Chapter 1

I wish

Winter 30, 1999

Once upon a time, there is a young man who just finished graduating college. His name is Trei; age 21 and he enjoys living his life to the best of his abilities. On the evening of New Years eve, he is having a drink with his college friends. His two best friends Troy and Toby both cheer loudly as they celebrate their friend's graduation.

“Hey, congrats on your graduation man!” yelled Troy with a half drunken expression. “You are like the smartest person I know. You've impressed everyone completing 4 years of college in only three!”

“Come on guys. I've only studied hard, that's all. I didn't do anything impressive,” answered Trei.

“Dude! I can't pass any of my classes to save my life!” continued Toby.

“Well, if you dedicate some of your time to studying instead of chasing girls, you could actually pass. Attending class every day would help too,” said Trei. All three friends laughs cheerfully.

As the midnight bell rings, they all shout, “happy New Year!” Then they make a toast and drink some more beer.

After some more laughter and partying, Troy lets out a huge sigh. Trei has graduated, but his other two friends still need to complete at least another year. They all know that things will not be the same without their best friend. “Seriously Trei, we are going to miss you. You always made going to class worth the effort,” said Troy.

“Have you decided what are you going to do from here?” asked Toby.

“What do you think? I'm going to get the best paying job that I can, and live my life the best way that I know can!” answered Trei while holding up a mug of beer.

“Booya! We'll drink to that! To Trei's success!” yelled Troy and Toby. Then all three friends takes a long chug of beer to finish the party.

Later that night, Trei arrives at his home. It is very late, but his mother Sarah who he lives with is still awake. Trei has always planned to move out as soon as he graduate college and get a good job. However, things are going to change as his mother has a very dramatic surprise for him.

“Mom! I'm home!”

“Trei! Good, you're home. A letter came for you while you were out with your friends.” Sarah hands him the letter addressed to him. The return address comes from a familiar place called Forget-Me-Not Valley. He heard his father mention that village long ago before he left to fulfill his dream of becoming a rancher.

Trei is surprised to see a letter from Forget-Me-Not Valley. He has not heard from his father in the whole 14 years he has been gone. He quickly opens the letter, and reads the contents to himself.

Dear Trei,

I am sorry to tell you that your father had recently passed away. I know that you haven't heard or seen your father for many years, but I thought that I'd inform you about it. Also, I need to let you know that your father left a will. Your father owned a ranch in Forget-Me-Not Valley. He has never gotten married or had any children other than you. His final request is that you would take over the ranch in his place. I know this is a lot to ask of you, especially since your parents had a divorce when you were just a kid. But I would also like to see you take over the ranch as well. Without an owner, the ranch will become abandoned. Your father's work will completely go to waste. Forget-Me-Not Valley is also concerned with the shortage of milk, eggs, and crops. Please at least take a look at the ranch before making a decision. If you are interested, you can find a number to reach me at the bottom of this letter. I hope to get an answer soon.

Sincerely,

Takakura

“What does it say?” asked Sarah.

“Dad died,” answered Trei. Even though he just learned that his father passed away, he shows no care, concern, or even sadness. However, Sarah sheds some tears for her deceased ex-husband.

Trei continues, “some guy named Takakura wants me to take over dad's ranch. Ha! What a joke! I just finished graduating college, all that studying would go to waste if I take over some ranch.”

Sarah notices Trei's angry expression and says, “I see that you still get upset when you hear of your father.”

“Dad hasn't called or even sent me a letter in 14 years. Even after he died, his friend needed to send me a letter in his place. That guy is scum I tell you! At least he has an excuse not to come to my graduation!” pouted Trei.

“I understand what you're saying,” said Sarah. “But he is your father after all. He has been sending money to help support you and pay for college. Can't you at least forgive him?”

Trei lets out a huge stressful sigh and says, “I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm going to bed!”

As Trei walks away, Sarah prays for her ex-husband's safe trip to heaven. “Pete, I did my best to raise your son. I only wish that you would have remained here with us until the end. Please watch over him.”

Trei goes into his room, and throws himself onto his bed. He wants to sleep, but he can’t get his mind off of his father. He has only a few memories of him when he was a child. The last thing he remembers about him is that he said that we wanted to fulfill his dream of becoming a rancher. The fact that Trei has not heard from his always made him upset.

“So, dad finally kicked the bucket eh? I really wish that I could at least see him one last time. He could at least tell me that he was proud of me or anything. But, I guess that will never happen.” Trei stares at the plain white ceiling thinking about his father's ranch. “I wonder what would it be like to run a ranch? Why was my father so obsessed with such a mundane and old fashioned job? Why did he chose to be a rancher over a family man? Bah, who knows what my old man was thinking! But. . . I really do wish I knew what would happen if I took over the ranch.”

“Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough!” said a high pitched voice.

“Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it. . . Huh?” Trei then realizes that he is not alone in the room. He turns his head to the side and sees a very short man not even a foot tall standing on his bed next to him. It has long ears like an elf, wears black clothing, and a pointed black hat.

“Hi there!” said the short mysterious figure. Trei falls off of his bed from shock. He has no idea who this figure is, or where it came from.

Trei stands up and yells, “Who are you? And why is there an elf midget on my bed?”

“Elf midget? How rude! I am Flik, a Harvest Sprite!”

“A Harvest Sprite? What the hell is a Harvest Sprite? And what do you want with me?”

“You wanted to know what would it be like to run your father's ranch right? I am here to tell you that your wish will be granted as early as tomorrow! I am the Harvest Sprite of time, and this is a fair warning to be prepared for the unexpected. You will take a trip into the future!”

“The future?” asked Trei. After thinking about his situation, he laughs, “I get it, this is all just a wild dream. In a little while, I am going to wake up and forget this ever happened.”

“This is no dream,” said the Harvest Sprite. “When you wake up, you will be taken into the future to see your life as a rancher. Be prepared, you may be shocked at what you'll learn.”

Trei becomes annoyed and says, “Listen to me little elf! I don't believe in Harvest Sprites, or elves, or other mystical creatures! Why don't you just get out of my head, and go bother some little kid or something!”

“Okay, but I've warned you. Don't be too surprised when you wake up!” said the Harvest Sprite. It snaps its fingers, and vanishes as quickly as it appeared. The room becomes very quiet once again.

Trei laughs the whole event off and lays back down on the bed. He continues to think for another minute. “Future it said, huh? I am a college graduate, I learned that time traveling is impossible. This is all just a dream.” He then yawns, and becomes oddly sleepy all of the sudden. His eye lids become heavy, and staying awake is now very difficult. “I'll forget about everything when I wake up. I need to go celebrate with my friends tomorrow on New Years day. . .”

And so, he closes his eyes, and falls into a deep sleep. He dreams about his well paying job that he has always wanted. What will his future bring in the morning?

Spring 1, 2005 (Monday)

Trei wakes up to the chilly air of Spring. He takes the first deep breath of the new year before opening his eyes. After rubbing his eyes, he notices something odd. He finds himself somewhere else other than his bedroom. The bed he was sleeping in is much bigger, the walls are made of thick logs, and he couldn't find any of his possessions. The air is much fresher and cleaner than it was only the night before.

As he ponders about his situation, a pair of arms wraps themselves around Trei's waist. Two soft lumps are felt pressed against his back. Feeling nervous, Trei slowly turns his head to see who was embracing him. He finds a blond woman looking up at him with emerald green eyes. Hair rollers, night gown, and everything else which is evident that she spent the night with him.

“Good morning darling! Happy New Year,” said the green eyed woman.

The shock of seeing a strange woman in his bed causes him to scream to the top of his lungs. Jumping out of the bed, he pins himself to a corner on the other side of the room. The blond woman rubs her eyes, and notices Trei against a corner like a frightened animal.

“Trei, what's wrong? Why are you screaming?” she asked.

“Who . . . Who are you!?” demanded Trei pointing a finger at her.

“Who am I?” asked the blond woman. “That's a strange question to ask your wife.”

“My. . . WIFE!?” yelled Trei with a confused and blank expression on his face.

Suddenly, a small toddler who is sleeping on a smaller bed begins to cry. The blond woman jumps out of bed, and carries the whaling child.

“Now look at what you did! You made the baby cry!” She rocked the toddler so that she could calm down. The comfort of her mother's embrace silences the child and goes back to sleep in her arms sucking her thumb. “There, there. Calm down Myo. Daddy didn't mean to scare you. He's just acting a little weird today. He had too much to drink last night.”

“Wait, when you said 'daddy', were you talking about me?” asked Trei.

“What are you talking about?” asked his wife angrily. “Of course you are her father!”

Ignoring what she just said, Trei looks around the room in utter confusion. He notices a calendar nearby, and checks the date. He is shocked to see the year to be 2005, five years ahead of where he was yesterday. Then he looks out the window. Instead of tall buildings, he finds tall trees and grass in their place.

He runs out the nearest door to see where he is. The first thing he sees is a huge barn with animals grazing on the grass in the pasture. Chickens are pecking on the dirt looking for early worms. Out to the distance, he could see other small houses.

He falls on his knees and yells out to the distance, “What the!? What the hell happened!? WHERE AM I!!!” He learns that he is no longer in the city where he grew up in. He is now in the quiet village known as Forget-Me-Not Valley.