Part 2, Chapter 8

Serious Business

Summer 12, 2108 (Forget-Me-Not Valley)

Things has been quite active in Forget-Me-Not Valley within the past week. Eric has been skipping out of his work in the mines, and has been trying to shape Marty into a perfect farmer. Flora on the other hand, has also been skipping work in the mines. While Eric is distracted with Marty, Flora has been making daily visits to Mineral Town.

In the farm, Marty collapses from exhaustion. Within the past week, Eric has made him clear about a quarter of his field from every last rock, log, and weed that he had ignored the whole time he has lived there. Under his strict supervision, Marty has tilled enough soil to plant nine bags of corn seeds. It's hardly much progress, but it's all he can handle so far. But all things considered, the corn seeds grow to about a foot tall, but they're nowhere even close to a harvest.

“Get up Marty, the work is not done yet!” Eric scolds.

Marty gasps for breath and says, “Give me a break! I have been working for three whole hours! Three hours! Gone and wasted!”

Eric sighs and whispers to himself, “I can't believe that we are actually related. This guy is hardly able to keep a garden, let alone a farm. When I was a farmer, I had fields of corn ready to be harvested by now.”

Marty then sits up and complains, “I know it's a bit late to say this, but why do you care so much about my farm?”

Eric folds his arms and answers, “Because it's YOUR farm. You should be the one taking initiative, not me. Now get with the program, and get to work!”

Marty then becomes irritated with Eric. He stands up with an angry look on his face, and walks toward Eric. He then points at Eric and yells, “Listen to me buster! I don't know who you think you are coming into MY farm, and telling ME how to run it!! If you're such a professional farmer, why don't you go back where you came from, and leave MY farm alone!!”

Eric cringes both angrily and sadly. Marty has no idea that he has just hit a sensitive nerve. However, he tries his best to keep his cool, and responds, “Trust me, if I could go home, I would. But I'm here now because I can't! I'm trying to be a good sumaritan, and help you out.”

Marty grins and says, “Oh really? Well, this is what I think about your help.” He then walks over to the corn field, pulling out his sickle on the way. Before Eric can figure out what he is planning to do, he swings the sickle cutting down several of the corn plants.

“HOLY HARVEST SPRITES!!! What the hell are you doing!!” yelled Eric.

Marty points at him again and yells, “Listen to me Mr. Pro Farmer! I am not a farmer! I don't care about crops and plants and all that junk! My dad was a farmer, but I am not my father!”

“But. . . You worked hard to grow those! You can't just cut them down like that!” complained Eric. He is not sure what he is more, angry, confused, or worried.

Marty threw his tools on the ground and yells, "I don't care! This is MY farm, and I get to decide what happens to these crops! They can just die from dehydration for all I care, because I am not going to water them anymore!”

Eric is nearly pushed over the edge. He trembles trying his hardest to keep his cool. He wonders how can someone hate farming so much especially Marty of all people. He thought that there was a little bit of a farmer inside of him when he saw that he is taking good care of a cow. But he has no idea why Marty doesn't want to take the extra step.

Eric takes a few deep breaths and says, “Listen Marty, I guess you're probably upset that I have been a bit too hard on you the last seven days. But I think you shouldn't turn your back on this farm. This farm is something your father left you, and you should take care of it.”

“What do you know about my father anyway?” snapped Marty. At that point, Eric thinks for a moment. He thinks about what sort of relationship did Marty have with his father? Now that he thinks about it, have Marty and his father even live together while he was alive? Marty has never talked about his family history to Eric before. He only assumed that Marty had a strong relationship because he had a strong relationship with his own parents.

After they both have cooled down a bit, Marty looks at Eric and says, “I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I don't need this kind of pressure at all. So just go.” He then waves him away and goes to his house, where he slams his door shut.

Eric nods, and does as Marty says. As he walks out of the farm, he mumbles to himself asking why is Marty so upset at him. He was only trying to help. And if he was so against it, why didn't he just say so from the beginning.

And after thinking about it for a while, he asks himself why was he trying so hard help Marty anyway. His main goal is to get back home, but all he is doing is distracting himself again. Then he remembers that Flora had asked him to do that. He was doing this for her sake.

As he walks towards the east side of Forget-Me-Not Valley, Eric doesn't pay attention as to where he is going, and makes an early left turn. In order to go to the tent, he usually turns north after the bridge. But he turns north before the bridge into a path that leads deep into the forest instead.

Marty returns home, and throws himself into bed. He is tired from all the work Eric has made him do within the past week. He knows that Eric is only trying to help, that's why he didn't complain much at first. But Eric has been stepping past his limits, and he had to say stop somewhere. He feels bad that he cut down some of the corn plants, but he felt that it was the only way to show Eric how serious he was.

Since most of the corn crops are still standing, he does intend to continue watering them, but after they die from the changing of the seasons, he will go back to just mining, and caring for his only cow. His father may have been a farmer, but he has never picked up the interest in it.

His only interest is the girl in the picture he has standing on a table nearby. He turns his head, and stares at it for a minute. As he looks into Lumina's eyes in the photograph, he wishes to know why she will not respond to his feelings for her. He talks to her as often as possible, brings her gifts, and tries to be as kind as possible to her. But after over a year, she still has no interest in him.

After resting for a few minutes, he feels that it may be a good idea to pay Lumina a visit. He hasn't seen her in about a week anyway, so he feels that she would appreciate the company. He then jumps out of bed, and heads straight into the shower. After brushing his teeth, and combing his hair, he cheers himself up, and heads over to the villa.

After some walking, Eric has finally noticed that he took a wrong turn by the bridge. He is now in the woods looking up at the dense leaves with only a few rays of light seeping through them. But rather than turning back, he continues to walk deeper into the woods. Something inside is luring him in, almost like a voice calling for help.

In the end of the path, he finds a clearing. A huge patch of dirt covered in weeds, flowers, sticks, and stones. In the distance, a huge tree, and a pond before it. Standing over the pond, Eric sees a statue. He becomes very interested in the statue, so he walks over to it. He quickly notices that it looks remarkably like the Harvest Goddess. He looks into the water, and thinks that maybe there is a Harvest Goddess in this pond as well.

Rushing over to the clearing, he picks a few flowers. He then returns to the pond, and throws the flowers into the water as an offering. Normally, a flash of blinding light would come out of the pond, and a beautiful goddess would appear before Eric. But this pond does not react to Eric's offering at all. The flowers just float in the pond, no flash of light, and no goddess appears.

But as he is looking at the statue, he thinks he hears a faint cry for help. A light, faint voice that he can hardly make out any words. But after a while, he passes it as the wind blowing and turns to leave. It is about the time for Lumina's tutoring lesson anyways. However, he couldn't help but gaze at the statue again, wondering why he is so drawn to it.

Marty arrives at the Villa looking his best. On his way there, he thought of a good idea on how to make Lumina recognize his feelings. After her daily practice, he will confess that he likes her, and will ask her out on a date. He thinks that the worst thing that could possibly happen is that she'll turn him down. Even if that happens, he could try again another day.

After gaining his confidence, he knocks on the door. Lumina answers after only a minute's time. Lumina nods at Marty and greets, “Hi there Marty. What can I do for you today?”

Marty pushes his hair back and says, “Hi there Lumina. I didn't have anything to do at the moment, so I thought I'd drop by. You don't mind, do you?”

Lumina feels quite disappointed. As soon as she heard the door knock, she was expecting Eric instead. Since Eric has been tutoring her in piano lessons lately, she's been enjoying his company more than Marty's. But since Eric has not arrive yet, and her lessons weren't for about another hour or so, she accepts his company anyway.

Back in Mineral Town, Flora has already talked to every single person in town, but she has yet to receive a single clue about Eric's identity. They all claim that they have never met him before he first arrived injured with Flora. Seeing that Eric's story doesn't add up, she checks in with the clinic in Mineral Town for answers. If Eric had lived in Mineral Town as he claims, the clinic should have at least some records. So she heads there and asks the doctor if she could see Eric's records.

Since the doctor is a friend of Flora, he did her the favor, and gave him Eric's medical records. She found just as she thought, nothing except that one time Eric passed out at the library. She was completely sure that this moment that Eric has not lived in Mineral Town as he claims.

As she passes through the roads of Mineral Town, she feels a bit thirsty. So she heads over to the summer shack to buy some iced tea, and a newspaper to read. She then sits on a bench in the beach, and reads the paper as she sips her iced tea. After flipping a few pages, her eyes nearly pop out of her head as she sees a very unusual article. In the village of Homeland, very far away from Mineral Town, the villagers are celebrating a 100 year anniversary of a time that a farmer has saved their village from turning into a theme park. The article has a photograph of the statue that the villagers are dancing around.

The statue has the image of the farmer who is responsible for saving the Homeland. The statue looks exactly like Eric while wearing his farming clothes. And in the base of the statue, the words “For Eric Hikari, in memory of beloved mother Mai Hikari” can be seen.

Even now, Flora has yet to learn Eric's last name. But the fact that there is a statue with Eric's image, and his first name matches the engraving seems too awkward for a coincidence. Eric may be a common name, but not his look. Especially the long hair, and the three cow licks is a pretty rare for a guy.

Eric continues to admire the statue for a while longer. He then checks the time, and realizes that it is been there a while. He grabs his bag, and heads out of the forestto start Lumina's piano lesson. Since he's pretty deep in the forest, he knows that he'll be a few minutes late. But Lumina is an understanding girl. He can easily see why Marty likes her.

Inside the mansion of the Villa, Lumina plays the song that Eric has been coaching her. Even with Eric not around, she plays the song correctly and accurately. Not even a single note missed. Marty appreciates the song very much. After all, the song is in his blood. A member of his own family had written the song so many years ago.

After the song is over, Marty prepares to tell her how he feels. But as he is about to open his mouth, the hear a knock on the door. Marty then feels annoyed that someone is coming over while he is about to express to Lumina how he feels. Lumina stands up to answer it, but Marty volunteers to do so instead. Whoever it is, Marty is not going to give a warm welcome for their bad timing.

He opens the door, and finds the one person he doesn't want to see the most. His rival for Lumina's affection, Rock. Rock looks back at Marty, he is not pleased to see him either.

“What do you want? I'm a little busy at the moment.” said Marty in a rude tone.

“I'm here to see Lumina. Do you mind?” answered Rock making a gesture for Marty to move out of the way.

Marty stands his ground, and says, “I was here first, so come back later. Or you could just do everyone a favor, and not come back at all.”

Marty tries to shut the door on Rock's face, but he stops it with his foot. At this point, they are furious with one another. Rock forces the door open, and says, “Hey, farming reject. I don't get what makes you think you have a chance with Lumina. She is a high class young lady, she doesn't need a reject like you bothering her all the time. So why don't you just go back to your farm, and grow brains. Maybe then you'll get the idea.”

Marty is not going to take those insults from him. He wouldn't take them from Eric, let alone from Rock. So he turns around, and tells Lumina that he will be back in a moment. He then shoves Rock outside so that they can argue once again.

As they argue, the Witch Princess who lives in the hut just outside the mansion hears them argue. Before they were arguing, she was peacefully reading a book about new spells she can learn. She then covers her ears and walks over to the window to see who is yelling. An artery bulges on her forhead as she yells, “It's them again!? When will they give it up already!?”

She then walks over to her broom, and says, “That it! I'm going to kill them!”

She then walks over to the door, and takes a look outside. Just then, she sees something interesting happening. Instead of going outside, and venting her frustrations on them, she stands by, and watches what happens.

This time, the argument is getting pretty nasty. They exchange harsh words, and they prepare to get into a fist fight. Eric then arrives at the villa, and sees things getting heated between Marty and Rock. Lumina also hears them get pretty serious, so she runs out of the mansion, and tries to stop them.

“Please stop it you two! Fighting is not the answer! Lets just talk about our differences in a mature manner!” yelled Lumina.

“Stay out of this Lumina. This has nothing to do with you.” said Marty. “This is between me and Mr. Disco Ball here.”

Rock folds his arms and taunts, “Hah! You act so tough, but I bet that you fight as pathetic as you farm. You haven't grown a damn thing in your daddy's farm yet, after all this time you've been living here. You're just a reject, and that's all you're ever going to be!”

Those words pushes him over the edge. Marty then balls up a fist, and is about to make him regret those words ever came out of his mouth. But as he is about to charge at him, Eric grabs on to his arm and stops him. Marty looks back, and tries to pull himself away from Eric. But Eric's has a strong grip, and he is not going to let him go willingfully until Marty hears him out.

“I would listen to Lumina if I were you.” said Eric. “Fighting is not the answer. . . I should know, I've been through something like this before.”

Marty then pulls his arm from Eric's grip, and shoves him away. He has already been agitated enough by Rock, but Eric meddling in his affairs only makes him feel worse. Out of anger, Marty yells, “What the hell are you doing here?! Why do you keep budding into my life, and telling me what to do!?”

“That's not true.” said Eric. “I'm just trying to help, that's all.”

“Help my foot! I already told you, I don't need your help! You think you're so smart just because you know how to farm and junk. However, I kind of find it funny how a pro farmer like you doesn't even have a farm of his own. Instead, you're working in a mine.”

Eric trembles with anger as he says, “Just shut up already. You don't know what my situation is.”

“I can only guess.” snapped Marty. “I bet that you had a farm of your own. But that cocky and bossy attitude of your's got you kicked out, and you can't go home anymore. It's so pathetic, I bet your father and mother are ashamed of you.”

As fast as the blink of an eye, Eric punches Marty across the face before anyone even sees it coming. The punch sent Marty flying several feet through the air before crashing to the ground. Everyone else gasps in shock as Eric shakes his hand off.

“Lumina, I think you should go inside. I need to have a little talk with Marty.” said Eric. Lumina nods, and returns into the mansion.

He then looks at Rock and says, “Unless you wanna get decked too, I suggest you go home.” Rock nods, and runs back to the the safety of the Inn.

Marty remains out cold for several minutes. He then wakes up, and feels his cheek swollen to the size of a baseball. Eric looks at him, and says, “I hope you know, this is the first time I have ever hit anybody. I never thought you would be the first person I'd hit though.”

Marty looks down and says, “Thanks a lot. You really embarrassed me in front of Lumina. You completely blew any chance I had to go out with her.”

“Don't flatter yourself.” snapped Eric. “You never had a chance with Lumina anyway.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Marty.

“Lumina is a nice girl. She's kind, sweet, and loves company. But what she needs to work on is her honesty. You see, Lumina does not like you. In fact, I've pretty much known for a while that see that she almost hates you.”

The news comes to a surprise to him. Lumina has always greeted him with a smile, and she has always accepted his company. The whole time he has known Lumina, he thought that there was a good chance that he could go out with her. Not once did he feel that Lumina may not like him at all.

“I don't get it, why would she feel that way?” asked Marty.

Eric kneels down and says, “It's your farm. Lumina thinks you're a nice guy, but she also thinks your a lazy person. As long as you don't respect your father's farm, she will not develop any feelings for you.”

Marty begins to think for a while. He doesn't want to believe what Eric is saying to be true. But deep within himself, he knows it is. Marty does not care for farming, but he does like Lumina. But Lumina does not like him because he does not enjoy the life his father passed down to him. Thinking about the wild oxymoron hard enough confuses him.

Eric stands up, and reaches his hand out to Marty. “I'm not trying to control your life, I just want to help, that's all.” Marty looks at Eric's hand, and slaps it away. He then gets up, and walks out of the villa on his own.

“Where are you going?” asked Eric.

“Just leave me alone!” snapped Marty as he continues to walk down the hill.

Eric sighs and whispers, "If only you didn't act so much like Gray.....maybe you would have realized that if you let me help you, I would've been doing you and Lumina a favor." Seeing what has just happened, he is sure that Lumina is not going to be in the mood for a piano lesson. The only thing he can really do is return to the tent, and rest for the day.

On the way back, he looks at his fist, and sighs regretfully. However, watching Marty arguing with Rock only reminds him of the time he was arguing with Gray back in his own time, and just how much it had costed him.

Back in the tent, Flora was already there making some dinner for them to eat. He sits on his futon, and lets out a very stressful sigh. Knowing that he actually hit someone will burn itself into his conscious for a long time.

“Is everything okay?” asked Flora.

“It's nothing, don't worry about it.” answered Eric.

Flora then hides the newspaper that she brought from Mineral Town. She wants to ask him many questions, but she feels that now is not the best time. But she will ask him soon enough, she wants to know the truth about who Eric is.

Spring 23, 2008 (Mineral Town)

In the Harvest Sprite hut, the little sprites have checked every last corner for even the slightest remains of flour. But no matter how hard they look, the find nothing. They all are now lying on the floor breathing hard rubbing their hungry bellies groaning. As they lie on the floor, Chef says, “No more cookies. . . This is it, we're going to starve to death. . .”

The Harvest Goddess then suddenly appears before them and yells, “What are you talking about!? A harvest sprite cannot die from hunger!”

Chef stands up and says, “Oh yeah? Well. . . You don't know that for sure!”

“Yes, I do.” leered the Harvest Goddess. "Me and my sisters created you, remember?"

Chef blushes red from embarassment, "Oh yeah, I forgot."

The Harvest Goddess sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. The time rope situation is landing her in hot water, and she needs a solution fast, not more headaches. "Chef, Staid, and Aqua, I need your help. Find a Harvest Sprite named Flik, and bring him back to my pond." she orders them, and then vanishes.

"Well....you heard her fellas. Maybe if we do good, she can make some flour for us." Chef said, and he and the two blue sprites leave the cabin, and once again runs off to Forget-Me-Not Valley.

This time though.......they're being watched. By more than one pair of eyes.