Sorry for not updating for a while... I just went away for a week so I didn't really get any chances to work on this story, or Rebuilding. I swear an update will be put in for Rebuilding this week, hopefully today or tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

Truthful Lies

Five days later the white people were still there. I avoided them as much as possible, especially that Julia. The white people, or "settlers" as they called themselves, had started building houses for themselves. The other Natives watched in silent awe as they used strange tools to build.

Kimama eventually convinced me to go canoeing; that it would help calm me. She wouldn't go with me, no matter what I said, so I gave in and went alone.

I was down by the meadow when that Julia spotted me and ran over to me. She had a weird looking piece of wood in her hand with metals bumps on it.

When I saw I tried to canoe faster, but she somehow caught up to me in the long dress she was wearing.

"Chelsea!" she cried, waving the wood in the air. "Chelsea! Wait for me!"

I stopped paddling and watched her scurry over.

"My name is not Chelsea," I said, putting the paddle across my lap.

"Yes it is!" Julia yelled, wagging the wood at me.

"No it is not!" I cried, crossing my arms defiantly.

"You are not one of them," Julia said, pointing to the jungle. "You are one of us!" she pointed to herself.

"No, I am not," I said, picking up the paddle.

"Yes, you are," Julia said. "You may act like them and wear their savage clothing, but you are one of us!"

"My clothing is not savage!" I yelled, putting the paddle back down. I looked down at the tiger skin dress I was wearing with the triangle hem and rayed edges, the colourful feathers in my hair, the shell armband on my right arm, and the tooth necklace around my neck. "If anything, your clothing is savage! It is so plain and... lifeless!"

"My clothing is not lifeless!" Julia said, a hurt look on her face. "It is the height of fashion!"

"Fashion...?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Does... fashion help you survive?"

"Well, no..." Julia said, looking at the ground. "But neither does your outfit!"

I laughed, smiling widely at the foolish girl in front of me. "If you are being attacked by a wild animal, it is much easier to run without all that... cloth in your way."

Julia squinted her eyebrows at me. "You are so ignorant," she said, huffing and sticking her nose in the air. "There are no wild animals in the city!"

"City?" I asked. "I have never heard of such a place."

Julia was about to open her mouth to say more, but the plump lady from the beach called over to her.

"Julia! Leave poor Chelsea alone!" she cried.

"But mother!" Julia whined.

"Julia! Now!" the lady snapped, and Julia reluctantly obeyed.

"My name is not Chelsea," I said to her as she walked away. "It's Nidawi."

I paddled away down the river until I was soon near the entrance to the ocean. Sighing, I moved the canoe into the salty water and then landed on the beach. Mother didn't like me canoeing in the ocean, so once I got to it I had to land on the beach and carry the canoe all the way back to the village.

Picking up the canoe I started towards the village. As I walked off the beach I saw that the white settlers were building houses almost everywhere on the island. That man with the silver was there, in front of a red-roofed house talking to the old man that had argued with Wada. There was also the little blonde girl talking to a little boy with black hair, and a man with dark brown curly hair carving a piece of wood. He looked sort of like my people, except his skin was darker. There was a black bird on his shoulder with crossed eyes.

Everyone stared at me as I walked through "their" town, but I ignored them and held my head high.

"Chelsea..." the silver man stepped forward.

I slid the canoe off my head and balanced it on the ground, then turned to face him.

"How many times must I tell you," I said, shaking my head at him. "My name is not Chelsea. It is Nidawi."

"That's not what your parents named you," the man said, putting his hands in his pockets.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "My real parents are dead," I said. "I have new ones now."

"They are now," the man said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, snapping my eyes open.

"They were still alive when you disappeared," he said. "And they were heartbroken that you went missing. They thought you were dead."

"You lie," I said, turning my head from him. "Wada searched the island and didn't find them."

"I don't know," he said. "All I know is that they survived and somehow found their way back to town. And had a son."

I turned back to face him and squinted at him. "A... son?" I asked softly.

The man nodded. "His name is Mark," he said. "He's here, you know. On this island."

I looked at him some more, arguing in my mind whether or not to trust him. "Why was I not told of sooner?" I snapped angrily.

He shrugged. "How should I know?"

With that said, he walked into the red-roofed building. I gave a little "Hmph", grabbed my canoe, and hurried back to the village.

"Nidawi!" Kimama ran up to me as soon as I walked into the village. "Nidawi, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I lied.

Should I tell them about my brother? I thought, arguing with myself. But what if he's lying, and I really don't have a brother?

"I just went canoeing, like you suggested."

"Good," Kimama said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Did you run into those 'setters'?"

I nodded. "I had to go through their village to get back," I said. "But I... ignored them."

I hated lying to anyone, especially my best friend, but I couldn't tell her about my brother. I just couldn't...

:O *gasp* Nidawi (yes, I shall be calling that) has a brother? The next chapter will be filled with even more surprises, and it might even be a songfic chapter :D