Chapter 1

In a small and peaceful community called Mineral Town, lives a farmer named Eric. Several years ago, Eric inherited a farm from a good friend he knew since childhood. In memory of the old man, he tries his best to be a great addition to Mineral town.

It is now the season of Summer. Eric is out in the fields tilling the ground planting a new batch of onion seeds. He looks up at the blazing sun, all he could think about is a young girl who works in the Library of Mineral Town. Her name is Mary. Mary and Eric met not too long after he moved into Mineral Town. Just last year, Eric decided to ask her on a date, and they have been seeing each other ever since.

Eric checks the time, it is now 3:00pm. It's not late, but the library closes at 4:00pm. Eric makes it a habit to see his lovely girlfriend every single day, but sometimes he cuts close to closing. He drops what he is doing, and runs back home where he could get ready. His clothes are dirty, so he quickly changes into a white shirt, blue overalls, brown boots, and red gloves. Then he washes his face, and comb his long brown hair. He then ties his hair into a ponytail like he always does. He wears his best blue hat backwards, and leaves three cow licks sticking out of the opening. He makes sure his brown eyes and smile are perfect to see the girl of his dreams.

He rushes out of the house and checks his watch. It is now 3:30pm, he has 30 minutes to get to the library. He knows that he will get there on time, but he is worried that maybe Mary might have closed the library early. If she is not there, Mary usually goes up to the mountains with her family which makes it harder to find her.

Eric stops in front of the library door. He takes a few deep breath before looking up into the big “Open” sign on the door. He checks his watch, and feels lucky that he got there with only a few minutes to spare. After catching his breath, he walks in slowly. He likes to surprise the young librarian whenever he can. He takes a quick look around, and finds Mary at the book shelves sorting out some books to be placed at the shelves.

He tip toes up to Mary from behind quietly, and covers her eyes. He then says, “Guess who?”

Mary smiles and answers, “Eric!” She then turns around and looks at him with her dark brown eyes. The jet black long hair tied in a braid at the end drives him insane with attraction. The glasses gives her a cute and intellectual charm that he cannot resist. The uniform she wears resembles a blue schoolgirl uniform that gives her a youthful look. She is normally shy, but she is very open to him. Everything about her is perfect to Eric.

“Am I too late to read a book?” asked Eric.

“Of course not! The library is always open for you.” said Mary. “So what book are you looking for today?”

“I think something is wrong with one of my cows. Think you have a book about that?”

“Follow me.” answered Mary. They moved up the stairs where they found the animal care section. She then pulls out several books that deals with the health of large farm animals. They sat together on a table, and read the book to find out what may be wrong with Eric's cow, and what can he do to treat it. Mary already closed the library, so they are both alone.

After about an hour, Eric finds that nothing is really wrong with his cow, but he should keep an eye on it just in case. The place the books back on the shelf together, and they bid their farewells. Before he left, Eric gave marry a sweet and tender kiss on the lips like he always does. Mary blushes every single time, but she loves the way Eric shows his affection to her. He then leaves the library to return to his farm to finish the chores for the day.

On the way home, Gray the blacksmith's apprentice looks out the window and notices Eric running back home. Judging by how happy he looks, he knows that he was with Mary only a short while ago. A feeling of jealousy takes over as he watches him run past the shop happily. Gray is also in love with Mary.

The next day, Gray is allowed a day off from the blacksmith shop. Unlike Eric, Gray is only allowed only a single day out of the week to visit the library. Gray and Mary has been friends for far longer than she knew Eric. But since Gray spends more time training to become a blacksmith, Mary has yet to fall for him.

Gray enters the library at 12:00pm. He walks through the shelves looking for book about blacksmithing that he can use to study. As he searches, Mary notices him. So she walks up to hi and asks, “Hello Gray, can I help you with something?”

“I'm just looking for the usual books.” answered Gray.

Mary thinks for a moment, then she says, “Oh, I moved those books to the west wing. My dad brought some new books in, and I needed to make some room. Can I get them for you?”

Gray nods. Mary heads over to the west side of the library, and grabs three books that Gray always reads. One that deals with crafting and refining tools. Another that has a lot to do with fine jewelry crafting. And the last book is an encyclopedia on different metals, ores, and gems. She brings them to Grey, and they head over to the desk where he can read.

Mary returns to Gray who has buried his nose in his books. She is impressed at how smart Gray is, the book he is reading has lots of complicated formulas and instructions not many people can understand. She smiles at him ans says, “Working hard at the shop? Your grandfather still giving you a hard time?”

Grey nods, “Yeah, but no matter what he says, I always try my best.” Seeing that this is a great chance, he pulls out a small box out of his pocket. He stands up, and presents the gift to her. “Here, this is for you. I made it myself. If you don't like it, you don't have to accept it.”

Mary accepts the small box, and opens it to reveal a pair of golden earrings. Mary is shocked to receive such an expensive looking gift. “Are you sure I can have this? It must have cost you a fortune.” she asked.

“No, not really. I just wend deep into the mines, and found some extra gold ore. With my grandfather's permission, I crafted it into the earrings. It took me a lot longer than my grandfather could, but I tried my best.”

After thanking Gray, she walks over to her desk. She wears the earrings, and grabs a hand mirror she has inside her desk. She feels that the earrings he gave her fit her very well. So she looks at Gray and says, “Wow, these earrings are very nice. I wonder if Eric will like them too.”

The feeling of jealousy returns after hearing Eric's name spoken from her small and lovely lips. However, he is very good at hiding his feeling of anger and jealousy, especially in front of others. Instead, he flips a page and says, “Mary, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What do you see in Eric anyway? I know this is a very personal question, but I really need to know.”

Mary thinks about her answer for a minute, then says, “Me and Eric have a lot in common. We both like books, our favorite color is blue, we like nature, and we both like music.” Gray takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. But then Mary continues, “But what I like about him the most is that he is very kind and gentle. He works very hard in his farm, and always find time to visit me every single day. He can be very playful, but his humor always makes me smile. And of course, he cares a lot about me.”

Gray closes his book suddenly and says, “I would visit you everyday too if it wasn't for my job!”

The sudden remark shocks Mary. “Are you okay?” she asks.

Gray looks at Mary with a determined look on his face. He has always kept his feelings hidden away, but now he feels that it is time to let them out once and for all. He is not sure if the feelings he will express will change anything, but he still wants to say something. “Mary, I know that this is not the best time for confessions, but please hear me out for a moment. You see, I'm in love with you!” Mary gasps, then looks away. The sudden confession makes her feel embarrassed, yet it makes her feel happy at the same time. Grey walks closer to Mary and continues, “Mary, I've had feelings for you for a very long time now. I thought that I would tell you how I feel when I become a full blacksmith. But all you seem to talk about is Eric. I know that you and him are a thing now, but I keep hoping that maybe someday, we could be together.”

Mary looks at Gray. She wants to accept his feelings, but she knows that her heart has only room for one man in her life. And that man is Eric, not him. She holds a book tightly as she tells him, “I'm sorry Gray, if you would have told me something sooner, then things could have been different. But I am with Eric now, and things are going so well between us. I think it may be better if you and I remained friends.”

“I understand.” said Gray. “But if something changes between you and Eric, I'll always be there for you. Please remember that.”

Gray returns the books he borrowed, and left the library. As Mary returns the books to their places, she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that is resting on her shoulders. She is slightly confused, she likes Gray, but she loves Eric. All she could do is to follow her heart, and be faithful to the man that she loves.