The Stalker

Jack glanced at the path on his field. He could sense something was standing there just a few seconds ago. However, when he turned his head, he found nothing. It happened since summer. To be exact, strange things happened after he took his dog, Rook, for a walk. He began to feel someone was watching at him, of course, it left the farmer an eery feeling.

The farmer entered his house as he felt something was not right. He took his dog with him. When he opened the door, he screamed when he saw Cliff was there, eating mochi with his falcon.

"You give me a shock, Cliff!" Jack slumped against the door and let go Rook. "Oh my God, I thought you were the stalker." He raised his eyebrow. How could he enter my house?

"Someone is following you?" Cliff's eyes were rounded then he sat with his leg crossed as he clapped his hand. "I think I could find the stalker." Cliff then peered on Jack's eyes.

Jack sighed, "oh thank God, I really need that, who knows that stalker wants to hurt me or my animals."

Cliff hummed as he pressed a hand to his mouth.

.

Jack put his beer while furrowing. He hummed and crossed his arms.

"Why with that long face, Jack?" Duke asked while wiping a glass and laughing.

Jack sighed. "I think someone is stalking me," he said as he rested his arm on the bar counter and pressed his interlaced hands to his mouth. "And I think the stalker is here too …. I can feel someone is stalking me right now."

Duke glanced at a brunette girl who served a drink. Duke grinned and laughed. "Maybe it is just your imagination, Jack!"

"I hope it is true but I feel someone is following me." Jack turned his head when Cliff called him.

"Hey, Jack, I know who the stalker is!" Cliff entered the bar like this place was his. When he found that bar was crowded, his face flushed then rushed to his friend.

"So, who is the stalker?" Jack asked with a serious face.

"It is Ka-" a glass of beer bumped his face before he could finish his sentence.

"I'm sorry, Cliff!"

Karen's face was red. She looked at Jack awkwardly as she wrapped her hands on Cliff's neck.

"Ka-Karen … I think Cliff is …." as much Jack wanted to stop Karen, Karen looked at him with her deadly gaze.

"Come with me, Cliff, we need to change your clothes!" Karen dragged Cliff outside.

"What is that …"

.

"You often come here didn't you?" said Jeff, the head of the café which Ellie had worked even before he came to this village.

Three seasons. It was already three seasons he always came to here in his lunchtime after he didn't have time to make it himself. Time passed as he didn't realize it. Indeed, he was too busy to check the calendar for farming, took care of animals and made friends with villagers yet he had not figured out who the stalker was.

"Yeah because I like Ellie's cake. It filled up my stamina," he answered and then laughed cheerfully.

Ellie blushed like tomato hearing things that came out from the farmer. She was trying to hide her face with a round tray she was holding. "Thank you for the compliment."

"I said the truth," he said brightly.

"Bu-but thanks to your work so you can burn all calories that you've got from these cakes," she said and pouted, "You know, I'm kind of jealous that you didn't get any fat from my cakes." She let a sigh and held the round tray in front of her tummy. "I'm the type of people that will get chubby for just a slice of cake."

Jack gaped his mouth and smiled.

She was scratching her cheek with her index finger while the eyes looked around, too embarrassed to look directly to his eyes. "I'm kinda worried about it because some boys prefer a skinny girl like Ann, right?" She questioned him, giving a hint to him although knowing he wouldn't aware of it.

He just smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're beautiful just the way you're."

Ellie blushed again and turned away. "O-oh okay. I think I'll go back to work, and thanks for coming."

Jack stood up and waved his hand to Ellie and Jeff. As he went out the café, Ellie called him.

"This is your scarf, isn't it?" Ellie asked and handed the red wool scarf that Jack usually wear in winter.

"Thanks," he said and wrapped the scarf around his neck.

"Please don't work too hard in winter," Ellie said.

"Ya, thanks. Then, I'll go. Bye."

When Jack rushed to Ann's place to bought some fodder stock. He glanced at the sight of Karen that watching him from the Lilia's Flower Shop. Karen turned her head and skipped stones.

Is that just my imagination?

The farmer then entered the store.

.

"So, you want to buy some stocks for winter?" Doug asked while he was counting some golds in his hand.

"Yea, this winter is rough and I think there will be a blizzard tomorrow," Jack stated as he gave some golds to the orange haired life-stock dealer. "Didn't you feel it too, Doug? The temperature is lower than last weeks as weather-forecast said."

Doug sneered. "Yea, then don't make Ann work on your farm."

"I didn't. It was her who offered help," Jack stated as he picked some bags of fodders.

"Then just decline her offers," Doug said.

Jack laughed awkwardly. "I'll try it."

The door opened and two of them looked straight away to the doorway. That was Gray, stood with some mud in his shoes and smelled bad because of manure.

"Done with work, Gray?" Doug asked.

Gray nodded as he glanced at his dad. "Ya."

"Have you seen Ann?" Doug asked.

"No, maybe she is in the cave with Cliff or making some chocolate." He answered and put a big fork then went outside.

"Ck, that son."

Like father like son, I guess ...

Jack went outside with fodders on his hands.

There she was again. Jack glanced to Karen knowing that she was kind of stalking him from the early day. She was hiding back at the small house beside Doug store.

Just ignore it, Jack.

When he heard steps behind his back. He turned back. "Found ya!"

"Wha!" Karen screamed as he stepped back.

"What are you doing? Are you stalking me?"

"No! Don't full of yourself!" She answered with a high voice. "There is no way I'll stalk you!"

Jack raised one of his eyebrows and then pointed Karen's hiding place before. "Then, what are you doing there?"

She blushed and clenched fists. "Wha?! So you know that I was hiding there from the start!"

"Uhmm yea ..."

She ran passed Jack to the way to her home-vineyard.

"Karen?!"

"Don't talk to me!" She rushed and didn't even looked back at him.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Tsk, girl," said the voice behind Jack. He knew very well the voice, he turned back and found Gray was walking toward him.

"So, you've watched it all?" Jack asked.

Gray nodded. "From the very beginning."

So … she is the stalker? The farmer was unsure. He looked at the path to the vineyard then laughed.

TBC