Chapter 3

Time passes at the farm where Lumina and Hiro live together. At first, they get along very well as friends. Each person does their share, Hiro works at the farm while Lumina keeps the home. Hiro rushes out to tend the animals and the crops that slowly grows in the farm. Lumina cooks, cleans, and does what he can to search for a husband. At least that’s she tells him what’s going on. As time passes, Hiro begins to suspect that Lumina is just playing house and not doing what she promised.

Before anyone knows it, summer arrives in the valley. The air gets warm, the seedlings grow slowly, the crops grow fruitful corn and tomatoes, the animals bathe in the sun, and the summer breeze refreshes as the villagers sit in the trees’ shade. One afternoon, Hiro has set up his shop next to the Blue Bar where he sells his goods. His cows and chickens give him plenty to ship, but he holds some byproducts back to sell to the locals directly. Even though he doesn’t need to do it, he feels that it is a great way to socialize with his neighbors. Problem is that everyone in the village knows that Lumina is currently living with Hiro, and this can create a bunch of rumors to spread quickly

“Okay. . . Here's your change,” said Hiro after finishing a sale with Chris.

“Thank you very much. Your milk is just fantastic! I bet you take great care of your cows,” commented Chris.

Ruby waves at Hiro saying, “well, we'll be going now. Please say hi to your wife for me!”

“But I'm not married,” said Hiro.

“Sure you're not,” they said sarcastically. They then walk away giggling, “how cute! He's so embarrassed about being married.”

As they walk away, Hiro lets out a stressful sigh. This is starting to become common in the valley with most villagers just accepting the idea that Lumina and Hiro are a couple. It doesn’t really bother Hiro that much, but he knows that this could lead to problems in the future. What if he decides to date sometime in he future? It won’t happen if everyone thinks he’s a married man. And what will everyone thinks once Lumina marries someone else?

After packing up for the day, he takes a walk back to the farm. He tries his best to not let what Ruby and Chris said bother him. He figures that maybe if he just keep correcting everyone, everyone will get bored and stop. He then runs into Takakura who is building something in the pasture. He waves at Hiro, so he jumps the pasture fence to see what’s going on.

“I’ll have the pond ready by the end of the day,” said Takakura. “Give it some time, and a few ducks might settle in the farm. I hear that duck eggs will fetch a good amount.”

Hiro smiles as he checks the pond, “looks good. You always do great work. Thanks so much!”

Takakura nods. He then goes back to work saying, “by the way, say hi to your wife for me. I don’t see her leave the house too often, but I know she works hard too.”

“Takakura, we already gone through this. Lumina and I are not married. We just happen to live together, that’s all.”

Takakura then places his hand on Hiro’s shoulder as he explains, “let me explain something to you son, in Forget-Me-Not Valley, you don’t need a fancy wedding to be married. All you need to do is love each other dearly. I can tell by how hard Lumina works in that house that she cares deeply for you. Maybe you should return those feelings. After all, this farm was designed to be family owned. It would make my former partner happy if you can make it that way. And Lumina is quite a looker, if I say so myself.”

He takes a stressful sigh. He thought that maybe over time that people would just leave Hiro alone and mind their own business. But after what Takakura told him, things wont get better if he leaves things as they are. Once Takakura goes back to finishing the pond, Hiro looks at the house wondering what Lumina may be doing. He then decides to march to the house to talk to Lumina about her “husband searching”.

His mood lightens as he finds the house clean and spotless. He can smell dinner in the air which makes him hungry and forget what was bothering him. Hiro walks into the kitchen to find Lumina setting out plates of curry and relax tea. She has also changed her clothing for the season of summer, wearing lighter colored clothes such as a pure white blouse, light blue skirt, and white flats. Her bandanna and hairband are now pink as well. If anyone else can see her, Lumina looks more like a wife than a friend who shares a house.

As soon as Lumina sees Hiro, she bows gracefully as she says, “welcome home Hiro, dinner is ready!” He pretty much skips lunch everyday, so Hiro is especially hungry. Instead of asking her about her day, he quickly takes a seat to start eating. Lumina always smiles as Hiro comes home with a healthy appetite.

As Hiro finishes his plate, he finally remembers that he has something important to talk to Lumina about. He looks up at her, and finds her eating very slowly taking small cute bites of her food. He also knows that about this time, Lumina would start chatting about Hiro’s day at work. A tactic Lumina uses to get to know Hiro a little bit more every day.

Instead of waiting for Lumina to ask anything, Hiro decides to start, “so, how is the search coming along. It’s been a while, but I haven’t heard anything.”

Lumina places her fork down, and dabs her lips with a napkin gently, “it’s going fine I guess. I haven’t found anyone suitable yet, but I feel that maybe sooner than later.”

Hiro leers at Lumina suspiciously and says, “oh really? So tell me, where have you been searching exactly. Visited any nearby villages lately?”

Lumina looks up at Hiro and notices that he is leering at her. The last thing Lumina was expecting was an interrogation, but she knew it was coming eventually. So she places the napkin down and answers, “well, I haven't visited any villages directly. But I have been looking through the personal ads in the newspaper. I sent a few letters out, but nobody really interests me yet.”

“We don’t subscribe to a newspaper,” said Hiro in an annoyed tone. Lumina quickly realizes that she has been caught red handed. Even tough Lumina is an intelligent and bright girl, Hiro has come to learn that Lumina is a very bad liar.

Lumina sighs sadly and admits, “the truth is that I haven't been looking. I thought that maybe if we can get to know each other, then there would be no need for me looking for a husband.”

Hiro then sighs stressfully and says, “figures. . . I was wondering why have you been keeping the house clean, and cooking every day. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

Lumina blushes and says, “well, my grandmother did give me bridal training before she passed away. That way, I can become a good bride in the future.”

“But even so,” interrupted Hiro. “We agreed that you were going to go and look for a husband. Everyone already thinks that we are married.”

Lumina begins to fidget with her fingers and says, “well. . . Why disappoint everyone? If everyone considers us as a couple, then maybe we should become one.”

“Nice try Lumina, but I am not interested in getting married yet,” said Hiro. He then finishes his meal and places the plate in the sink and says, “thanks for dinner, it was great.”

Hiro then walks out of the kitchen, and into his bedroom. Lumina remains seated at the table in the kitchen for a while longer thinking about Hiro. She lets out a stressful sigh as she says to herself, “his feelings for me hasn't changed at all. I thought for sure that by now he would at least develop something. I wonder what I am I doing wrong? Does he dislike me completely? Maybe I should just give up, and look for someone else. . .”

She then places her head down on the table and thinks for a while longer. As she thinks, memories of her mother and father flood her mind. As she thinks about them, she begins to feel nostalgic. A teardrop develops in her eyes as she remembers a time when she was resting on her mother's lap when she was just a little girl. She can almost remember how it feels when her mother stroked her hair.

As she was resting there, she could hear her mother saying, “Lumina, you grow more beautiful every day that passes. I wonder what sort of man you will meet when you grow up. I hope that you will meet a handsome young man who is both generous and caring. Remember Lumina, just because someone may not come from a wealthy family, that doesn't mean that he is not the perfect person for you. I fell in love with your father not because of how much money he had, but how big his heart is. So please my dear sweet daughter, find someone who will make you happy. I believe in you.”

Remembering those words her mother spoke gives her strength. She then stands up and cheers for herself saying, “no, I can't give up! I'll just have to try harder for Hiro. I know he's the one that will make mother and father proud.” With that, she continues her daily routine with renewed hope in her heart. No matter what it takes or how long, she will someday show Hiro that she is worthy to become his wife.