Harvest Moon: Muffy's Christmas

Winter 10

"It's cold," said Muffy as she looks outside the window. The snow is starting to fall, and the villagers are getting out their decorations. Before she knows it, Christmas time has already arrived.

"Muffy. It's getting late. Why don't you go to sleep now. I'll finish up here." Muffy was washing the dishes when Griffin told her to go to bed. Even though Muffy is used to staying up late, 12:00 am is a bit too late even for her. Griffin usually stays up way later than Muffy does to finish the chores in the bar. Muffy took Griffin on his offer and went upstairs to her room.

She changes to her night gown and sits on her bed. A picture of a young farmer is on her table. This is Jack, a farmer that has recently moved into Forget-Me-Not Valley last Spring. Muffy has been dating jack soon after he had arrived. Before Muffy goes to sleep, she stares at Jack's picture for a while. She's been doing this recently every night. She never told him, but she is deeply in love with him.

"It's been a while since we started going out Jack. Now Christmas time has come, and I need to start thinking about what to do for Christmas. Something to show you how much I love you." Muffy is only speaking to the picture. She knows that Jack cannot hear her, but this is the only way she knows how to express her true feelings. For the last 5 years, the only thing she did for Christmas was give Griffin a present. She loves Griffin, but he is more like family. She knows that in order to impress Jack, she needs to find something special.

Winter 13

Today, Muffy spends the afternoon looking around the Valley. While she is out, she finds Van who had already set up shop in the valley close to Jack's farm.

"Good afternoon Muffy! It's going to be a cold day today," said Van.

"Hi Van! Yes, it's going to be cold tonight too. The bar may be a bit slow today."

Van waves her in and says, "why don't you come over here and take a look at what I have for sale! You might find something interesting."

Muffy walks over and takes a glance at the items for sale. She is impressed by everything Van had stocked up since her last visit. She looks around and saw nothing interesting at first. Her eyes light up as soon as she sees a particular looking pendant that shines brightly.

She picks up the pendant and asks, "hey Van, what's this?"

"My, my. You do have an eye for quality. This is called the "Pendent of Truth". It is made out of rare metals that is supposed to be blessed. Rumor has it that if you give this special item to someone you love, that person will tell you how they feel about you. The design is especially suited for men, so it makes an excellent gift!"

"Wow! That sounds perfect! How much is it?"

"Well, since this special rare item, I cannot let it go for under 6,500g."

Muffy is shocked by the pendant’s price tag. She checks her wallet and sees that she doesn’t have nearly enough to buy it. "Can you do me a favor? Can you hold that item for me? I don't have enough now, But I can get it very soon," asked Muffy.

Van smiles, "sure thing! Not many people can afford it anyway, so I think it's in safe hands."

With that in mind, Muffy rushes home, and counts her savings. Between the money she has in her wallet and her savings combined, she only had 2,000g in her little box she keeps under her bed.

"Just as I thought, nowhere near enough," said Muffy in a dissapointed tone. Muffy puts her box away and takes a seat on her bed wondering what she’ll need to do to make up the money.

That night, Muffy goes to work at the bar like she does every night. It is another slow day as she expected. Not many people come to the bar during Winter nights. Griffin is a patient man, so he doesn't mind slow days. Muffy on the other hand gets bored quite easily.

Griffin finds Muffy sitting quietly sighing randomly. "Muffy, Is everything OK?" he asked.

Muffy snaps out of it and answers, "of course Griffin. Why do you ask?"

"You seem lost in thought about something. Like if there was something on your mind."

"It's nothing really," answered Myffy, but Griffin knows that she’s bored.

Seeing that the bar is slow and he won’t need much help, he decides to go to the back to clean some mugs. Muffy wants to follow him, but he says, "well, the bar is pretty slow today. Why don't you take the rest of the night off."

"Are you sure that's OK?"

Griffin smiles and answers, "Have a good rest Muffy."

Muffy nods and goes up to her room. She changes to her night gown and once again, sits down to stare at Jack's picture for a few minutes.

She sighs, “I really want to buy that pendent for you Jack. I really want to know how you feel about me. But, I don't have enough money. It's not that Griffin doesn't pay me enough, but I am living in his home for free. He really doesn't have to pay me at all, but he does anyway. I wish there was something I could do.

Muffy thinks about her situation and continues, “Maybe I should get another job? But where else would I work here in the valley? I could work for you and make a little money, but I don't know anything about farming. I'd just get in the way. But there isn't anywhere else in the valley where I can work. . .”

She walks around her room quietly to think of any other options. A light bulb shines over her head, “How about if I found a temporary job outside of the Valley? Hmmm. . . The only place I know is Mineral Town, but that's too far to commute. Should I leave the Valley for a while, and stay at Mineral town?"

She sits on her bed and thinks a while longer. She can’t come up with a better idea, so she decides to travel to Mineral Town and see if maybe she can get a job. If not, she’ll come back to the valley and think up another plan. She psyches herself up and declares, "okay, I will go to Mineral Town tomorrow and get another job!"

Winter 14

That morning, Griffin is already awake cleaning the bar. Muffy feels a bit nervous about asking Griffin for big favors, but she knows she has to do it.

As Muffy walks out of the back of the bar, the sound of her heels gives her away. Griffin turns around and says, "good morning Muffy! I'll take care of the morning preparations again, so you can take a walk and get some air.” He notices her fidget and asks, “is anything wrong?"

"Uhh, Griffin? I need to ask a favor."

"What is it?"

She takes a deep breath and finds the courage to ask, "can I take a few days off? I know it's sudden, but there is something that I must do somewhere else."

"How long will you be out?"

"A little bit over a week."

Griffin thinks about her request for a minute then asks, "will you be back in time for the Christmas Eve party?"

Muffy smiles cheerfully and answers, "of course. I wouldn't make you do the Christmas party all by yourself."

Griffin smiles back and answers, "well, the winters are pretty slow. Okay, go ahead, and do whatever you have to."

"Thank you Griffin! You're the best!" cheered Muffy. She rushes back to her room to pack enough clothing for a few days. Before she knows it, she is all ready to go. She says her goodbyes to Griffin and Jack, and starts walking towards Mineral Town.

A few hours later, Muffy finally finds the sign that says, "Welcome to Mineral Town!" She is relieved to finally make it there. Muffy had never been to Mineral Town before, so she doesn't know where to begin searching for a job. Since it is Winter, the streets are naturally a bit deserted. Asking for directions is not going to be an option for her. All she does is walk around and find something herself. She eventually finds herself in the Mineral Town square where she finds a bulletin board near the corner. Muffy figures that maybe she can find a job posting at the board. She reading the notices and finds something that catches her eye.

*WANTED!*

Need extra help at the Mineral Town Restaurant and Inn. Applicants must be able to work the night shift. Decent pay, and friendly environment. If interested, please see Doug at the Mineral Town Restaurant and Inn."

Muffy is so excited that she rips the notice off the bulletin board and runs off. She forgot that she doesn't know her way around Mineral Town, so she quickly gets lost. After a few hours of randomly wandering the streets of Mineral Town, she arrives at the place the notice described.

Muffy takes a deep breath and slowly walks in. Currently, the place is empty. Lunch ended hours ago, and they are preparing for dinner. Muffy goes to the main desk, and rings the bell."

"Coming!" said a middle aged man's voice. Soon a man with orange hair and mustache comes out of the back and greets, "hello there, can I help you?"

"Hello, are you Doug?" asked Muffy.

"Yes I am. The best cook in town. Would you like to order something?"

"Actually, I came for the job," answered Muffy showing him the notice she stole from the square.

Doug takes a good look at Muffy and says, "I've never seen you before. You just recently moved around here?"

"No, I live at Forget-Me-Not Valley."

"Ah, The Valley. I heard about that place. My daughter goes over there sometimes to take cooking lessons. But why are you looking for a job here?"

"I really need a job. You see, I want to buy something for a very special person this Christmas."

Doug thinks for a moment and asks, "it's a very far walk, you think you can get here every day?"

Muffy shakes her head no and says, "since this is an Inn, I was hoping I could stay here until I finish the job."

"That sounds like an idea. And since you'll be working here, I'll even give you a discount on the room."

Muffy gasps and asks, "you mean you'll hire me?"

Doug smiles and answers, "of course! Everyone in Mineral Town already has a job, so finding help is a drag. Welcome to my Inn. What's your name?"

Muffy bows gracefully and answers, “My name is Muffy."

"That's such an interesting name!" Doug rings the bell a few times, "Ann!! Come here for a minute!"

A girl with overalls, and orange hair comes down from the upper floor, "yes dad?"

"This woman will be working with us for a while. Introduce yourself."

Ann takes a good look at Muffy, and says, "wow! You're so pretty! Long blond hair, green eyes, a full figure. You're going to be very popular around here! My name is Ann, what's up?"

"Thanks for the compliment. My name is Muffy, it's so nice to meet such a cheerful young girl."

Doug is pleased to see An and Muffy getting along. "Ann, Please take her to one of the empty rooms.” He then turns to Muffy and asks, “I hope you don't mind if you started working tonight Muffy."

Muffy nods and answers, "That’s fine. I am a little tired from the long trip, so I’ll need to take a nap."

"That's fine. Ann will take your dinner up to you later."

As Ann walks up to the second floor, Muffy follows her. She open the door to an empty room, and let Muffy in. Muffy looks at her room with joy. The room is a lot bigger than her room in the valley, and it has a nice view from the window.

"This is our special guest room. Since you will be working with us, we'll let you use it," said Ann

Muffy looks back at Ann and asks, "are you sure? Is this OK?"

Ann smiles, "of course it is! Please rest well cause dinner will be served in 2 hours."

After Ann leaves, Muffy opens up her luggage she’s been carrying around since the valley. She looks at her dresses, she’ll need to decide what she wanted to wear to her first night at the job.

"Okay, I always wear red when I'm working at the valley. But now I am in Mineral Town, so maybe I should wear something different." Muffy chooses to wear her blue dress, white heels, and a blue hair band to the job. After she put her dress to the side, she takes a nap to rest for her first night. Before she knows it, Ann has already come back with her dinner. After she eats, she takes a quick shower and puts on her blue dress and applies make up. She needs to be perfect for her first night on the job.

Soon, the first few customers come into the bar; an old man named Saibara, the vineyard owner Duke, and the mayor of Mineral Town Thomas. They sit down together and started to make some noise. "Ann! We're hungry! Come over here, and take our order!" yelled Saibara. He's always rude and loud.

"Hold your horses old man, someone will be there in a second!" Ann yelled back.

"Someone else? You mean your dad is going to come out of the kitchen and play waitress for us?" asked Duke. The three men laugh.

As they are laughing, Muffy approaches them. "Good evening gentlemen. Can I take your order?" They all look at Muffy and are left speechless. Their faces all turn red as soon as they see Muffy’s long golden blond hair, full hourglass shaped body, well toned sexy legs, and beautiful outfit. "Is anything wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. . ." says the mayor. "I’m Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town. You're new around here?"

Muffy giggles, "No, I'm only here for a little while. I’m from Forget-me-not Valley."

The other two guys are still speechless. Muffy's beauty and green eyes catches them all by surprise. The only thing they could to is stare for a while. Afterwards, they all order their meal and a generous helping of alcohol. Soon, more people starts coming in. Every man who sees Muffy at the inn is instantly bewitched by her amazing beauty and figure. Not one person left the restaurant until closing time at 12:00 am.

Winter 15

Muffy is tired, but still hanging in. After cleaning out all the tables, she goes to the kitchen where she sees Ann washing dishes. "Can I help you with that?" asked Muffy.

"You don't have to. Your job ended when the restaurant closed," answered Ann.

"But I want to help out. It was so busy today, and I know you have a lot of work by yourself."

"Well, if you insist. Can you dry those dishes over there?"

Muffy nods happily and goes ahead to dry the dishes Ann cleaned. They continue to work together until 2:00 AM. "So, how did I do?" asked Muffy curiously.

"You were amazing. You brought so much business on the first day!"

"How so?" asked Muffy.

Ann takes a moment to think and answers, "well, normally the guys would just eat one plate of food and a beer, then leave in 30 minutes. Tonight, the guys stayed all night!"

"And you think it's because of me?"

Ann nods, "I'm sure of it. Looks like things will get busier tomorrow."

"Why?"

Ann winks, "you'll see."

Just as she promised, things get very busy since the following evening. Men of all ages arrive at the bar to flirt with Muffy, and all the women come to keep an eye on their husbands or boyfriends.

Winter 23

It's 12:00 AM. Another hectic evening has passed and the restaurant is closed for the day. Muffy and Ann are washing dishes together in the back while Doug is cleaning out the tables. During the last few days, things were pretty rough. Villagers were coming in at 7:00 PM every night, and staying all the way until midnight. Zack, the town's shipper even asked Muffy out once, but she kindly explained that she was in a relationship already.

As soon as Ann finishes washing the dishes, she looks at Muffy and says, "Hey Muffy, you have to go back home later, right?"

"Yeah. There is something that I have to get back in Forget-Me-Not Valley," answered Muffy

"Can I ask you something? Why did you decide to come to Mineral Town anyway?"

Muffy puts down the dish she has in her hands. She blushes as she thinks about her boyfriend back in forget-me-not Valley. "Well, I came here looking for a job. You see, I met someone special to me, and this is going to be our first Christmas we spend together. I really want to show him how I feel with a very special gift. I couldn’t afford it with my normal job though."

"Wow, you are so devoted to him!"

Muffy turns to Ann and asks, "so Ann, do you have a special someone in mind?"

"Yeah, I sort of do. We are not dating, but I do like him. His name is Cliff, he works at the vineyard. At first, I thought he was just a traveler who wont be here for too long, but it's been 3 years since he moved into Mineral Town. We don't talk too often, but I know that he is a nice guy. He's charming, and quite handsome. He's also hard working, and very responsible."

"Have you told him how you feel?" asked Muffy

Ann shakes her head no and answers, "every time get close to him, I get really nervous."

Muffy smiles, "me too. Even though we've been going out for a while, I haven't told him how I feel. I love him, and I will do it on Christmas day."

Ann places her hands on her hips and says, "you know what? I will to! I'll tell him on Christmas day, and we'll see what happens."

"I'm so glad!"

"Lets make a promise Muffy! On Christmas day, we will tell our special guy how we feel!"

"It's a promise then."

They both hug one another. Soon afterwards, Muffy is done drying the dishes and she heads to her room to sleep. She wakes up the next morning to get ready to return home to the valley. She packs all her things and heads downstairs to meet with Doug and Ann.

Doug and Ann waits for Muffy in the dining hall to say their goodbyes. "Hello Muffy. You are going back home today right?" asked Doug.

Muffy bows respectfully, "yes I am. I had a great time while I was here, but my place is in the valley."

"It was great having you here. Let me give you your pay.” Doug hands her an envelope with her fair share of the profits. “Well, goodbye Muffy. Please come by and visit us sometime!"

"I will!" cheered Muffy.

"Muffy! Don't forget your promise!" winked Ann.

"I'll definitely remember!" After a few more emotional goodbyes, Muffy leaves the restaurant and inn to make her way out of Mineral town. On the way home, she counts her money. She becomes excited because she was paid far more than enough to buy the gift from Van without using her savings. She wants to buy the pendant as soon as possible, so her walk became a light jog. However, she discovered that there is one problem.

"What!! You sold it!" cried Muffy

"I'm sorry Muffy. . ," answered Van

"How could you? You promised that you'd hold it for me?"

"I tried, but a farmer in Mineral Town offered me 100,000g for it. I couldn't say no. I'm a business man after all."

"Don't you have anything else for sale?" asked Muffy.

"Not really. I ran out of gifts during the past week. I do have lots of bodigizer and turbojolts if you're interested."

Muffy begins to cry. All that work she did in Mineral Town, and she still ended up without a present for Jack. She rushes home to the blue bar where she runs past Griffin without saying anything. She rushes up the stairs to her room where she throws herself in bed to cry the rest of the day.

Winter 24 (Christmas Eve)

During the day, Muffy helps Griffin cook the Christmas dinner for that evening. While she cooks, Griffin notices all the sighs from Muffy. He knows that she is upset based on how she came home yesterday, but he never asked what happened.

Griffin places his hand on Muffy’s shoulder and asks, "you okay Muffy?"

"I just don't get it. I worked so hard to make the money I needed to buy Jack the perfect gift. But I still ended up empty handed."

"I see. You know, I could have lent you the money."

Muffy shakes her head no, "thanks, but I wanted to make the money myself."

"I understand. I'm sure if you tell Jack what happened, he'll understand too."

Muffy wipes away a single tear, then says, "I'll try."

The party starts at 8:00 pm sharp. Many of the villagers of the valley come to celebrate Christmas. Muffy is very nervous about what she will say to Jack. She knows for a fact that he is coming tonight, but somehow she wishes that he wouldn't.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" yelled Jack as he stormed in the bar. He is wearing a Santa hat and carries a huge sack of gifts for the fellow villagers. One by one, Jack hands out gifts to everyone.

"I got a very interesting book!" yelled Nami after receiving a gift.

"Jack gave me this nice broach." said Lumina.

"He game me a new pair of gloves. He said it's to keep myself warm in the Winter. Isn't he so thoughtful?" said Celia.

Everyone in the party are bragging about their gifts, except Muffy who doesn’t get a gift. After Jack’s bag is empty, he just says goodbye to everyone, and leaves.

Winter 25 (Christmas morning)

At midnight, the party ends and everyone leaves. Muffy couldn’t believe that Jack came by and never said a word to her. Muffy just washes dishes with a sad face.

"Muffy, are you OK?" asked Griffin.

Muffy lowers the dish and answers, "Jack never said a thing to me."

"It's not like him to just leave, and not say hi at least. I’m sure that he has a good reason behind it.” He then takes the dish and rag from Muffy and continues, "Let me take care of the rest. You'll feel better in the morning."

Muffy sighs sadly, "thanks, but I think I'll just take a walk."

"But it's cold outside."

"It’s okay, I'll be fine."

Muffy puts her heels back on and grabs her coat to take a long walk. She head out to the beach where she stared at the moon. She is cold, but she doesn't care. "Could it be. . . That Jack fell in love with someone else while I was away? It's was a little bit more than a week that I was away." Muffy look out at the ocean recalling a painful memory. "It's been 5 years, ever since that day he left me. On Christmas morning, I woke up and I found a letter from him. He found someone else to spend his life with, and left me all alone. That's when I moved here to forget all about him. I didn't want to fall in love again, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe I should just leave Forget-Me-Not Valley and go somewhere else far, far away. I'll just forget about falling in love, and live my live alone."

"Muffy!!!" called Jack in the distance. Muffy turns around and sees him run to her. "Muffy! What are you doing outside in this cold? You should be at the bar." Muffy tries not to look at him. "What's wrong? It's been more than a whole week since you were gone, and I thought you'd be happy to see me."

Muffy pauses for a second before finding the courage to say, "Jack. . . I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

Muffy wipes away a tear, "I couldn't get you anything for Christmas. I tried, but the gift I wanted to get you was already sold before I got home. Please forgive me."

Jack starts to laugh, "Muffy, I wish you wouldn't talk like that."

"What do you mean?"

"You did get me a gift. You just don't know it."

"I did, what is it?"

"You are my gift!" Muffy looks at Jack with a surprised face. "Ever since you left, I've missed you like crazy. The bar felt like something was missing. So for Christmas, all I ever wanted was to see your beautiful face."

"Jack. . . ." Muffy then hugs him tightly. Tears of joy starts to fall from her emerald green eyes. "Me too. All I wanted was to hear you tell me how you feel. In the end, I didn't need a pendent to hear you say such touching words. I love you Jack, and I want to be with you. I don't care if you have a gift or not. All I want is you!"

"Muffy, what are you talking about? Of course I got you a gift." Jack pulls out a small box out of his rucksack. The box has a blue ribbon tied around it. Muffy unties the ribbon and opens the box, inside lays a blue feather. "Merry Christmas Muffy."

"Jack! This is a blue feather! Are you saying that. . . ."

"Yes I am. So what's your answer? When Spring comes, would you like to be my wife?"

Muffy's happy tears come once again, "yes, I accept. With all my heart."

Muffy and Jack then shared their first kiss as an engaged couple. Muffy finally realized that it's not the gift that counts, it's the feelings you give to each other.

Spring 1 (New years day)

Muffy and Jack leaves the Mineral town church after saying their vows. Everyone in Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town was there to celebrate their wedding. Outside the church, Muffy sees Ann with a young man holding hands. Looks like Ann confessed her feelings like she promised after all. Everyone was so happy that they named this holiday season the most romantic time of year.

The end