Chapter 8

I tell you, I hardly got any sleep that night. I spent hours rehearsing the lines I was going to use at our date. I wanted to tell her how I feel; without scaring her away of course. I also needed to keep my "playboy" persona in check. I spent a whole year getting to that point, I didn't want to screw it up.

I got up that next morning on the crack of dawn. Funny how I got used to that after so much time. Maybe the crowing rooster had something to do with that. Anyways, my work was done early; watered the crops, fed and tended the animals, cleared the fields of weeds. Just basic stuff so that I wouldn't worry about it later. When I got done, it was getting close to nine or so.

Around the same time I got changed, Elli came to the farm. I swear, my heart stopped for a moment when I laid eyes on her. Unlike her usual nurse outfit, she came in the traditional goddess gown of Mineral Town. She was nothing less than amazing wearing it. I remember that gown like it was yesterday; pure pink decorated with wild flowers and vines all around. Screw the Harvest Goddess, she was blushing before the goddess that Elli was. Even in that gown, she never wore a lick of makeup. Which comes to show you how naturally beautiful she is.

"How do I look?" she asked with a cute blush.

"To be honest, you look stunning!" Elli blushed even harder when I said that.

All the villagers were pretty surprised to see me escorting Elli to the festival. I learned that doctor Trent usually escorts her to the festival. Naturally, I got those nasty looks from the other four that I dated earlier. Jealousy I guess. . .

Later that afternoon, the ladies put on their dance for their escorts. I really thought this dance was going to eat. But honestly, I found myself liking it. The ladies had years of practice, some of them have been dancing since they were eight years old! They danced in sync and with such grace and skill. If you saw them, you could not take your eyes off the dancers.

Naturally I watched Elli the most. She knew I was, but that didn't distract her at all. I could have sworn that she put on her best dance just for me. Sounds crazy I know, but I stand by that! Her dance had so much passion and energy, that it can only come from performing for one specific person.

The dance ends, and the festival ends not too long afterwards. Everyone went home, Elli and I ended up being the last two people at the festival square. It was getting dark out, and I was about to take her home. (No seriously, I was just going to take her home. I was not thinking about doing anything I would regret.) But she had something else planned for us that night.

Elli dragged me past the farm, and straight up the mountain. She took me to that halfway point between the base and the summit. The same place Elli and I talked that first Winter. Wild flowers were growing in the field, such a view to behold. But I asked myself that moment, why did Elli bring me there?

"Elli, why are we here?" I asked curiously.

At first, she didn't say anything. All she did was fan out her skirt and sit in the grass. She then started to pick the flowers one by one, and make a small bouquet. I know she loves flowers, but I had no idea why she wanted to pick flowers that night.

I kept watching her silently until she made her bouquet. She took a strong whiff before she said, "I come here a lot when I feel all alone. . ."

I took a seat next to her and said, "I see. Do you feel lonely right now?" She shook her head no. I then took a deep breath and continued, "when do you feel alone? Doesn't your family keep you company? Your brother? Your grandmother? What about the clinic?"

She shook her head no again and continued, "I am not alone anymore. But when I was a little girl, I felt alone all the time. After my brother was born, my mother and my father both died from an accident while they were traveling. My grandmother was ill, so I raised my brother myself."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that." After I said that, I realized that this story was starting to feel a bit familiar.

Elli continues, "As a child, I would come here all the time. The flowers would keep me company. I would talk to them all the time, and I would ask them for a friend. Someone I could talk to, run and play with."

"Go on. . . ," I asked curiously.

"One Summer day, I was walking up this hill humming my mother's favorite tune. Then I met him, sleeping on the grass right here where we are sitting on right now. At first, I thought he was sick or lost or something. But that boy was fine. He was only asleep, that's all."

I stood up and gasped. I couldn't believe it, that boy she was talking about was me! She knew the whole time that we were friends as children, but I completely forgot.

"That boy was from the city. I was so curious about the city that I begged him to tell me about it. We spent all Summer playing and talking about the city and Mineral Town. Exchanging stories made me feel like I was whisked away to a new world that I have never seen before. And I would sing to him my mother's song, just for him."

She hummed that song that moment. It all started to come back in a single flash. The past that me and Elli shared as children. It all made sense, why Elli wanted to see me that Winter. She thought I finally remembered who I am, who she was, and who we were. How could I have forgotten the bond we shared? I started to feel ashamed of myself.

"When Summer was over, the boy went home. I was crying as I watched him leave my side. He promised me that he would come back someday. He promised that we would be together forever. I believed him, so I waited. So many years have passed by, and I still wait. Waiting for the day he would keep his promise."

"You knew it was me the whole time," I said. She nodded. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

She looked up at me with her tear filled eyes that shined from the moonlight. It took her a moment to answer, "I wanted you to remember me. Remember the promise you made. Two years have passed since you came to Mineral Town, and you haven't remembered me."

"Now it makes sense. You wanted me to do well in my grandfathers farm hoping that it could help me remember the past."

Elli then stood up. She then dropped the bouquet scattering the flowers into the wind. "But even after you started working on the farm, you still could not remember. If I never said anything tonight, could you honestly say that you would remember? Remember that promise you made to me?"

She was right. I don't know why, but I barely had any memories of Mineral Town. Just that I visited, and played with animals. Everything else fell into the cracks of my memory. I could make up a reason why I couldn't remember her, but no reason was going to cut it. I stood there speechless without bothering to explain myself.

She then whispered "goodbye" as she began to walk away. My heart sank, I felt like if she was going to walk out of my life for good this time. She was not saying goodbye to me, but rather that child she cherished so many years ago. She came here hoping to find him again, but for a moment she lost hope. I couldn't let it end that way. I realized that even if I didn't remember her, my heart did. The first time I laid eyes on her, there was a bond. An unbreakable bond that transcends time and distance. So I ran up to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to me. I embraced her tightly so that she could not escape until I told her what I needed to say.

I held back tears of my own as I said, "I'm sorry. . . I have no excuse for not remembering you. I am not asking you to forgive me, but please listen! Even if I did not remember our promise, my heart sure did. When we met at the clinic, something deep inside me recognized you. Someone deep in my chest was telling me that I knew you, I was just too stubborn to listen. I know I did you wrong, but let me make it up to you. So please don't say goodbye."

"Kanon. . ." she said so passionately. She couldn't help herself but to wrap her arms around me. We held one another under the moonlight. Our souls melting into one. That bond, stronger than it ever was.

"I love you," I said instinctively.

"I love you too. I always have, for a very long time," she answered.

I then held her cheek and looked into her eyes. She was sad for a moment, but she then gave me this pure smile that I always loved to see. I couldn't help myself, I kissed her. She kissed me back, almost like if she was waiting a lifetime for that moment to arrive. To be honest, I think she really did.