Harvest Moon: Lanna's Intermezzo

[Juxapose]

Chapter 6

Lanna's Story

Immediately after Lanna's Manager leaves her house, she jumps right on her desk, and begins to work. However, the panic that she is going through only disrupts her concentration. Coming up with at least a dozen songs in only seven days is practically impossible for any normal person, but for the sake of her job, she will try.

It was already late when Lanna came home, but she does not stop to sleep. She plans to work around the clock until the work is done. However, even though she tries her best to get something done, the same results come out. She writes a few lines, then she throws it away. One moment, she tells herself that she should not worry about creativity, and just turn in any nonsense. But then again, she tells herself that she cannot turn in any slop to her Manager.

Morning arrives, and Lanna continues to work recklessly. She starts to feel sleepy, but she needs to continue working or else she will not be done in time. But after so many hours, the amount of crumpled paper only increases, and not even a single song has yet to be made. She drinks coffee to stay awake, she hates the taste of it, but she doesn't have a choice.

Hours continue to pass, and Lanna continues to work. Her handwriting is getting sloppier by the minute, and her vision is getting blurry. Stress and worry is taking it's toll, as well as the fact that Lanna has yet to sleep. She looks over at the clock, and sees that it's 10:00 am. She feels dizzy, but she needs to keep working. She only has six and a half more days to go.

At around 1:00 pm, Lanna finally collapses on her desk and falls asleep. She has horrible nightmares of millions of people laughing at her because she could not complete her work in the two years she had been living on the island. She begs to her millions of fans that it was not her fault. She tried her best, but it wasn't enough.

In the dream, she sees Mark and Chelsea together. They both laugh at her failure and walk away holding hands. They both call her horrible names like “Failure” and “Loser”. She collapses on her knees, and cries. She cannot stop the laughter echoing in the dark abyss of her nightmare.

She suddenly wakes up upon hearing some knocking at her front door. She looks at the time, and it's 2:30 pm. She didn't get much rest, and the sudden awakening makes her feel ill. She gets up to answer the door, but she stumbles a few times on the way. She's weak and dizzy, walking is difficult for her, but she at least manages to get to the door.

She finds Mark in the other side of the door. As soon as she answers it, Mark begins to say, “Hey Lanna, I tried to find you in your usual spot, but- OH MY GOD!!! ARE YOU OKAY!?!?!?”

Mark panics as soon as he sees Lanna's condition. She has the most hoarse face anyone could ever see. Her skin is as pale as a ghost, her hair is messed up, clothes dirty from sweat and coffee stains, she's leaning on the door so she could stand, eyes half closed struggling to stay awake. Never in the two years that Mark has known her has he seen her in such a condition.

“Lanna. . . What happened?” asked Mark.

Lanna yawns and replies, “Nothing . . . I'm perfectly fine. . . Now will you excuse me, I have to get back tooooo. . .” Before she finishes her sentence, Lanna collapses. Mark is able to catch her before she hits the ground. He yells her name several times, but she does not wake up.

Later that night, Lanna wakes up with a Jerk. She is on her bed in her bedroom. She looks at the time, and sees that it's 9:00 pm, about six hours after she collapsed. She does feel refreshed after waking up, but she is starving. She then remembers that she has so much work to do, but she wasted so much time resting that she does not think she could make it in time. There are only six days left until the deadline, and Lanna still has not even a single song done.

She panics as soon as she hears that she is not alone in the house. But she calms herself when she smells the familiar scent of Mark's cooking. She climbs out of bed, and walks over to her kitchen to find Mark cooking. Like always, he is cooking a dish that involves fish. She has never seen him actually cook before, so this is something new and interesting to watch.

It doesn't take Mark too long before he notices that Lanna is awake, and watching him from behind. He then turns around and says, “Are you feeling okay Lanna?” She nods, but says nothing. Mark then continues, “You still look a little pale. Why don't you lie down, and I'll bring you something to eat. Dinner is almost ready.”

Lanna nods, and goes back to her room. In about 5 minutes, Mark brings her a bowl of rice, and some sushi on the side. After thanking Mark, she begins to eat. She never had Mark's sushi before, but it tastes incredibly good. She wasn't sure if it was because she was incredibly hungry, or it was just plain delicious.

Mark takes a good look at her bedroom while she eats. He is surprised to find so many different interesting objects, such as posters of her first album debut, awards she won, CD's of her favorite singers and groups, photos hanging on the wall of some of her friends she made while on tour. There are also other things she has like stuffed bears, pictures of family, a diary, and the other things a girl would normally have in her room.

Outside her bedroom, she also have a room dedicated to a collection of fishing gear. He always knew that she loved fish, but not this much. She has many rods on display, photos that she took while visiting aquarium around the world, a fish tank with some tropical colorful fish she keep as pets, and much more. He has learned so much being in her house for the first time.

“You have a lot of neat stuff here.” commented Mark.

Lanna stops eating for a moment to say, “Don't stare at my stuff so much. It's embarrassing.”

Mark nods, and Lanna continues to eat. After she's done, Mark takes the empty dishes, and says, “Care to tell me what happened?” She looks forward, but stays quiet. Mark can easily see a look of sadness in her face. He knows that something happened, but he's not going to pressure it out of her. So he smiles and says, “If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. I'll just out this in the kitchen, and go home. I hope you'll feel better tomorrow.”

As soon as Mark turns around, Lanna says, “Wait.” Mark faces Lanna once again, and waits for her to say something. It takes her a couple of minutes before she says, “You think we could meet up at the beach tomorrow?”

“Sure, I guess. But why?”

Lanna shakes her head no, and says, “Meet me there at noon. On the rock that we sat on when we watch the fireworks. Please be there.”

Mark nods, then goes to the kitchen to leave the dishes on the sink. He then says his goodbyes, and goes back to the farm. Lanna stays awake for a bit longer, but goes back to sleep in a few hours. At this point, she feels like giving up. There is no way that she could finish at this point.

The next day, Mark heads to the beach at Noon like Lanna asked. Just as she said she would, She's sitting on the great big boulder that is halfway in the sand. Nobody knows how that giant piece of rock got there, but nobody cared to find out either. He nods, and walks up to her. Even though Lanna hears him coming, her mind is too preoccupied to look in his direction. Her cheeks are resting on her hands as she thinks about the inevitable doom of her career.

“Hey there. I'm here.” said Mark. Even though he announced that he has arrived, Lanna does not move even a single muscle. She just continues to look at the crashing waves of the beach.

Mark then climbs the rock, and sits beside her. There is a long pause, Mark wants to say something, but he just remains quiet. There has to be a reason why Lanna asked him to meet her at the beach, so he waits patiently until she says something, anything.

“Talk to me Mark.” said Lanna breaking the silence.

Mark scratches his head, and says, “Well, what do you want me to talk about?”

“I don't care. Just say anything. I just want you to keep mind busy, that's all.”

Mark does not understand why Lanna wants him to just talk. He just sits there, and tries his hardest to come up with something interesting to talk about. It's not easy for him to just come up with something on the spot. He keeps asking himself, “What do Pop Idols like to talk about?” It's not like he knows a collection of people like her to know what to say. But he does know that Lanna likes fishes.

Finally, he nods and begins his pointless speech, “Well, this morning I caught the biggest fish I have ever seen. Wow, was it a big one. At first, I thought I would catch the usual small fish. Nothing would prepare me for the fight of my life. I casted the line like I usually do, then after a half hour of waiting, I get a bite. Wow, the fish was powerful!
I tugged, and let the line go over and over. I just wanted to tire out that bad boy so I can reel it in. I thought I was going to lose it time after time, but I had it under control. After fighting with it for about ten minutes, I could feel it getting weaker. So I reeled it in. I had to be careful in case it had some extra energy to bite through the hook. So I reeled it in carefully, and it landed! Wow, it was bigger than I thought! A great big Bonito, about 70 cm long! Now, I know that's not that big, but it was a personal record. And-”

Mark stops talking as soon as he hears Lanna sniffling. He looks over to her, and finds her crying, trying her best to wipe the tears as they come. Mark starts to feel bad, he was so preoccupied by his one person conversation, that he didn't notice Lanna cry until now.

So he takes a deep breath and says, “Lanna, what's the matter? You're not usually this way. If there is anything I could do to help you, just tell me.”

Lanna moves her hands away from her face and finally admits, “Mark. . . I'm going to lose my job.”

The news shocks him. “But why? What happened?” asked Mark.

Lanna lets out a last sniffle before saying, “You see, my boss came to the island. He came for my lyrics, but I was not done yet. To be honest, I haven't gotten a thing done since I came here.”

“You haven't? But you've been so busy all the time. What happened to all that work you put this whole time?”

Lanna shakes her head no and continues, “I tried. But no matter how much time I spend here, I came up with nothing. Just failed ideas over and over. I have five more days left, and I need to write a whole album. There is no way that I can do that much work in so little time. I'm a failure.”

After telling Mark what happened, she looks down at her boots sadly. Mark wants to say something like, “You can do it!” or “I believe in you!” or something encouraging. But he knows that encouragement is not what she needs. Even if he makes her feel better, it will only hurt her more once her time is up. What she needs is help, but Mark has no idea how. Mark is not a writer, or a poet, or a music producer. He is just a simple farmer with no other talents.

But just sitting there is not going to help her either. He needs something that could help her. So he thinks for a moment, and asks, “Lanna, what inspired you to write the first album?”

Lanna picks her head up, and looks at Mark. She found what he said quite interesting. Mark then looks up at the sky and continues, “Songs are like poems in a way, but a bit more fun to listen to. In order for you to write a poem, you need some inspiration, am I right? I'm sure that you had something that you wanted to sing about. Do you remember what it was?”

Lanna then decides to look up in the sky. She does remember what was her inspiration the first time around. But at the same time, it's not something she wants to remember. She came to the island to forget about what happened in her past. But it seems to her that her past may be her only clue as to how to get back the inspiration that she needs.

“You see. . . When I wrote the first album, I was in love.”

“Oh, I see. I didn't know you had a boyfriend. Figures, the album was mostly love songs anyway.”

Even though Mark was disappointed for a moment, Lanna shakes her head no and says, “Don't misunderstand me. We're not together anymore.”

“Go on.” said Mark full of interest.

Lanna sighs and closes her eyes trying to remember those days when she was blissfully in love. “It all started back in high school. I was dating this guy who was pretty popular in school. We were inseparable for a while. He was tall, dark, handsome. I was just any ordinary girl in school, but he loved my singing voice. One day, I wanted to show how much I loved him by singing in the drama club.
We put on a musical play on my senior year. I wrote the song that I would sing telling everyone how I felt. The play was a big success. That day, I met my Manager. He discovered my talent, then offered me a contract as a Pop Idol singer. It was a hard choice to make, going on tour, visiting so many different places, meeting so many different people. At first, I didn't want to take the job, but my boyfriend told me that I should take the offer.
And so, I became a Pop Idol. I wrote my lyrics so that I could show the whole world how much I loved the guy back in my hometown. I took a bunch of dancing and acting lessons, wrote the first set of lyrics, and even wrote the music to go along with it. In a short time, I was a big success.
My CD's were selling like hot cakes. I got so many offers to do concerts and promotions. I was offered to play in a movie, but I turned that down. I did a few interviews, visited many places, signed autographs for fans. It just never stopped for a while. One task after another, but I did it for the one I loved.
After a year and a half, I was finally given some time off. I went back to my hometown to see my boyfriend. But I only came to find out that he had already gotten married to someone else. They even had a kid together. When I asked him why, he told me that I didn't have any time for him anymore. So he moved on, and found someone else.
I was crushed. Becoming a Pop Idol was his idea, but he didn't wait for me. Since then, I couldn't write anymore. My Manager started asking me for a second album, but I couldn't do it. I was too hurt to even think about anything. So my Manager arranged for me to write my lyrics somewhere where I can get over my broken heart. So I came to this island so I can have a chance to get away from everything, and write my second album. But even after I got over my boyfriend, I still couldn't write anything. Two years I spent trying, but I still can't do it.”

Mark sighs and says, “I didn't know you were going through all that. It must have been rough on you. I'm sorry. . .”

Lanna then looks away and says, “What are you apologizing for? After all, it was me who was being stupid. I mean, who would wait for me anyway. I'm sure any guy would do the same thing.”

“That's not true.” answered Mark. Lanna then turns to Mark shocked by what he said. “I think that guy was just being stupid, not you. I mean, you are a very gifted and talented girl. Your very cute too. Only an idiot would not wait for you. You may have your moments, but your sweet, spirited, and dedicated to what you love the most.” He then looks at Lanna deep in her eyes and says, “If I was your boyfriend, I'd wait for you, even if I spend the rest of my life waiting.”

Lanna's face turns as red as a tomato. She then turns away trying to hide her embarrassed face saying, “Mark. . . You shouldn't say things like that. . . I mean. . . It almost sounds like you are making a promise to me. . . I'm sure that you never waited for a girl before. . . So you don't know if you can do that. . .”

Mark scratches his head, and giggles while saying, “I guess you're right, I have never waited for anyone before. But even so, I still think that I would wait for someone that I loved. I just can't see myself finding someone new, knowing that someone I love is going to come back to me.”

Finally, Lanna looks out to the ocean one more time. Remembering the times she had spent with Mark the last 2 years makes her blush. The entire two years she had known him, she didn't want to tell herself that she was starting to like him. But after Chelsea came into their lives, her emotions just blew over. Mark is important to her, she just needs to admit that to herself.

“Mark, thank you. I feel so much better now that I got to talk to you. You really are a good friend.”

“It's okay. I'm just glad that you're feeling better. I just hope that everything works out in the end. Maybe if you talk to your Manager one more time, I'm sure he'll reason with you.”

Lanna nods, and says, “You know Mark. I think you deserve a reward.”

Mark shakes his head no and answers, “No, I couldn't possibly accept any money.”

Lanna frowns and crosses her arms yelling, “No, that's not what I meant! Honestly, are you an idiot or something?”

Mark then sighs and says, “Sorry, I guess I didn't understand what you meant by 'reward'.”

Lanna then blushes a deep shade of pink in her cheeks and begins to fidget with her fingers. In a nervous tone, she says, “When I said reward, I mean that you could. . . . Kiss me.”

Mark nearly falls off the rock as soon as he hears that. It was something he was never expected her to say. He trembles nervously as he asks, “Did you say kiss? Are you feeling okay? I mean, I never expected that so suddenly.”

Lanna then looks away again and says, “Well, you don't have to if you don't want to. I thought it would make you happy, but I guess I'm wrong!”

As she is looking away, Lanna suddenly feels Mark's hand touch hers. She looks back and sees that Mark has moved in closer to her. She can feel her heart pound, like if he's striking it with a hammer. It's a pleasant feeling, proof that she has indeed fallen for him. She closes her eyes, and waits for his lips to meet hers.

She has felt this feeling once before. After she had lost her first love, she thought that she would never be able to love again. She tried her best to close it off, and see everyone as just a simple fan. Even though she won't say it just yet, she does love him. She is tired of hiding it. So from now on, she will listen to the song her heart is trying to sing to her all this time.

To be continued.

[Pickle]

Wonder how the songs are gonna turn out.

[bchunter]

That was very sweet and good ;D

[Juxapose]

Finally got around to finishing this chappie. I hope everyone enjoys!

Chapter 7

Lanna's Choice

Later that evening, Lanna sits at her desk and tries again. She knows that her deadline is coming in only 5 more days, she knows how impossible the task may seem. But she is willing to try it out one more time. If she does a good enough job on the songs she can finish, she feels that she could at least convince her manager to give her just a little bit more time.

She takes a deep breath as she sits in front of the blank sheet of paper. She then takes out a pencil from her cup, and thinks for a moment. At first, her mind is blank. Trying to force the ideas out doesn't seem to work. So she rests her back on the chair, and leans back a bit. With her pencil in her ear, she closes her eyes, and faces the ceiling for a while.

She knows she needs to relax. All she needs to do is let the ideas flow in her head, just like she did last time. She takes a couple of deep breaths, and relaxes her mind. After a couple of minutes, she begins to think about the kiss she shared with Mark only a few hours ago. She smiles happily as she remembers how warm and soft Mark's lips felt against hers.

Her heart begins to beat a bit louder. As she touches her lips with her fingers, she begins to hear something. It was not a voice in the distance, or a sound coming from outside. It is her heart trying to sing to her. A beautiful melody that only she can hear and understand. She had this feeling once before, all she needs to do is put them into words.

Taking the pencil out of her ear, Lanna presses the lead against the paper. At first, her hands do nothing. But after a few minutes, she begins to write some words down. After writing her first line, she gasps cheerfully seeing that she has written the first idea she is satisfied with. After taking a deep breath, she continues to listen to her heart some more. Word after word, ideas continue to flow from her heart into paper.

It takes her several hours to finally finish the first poem that her heart was trying to sing. After reviewing her poem, she realizes that it had a lot to do with her first kiss with Mark. How it felt, how it untied the knot she herself placed on her heart, and how sweet it felt.

After making some random corrections, she takes a look outside, and realizes that it's getting dark. If she is going to do her best, she'll need some rest for the next day. So she places her pencil back into the cup, staples the pages together, and places them into a large envelope. She then changes into her nightgown, and drifts off into a peaceful sleep.

That night, Lanna has many wonderful romantic dreams. She cannot remember the last time she had one of those. One of her favorite dreams that she had was about how she was trapped in a castle, and a handsome blond haired prince came to rescue her.

She remembers that dream well after she wakes up. After getting ready for the day, she begins writing a story about that dream. After the story is done, she decides to write a song about that story. Before noon came around, Lanna already had a second song for her album.

Lanna continues to write songs as the days passes. One idea after another inspire Lanna to write something different. Her heart had a lot to say to her. There are about 2 years worth of memories that her heart could sing about. Her deadline is quickly approaching, so she works hard all day, and rests when she needs to. Mark continues to deliver lunch for her at 2:00 pm every day. But rather than looking for her in the east side of the island, Mark just delivers it straight to her house.

It is now the evening of the fifth day after Lanna's manager has left the island. Lanna is in the middle of writing a song that has a lot to do with Mark's cooking. A fun, upbeat song that tells how delicious his cooking really is, how important it is to her daily life. She gets done at about 10:00 pm, she was so preoccupied by the song that she did not realize how late it is.

She then takes a look at the calendar, and sees that she has only one more day until her manager comes to check on her work. She sighs, then takes a look at her envelope to see what she has done so far. She was having so much fun, she did not keep track of how many songs did she write after she had completed the first one.

After counting her songs, she gasps after realizing that she wrote a dozen songs. She cannot believe that she has met her quota before her deadline. She thought that she wouldn't make it in time. But after so many days of hard work and listening to her heart, she did what was believed to be impossible.

Lanna starts to celebrate her victory by dancing around her room joyfully. After giggling and jumping for a few minutes, she then stops for a moment to shout, “I did it! I actually finished! And I even have a day all to myself tomorrow! I can't wait till I show the manager! When he sees this, I'll be able to get off this island and-”

Just then, Lanna realizes something. If she shows her manager that she has done her work, she'll have to leave the island, and continue to be a Pop Idol. She will work long hard hours recording the songs, then go on tour, sing in concerts, and travel the world. But then, she'll be leaving Mark behind.

Lanna falls to her knees, and sigh sadly. For the last 2 years, she had been wanting to get off the island, and continue doing what she does best. But after realizing that there is someone important to her in the island, she suddenly finds herself not wanting to leave.

The next morning, Mark wakes up and gets ready for another day in the farm. After leaving his house, he yawns and wipes the sand from his eyes. It's a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, and not too hot either. Summer will be ending soon, so it has gotten a little bit cooler.

Before he goes over to work on his animals, he notices that there's something sticking out of his mailbox. He walks over to the mailbox, and finds a letter inside. The letter reads:

Please meet me at the beach. By the rock where we sat on a couple of days ago. I need to talk to you about something. Please bring your fishing gear. I'll wait for you there at noon. Don't be late.

-Lanna

After reading the letter, Mark scratches his head and wonders if Lanna is okay. Last time, Lanna was in trouble. But this time, she wants him to bring his fishing gear. He has no idea what to think. But rather than asking himself a hundred questions, he continues on to his job. He then heads over to the beach at noon with his gear.

Just as the letter says, he finds Lanna at the beach sitting on the rock. There is a bit of sadness in her eyes as she stares off into the ocean. Once again, he starts to ask himself the same questions as before. “Is something wrong? Did the deadline pass, and Lanna didn't finish in time? Does she need my help? Will I be able to help her?”

Just talking to himself in his mind is not going to help her. So he slowly approaches Lanna and says, “Hi Lanna. I'm here.”

Lanna then looks over towards Mark. She then smiles and says, “Hi Mark. I'm glad you could make it.”

She then jumps off the rock, and grabs her own fishing rear that lays beside the rock. As she is putting the rod together, Mark says in a surprised tone, “Lanna, you know how to fish?”

“Of course I do dummy. I thought that was obvious when you saw my collection f fishing poles.” said Lanna is a joking manner.

Mark giggles lightly and says, “Sorry. I sort of assumed that you just collected them. I had no idea that you knew how to use them.”

Lanna then sighs and replies, “Honestly Mark. You say that you like me, but you don't know a thing about me. Don't you read a magazine? My profile is on there. Most of my fans know me better than you do!”

“Sorry. . .” answered Mark.

“Aren't you going to fish too?” asked Lanna as soon as she notices that Mark hasn't started assembling his fishing rod.

Mark nods, and pulls out his rod from his rucksack. The rod comes apart so it can fit in his rucksack, so it takes him a bit longer for him to assemble it. Afterwards, he sets up his line, lure, sinker, and bait. Finally, they climb on top of the rock, and casted their lines out to the ocean hoping for a bite.

Things stay quiet for a few minutes. Mark didn't know what to think or say. Lanna asked him to come over to chat, but all she does it sit next to him, and fish quietly. But now that they've started fishing, Lanna appears more cheerful. Since she seems okay, he just sits next to her, and fish quietly.

“I finished my lyrics yesterday.” said Lanna breaking the silence. “Tomorrow, I show my manager my finished work.”

“Oh, congratulations.” answered Mark. “You must be really excited. I guess you won't lose your job after all. You'll make another CD, tour the world, and-”

“Do you want me to leave?!” yelled Lanna in an annoyed tone.

Mark nearly drops his pole out of shock after hearing that. her smile has turned into a frown on only a matter of a split second. “Well, no. . . But. . . I thought that this is what you wanted.” he answered.

Lanna sighs, and looks down sadly. After playing with her feet for a moment she says, “Well, I thought I did. I mean, that's what I came here to do. But I've really learned to like it here. This is kinda like my home now. And there's a lot of things that I still would like to do here. Do I really want to leave it all behind?”

“So does that mean that if you go, you are not going to come back?” asked Mark.

Lanna shakes her head, and responds, “I will come back. But I will be away for about a year, maybe even longer this time. I'm afraid that if I do go, I'll miss something. Or I may lose something important. I really don't know if it's worth going through that again.”

“So then why don't you just stay here?”

“I don't know. . . I guess that it won't be fair to my fans. I mean they are waiting for my next album. I feel that they deserve it after 2 years of waiting. I can't just drop my career after I worked so hard to keep it.”

“I guess that is a tough choice to make. But what made you like this place so much anyway?”

“You really are an idiot, you know that?” snapped Lanna. She then smiles and continues, “But I guess that's just the way you are. Your not that bright, you're gullible, and you don't know when to give up. But you're still a good person.”

“I can't tell if that was a compliment or an insult.” said Mark sheepishly.

Lanna giggled. She then thought for a minute, and says, “You know, It wasn't really my idea to become a pop idol anyway, that sort of came as a surprise. I have other dreams that I want to accomplish someday.”

“Well, what else do you want to do?” asked Mark.

Lanna blushes while looking out towards the ocean and says, “Well, I've always wanted to be a bride.”

Mark nearly drops his rod into the ocean out of shock again. Hearing her say something like that out of the blue left him speechless, it was the last thing he expected her to say. All he can say in response is, “A br. . .Br. . .Bride?”

Lanna nods softly and says, “In a way, that's kind of like every girl's dream. To find a nice guy who they can get along great with, get married, have a little boy or girl. I guess because of my career, I haven't really thought about it too much. I was always busy, or tired, or sad, sometimes mad. But I still would like to do that once I retire from singing.”

“I see. Well, I hope all of your dreams come true someday.”

Lanna then looks over towards Mark without moving her head to the side. She then looks away and asks, “Say Mark, can I ask you something personal?”

“What is it?”

“Why did you cook for me everyday? Is it because I'm a pop idol? Is it because you really like me?”

Mark looks out deep towards the ocean before saying, “It's because I'm grateful to you.”

Lanna then looks at Mark, and asks curiously, “Grateful? What do you mean? I don't remember doing anything that deserves your gratitude.”

Mark smiles sheepishly while scratching the back of his head saying, “It's a really long story. It's kind of embarrassing, so. . .”

Lanna nudges Mark and says, “Come on, tell me! You can't just start there, and keep quiet. I told you my story earlier, I want to hear your whole story too.”

“Well, if you insist then.” said Mark. He then lets out a huge sigh before starting his story, “You see, it all started when I graduated high school. My parents wanted me to go to college so I can become someone with a business suit and tie. But that's not what I wanted to do. I wanted to be free, and find my own purpose in life. So right after Winter, I purchased a ticket to board a ship, and decided to travel on my own. I knew that I would find my calling out there, so I just let fate decide my future.
But fate was not very kind those days. That night, I found myself in a really bad thunderstorm. The ocean waves were rough, the rain was freezing cold, and the thunder roared loud. I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
Everyone got out in life boats, but I wasn't so lucky. When the storm hit, I was sleeping in my bed, and I didn't get out in time. I tried to get in a life boat, but the wind was too strong, and the deck was slippery. So instead, I fell off the ship and, nearly drowned to death. Luckily, I survived the storm, and ended up in the shores Sunny Island.
Even though I survived, things were not that easy for me. A family of redheads also ended up in Sunny Island, and we all decided to stay on it. I was chosen to work as a farmer all by myself in an abandoned ranch. An old man taught me how to do the work, but it didn't make anything easier.
Soon enough, we got a merchant who can sell seeds, and the family of redheads became shippers. Several days later, animal merchants settled in the island. I had a lot of work within just a week of landing on the island. The worst part of the job was trying to find some food. Without any food stores, I was reduced to eating some wild grass and herbs, sometimes I could scrape off some seaweed to eat. I got sick a lot, and sometimes went for days without eating.
I wasn't used to the work load, there was nothing to eat except some crops I was lucky enough to grow, and sometimes the weather of the island was not on my side. Summer came around, and I wanted to give up. I thought about going back home, and go to college like my parents wanted. Things were too hard for me to handle alone, and the other villagers were telling me that I wasn't trying hard enough.
All that changed after the carpenter came to live on the island. He was able to clear out a large boulder that blocked the east side of the island. There we found a few abandoned buildings. I was so desperate for something to eat, so I went ahead and raided the abandoned homes hoping for something. Even though the abandoned homes didn't have anything to eat, one of them had an old TV. Even though it was old, it still was in good condition. There wasn't anything fun to do in the island, so I brought the TV home, and tried it out.
The TV worked, but it was a nightmare getting a signal in the island. I played with the rabbit ears for a few hours, slapped the TV hoping to get any working channels. I didn't have anything better to do, so I just keep trying until I got something. That afternoon, I was able to pick up the closest signal. By some stroke of luck, I picked up a concert on TV. It was your concert.
I wasn't a big music fan back in those days, but I still sat down and watched it.
Within minutes, I was quite impressed. Your voice was amazing, your moves were great, and your lyrics were nothing less than incredible. I just sat there in my home watching you in stage, I became an instant fan.
After the concert, you had this interview with the fans. You were overwhelmed with questions and comments, but you answered them all as best as you can. One of the questions someone asked you was, 'Isn't working as a pop idol at such a young age hard for you?'
And you answered, ' It is hard to deal with. The rehearsals, the classes, I hardly have any time for myself. But seeing so many fans who love my music makes everything well worth the effort. I love what I do, and I will continue to work hard at it.'
I'll never forget those words. We were both about the same age, and we are doing jobs that are hard for the both of us. But you stuck with it, and made so many people happy. I, on the other hand, wanted to run away and go back home. So after the interview was over, I decided to try again. Some people are depending on me to do my best, and you inspired me to be strong for them.
Not so long after that, the old man who taught me how to farm found a fishing pole. He gave it to me, hoping I could ship some fish in my free time. Getting used to that fishing pole was hard, but rather than starving to death, I got used to it as quickly as I can. I shipped some fish, and saved some for myself. At night, I light a bonfire, and cooked roasted fish on a stick. I learned to really like fish a lot, which solved my food problem.
After I made some money, I ordered your first album, along with something to play it. When I had nothing better to do, or when I'm fishing, I would play your CD. It really made living in the island enjoyable, and I learned to like my job as a farmer. Little by little, the island started getting popular, and many residents came to live here. Luke opened up his diner, and taught me how to cook all types of food.
About a year later, my farm completely changed. I had a barn and a coop built, and I raised animals. I grew rice in the paddies in the back, and mined in the caves in the Winter. I remodeled my house, and had a brand new kitchen installed. I became quite a talented cook, and made a lot of friends. All this happened because you inspired me to do my best.
I was so grateful to you, that I started to wish that we could meet someday so I could tell you how grateful I am. However, one day while I was cooking a new dish, one of the kids in the island bursted into my house, and told me that a celebrity was moving into the island. I became curious, so I followed him to the beach where a helicopter has landed. Everyone in the island was there, so I became really interested who is coming to live here.
Then you walked out of the helicopter that day. I was so stunned, that I could hardly move. It was you, THE Lanna Songstress who decided to live in Sunny Island to write her next album. Everyone was excited to meet you in person, they just crowded around you, and you just smiled for everyone and greeted yourself warmly.
And that's when I decided that I was going to thank you someday. I found out from a few of your fans that you liked fish and sweets a lot. So I asked Luke to teach me how to make the best fish meal he knows, and used it to try to get to know you. I wanted to go on a single date with you so I can tell you how grateful I am. But after 2 years, I had no success. But I didn't want to give up, so I kept trying.
I guess I never told you earlier when I had the chance because things got in the way. When we ate lunch together in the diner, the date was too short for me to say anything. And the fireworks distracted us at the Fireworks Festival. Then last time we were here, you were too upset, I didn't feel as if it was the perfect time to say it.”

After Mark's story was done, he laughs a bit and continues, “Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long telling my story. What I'm trying to say is, thank you so much for everything. I would most likely be doing something I didn't want to do if I haven't seen you in your concert that day. And I am happy that I had this chance to be friends with you, and tell you how you changed my life.”

“It sounds like destiny to me.” replied Lanna catching Mark's attention. She the looks at Mark with a smile on her face and says, “After all, we sort of inspired each other to do our best. You know. . . I bet I can make a song out of that.”

Lanna then starts writing a new song in her head about destiny. Mark just laughs sheepishly again, and says, “You don't have to come up with a new song. I thought you had enough already?”

“It's fine, after all, there is no harm in writing an extra song or two. I think my Manager would appreciate it anyway.” answered Lanna.

Suddenly, Lanna's fishing line caught a bite. The fish on the other end pulled hard, but Lanna was able to get in control of the rod before it got away. By the way the rod is bending, they both can clearly see that the line has caught a very large fish. Mark drops his rod and runs to Lanna's aid yelling, “Lanna, that fish is huge! Let me reel it in for you!”

“No thanks!” yelled Lanna struggling with the fish. “I never caught a fish this big, but I think I can handle it!”

Mark worries that something might happen. Like Lanna could slip on the rock that they are standing on and get hurt. But he looks into her eyes, and she is determined to reel the fish in on her own. So instead, he just cheers for her, and stays close in case something happens. Lanna may be a famous pop idol singer, but at least she has enough strength and skill to handle the massive fish on the end of the line.

After several minutes of fighting with the fish, it finally grows tired. Lanna is able to reel it in slowly so that it doesn't escape. Little by little, the fish's shadow could be seen. As soon as it gets close to shore, Lanna gives it one last pull, ripping it out of the sea, and into the sandy beach.

Mark and Lanna stand between the fish, and stare in amazement. “Wow, that fish is huge!” yelled Mark. “That has to be the biggest Tuna that I have ever seen. It's way over a meter long, almost two!”

Lanna nods proudly and says, “See, told you I could do it. I may not look it, but I am a pretty good fisher.”

Afterwards, Lanna picks up the tuna, and places it in Mark's arms. “Is this for me?” asked Mark.

“Of course not!” yelled Lanna. “Your going to cook it for me. I'm going to be really busy, so I'm counting on you to make a really tasty lunch tomorrow.”

“Okay.” responded Mark struggling with the fish flailing around in his arms.

As Mark tries to keep the fish under control, Lanna remains quiet for a minute. She then looks down and whispers, “Will you really wait for me?”

“Did you say something?” asked Mark.

Lanna shakes her head no, and says, “Not really. But thanks to you, I got my answer that I needed.”

“So, are you going to stay, or are you going to go?” asked Mark.

Lanna then places a finger on her lips and says, “It's a secret.” And with that, Lanna goes on, and walks back home to be prepared to meet her manager tomorrow. At first, she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave Sunny Island or not. But after hearing Mark's story, and what he had to say to her, she is now sure that she knows which path is the best one. She only hopes that things turn out for the best in the end.

To be continued.

[Pickle]

See, now I have to know what happens. You suck.

[Juxapose]

Chapter 8

Farewell Lanna

Lanna is now waiting in her home with the yellow-orange envelope wrapped in her arms. For some odd reason, she feels extremely nervous. Even more nervous than being on stage. The songs that the envelope holds were written in only a matter of a few days. Will it be enough to impress the manager who will be coming in only a few short minutes.

But the thing that worries her the most is her choice. Right now, she has decided to hand in her work, and continue being a pop idol. But even though she had already made her decision, she is still not sure if it's the best choice, and begins having second thoughts. She closes her eyes, and imagines coming back to Sunny Island, and finds that Mark has gotten married to Chelsea. She knows that she will be gone for at least a year with no hope of coming back before then.

A knock on her door snaps her back into reality. She knows that the only person who could be at the other side of that door is her manager. She sighs stressfully as she reaches for the knob, and opens the door allowing the overly dressed middle aged man, and his two bodyguards in.

She serves them some tea to lighten the mood before anything is said. After tea, Lanna and her manager sits at the opposite ends of the coffee table quietly for a brief moment. Afterwards, the manager rests his chin against his knuckles, and says in a clam stern voice, “So, how has the past week been? Did you finish the lyrics as promised?”

The finished product rests on Lanna's lap. She knows that at this moment, she'll have to make a solid decision, and live with the outcome. For a moment, she thought about telling her manager a lie, and say that she didn't finish. That way, she would be fired, and she could stay in Sunny Island forever.

But then she thought about the millions of fans who are waiting for her. Is it fair to be selfish, and forget about her career so easily? How will she explain to Mark who has helped her finish her work, so just simply throw it all away? With either choice, she risks losing so much.

She closes her eyes, and trembles for a minute. The manager raises an eyebrow, wondering what's on Lanna's mind. But then, Lanna remembers what Mark told her earlier. Mark said, “I'd wait for you, even if I spend the rest of my life waiting.”

Remembering those words puts her at ease. She believes those words. And even if Mark doesn't wait for her, then she knows that he isn't the right guy for her after all. So she feels that the best thing to do, is to finish what she had started, and see if Mark will honestly wait for her. So she opens her chocolate brown eyes full of confidence, and slides the envelope towards her manager.

“I just finished the other day. I really tried hard, so I'm sure you'll like them.”

He nods at Lanna's promise, and opens the envelope to review what she has done. Song after song, Lanna's manager reviews each lyric with a fine tooth comb seeing if what Lanna has created will be good enough for the fans to enjoy. As he reviews each song, he does not change his expression. He has a very serious look on his face as he reads each poetic line.

This makes Lanna feel very nervous. She wonders if her hard work was in vain, and all that she accomplished was to embarrass herself. She folds her hands, and prays for a good sign. A smile, a nod, some comforting words. Anything that would put Lanna's mind at ease.

After he reviews everything, he places the lyrics on the table, and lights a cigar. Lanna cringes in fear expecting him to yell and tell her how bad her work is. But after a puff of the cigar, Lanna's manager says, “So, how long do you think it will take to write and compose the music for these lyrics?”

Lanna gasps, and lets out a sigh of relief. “I don't know for sure. If we're fast. . . Maybe a month?” she answered after calming down.

Her manager returns the lyrics to the envelope, and places them in his briefcase. He then stands up and says, “Congratulations, you have really outdone yourself. I'm proud of you Lanna.”

She then gasps with an excited glow in her eyes. She has never heard her manager praise her like that before. She feels that she really left an impression on him if he praised her that much. She wipes a tear from her eye, she is so happy that she could hardly contain herself.

“Start packing, we leave in two hours.” said her manager, completely killing her happy mood.

“Two hours?” asked Lanna. “You mean, leave the island in two hours? But. . . That's so sudden! Can't I have a few days to say goodbye to all my friends?”

Lanna's manager rests a hand on her shoulder, and says in a gentle voice, “Lanna, I would love to give you a few days off to say goodbye to your friends. After all, you have spent two years on this island. But please understand that we have a lot of work ahead of us. The more we wait, the harder it will be to get you as popular as you once were. We have so many places to go, people to see, and lots of interviews to do. There just isn't any time for goodbyes. Do you understand?”

She knows what the manager is trying to tell her. But just leaving without saying anything doesn't seem fair either. She knows that Mark is probably in his farm cooking that huge fish she caught yesterday. And all her fans who will miss her once she's gone, what would they think? However, she did decide to go back to the life of a pop idol, and sudden departures are part of the job.

“I understand.” said Lanna in a sad tone.

“Fantastic.” said her manager. “Pack only the things you need, I'll send someone to pick up the rest of your thing later.”

Lanna's manager then grabs his cell phone, and starts making calls to people. Lanna walks over to her room, and begins packing her dresses and other things she'll need. As she was going through her things, she found a photo album that she has been keeping since high school.

While the manager is distracted, Lanna takes a moment to look back at things she did as a pop idol. She already removed any pictures of her old lover long ago, so there is nothing to remind her of any painful memories. However, the photo album ended sometime after she went to visit her hometown. She realizes that since then, she has not taken any photographs at all. Because she has been working for two straight years, she doesn't even have any photographs of anyone or anything in Sunny Island. Not even a photograph of Mark.

Noticing that, she feels a bit depressed and foolish. She begins to ask herself why didn't she do many fun things while since she came on the island? Trying so hard to force ideas to come out, she missed nearly every festival, and spent nearly all day cooped up inside her house with only a brief moment everyday to get some exercise and sun. She is now wishing that she had become part of the community, and did stuff with everyone else.

After two hours, Lanna looks at her clock, and notices that it's 1:30pm. She was hoping that she could at least wait until 2:00pm so that Mark could deliver her lunch, but she could no longer hold out any longer. Her manager wants to leave, and he wants to leave now.

Lanna continues to feel sad and depressed on the way to the beach where the helicopter waits for her. Her manager is still on the phone, so he doesn't even notice how Lanna feels about leaving so suddenly. One of the guys working for Lanna's Manager stays behind to have Lanna's belongings moved to her hometown. Even though she doesn't want to go just yet, she decided to do this in the end. For Mark, and for her fans. Just before she boards the helicopter, she looks back, and whispers, “Goodbye Mark. . .”

She turns around, and tries to board the chopper, but she stops as soon as she hears her name being called in the distance. She quickly realizes that it was Mark's voice she heard. She looks back again, and sees Mark and Chelsea running to her as fast as they could. She tells the pilot to wait, and runs over to meet them halfway in the beach.

After Mark and Chelsea catches their breath, Mark asks, “Lanna, you're leaving already?”

“You're not even going to say goodbye?” asked Chelsea.

She nods and answers, “Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't mean so suddenly, but I have a lot of work to catch up. It's all part of the job, I didn't mean to sneak away.”

Mark smiles at Lanna, and says, “It's okay, I understand. I'm just glad that I caught up with you on time. I tried to surprise you and bring you lunch early so the three of us can eat together, but you wasn't at the house. Someone said that you'd be here, so we ran as fast as we could.” He then presented the packed lunch and continues, “If you're going to leave, then take this with you. Consider this a goodbye gift.”

Lanna blushes as she accepts her gift. It's no different than any other gift she had received before, but knowing that he went out of his way to make sure that she got it makes her feel special. She then nods, and reaches into her pocket. She pulls out a small photograph of herself, and places it in Marks hands. “I want you to have this, so that you won't forget me.”

Mark stares at the photograph, and says, “Are you sure I can have this? You never give a photograph of yourself to anyone, not even your fans!”

“How did you know that?” asked Lanna. Mark then pulls out a magazine with Lanna's profile on it. Lanna then giggles joyfully as she remembers that it was her idea for Mark to read her profile so that he could get to know her better. Afterwards, Mark and Chelsea properly said their goodbyes, and Lanna boards the helicopter so that she may continue her career as a pop idol.

As the helicopter flies off, Lanna looks down at the beach to see Mark and Chelsea wave goodbye to her. She places a hand on he glass window, and whispers to herself, “Mark, thank you for everything. You have always been kind to me, made sure I ate well every day, and even inspired me to do my best when I was about to give up. You are the one who filled the empty hole in my heart, I didn't want to admit I had. Please wait for me. I'll come back for you, I promise.”

Lanna continued to watch them wave at her until she can no longer see them. She then sighs, and opens up her lunch. With every bite she takes, she recalls an event she had with Mark. She only hopes that she made the best decision, and will do her best so that she can return to Sunny Island someday.

To be continued.

[Pickle]

You plot tease.

[Juxapose]

Just got 1 chappie left, then this fic is done.

[tootsieroll]

yay!!!! i loved how u made annoyingly cheerful lanna into one grumpy songstress. story's great. i'm anxiously waiting for the last chappie

[Juxapose]

Final Chapter

Lanna, Mark, and Chelsea. . . Again!

As soon as Lanna left Sunny Island, she quickly got started with her album. She brought her band back together, who were very happy to see her again, and started making music. She already had the music resting in her heart, so she had no trouble writing musical scores for the band. Before anyone knew what was happening, Lanna was singing once again.

Her album was released later that Winter, just in time for Christmas. With the use of heavy advertising, Lanna became the popular pop idol once again. Her album sold like hotcakes, most shops had trouble keeping it in stock. The fans were not disappointed, they loved her second album much more than her first one. No one understood why, but there was a special charm and deep feelings flowing from her music.

Soon afterwards, Lanna started going on tour once again. She went around the world singing in concerts stunning fans everywhere. When she's not performing in concerts, she attended interviews just about everywhere. During her career as a pop idol, she had mastered six languages other than English.

The job as a popular pop idol is a very stressful job. Interviews,concerts, meeting fans, and signing autographs tires her out quite often. Sometimes in the few moments she takes off, she often thinks about quitting. But after remembering how she has inspired Mark to try his hardest at his job, she then decides to work just a little bit longer.

Two years has passed since Lanna and Mark last saw one another. They try to keep in touch through mail, but that is easier said than done. Lanna barely has any time to breathe, let alone write a letter. Mark tries to write, but Lanna gets flooded with fan mail every day. Finding his letters in the clusters of papers is nearly impossible.

Sometime during the beginning of Summer, Chelsea pays a visit to her good friend Mark in his farm. She has become quite a successful farmer since she had first arrived with Mark's help. She now has a full field of crops growing healthy in her farm, and her own animals in her brand new barn and coop. But even with everything she has, she wants one last thing. A family to call her own.

Mark and Chelsea has become close friends, but not lovers. Chelsea tries to flirt with Mark, asks him on dates, and even attempts to kiss him at times. But each of her attempts always end in failure. No matter how close they are, Mark only has one thing lingering in his heart. That thing is Lanna's kiss.

Mark's door was open when she arrived, so she lets herself in. Like the many times she had visited in the past, she hears nothing but Lanna's music play in the house. She finds Mark lying on the floor watching one of Lanna's concerts on TV. The house has not changed much since Lanna left, except the occasional poster of Lanna that Mark has pinned up.

Chelsea sighs, and decides to sit down next to him. Although she is still a fan of Lanna, she can't help but to feel a bit jealous of her. After all, the man she wants is attracted to one of the most popular women in the world. At times, she feels that her attempts to steal Mark's heart is futile. But sometimes she feels that Lanna may never come back, so she believes that sooner or later, Mark will become hers.

“So, you're watching Lanna on TV again? Is this a live concert?” she asked, starting up a conversation.

Mark shakes his head no, and says, “Not really. We're so far away from any broadcast stations, that everything is delayed about 3 days. . .”

Chelsea continues the conversation by saying, “Have you kept in contact with her?”

Mark shakes his head no again, and answers, “I try to write letters, but I don't really know if she got them. And she never sent me one. . .”

“Summer has arrived once again. It'll be almost 2 years since Lanna left you know. Do you really think she'll come back eventually?”

“I don't know. . .” answered Mark.

Suddenly, a feeling of hope overcomes Chelsea. A small kindle of light telling her that Mark is beginning to give up on Lanna. Typically, Mark would be sure that Lanna would come back sooner or later. But now, he's no longer sure anymore. Because of this change in attitude, Chelsea feels that this is a good change to make her move.

After the concert on TV event is over, Chelsea stands up, and stretches her arms in the air. But Mark just continues to lie down, and sigh while watching the credits roll. After watching him sigh continuously, Chelsea helps him up, and says, “Come on Mark, the show is over! I'm done with my work, and it looks like you are too. Lets do something fun! Like go over to Luke's Diner, or go to the beach. It's a perfect summer day, lets not let it pass by!”

Mark then looks down and says, “Not today. I'm just not in the mood.”

Chelsea begins to feel peeved, and begins to pout. She then moves in front of him, and raises his chin so that they can look at one another eye to eye. In a caring yet serious tone, Chelsea says, “Look, I know you are still thinking about her. I know you've liked her for years now. But you need to get over her already. Lanna is a pop idol, we are just simple farmers. She is of another league than us. Sooner or later, she's going to marry some rich famous guy, and forget we even exist.
“It's pointless to keep fantasizing about her like this. You need to move on with your life, date other girls, and put her behind you. Otherwise, you're just going to grow old and lonely while watching your life pass by.”

Mark takes a deep breath before responding, “I know that your right. I should get over her. . .” Chelsea then becomes excited for a moment before Mark continues, “But I can't. . .”

“Why not?!” yelled Chelsea.

“Because. . .” Mark thinks about his answer carefully before answering. Memories of the times that Lanna and himself meeting at the beach, talking about things. Sharing stories, and finally being able to tell each other what was on their minds. Mark then answers, “For some reason or another, I think I made a promise. I don't know what, I don't know when, I don't know why, and I don't know how. . . Bit I'm sure that I did. So I'm going to keep that promise I made.”

Chelsea doesn't understand what he meant by what he just said. A promise that he barely remembers making? It sounds crazy to her. All she is sure about is that as long as he has such feelings, she will never get through to him. So she decides to wait a bit longer. She is sure that someday, Mark will come to understand that he's just living a fantasy, and he'll eventually snap back into reality.

Just then, a special interview with Lanna is being played on TV. They both stop and sit down to watch the event. The event seems quite important by the way Lanna is standing on a podium next to her manager while many news reporters flood her with questions, and take countless pictures.

Some of the questions include, “Lanna, I hear you have an important announcement to make?!” “Are you going to be planning a third album?!” “Are you planning to get married anytime soon?!” “Is there something going on between you and the drummer in your band?” “Do you have any comments about your next event?”

The questions kept piling up one after another. But rather than answering any of them, Lanna just waves her hands up and down to quiet the media to give her a chance to speak. After the media has quieted down a bit, Lanna grabs a microphone, and says, “Hello everyone, I am glad that so may people has come to this special event. I have been planning this event for weeks now, and I have heard so many rumors about what I am about to say. Some people think I am going to be working on a third album, while many others think I'm planning on getting married soon. Some rumors are true, while others are false. But I am here now for none of the reasons everyone thinks.
“Before I make my announcement, I want to say that I am grateful for every fan that I have gotten since I've started singing. I love to sing, dance, and of course fishing. Since I have started this career, I have been to so many places, met so many people, and fished in many places a girl can ever dream of. I love my job, and everything that comes with the trade.
“I have spoken with my manager, and he understands my situation. Unfortunately, I have no new albums planned, and I have no events scheduled in the future. In fact, starting tomorrow morning, I will officially retire from show business. I will no longer be Lanna the Pop Idol. Starting tomorrow, I will just be Lanna Songstress, just another average girl like everyone else.”

It didn't take long before the media panics, and begins flooding a ton of more questions on Lanna. Everyone is in shock. Even Mark and Chelsea are speechless upon seeing Lanna resign on TV for the whole world to see. No one expected that so suddenly.

It takes a while for everyone to calm down and allow her to answer anymore questions. As soon as the crowd calms down, Lanna was able to continue her speech. “I know that everyone has a lot of questions for me. Why am I doing this? What am I going to do from now on? Will I write a book or star in a movie? Unfortunately, I can't answer everyone's questions, but I will say this to all my loyal fans:
“Before I started this career as a pop idol, I had many dreams that I want to fulfill. Simple dreams that every girl has at one point in their lives. As a girl who is no different than anyone else, I will fulfill these dreams. I love this job, but I do feel that it's now time to say goodbye to my fans, and everyone that I've met. I hope everyone wishes me luck!”

And so, Lanna bows gracefully, and leaves the stage. The media tries to ask her many more questions, but they didn't get anything else out of her. Mark and Chelsea still stand in front of the TV, shocked and speechless. Even after the show is over, they remain still unsure what had happened.

“Did Lanna just quit her job?” asked Chelsea. Mark just nods, but doesn't say a word.

Soon after that, they hear a knock on Mark's door. They both go over to see who the unexpected guest is. As they open the door, they both gasp to see that Lanna is on the other side wearing the same aqua green dress and her frilly head piece she always wore last time she was on the island. What's new is the sunglasses she has brought with her to the island.

Lanna then pulls up the sunglasses to her hair revealing her chocolate brown eyes. She then smiles warmly pulling up two fingers forming the peace sign, and yells, “Hi there! I'm Back!”

“Lanna! You're Back!” Yelled Mark, he heart is so excited to see her, his heart could burst. “But how? You were just on TV a few minutes ago!”

“Well duh! This is an island, reception takes days to reach here!” answered Lanna. Mark then remembers that he just told Chelsea that it takes three days for reception to arrive in the island.

Lanna then notices that Chelsea is also in the house with Mark. “Hey, while I was out. . . Did you happen to get married, or found a girlfriend?” she asked.

Mark then looks at Chelsea for a second and answers, “No, Chelsea was only visiting, and we ended up watching you on TV.”

“Is that true?” Lanna asked Chelsea.

She sighs feeling disappointed, then replies, “No, Mark was waiting for you the whole time since you left.”

When Lanna hears that, she blushes and giggles whispering, “I'm so glad that I came back!”

Mark then asks, “Did you get my letters?”

Lanna then pulls out a small stack of letters addressed to her by Mark and says, “Sorry I didn't get the chance to read them. I had my manager pull them to the side, and save them for me. But even though I didn't get the chance to read them, I was really happy that you sent them anyway.”

Mark laughs lightly and then asks, “So, are you here on vacation? If you are, how long are you going to be staying this time?”

“Actually, I've decided to live here on this island. I love my home and my family, but I decided to say goodbye to everyone, and move here.”

“That's great! Well, do you need help moving into your old house or something. I'll be glad to help you!” Mark offered.

“Actually, I am not moving into my old house.” Lanna admits while staring at the ground fidgeting with her fingers.

Mark and Chelsea look at one another for a moment, they they turn back to her as they ask simultaneously, “Well, where are you going to live then?”

“That's not important right now.” she answered. She then puts her hand in her pocket and says nervously, “I. . . I brought a gift for Mark. . . It was really expensive. . . So I hope your grateful!”

Mark laughs cheerfully. Even after years had passed, Lanna is still Lanna. So he takes a step forward and asks, “So, what did you get for me?”

It takes her a moment to gather the courage to finally take the gift out of her pocket, and present it to Mark. Both Mark and Chelsea nearly faint from shock as they see a sparkling blue feather resting in her hands waiting for Mark to accept it.

Mark is just plain too nervous to accept the feather. Instead, he thoughtlessly asks, “Lanna! That is a blue feather! Do you even know what that's for?!”

Lanna frowns angrily and yells, “Of course I do! I'm basically allowing you the honor to marry me! I know I'm not a country bumpkin, but I do know these things at least!” She then turns away and continues, “If you don't want it, you don't have to accept it! But I thought that my little gift would make you happy. But I guess I was wrong! I'm going back to the hotel, goodbye!”

Before Lanna has a chance to take a single step away, Mark quickly holds her hand. Lanna then looks back, and sees the warm gentle smile she always has seen in Mark's face. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I was a bit shocked that's all. And if your sure about it, I would love to have you as my wife.” he said.

Lanna gasps with excitement as Mark accepts the blue feather from her. She then jumps, giving Mark the biggest hug he has ever received. Afterwards, they share a kiss as a newly engaged couple.

Chelsea, feeling beaten by Lanna, walks out of the farm soon after the proposal. She didn't say a word to them, not even a word of congratulations. She only wants them to enjoy their moment in peace. Halfway back to her farm, Chelsea stops and looks back saying, “Look at that! Now I feel a bit jealous. But I guess I was wrong about her, she did come back for him after all.”

“Excuse me.” said a tall dark man from behind Chelsea. She turns around and finds one of her more recent friends who has moved into the island not too long ago. He's a fisherman who came to the island with his trusted black bird to work in the island.

“Oh hey Danny! What's up?” answered Chelsea.

He presented his gift to Chelsea and says, “I caught this fish today. I have enough fish to eat at home, so I thought you may like it.”

Chelsea accepts her gift cheerfully and says, “Thank you. It's a big one, I bet it's going to be great!”

Danny then looks to the side while scratching his cheek nervously and says, “Actually, I have something I want to tell you. . . You see, I've always had a crush on you ever since we first met. I was wondering if we could, you know. . . Go out sometime?”

The confession caught her off guard. She always thought he was cool, and she always felt that his bird is quite cute. So she blushes happily, and says, “Sure, I would like that.”

Time passes quickly in the island. About a week later, Lanna and Mark gets married, and about a year after that, their son is born. About the same time Mark's son is born, Chelsea also gets Married to Danny, and everyone lives happily in the small Island.

[Pickle]

*claps* Yay! Everyone gets a happy ending.

Except for the manager maybe, but who cares about him?

[Juxapose]

I'll be working on Harvest Moon: Melody of the heart next. There's only about 3 chappies left to go, so it won't take long to finish. Root for me!

P.S.

I forget that I owe everyone a chapter of Once and Future Love. I'll get started on that soon.