Disclaimer: I do not own the bragging rights that would have entitled me to say "I own Harvest Moon!" :(
Chapter 4: Nowhere to be Found
It was a cool and chilly night; quiet but for the occasional rustle of leaves and greenery whenever some nocturnal creature rushed through, or a slumbering animal stirred in its home within the watchful arms of a tree. Other than the winking stars and the serene moon, no other light shone in the darkness. All of life was seemingly at peace...but then again, nature's facade could always be proved wrong.
Thump. Thump.
Dale and Bo's snores have already made some sort of musical rhythm in their home long after Luke arrived from the Inn, and although he wasn't brim-full with energy, he still wasn't dead-low enough to fall asleep.
Thump. Thump.
He has been bouncing his little red ball against the wall ever since he arrived.
Thump. Thump.
This kind of "thump" was nothing like the sound of his axe against a tree trunk. In fact, if he was holding his axe in that moment and chopping down a tree, he'd be happy.
Thump. Thump.
But the happiness he'd feel whenever he was doing the most extreme and awesome thing in the world was nowhere near the happiness he'd feel if he had Akari back.
Thump. Thump.
Despite the sharp pain that shot up his arm two evenings ago, he didn't fail to stay sharp. In fact, when Akari shook hands with the Sundae Inn's chef, he actually saw many things. He saw two spots of pink on her cheeks that weren't there a few moments beforehand.
Thump.
He saw that small hint of a shy smile on her lips and cheeks.
Thump.
He saw her eyes.
Thump.
He has failed to remove that overall image of Akari on his mind.
Thump. Thump.
From that moment onwards, Akari's attention on blue was nowhere to be found.
The inner child in him wanted to cry out loud "that's not fair!", but he knew Chase. Although he wasn't exactly the nicest person around, he still had enough common sense to back off a bro's girl, right? Bro code. It was the most powerful unspoken rule throughout the island. No one breaks the bro code.
"Gah!" he accidentally cried out. His ball had rebounded too hard and it hit him square on the nose. While rubbing his nose, he bent down and reached for the little round object. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found.
*AN This chapter was originally supposed to be longer, but I had a better idea and decided to place it in a later chapter. So yes, I am sorry if you found this too short :(
People...reviewed? :O WOW guys thank you so much for the reviews!
Thank you to...
TheOneMagic, who's reviewed every single chapter xD
Guest, whose review came during one of my "down days" (it really made my day!) :) and
Cotton Candy Mareep, whose review included really wonderful suggestions (I kept the window with your review open the whole time I was writing this xD I hope I was able to improve somehow in this chapter...) :D
P.S. People have been wondering about what happened to Akari. I shall explain in time! I really didn't explain it at the beginning on purpose. :)
So...what did you guys think?