FINAL Chapter

A Wonderful Future

Spring 1, 2006 (Tuesday)

The party ends at 6:00pm in Romana's Villa. One by one, everyone says their goodbyes and returns home. Trei spent the most time saying goodbye to all his friends. He has told no one, but it will be the last time he will see them before returning to the past. Everyone did feel that he was acting unusual during the end of the party, but nobody wanted to ask about it.

Trei and Muffy are now returning home with Myo. As they walk, Muffy notices Trei acting somewhat more unusual than normal. Every few moments, he would check his watch and sigh in relief. He also has a worried look in his eye, like if something is on his mind. This also worries Muffy. Last year, he was acting especially strange to her. This year is a bit more normal, but still unusual for Muffy.

Muffy sighs and stops walking. She grabs his arm and asks, “Trei, is there something wrong?”

Trei looks back with a surprised look and says, “Nothing! Nothing at all is wrong.”

“You've been looking at your watch a lot. Is something going to happen soon? Another surprise for our anniversary?”

Trei completely forgot about the anniversary. He has been so preoccupied with so many things, that he completely forgot. The fact that he has to leave in only a few hours left doesn't help either. Instead of doing nothing, he feels that he should do at least one last thing with her before he leaves.

He rushes in front of Muffy and says, “Muffy, let's go on a date!” he yelled.

“A date?” asked Muffy. “But it's already late, and Myo needs to be tucked in soon. Maybe we should-”

“Please?” begged Trei.

Muffy looks up at Trei's sad and desperate face. Looking like that, there is no way that she could turn him down. So she sighs and says, “What about Myo?”

“Let's ask Griffin to take care of her for tonight,” answered Trei. “It's our anniversary tonight, and it's very important that we spend as much time alone.”

Muffy takes a moment to decide. She feels that he is acting suspicious, asking her to go on a date so late that night. But she quickly gives in. She smiles and says, “okay, let's go on a date.”

After dropping Myo off at the Blue Bar, they leave Forget-Me-Not Valley to Mineral Town. In town, there is a nice bonfire where they watch the young couples dance together. The inn is also open, so they have a few drinks and a good meal to eat. As they eat, Muffy talks about the many things that happened within the past year. Like how much smarter Myo is getting, how good the ranch has been doing, and how good friends they are becoming with Grant's family.

Trei just sits there and listens to Muffy talking. He is afraid to say much because he doesn't want to slip his tongue and tell her something that may scare her. So he just smiles and nods every now and then. After dinner, the new years festival is over and they return to Forget-Me-Not Valley. Muffy wanted to call it a night, but Trei wants to walk around the valley for a while before heading home. Muffy wanted to protest, but Trei gave that look again. So she sighs and agrees to take the walk.

They spent about an hour walking around randomly around the valley. Their final stop is at the bridge. They take a good long look at the river from there. Trei holds her hand tightly, as if he doesn't want to let it go, ever. This only makes Muffy worry, she knows that he can be romantic at times, but he has ever acted like this before.

“Trei sweetheart,” called Muffy gaining Trei's attention. “Is everything okay? Is there something that you cannot tell me?”

Trei takes a moment to think. He wants to tell her the truth, tell her everything that will happen in less than 2 hours. But he wonders if she will believe him. And how will she react if he does tell her? After a moment, he feels that if he says anything, he will only cause her to panic or get angry. He wants her to enjoy herself, especially since after he leaves, she will no longer exist as she is. She will be a single woman working in a bar only hoping of meeting the perfect man someday.

“Nothing is wrong,” answered Trei. “I just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all.”

Muffy looks away sadly, and then continues, “I'm getting this strange feeling. . . Like if you are trying to say goodbye to me. I have this strange feeling that you might go far far away. Somewhere that I cannot find you.”

A tear drops from Trei's eye, hearing her say those words leave him feeling very emotional. Now more than ever, he doesn't want to leave. He then then quickly moves behind her, and embraces her tightly. She gasps in a very surprised tone. In the several years that they have been married, Trei has never embraced her that way. Muffy begins to tremble, she is almost prepared to hear some sudden bad news. But at the same time, she enjoys his powerful warm embrace.

“I would never want to leave you,” whispered Trei in her ear. “If I ever do, it will only be for a brief moment, you'll never even notice I was gone. After all, you and Myo are the most important people to me. I will never leave my family behind.”

“Do you promise me that?” asked Muffy suddenly.

“With all my heart.” Trei continues to hold her for a moment, then asks, “hey, let me ask you something. If we ever had to start over again. . . If we both were single once again. . . Would you become my wife all over again?”

“That's a strange question to ask,” answered Muffy. Trei then tightens his grip on her. She then feels several teardrops fall on her shoulder. Seeing how emotional he's becoming, she decides to humor him. “Yes, even if we were to start over a million times, I would become your wife each and every time.”

They share a kiss before leaving the bridge to pick up Myo from Griffin's house. They all return home, and everyone prepares for bed. Muffy tucks Myo in, and she climbs into bed wearing her usual night gown and hair curlers. She sits in bed and watches Trei walk around the house in a panic. He stares at the time, it is now 11:00pm, only an hour left until he has to go back, and the world he has been living in for a whole year will cease to exist.

“Trei, are you sure that everything is okay?” asked Muffy. She can't help but to worry with Trei acting the way he is.

Trei rushes into bed and says, “Nothing! I just don't want this night to end, that's all.”

“Well, let's go to sleep. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow,” said Muffy. She then notices Trei staring at her, so she says, “what? Is there something on my face.”

“I love you,” he said out of the blue.

Muffy smiles and responds, “I love you too.” They then shared a final kiss before Muffy rests her head on the pillow, and quickly drifts on to sleep. Trei pretends to sleep, but he remains awake staring at the clock watching the minutes go by. He can only wish that time would stop, but he knows that he has no such ability. All he can do is watch, and try to stay awake as long as possible.

At 11:30pm, Trei begins to have trouble staying awake. He remembers feeling this way when he was at home before he came to Forget-Me-Not Valley. He climbs out of bed, and begins to walk around once again. No matter what he does, he only feels more and more sleepy as each minute passes. He wants to cheat fate so badly, but he doesn't have the strength to fight back. In a desperate attempt to stay awake, he grabs his jacket, and begins to walk out of the ranch.

He only reaches the bridge at 11:59pm. There, he falls on his knees, and his eyes are almost impossible to keep open. He wants to stay there with his family, but nothing that he does is working. All he is able to do is lift his head up high and yell to the top of her lungs yelling, “WHY! WHY CAN'T I STAY!?”

Then at 12:00am, he collapses and falls asleep right on the bridge. His only regret that he has is that he should have remained at home with his family. But he wanted to fight back, and embrace the hope that he could remain with Muffy and Myo in Forget-Me-Not Valley forever without starting over. But there are some things that anyone cannot overcome. Slowly, the world that Trei once knew fades away. His body becomes younger by the second, and everything that has happened between the six years he was away from the past starts to reset itself.

Spring 1, 2000

Trei wakes up in his bedroom in the city where he was born. He puts his hand on his head as if he has a headache. He feels a bit dizzy, and his memory is fuzzy, but he is fine. He then looks in the mirror in the other side of the room and says, “Wow, what just happened? I feel like if I was in a very long dream. . .” Even though he looks no different than he was yesterday, he feels that something has changed. He feels light as a feather, his hair feels smooth to the touch, and he was expecting himself to be older.

Rather than worry about it too much, he starts to get ready for the day. He dresses himself in his usual clothes, but he begins to feel a bit odd. A dressy shirt, and khakis are his usual garments. But he has a strange feeling that he should be wearing a tough shirt and carpenter's pants used for working. But as he ties his shoes, he notices something that begins to recall all the memories.

As soon as he notices that his wedding ring is gone, he begins to remember all the faces he once knew in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Lumina, Cody, Grant, Saibara, Gray, Rock, and especially the faces of his daughter and his wife. The thing he remembers the most if the promise that he made the night before he returned.

As his memory clears, he says, “Muffy. . . Myo!” Then he runs out of his bedroom calling out to his mother. Trei finds her in the kitchen making some breakfast like if nothing has happened.

She turns around and says, “Good grace son, what's the matter with you? You're so noisy so early in the morning.”

Ignoring what Sarah just told him, Trei asks, “mom, do you still have Takakura's number?”

“Yes I do,” said Sarah in a confused tone. “But why do you need it so suddenly?”

“Because I want to take over dad's ranch!” yelled Trei.

Hearing those words come out of Trei's lips shocks Sarah to the point where she dropped all the cooking utensils on the floor. She trembles as she says, “what did you say?”

“Mom, I saw it last night. It was a small ranch, but I was happy there. I was with a beautiful bride, and a three year old daughter! We have a lot of friends, like Cody, Lumina, Grant and his family and-”

“Trei, what are you talking about?” interrupted Sarah.

“Mom, don't you understand? It's a wonderful future.”

Sara just remains standing thee looking at Trei in confusion. But she then sighs and tells him, “I have no idea what you're trying to tell me. But if taking over your fathers ranch is what you want to do, I'll support you.”

“It is.”

Sara then walks up to her son proudly, and kisses him on the cheek. She then says, “I'll call Takakura, and tell him you're on your way. You should start packing, and get ready.”

“Thanks mom,” said Trei as he runs back to his room. He packs only the necessary things for living in the country. He knows that modern things such as DVD and CD players are pointless. Electricity and phone lines are limited, so he will need to pack wisely. After packing mostly clothing and toiletries, Sara hands him the directions needed to arrive at Mineral Town where he will meet up with Takakura. He says goodbye to her, and starts heading over to his future.

Later that day, Trei arrived at Forget-Me-Not Valley. The trip seemed longer than he thought it would be, he first arrived in Mineral town where he was picked up by Takakura. He then was escorted to the valley where he was taken to the empty ranch. At first, he felt odd because the ranch is not usually empty. He always remembered it to be full of animals while he was living there earlier.

After they arrived, Takakura says, “So, here we are. Your father's ranch. It's not much to look at, but it's quite productive. There used to be a lot of animals here, but as soon as Pete got sick, we had to sell most of the animals. We do have a cow here in the ranch, I'll teach you how to care for her later.”

“Wow, this ranch is just like how I remember it,” said Trei carelessly.

“Excuse me?” asked Takakura.

Trei realized that he said something unusual, so he laughs and says, “I meant to say, like I always imagined it.”

Takakura raised an eyebrow and says, “Your father said something like that when he first arrived in this land. But I guess that means that you are really his son.” He walks to the barn and continues, “Well I hope you are not exactly like Pete, he used to tell me strange things like seeing invisible tiny men called Harvest Sprites. I wonder about that guy sometimes.”

Trei laughed awkwardly, and follows Takakura into the barn where he is introduced to the cow. Takakura spent a good 20 minutes lecturing on how to care for her. Trei doesn't really pay attention because he already knows how to care for animals. After the lecture, they leave the barn where Takakura shows Trei around the ranch. Takakura then offers Trei a tour around the village. Since he is pretending to be new, he accepts the tour. He first visits the farm where Celia, Vesta, and Marlin live in. Everyone introduces themselves, and then they move on. They also visit the tent where Carter and Flora live, and the Inn where Ruby and her family live. Trei is pretty surprised that there is another girl living there that he has never met. But he has no interest in another girl, he already has his heart set on one particular woman.

The next stop is the Blue bar. As soon as he sees it, Trei starts to get butterflies in his stomach. He knows that Muffy, the woman that he loves is working in there. But now, she does not know him anymore. He is unsure how he will react after seeing her, but he cannot avoid it. So he raises his chin up, and follows Takakura to the bar.

Takakura knocks on the door, and Griffin comes out to greet them. “Hi there Takakura!” said Griffin. He then looks at Trei and says, “is this the new guy in Pete's ranch?”

“That's right. This is Trei, Pete's son. He'll be working in the ranch starting today,” answered Takakura.

“I see. My name is Griffin, owner of the Blue bar. I hope you will come over, and relax in my bar.” Trei nods. Griffin then turns around and yells, “Hey! Come out and introduce yourself to the new guy!”

A moment later, a beautiful long haired blond woman walks out of the bar. Trei's heart starts to beat Rapidly after seeing her face. She was always beautiful before, but now Muffy is 6 years younger than he remembers her. At that moment, Trei fell in love with her all over again.

Muffy smiles at Trei and says, “Hi there. Welcome to the Blue Bar. My name is-”

“Muffy right?” interrupted Trei.

Everyone is shocked to hear that Trei knew her name before anyone even said anything. “Yes, that is my name. How did you know?” asked Muffy.

Trei winks at Muffy and says, “call it a lucky guess.”

Muffy giggles, and blushes a bit. Takakura then says, “Trei, we need to go introduce you to the rest of the village. Let's go.”

“Okay.” As he leaves the bar, he waves at Muffy and says, “see you later Muffy!”

“Come by again!” Muffy responded.

“You bet I will,” flirted Trei.

As they parted ways, Griffin quickly notices that Muffy has taken an interest in Trei. He smiles at her, and hopes the best for her. After the tour, Trei is taken back to the ranch where his first day on the job can begin.

Spring 2, 2000

Trei digs up the box that his father buried just before he died. He is able to find it very easily because the dirt is still loose it was buried. After bringing the box inside the house, he opens it and begins to read the letters one by one that his father has written. Every letter left Trei speechless. Everything that he has wanted to hear from his father are written in the letters. He only feels sad that he has never received them earlier. Some of them left tears dripping from his chin.

After reading them all, he decides to pay a visit to his father's grave. It is located not too far outside of the village. Forget-Me-Not Valley is very new, and Pete's grave sits alone in the path between Mineral Town and the valley. Trei arrives around 5:00pm wearing his best suit. He missed the funeral, but that doesn't mean that he cannot pay his respect to him.

“Hi dad,” said Trei patting the grave stone. He then takes a seat next to it, and continues to talk as if his father was sitting next to him. “So, how are you doing today? I've been just fine. I graduated college with excellent scores. But I decided to take over the ranch after all. But please don't misunderstand, I didn't do it for you. You see, I went to the future. I know that you did too when I was just a kid. In my future, I had a family. A beautiful wife, and a perfect daughter.
“Just before I came back, I promised that I would never leave them. And if I did, it would only be for a brief moment, she will not notice that I was gone. I plan to marry the same girl, and start my family again. I hope that you're happy dad, all your dreams are coming true. And it's all because of Muffy. You know her, she works at the bar. She is the girl I love, and the one I want to spend my life with.”

Trei stands up and says, “Listen dad. I cannot forgive you for leaving me and mom behind. I cannot forgive you for not sending the letters. I wanted you to be there for me when I was younger. I understand that you have your dreams to chase, but you still had a family. And that's why I cannot forgive you. But. . . I don't hate you.”

Trei then lets out a smile for his father. For some reason he had a feeling that his father is smiling back at him. He then remembers that he had written a letter of his own earlier that day. He pulls it out of his chest pocket and says, “oh, I wrote you a reply to the letters you wrote me. I know it's a bit late, but I hope you'll accept it anyway.” He opens the letter, and lays it on the earth in front of the grave stone. He places a rock on it so the wind doesn't blow it away anytime soon. He then says, “Goodbye dad, I'll take good care of the ranch. I promise.”

Trei then walks back to the ranch, he cries a little as he leaves his father's grave. He feels emotional, but he cannot be sad. After all, he has a life to make happen again. But he is happy, he feels that he made the right choice.

The letter that lays in front of Pete's grave is very short with only two words. But those two words came from deep within Trei's soul. The letter reads, “Dear Dad. . . Thank you.”

Spring 2, 2006 *Midnight*

Six years has passed since Trei took over the farm. Since then, he married Muffy, Myo was born, Rock has gotten engaged to Lumina, Grant has moved into the Valley, and everything else that happened before. It almost seems like nothing has changed from this life to the life he was forced to leave behind. He has also learned so many new things about Muffy that he has ever learned while living in the future.

Trei wakes up in the middle of the night. He the looks at his beautiful wife, and kisses her in the cheek. He then whispers in her ear, “Hi there. Do you remember what day this is? Of course you don't, this is the same exact night that I went back home six years ago. But just as I promised, you never even noticed that I was gone. This time, I am not going back. We'll always be together forever from now on.” He then smiles at her then continues, “Well, sweet dreams my precious wife. Let's have a wonderful future together. Oh, I almost forgot! Let's have another baby. This time, I would like to have a son.”

He then places his head on the pillow where he will spend the rest of his life raising his family to the best of his ability.

The end.