Chapter 8

Lumina

Fall 2, 2005 (Monday)

Lumina is in the villa playing on her piano like she usually does. But this time, she is not practicing like she has been for the past several years. Since the beginning of Spring, she has writing a song of her own.

As she plays the song, she writes the final note on the score sheet. She then reviews it one last time and feels satisfied with her song. She embraces the song close to her chest and says, “it's finally done. Just in time too.”

Fall 3, 2005 (Tuesday)

As Trei does his work around the farm, he is feeling very happy. It's his 27th birthday, his favorite day of the year. At 9:00am, Takakura enters the barn, and finds Trei working. He takes his tools away and says, “what do you think you're doing? You do know that it's your birthday today right?” Trei nods. “Then that means that it's your day off today. Let me take care of the animals, and you go on and spend time with your family.”

After thanking Takakura, Trei leaves the barn animals in his care and walks home. He stretches his arms, and opens the door to his house where he can relax. But as soon as he walks in, he finds Muffy standing in the middle of the bedroom, dressed in a revealing semi transparent sexy night gown.

“Well good morning sweetheart. And happy birthday!” said Muffy in a sweet and seductive tone.

Trei covers his eyes and says, “I'm sorry Muffy, I didn't realize that you were changing. I'll come back later.”

Just as he is about to leave, Muffy runs up to him and grabs his arm pulling him back into the house. She slams the door shut, and locks it. She turns around slowly and gazes into Trei's eyes mischievously saying, “You're not going anywhere birthday boy.”

“Um, why did you lock the door?” asked Trei curiously. "That is not going to stop me from leaving you know.”

“Oh, it's not meant to stop YOU from leaving. It's to stop other people from coming in. After all, I don't want anyone interrupting our little 'Birthday Party'.”

Muffy walks to Trei slowly, but Trei steps back. He begins to understand what Muffy is talking about, but he is hardly ready for anything she has in mind. Soon enough, she has him pinned against the wall, but that won't stop Muffy.

“Um, Muffy. What are you planning?” asked Trei thoughtlessly.

Muffy grabs Trei's hand and places it on her slender waist with it. “What are you talking about, today is your birthday after all. Why don't you unwrap your gift.”

Trei sweats nervously and says, “umm, I appreciate your offer. But how about you just buy me a tool instead. You know, my sickle is a bit rusty, and I could sure use a new one.”

“Oh, don't be like that. After all, today is your birthday. I think you deserve a special treat,” flirted Muffy.

Muffy begins to rub her body against his, and stroked her right leg between his. He looked down, and sees the cleavage in her night gown. He is tempted, but it didn't feel right to do it just yet.

Trei puts both of his hands on her shoulders, and pushes her away. He then says, “you know Muffy, this may not be the best time for this. I have a cramped leg from work, and I also have a slight headache. Yeah, this is definitely a bad time, so let's save this for another day.”

Muffy grows tired and impatient. She picks up Trei, and Throws him on the bed, proving that she is much stronger than she looks. She then hops on the bed, and crawls on him purring like a kitten attempting to turn him on. She fondles his chest, and stares into his nervous eyes hoping that he will get into the mood soon.

Trei looks around and says nervously, “by the way, where is Myo?”

“I dropped her off at Griffin's this morning. I already told you, nobody is going to interrupt our 'special' birthday party. It's just you, and me.” said Muffy.

Trei feels trapped. Muffy has planned the day very well, and she intends to get what she wants before the day is over. Her persistence is making Trei even more nervous. The only thing he can do is try to talk her out of it again.

“Hey Muffy, how about if we save this for later. I can go to the kitchen, and we can have a romantic candle light dinner. What do you say?”

Muffy caresses Trei's face and says, “Come on sweetheart. Quit playing shy already. You're acting like if this is our first time. Don't worry, if you're that tired, I'll be very gentle.” Muffy moves her lips closer to Trei's ear and whispers, “Besides, I have something I want to tell you. I want to have another baby! If we work on it right now, it'll be born my the time my birthday comes around.”

Before Trei says anything else, she locks her lips against his. She doesn't want excuses anymore, she wants results. Trei has no other choice but to force his way out. He pushes her off of him, and jumps out of bed gasping for air. Muffy's kiss didn't allow Trei to breath much.

“Trei! What is the matter with you?!” yelled Muffy. “It's been over half a year since you last touched me! And now you are just throwing me away!”

“I'm sorry,” said Trei trying to hide his embarrassed face. “But things are a little bit complicated right now.”

Muffy looks away and says, “You don't think I'm beautiful anymore, do you?”

“Oh Trust me, that is definitely NOT the reason,” said Trei as he holds his nose to stop the bleeding.

“Then what's wrong!? Please tell me!” yelled Muffy desperate for an answer.

Before things turn into another marriage disagreement, Trei comes up with a plan. He walks up to Muffy, and holds her hand tenderly. “Muffy, I would love to have more kids with you. But it's still too soon. Myo is a handful right now, and I would rather wait a bit longer to have any more kids. Do you understand?”

“But. . .”

“Please?” Deeply staring into her eyes, Muffy couldn't help but to agree.

She takes his hand and rubs her face with it saying, “Okay, I'll wait a bit longer. But please don't make me wait too long.”

Trei pecked her in the lips, and thanks her for understanding. He then unlocks the door and opens it saying, “I have to go do some shopping now. Van is in town today, and I need to pick up some things. I'll come back later, and we'll have a nice candle light dinner.” He then leaves closing the door behind him.

Even though Muffy had agreed to wait, she still isn't happy. She embraces her pillow tightly, and sheds some tears over it. Even though he is there every day, she still misses his embrace, his attention, and the words “I love you”. The simplest things are the things that she wants to feel happy.

Outside the house, Trei collapses and nearly dies of shock. As he processes his situation, he tells himself, “I completely forgot that Muffy might want sex eventually. I know I should, we’re married after all. But I don’t think I can do it yet. Besides, what if I don’t perform the way she’s used to? This whole mess is too much sometimes.”

Trei leaves the farm, and walks over to where Van has his shop set up. He sees the usual items that Van always carries. He sighs deeply feeling disappointed that he cannot find a suitable apology gift for Muffy.

“I'll take this please,” said a very familiar voice. Trei looks over to his side to see who's voice does it belongs to and found Lumina standing next to him picking up medicine for Romana. She looks back at Trei and says, “hi there, I knew you'd be here.”

“Oh hey Lumina. Were you looking for me?” asked Trei.

She nods cheerfully, then pulls out a package she was hiding from behind her back. She places it in his hands and says, “happy birthday Trei. It's a birthday present.”

Curious to know what Lumina got him, he opens the gift quickly. Inside, he found a group of papers that is sown together in one side, similar to a book without a cover. He flips the pages, but all he can see is musical notes over lines.

“That you very much Lumina,” said Trei. “But if I may ask, what is this?”

“It's a musical score. I wrote the song, just for you.” Trei closes the book, and takes a look at the cover. on the cover, he notices that the song that Lumina wrote is called, “Two Good Friends”.

Trei scratches his head and says, “I'm flattered that you wrote a song for me. But I'm sorry, I can't read musical notes.”

Lumina laughs and says, “you don't have to. Just bring it to my home, and I'll play it for you any time.”

“Can you play it for me now?” asked Trei.

“Of course I can,” answered Lumina. She then escorts Trei back to the mansion where she can replay the song for Trei on her grand piano. Inside the mansion, she takes the score, and places it on the piano where she can read the notes. She can play the song without reading the notes, but she always plays better when she can see the score.

Lumina begins to play the song. The song is very simple in the first few minutes, she is able to play it using only one hand. Even though Trei likes the tune, it feels a bit sad. The next few minutes replays the first part, but the song is more elaborate and cheerful. Lumina is now using two hands to play the music on the piano instead of one. You can also see a smile on her face as she plays the notes of that part of the song.

But then the song changes during the last several minutes, it becomes depressing again. It's not like the first two parts of the song, in fact, it's completely different. The third part of the song is about as sad as the first part, but kinda different. The first part of the song, Lumina played with only one hand. During the second and third part, she is using two hands to make very elaborate music. He knows that Lumina is playing in a symbolic manner, but he is not sure how.

The song lasts for a little over nine minutes. After she is done playing, she turns to Trei to see his reaction. Trei claps cheerfully and says, “Lumina, that was incredible. You actually wrote that yourself?”

Lumina nods. “It took me about a half a year to write it, but it was well worth it. I'm glad you like it.”

“But can I ask you something?” asked Trei. Lumina looks at him in a curious manner, and nods. “I noticed that most of the song seemed to be a little sad. Why did you compose it like that?”

Lumina turns away, and stares at the keys of the piano. She knows that she is going to feel sad to admit, so she tried to hide her face. “Well, you see. I wrote this song to symbolize our friendship.”

“How so?” asked Trei.

“You see Trei, before we met, I was a very sad and lonely girl. My mother and father died, and I have no other family left other than my aunt. I had no friends either, and auntie always made me practice the piano so that I would be a musician in the future. Don't get me wrong, I love my aunt Romana, but she is not the best company for a young girl. But 8 years after I came to live in Forget-Me-Not Valley, I met you. You became a very close friend of mine. For the first time since I lived here, I felt happy. I was so happy to have you close to me, that I fell in love with you. I was shy, and never told you how I felt, until it was too late. That happiness didn't last very long, only a year after moving into Forget-Me-Not Valley, you got married to someone else. Even though you and I are still friends, I still started to feel lonely again. I guess I started to feel that way because the dream that you and I could be together forever faded that day you came to the mansion with Muffy, and tell me you were getting married.”

Trei can hear several teardrops fall on the piano keys as Lumina tells her story. Trei feels sad to hear that he has caused her so much sadness. But there wasn't anything he could do for her, especially since it was Muffy that The Trei from 5 years ago fell in love with, not Lumina. “I'm so sorry Lumina,” Trei said unexpectedly.

Lumina wiped the tears from her eyes, and says, “Please, don't be sorry. I'm just happy that you're happy at least.” Lumina looks at Trei, she is trying her best to hold back the tears, but he can still see them building up in her eyes. “You should go home now. I'm sure you're family is waiting for you to celebrate your birthday.”

After saying their goodbyes, Trei takes his gift and leaves the Mansion. Lumina sits on the piano looking at the keys, she hits a key and says, “After all, isn't it sad? A woman like me still in love with a married man. . .”

Trei walks out of the mansion. But before he leaves the Villa, he hears a rustling in the bushes. He goes over to check it out, then a pair of arms suddenly grabs him and pulls him into the brush. Trei looks at the man who has been hiding in the bushes, and sees that it's Rock from the New Years Party. The young blond man who was very interested in Lumina wearing old fashioned 70's clothing.

“What are you doing!?” asked Trei.

“I could ask you the same thing! Isn't today your birthday? Aren't you supposed to be at home with your family?” asked Rock.

“What I do is none of your business,” answered Trei. Rock notices something in Trei's hands. He quickly snatches it, and takes a look inside. “Hey, That's mine! Give it back!”

“This is Lumina's handwriting. She wrote a song for you?” said Rock.

“Yeah, what of it?” asked Trei.

Rock looks at Trei angrily and yells, “you dog! How dare you cheat on your wife! First you got the hottest girl in Forget-Me-Not Valley, but now you're after Lumina as well?”

“You idiot! I am not cheating on anybody! Lumina is just a friend and-” Rock suddenly covers Trei's mouth and ducks under the bushes to hide pushing Trei down with him. He then looks out to the mansion where he could watch Lumina walk out of the mansion. She brings out a watering can, and starts to water the flowers in the garden of the villa. Rock stares at her with his face blushing.

Trei looks at Rock awkwardly and whispers, “I get it, you are stalking Lumina. How long have you been playing this sick game?”

“Stalking? I am not stalking I'm-” Rock suddenly covers his own mouth realizing that he is speaking too loud. Lumina hears a voice in the bushes, so she walks over to check it out. But when she does, she sees nobody.

“Was it my imagination?” asked Lumina as she returns to watering the plants. Trei and Rock run out of the woods, and back to the main road in front of the Blue Bar. They try to catch their breath from running as fast as they could to avoid getting caught.

“That was a close one,” gasped Rock.

“So, care explaining why were you at the mansion?” asked Trei.

“I was not stalking, I was just admiring her from a distance like I always do.”

“Always do?” asked Trei.

Rock sighs and says, “Nobody truly knows how I feel about Lumina. You see, I always liked her ever since she came to live here in Forget-Me-Not valley when we both were 10 years old. I wanted to talk to her, but I always was afraid of her aunt Romana. She's always been a scary old bag. When I found out that she was related to her, I never got close to the mansion, all I can do is watch her from a distance. As we grew up, I've been seeing how much more beautiful she's becoming with little hope of even talking to her.”

“You're in love with her?” asked Trei. Rock sighs, and nods. Trei thinks about the situation, and says to himself, “hmm, Rock may be an odd guy, but he's not so bad. Now that I think about it, just about everyone in Forget-Me-Not Valley is a bit odd. Lumina is always sad because she is always alone. If I can get Lumina to go out with Rock, it may work out to everyone's advantage. Lumina will not be sad anymore, and Rock would not have to watch her in hiding.”

Rock notices Trei thinking, and asks, “what are you thinking about?”

Trei places a hand on his arm and says, “Rock my friend, how about I help you out. If you have feelings for Lumina, I'll help you make her understand those feelings.”

“You would do that for me?” asked Rock.

“Of course I would! Meet me in my house at Friday night, and the lesson will begin!”

Rock shakes his hand and says, “I'll be there! Thank you so much Trei, you really are a pal.” He then runs off, and goes home. Trei also return home where he can enjoy the rest of his birthday in peace.

Fall 6, 2005 (Friday)

Muffy is at her usual cooking class, and Myo is taking a nap in the bedroom. Rock and Trei are in the kitchen ready to start the lesson on how to flirt with Lumina. Rock is sitting on a chair like a student, while Trei is walking around like a teacher. He looks and Rock and says, “okay, here is the first thing I want to ask you. What are Lumina's favorite hobbies.”

“Let's see. . . She likes to play the piano, reading, and painting,” answers Rock.

“Mostly right, but not exactly. You see, Lumina only plays the Piano because Romana makes her. She is talented, but that doesn't mean that she actually LIKES to play the piano. The better answer is that she likes music, art, and reading. Now, what are her favorite things?”

Rock thinks for a moment and says, “Not entirely sure. Books?”

“It's true that she likes books, but I mean what sort of gifts she likes to receive. Like most girls, Lumina likes flowers and crystals. But since she is a refined girl from a noble background, she also likes teas, perfumes, jewelry, and other stuff like that.”

“Wow, sounds like it's going to be expensive to impress her. My family doesn't make much money, so I guess it'll be impossible for her to like me.”

“Not quite!” said Trei. “Lumina may be from a noble family, but I know for a fact that she is not interested in a guy who is rich or famous, or noble, or anything like that. Lumina just wants a guy who can keep her company. Someone she can talk to when she's feeling sad. Someone she can turn to when she needs help. Someone who will be there by her side.”

“I see. So, you think there is a chance for her to like a guy like me?” asked Rock.

“Boy, this guy doesn't know that she is in love with a man who works in a ranch.” thought Trei to himself. He then clears his throat and says, “okay, now the problem we are having is your fear of her aunt Romana. This is what we're going to do. Tomorrow afternoon, we are going to visit Lumina. I'll be there to support you. Make sure you bring a gift for her. She'll open up to you if only you let her.”

Rock stands up, and shakes Trei's hand. “Thank you, I owe you one. I'll be there tomorrow!” Rock then leaves, and prepares his plan for the next day where he'll finally get a chance to talk to Lumina.

Fall 7, 2005 (Saturday)

Trei finishes his chores quickly, and heads over to the villa to wait for Rock. He waits for a few minutes before seeing Rock climb the hill to the mansion. He smiles as he is heading up the hill, he can barely wait until he can speak to Lumina up close.

As soon as Rock reaches Trei, he says, “It's about time you got here. Did you bring a gift?”

“Sure did!” said Rock. They both go up to the mansion front doors, and knocked on it. Lumina quickly answers the door, and smiles as soon as she sees Trei. She is pretty surprised to see Rock with him, she hardly has any company other than Doctor Hardy and Van.

“Good afternoon Trei.” She then looks at Rock and says, “Hello there Rock, I haven't seen you since New Years.”

Rock blushes, and says nervously, "Good afternoon Lumina. . . Its fine weather we are having. I have a gift for you!” He grasps the gift tightly for a moment before revealing it to Lumina. Both Lumina and Trei became very shocked at the fake flowers Rock brought with him.

Lumina leers at the flowers, but feels obligated to accept them anyway. “Um, thanks for the. . . Plastic flowers.”

“They'll last longer that way, make sure you put them in water,” said Rock full of confidence.

Trei grabs rock by the collar, and drags him off saying, “sorry Lumina, something just came up, and we have to go. See you later!”

After they are out of sight, Trei releases Rock, and yells, “what the hell is wrong with you? You can't just give a girl plastic flowers as a gift!”

“But they were expensive! Why wouldn't it make a nice gift?” asked Rock cluelessly.

Trei points at Rock, and yells angrily, “I thought we already went through this. Lumina may be a noble girl, but that doesn't mean that she wants the most expensive gifts that you can find! It would be a lot better if you would have gotten her real flowers, and they’re free!”

“Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'll get her real flowers tomorrow,” said Rock.

“Forget the gift. Tomorrow, Lumina will be practicing on her piano. She likes it when I stand by and listen to her play. So tomorrow, you will come with me. But here's the plan! Sometime in the middle, I'll disappear leaving you and her all alone. That'll impress her for sure!”

“Hey that's a great idea!” yelled Rock. “So, same time tomorrow?”

“That's right. See you later.” Then they returned to their homes to prepare for Trei's second plan.

Fall 8, 2005 (Sunday)

The clock strikes 1:00pm, and Lumina readies her score sheets for another day of practice. But just before she takes a seat in front of her grand piano, she hears a knock on the mansion door. She walks over, and opens the door it to see who it is. She finds Trei and Rock outside again. Lumina is still happy to see Trei, but not as pleased to see Rock after yesterday's gift.

“Hi there Trei, It's not often that you come over two days in a row,” said Lumina.

“I had the afternoon off, so I thought I'd come by to hear you play. I also brought Rock with me, I hope you don't mind.”

Lumina shakes her head and says, “of course not. I'm about to start, please come on in!”

They all walk over to the piano. Lumina sits down, and begins to play. Trei and Rock stand behind her to listen to her. The beautiful melody of the piano sends a calming feeling inside Trei. After a few minutes, he feels that it is a good time to leave Rock and Lumina alone. But just as he is about to leave, he notices that Rock fell asleep!

He shakes him to try to wake him, but the music is keeping him asleep. Out of anger, he stomps on Rocks foot waking him instantly. Rock yells, “WHAT THE F-” but before he finishes his sentence, Trei covers his mouth.

Lumina became startled, so she stops playing and looks back. She looks at Trei covering Rock's mouth and asks, “Is everything okay?”

Trei sweats nervously and says, “I'm fine, but Rock says that he feels a bit ill all of the sudden. I'll have to take him home, see you later!”

“Bye Trei.” said Lumina as she watches Trei drag rock away, leaving her alone in the mansion.

As soon as they are far enough away from the villa, Trei yells, “What is wrong with you? You can't just fall asleep while she's playing!!”

Rock crosses his arm and says, “I couldn't help it, I'm not that big of a fan of classical music. I’m more of a disco fever type.”

Trei becomes angrier and yells, “are you kidding me? I thought you liked Lumina! Lumina is a musician! You can't just pick and choose what you like about her and ignore the things you don't! If you care about her so much, you'll have to accept and like everything about her!”

Rock looks away and sighs saying, “fine, I'll learn to like classical music, just for her.”

Trei scratches his head and says, “man, you are such an idiot! What is it with blonds and stupidity that almost always go together. I feel like I'm talking to a male version of Muffy!” Trei sighs and tries to calm himself. He then says, “I'm gong to give you just one more chance, but you better not screw this up!”

“Fine, what do I do?” asked Rock.

“Tomorrow, you are going to apologize to Lumina for leaving so suddenly. Go to the dig site, and dig up a nice gift for her. And use your common sense this time!”

Rock agrees, and they both return home again. Muffy notices how aggravated Trei is, but she doesn't bother to ask him what's wrong. She thought that maybe the work is getting to him, so she gives him some space.

Fall 9, 2005 (Monday)

In the mansion, Lumina is painting a portrait of a beautiful landscape. She feels that something is missing, but she is not sure what it is. She thought that a small ranch with animals is what it needs. So she dips her brush into the paint, and pictures a ranch with cows and a young married farmer riding a horse in her head. She stops herself right before she touches the canvas and says, “I'm still thinking about him again.”

She suddenly hears a knock on the door, so she places the paint on the stool, and checks who it is. On the other side of the door, she finds Trei standing outside. This time, he is standing there alone.

“Good afternoon Trei.” Lumina takes a good look around and says, “You're all by yourself today?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Trei is smiling on the outside, but he is burning with an angry rage on the inside. Trei says to himself inside his head, “He’s Late! I can't believe that idiot! Why isn't he here yet? I swear, I'll kill him next time I see him!”

Lumina steps aside and says, “would you like to come inside? I am currently painting, and I could use your help for inspiration.”

“Lumina!” says Rock's voice from a distance. She looks out to the distance, and sees him running towards them. All of his clothing are dirty from the dig site, and he is hiding something behind his back. Trei could not believe that he came in that condition, but at least he is glad that he came at all.

Rock runs up to Lumina, and gasps for air. The long run between the dig site and the mansion really took a lot out of him. After catching his breath, he says, “Lumina, I'm sorry about leaving yesterday. I really liked listening you play the piano. I hope you're not mad.”

Lumina smiles and says, “oh no, don't worry about it.”

“Oh, I brought a gift for you!” Rock shows Lumina what he got, an ancient skull of a wild animal that he dug up from the dig site. Lumina screams and slams the door on Rock's face.

Trei hits Rock on the top of his head and yells, “why the hell did you bring that for?”

“But I thought you wanted me to bring something from the dig site. I thought that a fossil would make a good gift.”

“Crystals you damn fool! Moonstones or sugar ores, not bones!” Trei knocks on the door and says, “Lumina, please open the door, we have to talk.” Lumina hesitates to open the door, but since it's Trei calling her, she opens it anyway. Rock already threw away the fossil so that it can not scare her. Trei takes a deep breath and says, “Lumina, listen to me. I know that Rock has messed up the last couple of days but-”

“I have a confession to make!” interrupted Rock. He knows that Trei was going to tell Lumina that he likes her, but he needs to tell her himself. He bows in front of Lumina and confesses, “Lumina, I really like you!”

The confession really shocks Lumina. “Do you really mean that?” she asked.

“Yes I do. Ever since I first saw you when we were kids, I've always liked you. But all I could do is watch you from outside the mansion admiring you. I didn't mean to scare you like I did earlier, but when I think about you, I guess I just can't think straight.” He then takes a deep breath and says, “I'm sorry I've been bothering you the last couple of days, but I'm too much of a coward to tell you how I feel. Trei has been helping me get over my fears, but all I've been doing is making a fool of myself. If you don't like me I understand, I won't bother you anymore.”

Lumina is touched by Rocks words. She walks up to him, and holds his hand. Rock's face turns red, he is very surprised that Lumina is not angry with him. “Rock, I wish you would have told me how you feel sooner. Because to tell you the truth, I like you too.”

“You do?” asked Rock.

Lumina nods and says, “you only come over for New Years but you always make the party just a little bit more fun. You like telling jokes that make people laugh. You're goofy, a little air-headed, and you wear old fashioned clothes. But it's those things that make me smile. But I always thought you didn't like me at all, so I never said anything.”

Rock smiles cheerfully and asks, “Lumina, you want to go out with me sometime?”

“Sure! How's this Friday sound? I'm not practicing the piano that day, so I'll have time to go somewhere.”

Trei has no idea how it happened, but the mission to get Rock and Lumina together is a complete success. He has skipped five whole years, so he does not remember how it feels to fall in love. But seeing Lumina and Rock reveal hidden feelings for one another makes him feel warm and tingly inside. So he returns home to his wife and child.

Muffy is cooking dinner as he arrives home. Myo is in the bedroom playing with her toys. As Trei watches her try her hardest to cook something that will not burn, Trei thought, “I wonder how it felt when Muffy and I were still single, and going out on dates?”

Muffy notices Trei standing behind her, and asks, “hey Trei, something wrong?”

“No, not really,” answered Trei. “But I want to ask you something. Do you want to go on a date with me? We can leave Myo with Griffin for the night.”

Muffy is not sure why does he want to go on a date with her, especially since they are already married. But she says, “sure, why not?”