Chapter 7
Things are getting tense between Gray and Eric. Mary is also becoming worried about what might happen in the near future. All three of them is concentrating on the love triangle, and they are losing focus on their work. Eric is too sad and depressed to do much work in the farm. Luckily, he hired the Harvest Sprites to help him. Gray on the other hand lost his concentration, and burned his hand while smelting some metals. Saibara then yells at him about his carelessness. Mary is so lost in thought that she is misplacing books without realizing it.
One night, Mary and Eric both had nightmares at the same time. Mary's nightmare involves her putting away books, and Eric suddenly appearing in the library out of thin air. She runs up to him to give him a hug, but he pushes her away. Shocked by Eric's sudden cold actions makes her look at him asking why. Eric just walks away fading into the shadows saying, “I'm sorry, but we can't be together.” As soon as he is completely out of sight, Mary jumps awake in her bed. As she wipes her eyes, she notices that she had been crying in her sleep out of fear of losing Eric.
Eric's nightmare takes him to the ocean where he is on a romantic cruise with Mary. However, a huge storms builds, and sinks the ship that they are in. They both are swimming struggling for life out in the ocean. They feel that if they have to die, they might as well die together. But then Gray paddles a rescue boat over to where they are. He stretches his arm out and tells them that there is only room for one more person on his boat. Eric says that he would rather die than to be apart from Mary, but Mary takes Gray's hand anyway. She is pulled out of the ocean, and she rides off with Gray to safety leaving Eric to drown. As the waves consume him, Eric struggles not to drown in his fears and sorrows.
Eric suddenly falls out of his bed crashing on the ground. He opens his eyes to the sunny Winter morning, and realizes that it is time to wake up. He looks over at the clock that he threw on the floor. It is broken, which gives him an explanation as to why it didn't wake him up earlier. As he readies himself, he can't stop thinking about the nightmare he had last night. Luckily, he has his trusted Harvest Sprites to help him take care of his animals for a few days.
At 10:00am, Mary opens the library. She finds little point in doing so since it's rare to find anyone coming in except the two boys who are after her affection. But out of love for books, she finds the will to do it anyway. But after changing the sign from close to open, she finds Gray standing outside in the cold. It's a shock for her since he came on a day when he normally stays at the blacksmith's shop. She lets him in, and runs home to get him something warm to drink. She returns back to the library with tea made out of special herbs her father has found earlier.
Gray is sitting at the usual desk where he does his studying. Mary runs off looking through the library trying to find Gray's usual books. She comes back about 30 minutes later with the books in her hand. As she rests then next to Gray, she tells him, “Sorry it took so long. I must have misplaced them while I was putting the books away.”
“It's okay, I didn't come to the library to read today.” said Gray. “I just came to see you.”
Mary is shocked to hear those words from Gray so suddenly. She looks down and says, “I'm flattered that you came to see me, but still, I-” As she looks down, she notices that Gray's hand is burned. She gasps and asks, “Gray, are you okay? You're hurt!”
Gray looks at his injury and says, “It happened yesterday. You don't have to be worried about it, it doesn't hurt anymore.”
Mary shakes her head no and yells, “Even so, it looks pretty bad! Let me get something for it!”
Mary runs home, and gets the first aid kit. She comes back with bandages and some medicine for Gray. As she applies the ointment on Gray's burn she explains, “This is cocoa butter that my dad made out of plants he studies. It may sting at first, but it will help heal the skin, and prevent scarring.”
Gray blushes and says, “Mary, you're just too amazing.”
Mary blushes and says, “No I'm not. I just know what my dad knows. After all, I am not Elli. I just know a thing or two about herbal medicine from my dad.”
Gray shakes his head no and continues, “That's not what I was talking about.” He places his other hand on Mary's chin tilting her head up to look at her deep in her eyes. “Mary, everything about you is amazing! You're kind and caring, smart and sensitive, talented and beautiful. You're just perfect.”
Mary tilts her head back down, and applies the bandages around Gray's hand. Her heart is racing, she cannot get it to stop for any reason. It almost feels like she will die from a heart attack. She wants to say something, but she has a hard time saying anything to him. After the bandages are done, Grey stands up, and walks out of the library silently.
As soon as he touches the door, he says, “Mary, someday we are going to be together. Just wait and see.”
Mary takes a deep breath and says, “Gray, please remember that I am with Eric.”
“It wont matter soon enough.” said Gray as he walks out the door.
Back at the farm, Eric decides that he should pay Mary a visit. So he raises the stone in the air, but then he decides not to use the stone. He is not sure why, but he feels that he should walk there instead. He walks out of the farm heading to the direction of the library, and places the stone in his pocket.
He stops for a moment in front of the Blacksmith's Shop. As he stares at the shop, he remembers the times that he and Gray both were digging together in the mines looking for ore. In order to make digging a bit more fun, they used to have contests to see who would find better ores. Those were the days that Gray and Eric were close friends. Who knew that a childhood crush between Mary and himself would end the friendship between Gray and Himself. Who knew that Eric and Gray had so much in common, that they would fall for the same girl?
He continues on to the library, but then he notices Gray walking in the other direction. As soon as they get close, they stop and leer at one another. At the same time, Mary is in the library putting away the books that Gray did not read. But after she is done, she finds that Gray has forgotten his hat. Just like Eric, it is rare to Gray walking around without his UMA cap on. Since he left not too long ago, she grabs it, and runs out of the library hoping to catch up to him.
Eric and Gray continue to leer at each other for a moment. Eric becomes fed up with the long silence, so he decides to break it. “Where were you Gray? It's quite unusual for you to be outside of the blacksmith's shop on a non-Thursday.”
“That's none of your business.” answered Gray. “What about you? Shouldn't you be in the farm working? Even in the Winter, I'm sure that a farmer like you has a lot to do, rather than flirting with your friend's love.”
Eric starts to lose his temper and yells, “What are you talking about?! Mary and I knew each other far longer than she has ever known you! If she's anyone's love, it would be mine!”
Gray loses his temper, and yells back, “You're lying! I met Mary a while before you ever came to live in that farm! There is no way that she could have known you before me!”
Eric smirks and admits, “Guess what? When I was 10 years old, I came to visit my grandfather when he was the owner of the farm. That's when I met Mary for the first time. When I had to go back home, I promised her that I would go back to her! It took me a while to remember that she was the one from my memory, but it's fate that we ended up together again.”
At that moment, all the untold anger built up between them is starting to come out. “You lie!” yelled Gray balling a fist.
“Oh you think I'm lying? Why don't you ask Mary herself? I'm sure that she'll tel you a whole story about it.” said Eric full of confidence.
Gray couldn't take the anger anymore, so he grabbed his shirt and raised his fist so that he could hit him. “Stop!!” said the sound of Mary's voice echoing in the distance. They turn to look at her running to them. But the road is a bit to slippery from the snow, so she slips and flies through the air.
“Mary!!” yelled Eric pushing Gray away from him. He wants to try to catch Mary, but he is too far away to make it. Without thinking he whispers in his mind, “Please let me go to Mary so that I can catch her.”
Mary falls and skids across the ground. Yet she is not hurt from the fall. She looks down, and finds that Eric has broken his fall. Gray just looks at them astounded. In only a split second, Eric has traveled over 100 feet to Mary's rescue. He has no idea how it happened, but he is too ashamed of himself to think too much about it.
Eric helps Mary up, and he pats his clothes removing excess mud and snow. He then looks a Mary and says, “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, thanks for helping me.” Mary notices that some of the snow is stained red. She turns Eric around and finds that his clothes is a bit torn, and his back is wounded. “Oh my god! Eric, you're hurt!”
“It's fine, it's only a scratch.” said Eric.
“No, it's not a serious wound, but it might get infected if we don't get you to a doctor!” said Mary. She then grabs his arm, and drags him off to the clinic.
Before returning to the Blacksmith's Shop, Gray notices that he is not wearing his hat. He finds it on a mound of snow with Eric's hat and Mary's glasses stacked on top of one another. He grabs his hat and puts it on. He then grabs the other hat and glasses, and returns them to the homes of the owners.
Soon, Mary drops Eric off at the clinic. She then realizes that her glasses are missing, so she kisses Eric goodbye, and runs off to look for them. The doctor helps Eric to an examining table where he could take a look at his injury. He then calls Elli the nurse to bring some antiseptic and bandages for Eric.
The antiseptic stings as she applies them to Eric's back. But for Mary's sake, he bears the pain and waits to be bandaged. As she applies the bandage, Elli says, “That's a nasty scrape you got. How did you get hurt like this?”
Eric answers, “Mary fell, so I jumped to catch her.”
Elli laughs and says, “I admire your heroism. You really care about Mary do you.”
“Elli, can I ask for some advice?” said Eric. Elli nods, then takes a seat nearby after applying the bandages so that she may listen to Eric's problem. “I know you and the doctor are seeing each other. But what if another girl came to town, and tried to take him away from you. What would you do about it?”
Elli places a finger on her chin, and thinks for a moment. “Well, I wouldn't be too worried about it. After all, I trust Trent. I'm sure that even if another woman were to come to try to take him away, he wouldn't leave me for someone else. After all, love is all about trust you know. But even if he does fall for someone else, I'll have to accept that we were never meant to be. Don't you agree?”
Eric thinks about what Elli tells him. Mary and him are deeply in love. But even so, fear that he will lose her to Gray has been clouding his judgment. Cliff told him that he should fight for her, but Elli says that he should trust her. Thinking about it for a while, he feels that maybe he should trust Mary a bit more. Even if Gray proposes on her birthday, he should trust that Mary will make the best decision.
He hops off the table and thanks Elli for the advice. Then he runs off back to his home. On his doormat, he finds his hat sitting there. He has no idea how it got there, but he is glad that he is able to get it back.
Mary finds her glasses in front of her door as well. She is no longer in the mood to run the library for the rest of the day, so she closes early. She is lost in confusion, and terrified that Eric and Gray will hurt each other soon if she doesn't make a solid decision about her feelings.
She doesn't want to go home yet, but she doesn't want to go to Eric or ray either. So instead, she goes to the only other place where she feels comfortable, the church. Inside the church, she sees nobody there. So she heads over to the organ, and begins playing a song. Carter who is in the back waiting for confessions hears Mary playing, so he steps out and see what is going on.
Carter walks to Mary slowly, and places his hand on Mary's shoulder. Mary stops playing and Carter says, “Hello Mary, your talent for music is as incredible as ever.”
“Thanks Carter. I always try my best to be a contribution to the town.” said Mary.
Carter than places a hand on his chin and says, “But you're playing an awfully sad tune today. May I ask what's bothering you?”
Mary knows that she cannot lie to Carter. So she takes a deep breath and says, “Well, I'm having romantic trouble. I love Eric, but at the same time I can't get my mind off Gray. On top of everything, they both have deep feelings for me as well. I know I should just choose one and turn down the other guy, but I can't bring myself to do that. I'm scared that I will lose the friendship of the guy that I turn down. What do I do?”
“Carter pats Mary in the head like a child and says, “Don't worry. I'm sure that answers you seek will come to you. Just trust in your feelings, and I'm sure that you will make the best decision that will benefit everyone.”
Mary doesn't understand Carter's advice. But he has never been wrong before, so she feels that she should trust him. So she continues to play the organ, and think deeply about her decision.
Gray walks out of the Blacksmith's Shop after getting chewed out by Saibara. He walks to the south heading towards the rose square. On the way, he passes by the chicken farm. Rick is outside taking in some fresh air when he sees Gray looking miserable.
He runs up to him and says, “Hey, what's up Gray! You look a little blue.”
Gray looks back at Rick and says, “Nothing. Just having some trouble with a relationship. Nothing you should be worried about.”
Rick pats Grey's back roughly and continues, “Come on buddy, you can talk to me! After all, I am seeing Karen, so I know a thing or two about relationships. Let me help you out!”
Gray sighs and admits, “You see, I always liked Mary. But I never thought that I would have a rival, so I wanted to wait a bit before admitting my feelings to her. But now that Eric is with her, my feelings are growing out of control. I feel betrayed because Eric is my best friend, and he stole the heart of the woman that I care for. And on top of that, Mary fell and almost got hurt. I should have been the one to catch her, but Eric beat me to it. I don't know what else I can do but to give up.”
Rick becomes furious, and yells, “You can't give up! If you really care about her, than you should fight till the end. If I would have given up on my sister Popuri, that Evil Kai would have taken her away, and used her until there was nothing left. I hate Kai, and I will never let him have my sweet sister! Even if Popuri will hate me for meddling in, I can't give up! I must protect Popuri, and you shouldn't give up either. Only when it's truly over, that's when you have earned the right to give up!”
Gray nods and runs back to the inn where he will continue his plan to make Mary his. Rick nods proudly thinking that he did something noble. Mary remained in the church thinking about what she will do until late that night. And Eric lays on his bed thinking about what he will do. It's still a couple of days before Mary's birthday. Even though he knows he should trust Mary, he still wants to go through with the plan to propose to Mary first.
To be continued.
