Part 2

Chase was free falling down the waterfall, the orange dog yelping in his arms. Water drops sprinkled off the cascading wall and splashed his face. Chase's eyes were closed, afraid to see his own death. The waterfall was a deep drop, so for a second, Chase wondered 'I haven't died yet…?' Suddenly, water rushed up his nose, forcing him to open his mouth and bring more water he heard a giant splash, muffled away in the water. Chase felt weak, as if his body had been thrown against a tree. But he was alive, for the moment at least. The dog took on less damage because of its small body, but it didn't take much to kill a dog. Chase couldn't hold onto the dog any longer, and it slowly rose to the surface, while Chase descended deeper into the darkness. 'My new life was supposed to be great…! But now, I find myself dying in the town's lake…'

The sound of a girl giggling pierced his mind. "You're not in the lake, silly…!" the voice claimed. "You're in the Harvest Goddess pond…!"

'Harvest what…?'

"Don't worry… Just sleep…" The girl's voice was as soothing as a lullaby. Chase couldn't keep himself awake anymore. The strain was too much for him, and he slowly lost consciousness.

The swishing sound of waves climbing and falling was something Chase thought he'd never hear. He was awake, but he was hesitant to open his eyes. 'If I open my eyes, what will I see?' Oddly, he didn't feel any pain at all, even though he had just fallen off a waterfall. But that didn't convince him enough to open his eyes. 'C'mon, Chase. You gotta open your eyes sometime!' Something cool and wet was brushing his face. Chase slowly opened his eyes to peek at what it was. A sad, orange dog was licking Chase's face in a desperate attempt to wake him up. Chase meant to close his eyes immediately after, but the sight of the sad dog shocked him greatly. "You…?" he asked weakly.

"Arf!" the dog barked enthusiastically. His bushy tail shook from side to side, and he continued to lick his face.

"Ha, ha. Ok, ok, I'm getting up!" Chase pushed himself off the ground and stood straight. He found himself on a shore leading up to the lake. The surrounding scenery was trees and grass, and up the slope Chase could see the little tip of a roof

"Arf!" the dog barked again. Chase bent down and patted the dog's head.

"So you like me now, eh?"

"Arf!"

"Do you wanna be my dog then?" The orange dog didn't answer, but his tail wagged eagerly and his tongue was hanging out from his mouth. Chase hasn't seen a happier dog than now. "Alright. Well, what should I call you then?" Various names came to Chase's head, not one of them a good one. If there was one thing Chase could never be good at, it was giving names. "I'll name you…Doug!" The newly named Doug looked at him hesitantly. "What? Don't like it?" The dog stopped moving for a second, and then Doug started wagging its tail. Chase smiled. "Let's go check out where we are." They began walking up the shore, Doug at Chase's side. The area they were in at the moment was where he had seen only the other day. The familiar inn gleamed in the sunlight. Chase forgot to check his watch, and when he did, he jumped. It was already 3:00 P.M.! Chase began running back to his farm, determined to make it before 5.

Suddenly, the crashing sound of a bucket echoed through the plain. "Ah!" cried an unfamiliar voice. Chase stopped moving and looked momentarily. The noise came from behind the flower shop. He remembered how Kaitlyn liked the shop so much.

'Maybe I should go check if they're ok.' He ran to the side of the shop and found the back entrance. Opening the gate, he glanced at the backyard. It was a floral garden, filled with even more flowers than the front. Bees could be seen buzzing from flower to flower. A few birds flew in to watch the show. In the center, a bucket was protruded above someone's head. Chase almost laughed at the victim, but he was able to hold it in. Doug followed in and barked at the new person. "Quiet, Doug," he whispered. Chase walked over to the clumsy person. "Are you ok?"

He unveiled the gardener, almost jumping at the sight. Instead of a frustrated guy, which was what he expected, there was a girl. She wore tight, blue jeans and a T-shirt with a blue star in the middle. Her energetic green eyes, dyed pink hair, bag with floral designs, and petite look made her look just like a flower.

"No!" she shouted at him. "I wasted all of the water!" She was all up in his face, staring angrily. But then the anger subsided. "Oh wait," she said, retreating, "I…don't know you." Chase laughed nervously.

"Yeah, I don't know you either…" They stood there for a few seconds. Neither of them talked, and they just stared at each other for a while. An awkward silence followed.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" Chase asked, confused.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Chase laughed nervously again.

'This girl is pretty dense, isn't she?' "I-I'm Chase. And you are?"

"My name's Beatrice!" She suddenly snatched the bucket from Chase. "I'll see you later, Chase!" She hurriedly rushed to the back gate. "I've got to go fetch some more water!" She ran halfway to the exit before falling on her face. "Ow…" Beatrice moaned, touching her forehead to cover the bruise. She picked herself up and began running again. Without looking, she pushed open the gate, but a wayward rock underneath her feet tripped her over. Chase couldn't continue watching anymore. He walked towards her and lent her a helping hand.

"You're really clumsy, aren't you?" he sighed. She gratefully took his hand.

"Only today, I guess. It happens when Harvest magic is nearby!"

'Harvest magic? Is that some kind of joke?' Beatrice began to run again, but Chase quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Lemme go with you, Beatrice." He took the bucket and walked ahead of her. Her mouth was slightly opened as she smiled. Then she ran and grabbed his free hand.

"I'll show you where to get the water!" Chase blushed like an apple, and he didn't get a chance to let go.

'Haha. I guess you can never know with this girl.'

When they finished watering the flowers, Beatrice accompanied Chase and Doug on their way back to their farm. "Is that your dog?" she asked him, pointing to the pointy-eared orange animal.

"Yes. His name's Doug." He looked at my dog, and the dog barked back at him.

"Oh?"Beatrice picked Doug up and lifted it above her head. "Well aren't you a cute dog!"

"Arf, arf!"

"Oh…" She glanced back at Chase. "Hey, Chase. You do know that Doug is a girl dog, right?"

"Huh?" Chase asked. He had thought that since the dog had a rough nature at first, he would be a he. But upon further inspection, the he is a she. "You, you're right!"

"Do you want to rename her?" Chase bit his upper lip, secretly disagreeing deep inside his heart.

'Well, I guess Doug isn't a very good name for a female dog. So…'

"Ok, sure," Chase said reluctantly.

"Got any ideas?" They stepped onto the town plaza, and at that instant, Chase got an idea.

"Casey," Chase stated.

"Casey? Really?" Beatrice looked at him, unconvinced.

"Really! Don't you think it's a good name?"

"Of course not! That's a horrible name!" Beatrice shoved the formally-named Doug into Chase's face. "Does this look like a Casey to you!" Suddenly, Jun, The Wandering Merchant, appeared before them.

"May I make a suggestion?" He caught both of their attention in a moment. Jun brought out three items out of his sleeves and placed them on the ground. The first was a clean, green apple. The second item was a bronze ore, and the final was a blue book with no title. "Whichever the dog picks, that will determine his name." He smiled at them with hands reached outward.

"Oh, I see…" Beatrice said slowly. She lowered the female dog onto the ground and gave her a small push. The dog slowly walked to the selection and looked at each item.

"Of course," Jun continued, closing his eyes while raising his index finger. "Whatever the dog picks, you must pay for it! Alright~?" He opened his eyes and glanced back at them, but they weren't there. "Wha?"

"She picked one!" Beatrice shouted excitedly. Off to the side, the dog had a plain flower in its mouth, Chase and Beatrice watching her.

"She did!" Chase exclaimed. "So should we name her after a flower?"

"Well, how about we call her Flora?" Beatrice recommended.

"Flora?" Chase asked, grabbing the flower out of the dog's mouth. "Mm…yeah, that sounds nice."

"You hear that, girl?" Beatrice asked, bending her knees. "You're new name's gonna be Flora! Isn't that better?"

"Arf!" Flora barked while wagging her tail.

"Well, let's keep going. We're almost there," Chase said, walking ahead.

"Coming," Beatrice answered, letting Flora walk on her own.

A breeze came by as Jun was left alone once again in the town plaza.

Chase, Beatrice, and Flora were finally at the last area before they would climb upward to the farm. The sun was setting at that time, and the warmth from the light felt like a pat on the back for them. It was already 5, and the market was closed, giving Chase a big relief. As they walked up, Chase saw a distressed Lily and an unmoving Remu. Her hands were pushing Remu, urging her to walk upward, but the cow was glued to the ground. "Lily!" Chase said, running up. She turned back, and frowned at him.

"There you are, Chase!" She stopped her useless efforts and put her hands on her hips. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" He caught up to her, and Beatrice and Flora soon caught up to him.

"Why's Remu out here?"

"Why?" Lily shouted at him angrily. "It's because you forgot to lock the gate!" Chase looked back to previous morning.

'Come to think of it, I only pushed Remu in there. And then I left quickly after…' Lily watched Chase's thinking face with disgust.

"Well," she said, turning around, "it's your problem now. See ya!" She ran up the hill, leaving Chase to the current dilemma.

"She seems sort of mean," Beatrice said in wonder.

"You don't know the half of it…" Chase moaned. He rubbed his hands together, and then tried to push his cow to her feet. Remu didn't move an inch.

"Nggghhhh….!" Chase pushed. "Whew…." He tried again, with the same results.

"Um, Chase?" Beatrice started.

"I got it…!" They stayed that way for about ten more minutes. Tired of watching, the newly named Flora ran up to Remu. Then, she took a big intake of breath, and let it out.

"Arf!" The cow jumped to its feet, and began walking away from Flora. "Arf!" the dog barked again, beckoning the cow to move forward.

"Maybe Flora is a better farmer than you are!" Beatrice giggled

"L-let's just get up there, ok?" Chase said, following his trusty herding dog.

As they neared the top, Beatrice stood to look at the farm.

"Wow…" she awed, "I haven't been up here yet! It's so…like a farm!"

"That's a good way of putting it…" Chase said under his breath. Flora barked again, leading Remu back to the open field. Chase followed and made sure this time to lock the gate. "There!" Beatrice walked behind him, smiling happily.

"Take me on a tour, Chase!" she begged.

"What?" He turned around to an innocent, puppy-dog face. Beside her was Flora with an even more convincing puppy-dog face. Chase couldn't fight it anymore.

"Alright. C'mon…" Chase showed Beatrice the barn and his house, both of which she should mutual interest. It was the crops that she was most enthusiastic to look at. "Right." He turned the corner of his house and spread his arms to present his crops. "I've only started today, so it's not much." Beatrice looked at the empty field before her. Her eyes were filled with sparkles, but soon, those sparkles died away.

"Chase…?" she asked slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Have you even started?"

"What are you talking about? I planted the seeds this morning!" Chase bent over and picked up one of the seeds from the ground. "See!" he shouted, putting the seed in front of her face. She looked at him, puzzled. Then that puzzled face slowly evaporated and replaced by a smiling one.

"Oh~, I see what you did wrong…" she said with a look of understanding. She walked passed him and put her hand on the dirt.

"What? What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't plow the ground," she said plainly.

"What?"

"Look." She came to a side of the house full of tools. She dug through them until she found what she was looking for: a hoe. Holding it as if she had her entire life, she plowed the ground with the tool. The seeds were lost, because they were planted carelessly. "You have to plow the ground first before planting your seeds, silly!"

Chase was baffled, his mouth hanging wide open.

"Then I threw those seeds…"

"…Away. Yep." Hastily, Chase snatched the hoe from Beatrice's hands and plowed the field. When he was finished, he was on the ground, huffing and puffing.

"Haaa… Haaa…" Chase panted.

"You'll lose a lot of stamina that way! And then you'll get fatigued!" Beatrice warned. She giggled at him soon after. "Well, it's the end of the day, so I guess it's ok. Just get some rest." She reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller bag with a picture of a Moondrop on the front. Then, with grace and skillfulness, she sprinkled the seeds all over the field. "These are one of my favorites," she told Chase. "Make sure to give me one when they bloom, ok?" She bowed, and quickly left. Chase sat on the ground, totally defeated and feeling completely like a novice. He picked himself up, dusted his pants, and decided to end the day.

'Someday…' he vowed, 'I'm going to be a great farmer, like my grandfather. But until then…' He put the hoe into his rucksack, which somehow held it in. He glanced at it, wondering if it was the "Harvest magic" Beatrice was talking about. Flora suddenly appeared by him, waiting to get inside her new home. He smiled and patted her head. He found it best not to question how weird life there was. He was to return with his new companion to his awaiting bed and angry sister. 'Until then, I'll just have to learn, one step at a time.'

Author's notes:

Sorry for the long delay. School's started up again, so I might not write for a while again. I hope you're enjoying the story though!