Ok, this chapter is kind of depressing. But I'm tired, and I come up with depressing ideas when I'm tired. The next chapter will be happier, though!

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

Just Another Lost Soul

I sat there, frozen. Vaughn was... dead? How is that possible? How could he be DEAD?

Julia was still gasping and crying hysterically. "W-What...?" I asked, shocked.

"You heard me!" Julia screamed through tears. "He's dead! Dead, dead, dead!"

I stood up. I felt... shell-shocked. Even though I wasn't exactly FOND of Vaughn, he was still my friend... in ways. I began walking aimlessly down the path towards the town. Julia stopped sobbing, and I could tell she was watching me. After a while, I heard her ghost-like footsteps behind mine.

A few steps later, I found myself in front of Mirabelle's Animal Shop, opening the door. Mirabelle was on the phone with someone, crying madly.

I walked right over to their couch and sat down. Julia did the same. We both sat there; me shocked and speechless, Julia crying like a madwoman.

After a few minutes, Mirabelle hung up the phone. She came over to where we were sitting and sat down beside Julia.

"W-What happened?" I asked, finally able to speak.

"His... boat sank..." Mirabelle said quietly. "Everyone was killed. They ran into a storm, and..." she seemed unable to carry on. She burst into tears, and began crying into her hands.

"I can't believe he's dead!" she screamed.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in walked Felicia, Elliot, Natalie, and Taro. Felicia ran over to Mirabelle and began trying to calm her down. Taro and Elliot stood awkwardly to the side, while Natalie rushed over to Julia and I and began crying, too.

I was the only one not crying. I just couldn't cry... I don't know why. Eventually, I got up and began walking around the house. No one seemed to notice I was gone. I winded up in Vaughn's room, where he stayed while he was on the island.

I walked slowly around the room, taking in every detail. The black blankets on the bed... The colour of the carpet... Everything. I walked over to the wooden dresser and opened one of the drawers. Inside, rows of Vaughn's clothes were neatly stacked.

I picked up one of his shirts and held it to my face. It smelled just like him...

I snapped my eyes open. I quickly dropped the shirt back into the drawer and slammed it shut. I slid to floor and buried my face in my hands.

Why do you care that he's dead? I asked myself. You never liked him! He was cruel, rude, and mean.

But... I protested with myself. He lost everything. Everyone. And now he lost his life. It seems so unfair.

Tons of things in this world are unfair! You just have to suck it up, buttercup.

Yeah, but after all he's been through...

Death was probably a relief. Who knows; maybe he WANTED to die.

Why would he want to die?

Think about... he lost his family, and he never had happiness. Would YOU want to live like that?

I sighed. I guess that was true... Maybe he did want to die. He always seemed so unhappy, no matter what happened.

I got up off the floor and walked quietly back to where everyone else was. They were all still crowded around the couch. I could hear Julia and Mirabelle crying like there was no tomorrow.

I stood in the doorway for a while, but decided to leave. I just didn't want to deal with all that crying.

I was walking around, wondering where to go, when I remembered the bridge to the forest was probably finished. I walked across, and found myself surrounded my lush, green trees and life.

I walked through the woods, until I found a small clearing. There was a pond, and a run-down, grey building. There was a sign, but like all the others were, it was too faded to read.

I wandered over to the pond, and sat down cross-legged in front of it. I picked up a little pinkcat flower and began twirling it. Around, and around, and around...

I stopped twirling it, and stared at it. I lifted my hand, and tossed it into the pond. It floated there for a minute, and then green and blue sparkles appeared over the flower.

I slowly stood up. The sparkles wound all around until they were shaped like a funnel. Suddenly, a woman appeared where the sparkles had been. She had long green hair woven into a braid, and green eyes. She was wearing a lovely light blue outfit, and gold wristbands.

"Hello, Chelsea," she said in a musical, echoing voice.

"Whoa," I stumbled backwards, and fell into the dirt.

"I am the Harvest Goddess," she said. "Thank you for your offering."

"The... T-The... The Harvest Goddess!" I stuttered. She nodded.

Suddenly, a bell chimed out of nowhere. I looked around, but there wasn't one.

"I must be going now," she said. "Good-bye, Chelsea..." There was a burst of sparkles, and she was gone. I stood up, dusted myself off, and looked around some more. There was a mountain, and a mine. I was never really one for mining, so I continued up to the top.

It was so peaceful up there. You could see everything. I looked to my right and saw the whole island. There was a meadow, and a jungle. When I looked closely, I saw that almost everyone on the island was surrounding Mirabelle's shop.

When I looked to the left, there was the ocean. The vast, deep ocean. There were a few boats here and there, but mostly wide open sea.

And when I looked in front of me, there was nothing. Just sky... The beautiful, light blue sky. There was a hardly a cloud in it. The sun was rising high in the sky; it must be noon.

But when I looked down, there was a small clearing, and then forest. Tons and tons of forest. I shuffled a little bit closer to the edge. It was just too easy to just fall. I could fall right off the cliff, and onto the hard cold ground, into nothingness.

If I fell, I would be just another lost soul. Just another person who didn't deserve to die, but did. I could be just like Vaughn.

Except, my life was happy. I had my family; I had love, and happiness. Why would I want to die? Julia would suffer another loss, and my parents... Oh, they would be heartbroken! And Jill... sweet, little Jill. She doesn't need to lose her big sister, not yet at least.

But... I don't know why, I just found it too hard to keep going. I didn't want to die; I felt the NEED to die. It was like I was thinking, Since Vaughn died, why shouldn't I die? He didn't deserve to die, and neither do I. But he DID die, so I can die too.

I moved a bit closer to the edge. No, Chelsea, don't do it. Not for someone you hardly know. I moved away. But he was so young! He didn't deserve to die! I moved closer. Think of your friends, Chelsea, and your family. How would they feel if you died? Away. But think of Vaughn. Why did he die? Why can't YOU die? Closer. Vaughn's with his family now! He's happy! Away.

Out of nowhere, a huge cracking noise pierced the air. The ground beneath me crumbled, and I fell.

As I looked down at the ground coming closer to me, all I could think was, Just another lost soul...

The ground came closer, closer, closer... And a sharp pain ran through my whole body.

I didn't want to die. I thought. The pain became unbearable, and I blacked out.

Please, I don't want to be another lost soul.

Me: Well, wasn't that a feel good chapter! NOT!

Lanna: Ohmigod, depressing! :'(

Me: I told you! *breaks down crying* Vaughn's still dead, and now Chelsea's probably dead, too!

Lanna: I hate you! *throws baseball bat at*

Me: AHHH! *ducks* Now, now! Calm down!

Lanna: *cries hysterically*

Me: The next chappie will be happy. Promise!

Lanna: *sniffs* Ok...

Me: Well, review please! Tell me what you think of it! And again, I'm sorry for the sadness. I'm tired, and I write depressing things while I'm tired!