Chapter 2

Things remain quiet for a few minutes as they both try to process what just happened. On the third day Hiro is in Forget-Me-Not valley, someone already popped him the ultimate question. Lumina cannot believe what she just did. She wants to run out of the farm crying with embarrassment, but she stands her ground. He may not understand what she did, but hopefully he will after she tells her story.

After he has calmed down a bit, he clears his throat ready to ask a whole bunch of questions he was not prepared to have answers to. He only knows that no young woman would do something so sudden unless there is a good reason behind it. “Umm, why on earth would you want to get married to me? We just met.”

“It would be an arranged marriage. It’s something I need to do for my family,” answered Lumina.

“I don’t understand,” said Hiro.

Lumina has no idea what else to say to him. She’s already embarrassed out of her mind, and there is so much to explain. Rather than saying anything else he won’t understand, she pulls out an envelope and slides it towards him. Hiro takes the envelope and finds a letter in it. Lumina sits as Hiro begins to read what it has to say.

Dear Lumina,
If you are reading this letter, then it means that the flames of my life has faded away, and I've passed on to the next life leaving you all alone. As you may already know, you are the last living member of our family bloodline. Your mother and father has tragically passed away when you were only a little girl, and you were left in my care. You are now a full grown woman, ready to carry on our family inheritance.
However, I've grown concerned about your romantic life as you've grown older. As the member of our family, it is your duty to get married, and give life to a child that will pass on the family bloodline. I had high hopes in your relationship with the boy from the inn, but that ended too soon. With so few people that you can meet in Forget-Me-Not Valley, I worry that you may remain single, and never continue our bloodline.
I wanted to have an arranged marriage performed, but I am too old, and I do not have enough time to handle the lengthy paperwork. So instead, I'm going to ask you to find a husband on your own. Please find a good man who is kind and generous who will honor our family, and make us proud.
This may seem cruel or cold, but I have asked Sebastian to take over the family business, and ask you to leave the villa so you may go on a journey to find the perfect husband. Until you find a good husband, I cannot allow you to inherit the family heirlooms. Please understand that this is for the benefit of both yourself and the family.
I wish you good fortune,

Your grandmother, Romana.

After reading the letter, Hiro takes a deep breath as he looks at Lumina. Her face is still red with embarrassment as she wonders what Hiro might be thinking. He hardly knows what to do or say, the situation is just too much. He then slumps back against his chair before he says, “so, your grandmother needs you to get married?” Lumina nods twice, but remains silent. “How long ago did your grandmother pass away if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Summer of last year,” she responds shyly.

Hiro sighs again, “I get it. It’s been close to a year since you left the villa, and you are not married yet. But I need to know, why me?”

She fidgets with her fingers as she thinks of the perfect words she can say. Hiro just continues to sit back patiently as she calms herself enough to answer. As soon as Lumina is ready, she gives Hiro a warm smile as she says, “well, you see Hiro. I have the impression that you meet all the qualities my family would like to have as my husband. I may not know you too well, but I feel that you are kind, gentle, and generous. I have watched you communicate with the other people who live in Forget-Me-Not Valley, and I see the smiles you bring to others. Watching you made me feel that you can be a good husband for me. Someone who would make my mother, father, and grandmother happy as they watch over me in heaven.”

Lumina’s sweet words puts a smile on his face. He then takes another look at the letter as he asks, “it looks like you are from a famous family. What’s the deal with that? I mean, wealthy families usually marry into one another.”

“Yes, I am from the Starlynn family. My family has been involved in the trading business for generations. It is true that most high class families do wed others of equal wealth, but the Starlynns has never followed that idea. We believe that all people are equal and should be treated as such.”

“The Starlynns? I’ve heard that name before. It is quite noble of your family to believe in that. But still. . .” He then slides the letter back to Lumina, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I’m not a big fan of the whole arranged marriage business.”

Lumina sighs stressfully as she takes back her letter. “I understand, you have my deepest apologies. Coming into your home and making such a request was rude of me.”

Hiro shakes his head no, “please don’t misunderstand me. I think that you are a kind and good natured person, not to mention very pretty. It would be nice if we could get to know one another and be friends.”

Lumina looks up at Hiro with hope in her eyes, “so if we can get to know one another, then would you reconsider?”

His eyes widen from shock. He wants to tell her a simple plain no. Deep inside, he has a very good reason why he doesn’t want to get involved with her situation. But at the same time, he doesn’t want her to get the wrong idea. Even though he feels that Lumina is very attractive, he also feels that this road can only lead to heartbreak. Instead of either a yes or a no, he just looks away and answers, “I don’t know. Anything is possible. But it will take a long time.”

Lumina then stands up, and bows gracefully at Hiro. “Very well then. I will do my best to get to know you, and I hope that you will try to get to know me as well. Now if you’ll excuse me, I will need return to my room to make preparations.”

“Preparations? What does that mean?” asked Hiro.

“Preparations for us to get to know each other,” she said Cheerfully. She then turns around and leaves the house. Hiro is sitting at the table stunned at what just happened. He feels that he should have been a bit more clear about not wanting to be involved with Lumina’s family traditions, but he also doesn’t want to be rude either. He can only hope that maybe he can be a bit firmer with her next time they meet.

After Hiro is sure that Lumina has left the farm, he walks over to the living room where the bookcase is. He reaches for the framed photo hidden between the books so he can take a look at it. Emotions fills his mind as he looks at the young girl he is standing next to. “An arranged marriage, huh? Kinda reminds me of what happened to you. . ,” Hiro whispered to himself just before returning the photo to the bookcase. No matter how much he wants to let his past go and move on, he just can’t seem to just yet. He wants to keep remembering the young girl to keep her close to his heart.
The next morning, Hiro walks out of his house to start another day of work. Another beautiful spring morning in Forget-Me-Not Valley filled with life and hope. He deals with the cows and the crops until Takakura arrives with a couple of chickens to add to the farm. Once the farm work is done, Hiro goes out through the village to pick some more flowers, herbs, and fish to sell.

When he arrives at the selling space, he finds a merchant named Van already set up. Hiro learns that this traveling merchant sets up his shop a couple of times a month to trade items between the local villages and towns. Even though Hiro wanted to set up his own shop, Van happily buys everything Hiro has collected. He even trades some fish for some apples that grow in Mineral Town. Hiro loves apples and waste no time chowing down some on his way back to the farm.

As Hiro walks around the farm looking over the pasture chomping on an apple, he hears footsteps walking towards him. He looks to his side and finds Lumina walking towards him carrying a suitcase. He raises an eyebrow as he wonders what Lumina is doing or thinking.

“Okay I’m ready,” said Lumina in a cheerful tone.

“Ready? For what?” asked Hiro just before taking another bite of his apple.

“For us to live together,” answered Lumina.

Hiro gasps and immediately starts choking on his apple. After struggling for a second, he spits out the chunk of apple and starts coughing uncontrollably. Lumina drops her suitcase to run to help him in any way that she can. They quickly move back in the house so Hiro can get something to drink and clear his throat. As he does his best to recover from shock and nearly choking to death, Lumina sits at the table looking down in shame. She didn’t mean any harm, but she realizes that she could have done things differently.

As soon as Hiro is able to speak, he says, “okay, what’s going on Lumina? When did we agree that we should live together?”

She begins to fidget once again. She knows that they have made no agreement to live together, but she felt that it was a good idea at the time she thought of it. “Well, we did say that we should get to know each other. What better way to get to know one another than to live under same roof?”

Hiro sighs as he says, “This is not what I meant by 'getting to know each other'. I was thinking more like talking to each other every now and then. Start off as friends, and maybe do something of festivals or something. You know, that type of stuff. . .”

Lumina sighs deeply and says, “I know what you're trying to say. But. . .”

Hiro scratches his head and continues, “listen to me Lumina. I know that you need to get married quickly, but I'm afraid that forcing it is not going to help. What would people think if we just start living together so suddenly?”

Lumina doesn’t know what to say. She knows what Hiro is trying to tell her. Even though she is not good at planning these things out, she figured that she could at least try. But after two failed attempts to talk to Hiro, she just makes herself sound crazy and causes Hiro stress. First marriage, then living together. If only she could find a way to properly explain to Hiro what’s going on with her.

Hiro finally crosses his arms and decides to be firm with Lumina. “I’m afraid I’m going to say no to all of this. I am not interested in either marriage or living together with you. Am I making myself clear?”

Hiro’s rejection hits Lumina hard. She trembles as she processes what he is saying. This is no longer a “maybe” or “I’ll think about it”, it is a flat no. She looks down, wondering what she will do from this moment on. She had already prepared an alternate plan in case this happens, but she was hoping that she would not resort to do it. Hiro was her final chance to finally return to a normal life in Forget-Me-Not Valley. A single tear forms in her eye, but she wipes it before he is able to see it.

She looks up ay Hiro with a sad smile saying, “I understand. I deeply apologize for causing you trouble.” She then stands and bows at Hiro saying, “Goodbye Hiro. I wish you plenty of luck in your farm. I won't bother you anymore.”

Hiro’s mood changes from annoyed to concerned. Based on the tone of her voice and the choice of words, he feels that there is something she is not telling him. He then rubs the back of his head and says, “Hey, I know I was a bit harsh, but don’t talk like that. We can still be friends after all.”

Lumina shakes her head no, saying, “Hiro, I already checked out of the inn. Since we can't live together, I'm going to be leaving Forget-Me-Not Valley.”

Hiro’s eyes widen. “What? Don’t be dramatic. Just because we won’t get married, that doesn’t mean you have to leave Forget-Me-Not Valley.”

Lumina takes a deep breath. At this point, she feels that she should just tell him everything, “You see Hiro. . . Living at the inn for as long as I already have drained most of the money I had on me. It has been a long time waiting for new people to settle here in Forget-Me-Not Valley. But I can no longer wait for someone else, so I will need to move on and live in another town. I will need to find a job, and meet new people who can someday be my husband. I know this sounds silly to you, but it is important for me.”

At this point, Hiro feels guilty. He thought that Lumina was being weird, but she was just desperate to stay in the valley. If only he asked a few more questions, he could have found another way to help her stay. Now he is just standing there confused and shocked. As soon as Lumina is ready to face the world, she says her last goodbye before turning and leaving the house. As soon as the door closes, the house suddenly feels quiet and lonely.

Lumina looks up at the clear spring afternoon. As the spring breeze flows through her brunette hair, he takes a deep breath before she starts her long walk to the next town. She only hopes that nothing bad will happen to her on the way. Meanwhile, Hiro sits at the table to think about things. He does feel bad that Lumina will travel from town to town working random jobs and meeting random strangers. At the same time, he tells himself that Lumina is not his responsibility.

He gets up and paces around the house, he is having a hard time worrying about Lumina. He then looks out the window, and sees that she has already left the farm. Even though he tries to tell himself that Lumina is not his problem, he can’t help but worry about her. Can she get a job? Will she be okay traveling on her own? What if she meets a low life who only marries her for her money? Does she even have enough common sense to keep that a secret as she meets new people? Anything can happen to her, and Hiro will feel responsible if anything does.

His conscience won’t let him stand by and do nothing. So he quickly runs out of the house and begins looking for her. She already left the farm, and he knows she’s not at the inn or the villa. If she is anywhere, she either must be at the pier waiting for a boat or leaving through the valley’s entrance where he arrived. There won’t be a boat for hours, so he decides to check the entrance. He runs as fast as he can hoping that he can catch her before leaving the valley. If she leaves, then it will be impossible to find her. As he runs past Vesta’s farm, he sees Lumina heading to the valley’s entrance. He is exhausted, but he can keep running.

Hiro cries Lumina’s name, which causes her to look back and see him running towards her. She turns around and waits to see what’s going on. After a few seconds, Hiro stops in front of Lumina, but he’s so out of breath that he can only rest on his knees and wheeze. “Hiro, is anything the matter?” asked Lumina.

After breathing a few more times, Hiro asks, “Lumina, are you sure that you know what you're going to do out there? Are you sure that you're going to be safe?”

“Well, I am worried about traveling on my own. But I have to do this, for the sake of my family,” she answers.

Hiro shakes his head no and responds, “if you're worried, then you shouldn't go. You should just stay here, and search from the valley. Walking around village to village blindly is not the best thing to do. You should think about this a little more, plan ahead!”

“But Hiro, I already told you. I cannot stay here any longer. Until I find a husband, I cannot return home. I already tried to find some form of income in the valley, but I cannot find a job here. So I have to leave.” she answers.

Hiro takes a deep breath. He is not sure if this is the most responsible decision to make, but he tells her, “You can stay in my house. I have an extra room you can live in, so if you want, you can stay there.”

Lumina gasps cheerfully and yells, “Really?! I can stay in your home?!”

“However. . .” interrupted Hiro. “We are not getting married. I'm just offering you a place to live where you can find a husband. Afterwards, you must return home. Is that a deal?”

Lumina bows and responds, “I understand. Thank you so much Hiro.”