plan."

"Sounds like fun. I really want to ask Cliff but I feel awkward. Popuri is always telling me that the guy has to ask the girl out." Ann sighed.

"Why not ask him? Worst that can happen is he'll say no."

"That's what I am afraid of." Ann looked up towards the sky. "I always go to the fireworks alone. It didn't used to bother me, but for some reason it does this year."

Jack nodded. "I wouldn't worry about it Ann. If he is a real friend he wouldn't hesitate to go with you."

Ann turned her head to look at Jack. She was smiling a bit. "You are always so encouraging Jack. You are a really great friend, you know that?"

"You tell me every chance you get."

Ann gently punched his arm teasingly. "Stop it, you are making me sound sappy."

"Well…"

Ann quickly jumped up. "Well I'm not is right! I should get going."

Jack looked down at his watch. It was already 10 a.m. "I wonder where Popuri is today?"

Ann looked around then back at Jack. "It's Sunday! Popuri is probably down by the church.

Sunday, already? "Oh okay Ann. I'll see you around."

Ann left to go back to the Inn. A few moments later Jack collected his rucksack and quickly put a few of the summer grasses in it. They were worth something from the shipper and he had to start saving up for his chicken coop again. He stopped by his farm to drop the grasses into his shipping bin then he was on his way to the church.

It was a quiet summer morning. Jack went the long path that morning; it took him right past the market. He expected to see Karen and Rick sitting outside but today they weren't. Jack approached the church and pushed open the large wooden doors.

Inside everything was light up by the sunshine the came in through the windows. In the front of the church the Priest stood at the podium. He was rehearsing one of his sermons to an empty church.

"And that my children is why you can never commit adultery! You must always be loyal to your spouse. The Harvest Goddess will grant you a good life if you are loyal to her and your family." It must have been the end of his story.

Taking a quick look around the church Jack noticed the pink haired woman was nowhere to be found. Carter looked up and smiled when he saw Jack. "Would you like to hear a story?"

"I was actually here looking for Popuri…"

"It's about a woman who is unfaithful to her husband and how the Harvest Goddess makes her pay for her sin."

Jack frowned. "It sounds very interesting, but I have a lot of work to do today so I was wondering if you could tell me if you saw Popuri here this morning?"

Carter sighed. No one ever wanted to hear his stories. It was the reason why he preached to an empty church every Sunday. "No Popuri was not here this morning," Carter explained.

"Okay, thanks Carter. I'll see you later!" Jack quickly left before the man could tell him anymore of his story.

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That day, it happened to be the day of the Fireworks Festival. Everyone in the town went to different places to watch the fireworks. In general all the younger people went to the beach to watch it with their date or alone. Jack was told that most people brought dates. He hadn't talked to Popuri in a few days, but he knew he would meet her there and they would have a really good time together.

He was daydreaming about her as he did his farm work. The last time they were at the beach together they shared their first kiss. He didn't enjoy being around any of the other girls in town the way he loved to be around Popuri. It was Saibara who said it first, but Jack was in love with this girl.

He thought of what Saibara had said to him because the necklace he ordered was finally done and in his possession. It was just perfect. Made out of the beautiful metal orichalc, it was perfectly engraved with her name and just the right amount of shine. He was planning on giving it to her at the fireworks. It was going to be the most perfect night.

Jack had planned to arrive early and set up a nice place for them to be somewhat alone on the beach. In order to do this he had to make sure he had all his chores on the farm done in time to eat an early dinner and head to the beach before anyone else could get there.

He quickly rushed around the farm, making sure all his animals were taken care of and his crops were all watered. After a quick dinner Jack was on his way out the door and into town. It was quiet, but this was usually the case on festival days. Everyone else except maybe Gotz took the day off. On this particular festival day it felt eerily quiet. Jack shrugged off the unsteady feeling he got and continued in the direction of the beach.

Jack walked onto the beach and breathed in the fresh air. It felt so good to be there. The beach only held happy memories for him, and he smiled to himself. The sun was starting to set now, but it wasn't quite late enough for any of the other villagers to be there.

"Mmmm…"

A noise suddenly made Jack jump. He thought he was the only one there. Just as he was about to look around to see what the noise was he heard a familiar giggle. Then he heard it. It was her voice.

"Mmm Kai! Stop it! Get off me! People are going to start showing up soon and then we'll be in real trouble."

"Who cares?"

Jack looked to see what was going on only to see Kai wrap his arms around Popuri. They were lying on the beach together; in the same exact spot Jack shared his first kiss with her!

His jaw dropped. He didn't even know how to react. He was motionless for a moment, until he saw Kai start to kiss his girlfriend. No, he wasn't just kissing her. He was all over her.

"Get off my girlfriend you scumbag!" Jack finally was able to move and he was fuming. He stormed over to the couple and Kai quickly moved away from Popuri."

"Jack!" She cried out and looked away.

Kai hastily got up and moved even further away from Popuri. "Hey I thought you told him!" He seemed angry but his face turned scared when he saw the way Jack was looking at him. "I guess I'll leave you two alone." He ran off towards his snack shack to avoid conflict.

"Popuri how could you do this to me?" She looked away but didn't say anything. "Look at me! How could you!"

"I was going to break up with you but I never got the chance."

"What? Why? I thought we had a good relationship. I didn't even know there was something wrong. Why didn't you give us a chance Popuri?" Jack couldn't control his feelings anymore. All sorts of emotions were stirring inside of him, so much that he started to shake a bit.

"Because Jack… you're… just a farmer!" She stood up so she could look at him eye to eye. "I want to travel the world and see things! I'm sick of living in this uneventful. I want to do new things. I don't want to be farmers wife!"

"Wife? It was a new relationship… I just wanted you to give me a chance…"

"I'm sorry Jack. I should have told you sooner. I'm leaving with Kai in a few days. And there is nothing anybody can do to stop me. Not you, not Rick, no one! I want to be free!"

This news shocked Jack so much that he was speechless. He knew that Popuri was unhappy about him being so busy, but he had no idea it was this deep. Leaving the village… how could she? He turned and walked towards the water without saying anything to her.

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace. This was going to be his perfect gift to give to his perfect girlfriend on their perfect night. Now it was all ruined. She was no longer part of his life. He took the necklace and threw it as far as he could towards the ocean. Jack turned away before he saw it land and left the beach.

"I'm so sorry Jack…" It was the last thing he heard her say to him.

There would be no fireworks for Jack that year.

A few days later Popuri had snuck out early in the morning with all her bags. She didn't want Rick to know that she was leaving for good. She dragged them onto the docks where Kai was waiting for her. He took the bags from her and loaded them onto the ferry. Something in the water though caught her eye and she stopped for a moment before getting on the ferry.

"Come on Popuri, we're leaving soon."

Squatting down on the docks to get a closer look at what was floating in the water, she saw a beautiful necklace. It was floating and hitting up against the legs of the dock each time the tide came in. It was engraved with her name.

Popuri stood up. She did so while wondering if it was a mistake to leave…