Chapter 2

New Year, New Life

Spring 1, 2005
*Continued from Chapter 1*

Trei takes a look around at the countryside surroundings where he finds himself that morning. The sight of not being where he was last night causes him to panic. As he trembles, his wife goes outside the house to check on him. She is still in her night gown, hair curlers, and her daughter in her arms. She watches him in disbelief as he falls to his knees like if he has gone insane.

“Trei! What is the matter with you? What are you so worked up over?” she asked without a clue as to what is happening to him.

After hearing her voice, Trei runs up to his wife and tries his best to explain his situation. “Listen to me. . . Uh. . . Err. . . Whatever your name is. I don't know who you think I am, but I am not that guy! Something strange happened here last night!”

“Oh really?” she asked in an annoyed tone. “So, you're telling me that you're not Trei?”

“Um, yes. I am Trei, but not the same one! I was at home celebrating New Years with my friends. Then this little elf midget appeared out of thin air, and told me that I was going to the future!”

She does not believe a single word Trei tells her. She takes it as some sort of cheap joke. After brooding for a moment, she says, “Trei, you better cut the crap or else I'm going to get mad!”

“But I'm telling you the truth! Why wont you believe me?” begged Trei.

His wife lets out a huge sigh and yells, “I don't have time for this! I have to get ready for the party. When you decide to grow up, come inside!” She starts to walk back into the house with the child still in her arms.

“But I-” said Trei as he tries to follow her back into the house. But as he tries to follow her, she slams the door behind her. The door hits his face so hard that he falls on the dirt outside the house. He stands back up rubbing his bleeding nose which was flattened by the door. He kicks the dirt and yells, “this is unbelievable! Why is this happening to me!?”

“So, how are you enjoying your wish?” asked a very familiar voice. Trei slowly turns around to see if the voice belongs to the little Harvest Sprite he met only last night. Flik smiles as Trei stares at him with a murderous look in his eye. “Hello Trei. It's been five years since we last met. So, how are things – GACK!!!”

Before he allows Flik to finish his words, Trei grabs on to it's small body, starts to shake it senseless, and squeezes it as hard as he can. As he strangles the Harvest Sprite, he yells, “You stupid little elf midget! What did you do to me!?”

“I didn't do anything!” struggled the Harvest Sprite. “All I did was give you a fair warning that your wish is being granted! But you didn't believe me!”

“I didn't wish to skip five years of my life! Now you listen to me, and listen good! Send me back to my own time, and you better do it now!”

“I'm sorry, but I can't do that,” answered Flik.

“Why not!?” asked Trei. “You brought me here!”

“I can't do it because I did not bring you here. You brought yourself here!”

Trei stops shaking Flik around shocked from it's answer. He stares at the dizzy sprite and asks, “What did you say? Explain yourself!”

After forcing itself out of Trei's grasp, it stands before him, and clears it's throat. It is about to give Trei the explanation he will have a hard time believing. “It's true that your wish was granted, But I do not have the power to take anyone across time. I can only move myself from the past to the future, and vice-versa. Trei, you may not be able to believe what I am telling you, but please listen carefully. You see, your family bloodline from your father's side has always been close to nature. Because of that, you have been granted certain abilities usually given to Harvest Sprites. One of those abilities is that of my own. The ability to jump across time. But because you're still human, your special abilities are not as stable as ours.

Trei, you wanted to know what would life be like if you took over your father's ranch. Because of that strong desire to know, you skipped forward in time to find out. It was a pain trying to find out how many years exactly did you skip, but at least I found you. Eventually, you'll go back to the present on your own, but not until you complete your wish. You must find out what it's like to lead a rancher's life.”

“Are you kidding me?” asked Trei. He doesn't want to believe Flik's words, but he is currently watching the miracle with his own two eyes. He has no choice but to believe in him. “So, you're telling me that I am stuck here for a while?”

“Who are you talking to?” asked an old man with a very deep voice. Trei did not notice the old man approach him from behind. He once again turns around to see who is the old man who is speaking to him. The dirty white shirt, sloppy hair style, baggy pants, and work boots sent a chill down his spine.

“Excuse me, but. . . Who are you?” asked Trei.

The hunched old man raises one of his over sized eyebrows at him in confusion. “Is that supposed to be a trick question boy?” he asked.

Flik tugs at Trei's shirt and says, “his name is Takakura.”

He then realizes that this is the guy who sent him the letter five years ago. He tries to make the scene like if it was just a memory lapse, “oh right, Takakura. I was just talking to this little midget here. Seems like there was a little mistake somewhere.”

“Midget? What are you talking about?” asked Takakura as he rubbed his poorly trimmed jet black hair.

“Don't you see this little man standing next to me?” said Trei pointing at Flik.

Takakura looks in the direction Trei points at, but sees nothing. He smiles and says, “seems like you had a little bit too much to drink at the New Years party at the Blue Bar last night. I warned you last night to go easy on the hard stuff.”

Trei lets out another stressful sigh and confesses, “I give up! I can't take this anymore! Listen to me old man! Yesterday I was in my room thinking about whether or not I should take over my dad's ranch. Then suddenly, this little elf called Flik takes me five years into the future. Now I’m here, and I have no idea what's going on!”

Trei takes a few heavy breaths after explaining his situation to Takakura. He shakes his head; none of what Trei told him made any sense. He places his hand on Trei's shoulder and says, “sounds like raising the ranch and a family is finally getting to you. I know it's hard, but you have to hang in there!” After thinking for a moment, Takakura starts to walk to the barn and continues, “why don't I take care of the animals for the day? You can take the day off, and spend time with your family.”

“But I-”

Takakura raises his right arm cutting Trei off. “don't worry about it. Just do me a favor, and tell Muffy I said Hi.”

“Muffy?” asked Trei.

Flik tugs on Trei's shirt again, “that’s your wife’s name!”

Trei sighs in disbelief and whispers, “great! I married a 'Muffy'. What kind of name is that anyway?”

Takakura leaves Trei to do the chores of the day. Trei takes a look around the ranch for a moment. Even though he knows for a fact that he is awake, he cannot believe that everything he is seeing is real. Then he moves his attention to Flik who is following him around. He is still upset, but he also knows that the small Harvest Sprite is the only one who can help him.

He clears his throat and asks, “so Flik. Am I really five years into the future?”

“Yes you are!” answers Flik cheerfully. It points to the small watering hole near the house and says, “take a look for yourself!”

Trei goes over to the watering hole to see his own reflection in the water. He is amazed at what he sees in the reflection. He has indeed aged what seems like more than 5 years. His well groomed hair is now replaced by spiky damaged hair from the dirt, sweat, and work. His skin is not as smooth anymore, and he can see a few wrinkles on his face. His arms and legs are wider and stronger from all the physical labor, and he has gained a little weight. He almost couldn't recognize himself in the reflection.

“My god! What happened to me! I look like my old man!”

“That's what happens to humans when you raise a ranch and a family. Everything changes! Your appearance, your voice, and even your personality!”

Trei thinks for a second and says, “Hey, why couldn't Takakura see you earlier? I know he's old, but I think he can see pretty well. And you're big enough to notice.”

“Being able to see Harvest Sprites is proof of your bloodline. Your father was also able to see Harvest Sprites!” answered Flik.

“I see,” answered Trei. He thought for a second, then asks, “well, what do I do now?”

“What do you think?” answered Flik. “First of all, you need to stop telling everyone the truth. People will think you lost your mind. The next thing is to find out what has happened within the last 5 years. Then continue your life like if nothing strange happened. Are you happy with his life, or not? Once you learn the answer, you can go back home.”

“I guess I have no choice,” said Trei.

After they said their goodbyes, Flik vanishes to allow Trei to live out his wish. After thinking up of a few good excuses, he returns to the house to try and find any clues as to what happened within the last 5 years. As he arrives at the front door, Muffy opens the door and walks out with Myo in her arms. While Trei was busy talking to Flik, Muffy was busy changing her and Myo's clothing.

Since he was in a panic earlier, he failed to notice how beautiful Muffy is. She has long golden blond hair that shimmers in the early sun. Her skin is very smooth yet slightly pale. She has a slim hourglass figure to her body. The black dress she wears made her curves more noticeable, and reveals miles of sexy legs. The black hair band gives her a feminine youthful charm. The matching shoes gives Trei the impression that she knows how to dress well. She is Trei's idea of perfect beauty. The little girl in her arms is dressed to make her look like a small porcelain doll.

Muffy stares at him with an annoyed look in her green eyes. Then she looks away and says, “well, you might as well hurry up and get changed. We are going to be late!”

Trei rubs his confused head and asks, “late? For what?”

“You know, the New Years gathering at the villa!” answered Muffy.

Trei wants to say something to her, but he doesn't want to say anything that he is going to regret later. So he did what his wife asks without question. As he walks in the house, he realizes that he has no idea where he keeps his clothing. He finds a dresser on the other side of the bedroom, so he starts his search there. After opening the top drawer, he finds women's undergarments that were obviously Muffy's. He slams the drawer shut, and his face turns red.

The bottom drawer contains all of his own clothing, but nothing he found were suitable for a party. Muffy was dressed very formal, so Trei needs to find some appropriate clothes for himself. After several minutes of searching, he turns around, and notices a tuxedo that's well pressed on the bed. He knows that Muffy had to have left it out for him.

He changes into the tuxedo, and washes his hair. Using whatever he could find to smooth out his hair down like he had it last night. Trei joins his wife outside who was waiting patiently. She fixes his tie and collar neatly, and shakes his hair around to return the spikes. Without saying a word, she picks up her daughter, and starts walking out of the ranch. Trei has no idea how to get to the villa on his own, so he follows Muffy. As they walk together, he takes a good look at his wife. Muffy noticed him stare, so she got curious.

“What's wrong with you? You've been acting so strange since you got up this morning.”

“Oh, nothing,” answered Trei. He tries his best to act natural, but Muffy is not convinced. “I just had a very strange dream last night, that's all,” continues Trei.

Muffy stops for a moment to place her hand on Trei's forehead. Then she stares into his eyes looking for anything unusual. “You don't have a fever, and you don't look drunk either.” Muffy sighs and continues, “what am I going to do with you?”

They continue to walk together towards the villa. As they walk, Trei becomes very interested in the living conditions of the village. All the houses are pretty small and spread throughout the land. He also notices that some of the houses are businesses. Without signs, he has no idea what stores they are.

Soon enough, they arrive at the bottom of a hill. Trei looks up, and sees a grand mansion resting at the top. The shock leaves him in awe. Muffy is confused at Trei's reaction, but she ignores it. She has had enough odd behavior from him already. They approach the mansion at the top of the hill, and Muffy knocks on the front door. The door opens, and a well dressed butler greets them.

“Good morning Master Trei! How are things at the ranch!” said the butler. He then turns to his widfe and continues,“and good morning to you too Lady Muffy!”

“Hello Sebastian!” greets Muffy. “Are we late for the party?”

“Not at all.” answered Sebastian. He then smiles at Myo who rests in Muffy's arms. “And is that little Miss Myo you're holding? She is so cute!”

“Yes, she's getting pretty big!” answered Muffy.

“Please don't wait outside. Come in!” invited Sebastian. Trei and Muffy walks in to join the rest of the village in the new Years celebration. All the people at the Party knows Trei very well, but he has no idea who they are. This made Trei feel very uncomfortable. One by one, they all keep talking to him. All he does is smile awkwardly and nod from time to time. He only hopes that no one notices his little “problem”.

Soon enough, Muffy walks up to Trei with Myo in her arms, and says, “Trei, can you do me a little favor? Can you hold Myo for a while while I gossip with the other women?”

“Um, sure?” answered Trei unsure on how to respond.

Muffy places Myo in his arms and walks off to go chat. He felt strangely odd holding a toddler in his arms, especially since the child is supposed to be his daughter. From where he stands, he can overhear the conversation between Muffy, and another woman who looks like a school teacher.

“So, how are things going between you and your husband? Still getting along?” asked the school teacher.

“Things are usually great!” answered Muffy. “But today, Trei was acting a little bit too playful this morning. Pretending that he doesn't know me.” Muffy then turns to Trei's direction and gives him a mean glare. He feels embarrassed, so he disappears into the crowd.

“God, that woman is a grouch!” he whispered to himself. “Why on earth did I marry her anyway?” Myo reaches up, and pulls on a strand of his hair. “Ouch! Myo, stop that!”

Trei continues to walk around, and helps himself to some snacks. After a few moments, everyone starts to group together near the stairwell in the center of the main hall leading to the second floor. Trei becomes curious enough to follow them. At the crowd, he taps the shoulder of a blond man wearing old fashioned clothing of the 70's era.

“Hey, what's going on?” asked Trei.

“She's coming!” said the blond man full of excitement. “I better make sure I look my best!”

Trei is not sure he understands what’s going on. So he just looks up, and waits to see what is all the commotion’s about. After a few minutes, the door on the upper floor opens, and a lovely young woman walks out. Her medium length honey brown hair caught Trei's eye. Her gentle smile makes Trei blush in awe. Her white and blue dress amazes everyone in the crowd. Like Muffy, she also wears a hair band which makes her look more charming than she already is. As she descends the stairs, everyone compliments her on her new dress.

“Oh. . . .My. . . GOD!!! Lumina is so beautiful today!” said the blond man who is even more excited than before.

“Yeah, she really is beautiful,” commented Trei.

The blond man elbows him on his side and says, “back off! You're already married to a hot chick. This one is mine!”

After Lumina reaches the bottom of the stairs, she bows gracefully and smiles once again. Trei is very impressed by her elegance and graceful nature. “Hello everyone. And Happy New Year. Welcome once again to Romana's Villa.”

Everyone in the room claps. Her sweet and refined voice charms Trei once again. He takes a look at his wife, and notices that they are both very different. Almost like opposites. Muffy's manners almost compares to that of a classic city girl. Lumina on the other hand appears very refined and gentle.

By the way everyone acts, he can tell that Lumina is a very important person to the village. He is curious to know more, so he asks the blond man.

“Hey, who is she anyway?”

“Come on! You know better than to ask that question!” snapped the blond man. “She is Lumina, Romana's niece. That young lady is Romana's last living relative, so she is very important to the village. Romana owns this huge estate, so that means the old bat is loaded! Anyone who marries that hottie will eventually inherit the family fortune!”

Soon, an elder woman walks up to Lumina's side. She is very old with light gray hair. She can barely walk, but she is able to manage. Her left hand is resting on her back, which is evident that she has spinal problems. Her right hand holds a cane that she uses to walk.

“Well, it's a full house again,” said the old woman. “I'm sure that you all know that I am Romana, your host. Welcome to my home, and Happy New year to everyone. Following our tradition, my niece will play us a special song.”

Lumina takes another bow, and takes a seat in front of a grand piano. “I hope you all enjoy it.” she said. She begins to play 'Auld Lang Syne', and everyone sings the words. Everyone is amazed at Lumina's musical talent for her young age. After the song is over, everyone claps cheerfully and full of emotion.

Everyone settles down after a few minutes, and the party resumes. Everyone starts talking to one another once again about the events that took place the year before. Then they discuss future goals for the coming year. Trei has no idea what has happened for the last five years, so he has nothing to talk about. All he does is sit on a chair, and watch everyone else enjoy themselves.

Lumina sits fairly close to where Trei is sitting with his daughter. Crowds of people surrounds Lumina asking questions of her plans for the future. Trei notices that Lumina sometimes stares at him from time to time. Every once in a while, she also waves at him.

“Okay, this is weird,” thought Trei. “That girl Lumina can't stop looking at me. Why is she waving at me? What could this mean?” He thinks for a moment, then concludes, “could it be that I have been seeing other women on the side? I don't know, so much has changed within the last 5 years. What should I do? Should I wave back?”

“Daddy?” said the little girl in Trei's arms.

Trei is very surprised to hear his daughter finally speaks. “Oh, so you can talk?” He takes a good long look at Myo. He can tell that she is in fact his daughter. Her eye and hair color matches his perfectly. She does have some of Muffy's traits, but not many. “So tell me, how old are you?”

“Tree,” answered Myo with a baby accent.

“I see. So tell me, do you know who am I?”

“Hee hee. Daddy funny,” answered Myo.

Trei lets out another stressful sigh, “I forgot. I'm talking to a three year old. God, I'm so confused.”

The party ends at 6:00 pm and everyone goes home. Muffy walks home with Myo in her arms, and Trei follows her. He notices that Muffy looks pretty upset on the way home. He has no idea what is bothering her this time. They do not speak a word until they arrived home.

Later that night, Myo is tucked in bed. Muffy is already changed into her night gown and hair rollers. Trei searches the bottom dresser for something to change into. He has a hard time finding anything in the pile of work clothes and underwear. Muffy is still upset, and Trei has yet to know the reason why.

“What are you looking for?” asked Muffy as she lays on the bed.

“Something comfortable to wear. I can't sleep in this suit, and all I see are work clothes,” answered Trei.

Muffy sighs, “don't you think there's something 'special' about today?”

“Yeah, it's New Years day,” answered Trei. His answer only makes her more upset.

“No, I meant something VERY special. You do remember, do you?” asked Muffy once again.

“I guess it must have slipped my mind,” said Trei thoughtlessly.

Muffy becomes impatient, and throws the sheets over herself. “Fine then! I'm going to sleep! But don't think that I'll forget this!”

“God, she's such a pain in the ass! Why is she so mad at me for? I just don't get her,” whispered Trei to himself as he continues to search.

He finally finds a plain white shirt and some shorts. As he pulls them out, a small white box falls on the floor. The box has a small tag attached to it that has the message, “For Muffy.” written on it.

Muffy heard the box fall on the floor. She jumps out of bed to see what it is. She quickly notices the tag attached to the small package.

“Trei, what is that? Is that for me?” asked Muffy full of excitement.

Trei picks up the small box, “I think so.” He then walks up to Muffy and hands it to her.

Muffy opens the box revealing a golden heart shaped pendant. The pendant had the words “Happy Anniversary” written on it. Muffy's mood quickly brightens believing that he remembered their wedding anniversary after all.

“It's so beautiful! Is this why you were acting so strange all day? You wanted to make sure I’d be surprised?”

Trei rubs the back of his head. He doesn't know what else to tell her, so he went with the flow. “Uh, yeah! I guess so. Um. . . Happy Anniversary!?”

Muffy throws herself in his arms, and kisses him on the lips. Trei pushes her away completely freaked out by her reaction.

“What's wrong?” asked Muffy?

Trei calms down and fidgets sheepishly. “Um, it was so sudden, that I lost my breath. Sorry about that.”

Muffy leers at him awkwardly, but the thought that Trei remembered their anniversary makes her forgive him. She climbs back into bed, and pats the space reserved for him. "Well, let's go to bed,” she invited.

Trei takes a good look at the bed. His face turns red as he gets vivid fantasies of what a married couple do when they go to bed together. He has never climbed into bed with a woman before. Even though he knows that he had been doing it for some time, he is not comfortable doing it now.

Trei trembles and says, “you know, I think I'll go to sleep on the floor today.”

“Why?” asked Muffy.

“Because. . .” Trei tries his hardest to come up with an excuse. All he can do is cough a couple of times and says, “I think I caught a cold. I shouldn't sleep in the same bed with you because you might catch it too.”

Muffy’s expression changes. “Well. . . Okay I guess.”

Trei grabs some sheets that he found while searching for some clothes and rests them on the floor. While Muffy is sleeping, he quickly changes and rests for the evening on the floor. He is very tired and falls asleep quickly. The day was a bit too much for him. He wonders if he is able to handle what will come in the days ahead. And how long will he have to endure until he returns to his own time?