Harvest Moon: Blueberry Pie

[Juxapose]

I decided to write this story to get back in the groove of writing stories. It's not a special story, just a remake of one of my older stories. You may already know the content and the ending, but read it anyway, You might like it.

Harvest Moon: Blueberry Pie

There is a place far away from the rustle and bustle of the busy city life. A small village where is home to a small number of individuals who yearn for the calm tranquil of country life. A place where everyone knows and helps one another. This small piece of paradise exists in the middle of a dense forest sandwiched between an ocean, and a tall mountain. This place is called Flowerbud Village.

Surprisingly, there are many things to do in this remote village. Many residents spend their days walking around enjoying the beautiful vies. Others spend their days fishing and harvesting for a living. Residents gather together several times a year to sing and dance at festivals. Even on non-festival days, they gather at café’s and inns to chat about the busy lives they came to live.

Every resident has their story. But this story begins a bit differently. The village has recently built a sanitarium behind the local clinic. This building was especially built to resemble a home, so a special guest can live in it peacefully. This new resident will need to live in this hospital/home hybrid for the rest of her life.

A few days after the sanitarium is built, a limousine pulls into the village, and parks at the side of the sanitarium. The side door opens, and a young nurse walks out to take a good look at the sanitarium. After giving her approval, she moves to the other side of the limo, and opens the door.

“Dia, we are here. From now on, this is going to be our new home!” said the young nurse while opening the limo door. “The sanitarium looks a lot nicer than the doctor told us about. Come out and take a look yourself.”

A young girl then steps out of the limo, and takes a look at the sanitarium. The building is brand new, but the style looks old fashioned and rustic. Completely contradictory to Dia’s clothes that looks more modern and sophisticated. She then takes a quick look around at the rest of the village, and she frowns. Nothing but miles of dirt roads rather than the streets and sidewalks she is used to. Even though she is wearing a green dress, she feels that it does not match with the rest of the foliage. She feels that her new mary-jane shoes will get dirty and scratched from the dirt and pebbles on the ground. And she feels that the pollen in the air won’t be good for her jet black medium short hair.

She adjusts her gold colored circlet before saying, “Gina, why do I have to live in a sanitarium? Why can't I just go back home?”

The nurse named Gina sighs and answers, “You know what the doctor said. It's best for your health to stay in a place where you'll be taken care of. You don't like living in a hospital, so this is a better alternative. It's almost like living in a normal house.”

Dia sighs and says, “Fine, whatever. As long as I don't live in a hospital, then this will have to do. But I was hoping I would live someplace closer to home.”

“Everything is going to be okay, I’m right here with you.”

Dia nods. Gina is Dia’s nurse. They both met after Dia was hospitalized three years ago. Now they’ve become good friends. Gina was then hired by Dia’s family to care for her in Flowerbud Village. Gina had no family at home, so she gladly decided to start a new life with Dia.

The next day, Dia was introduced to the medic of Flowerbud Village, Doctor Alex. She found it quite surprising that Alex is so young, only a few years older than Gina. He also has medium long jet black hair, but his hair was loose, while Dia’s was held back by her circlet.

“Let’s see. . .” said Alex while he reviews Dia’s medical charts that came in the mail. “Your name is Dia, age 23, blood type O-. Looks like you had quite an accident some years ago.”

Dia nods quietly as Alex continues to review her charts. “Okay, I get why you are here, but I’ll need to examine you thoroughly. I’ll need to see some of your injuries.”

Dia nods, and turned her back to show the doctor her scars. She is somewhat comfortable with undressing partially; she had many doctors look at her before. She unbuttons the back of her dress and exposes her back. Alex cringes as he sees the large scars on her back that is hidden under her dress. According to his charts, Dia has more scars elsewhere on her body.

“That must have been quite an accident. It’s a miracle that you’re alive right now,” he comments.

“If you call this living,” Dia snaps as she covers herself again. “I can’t move around a lot, I need to live under the care of a doctor or nurse, I can’t live a normal life, and now I must live in a cottage for the rest of my life in a hick town.”

“It’s not so bad,” said Gina. “After all, I’m here with you, and we’ll be together forever. So you won’t be alone.”

Dia grunts as she looks away. Gina only smiles, considering that this is normal for Dia. The doctor then puts away the charts and says, “Well, it’s not perfect place, but I’m sure you’ll like it here. The air is clean, the people are friendly, and there is no noise or flashing lights keeping you awake. Hopefully, they’ll be a new treatment sooner or later that might allow your body to recover a bit better.”

Dia sighs. She has no hope that she’ll ever get better. After all, she’s not sick, but her body is weak from an accident that happened earlier. Even though she came to the village with a good friend, she doesn’t think she can come to trust anyone else. She would rather be alone, than hurt even more.

To be continued.

[Pickle]

When shall it be continued?

[Juxapose]

Time for an update!

Part 2

Several weeks have passed in the small village called Flowerbud Village. Dia continues living in the second floor of the sanitarium. Even though the spring air is inviting, she has not left the building once. She only goes down to the lower floor to see Doctor Alex.

Dia spends her time reading books that Gina bring back from the library. Gina is her only connection to the outside world, she brings her food, books, and other things she needs to live comfortably. Some random villagers find their way into the sanitarium, but nobody goes upstairs. Every time she hears a random villager inside, she just hides and stays still pretending that nobody's home. Because she keeps herself hidden, nobody in the village other than Gina and Alex know that Dia lives there.

Gina has tried her best to convince Dia to even take a step outside, but Dia always resists. Every now and then, she would take a look outside the window and see the happy villagers move around freely. Every time she does, she feels envious that she can't even share the liberty to walk to the library without help. Since she can't walk with them, she prefers not to socialize and feel left out.

On a clear spring day, Dia takes a look out her window and sees the birds flying around the village. Nobody is around, so she can stare all she wants without being seen. As she stares, Gina walks up to her, and asks, “It's a beautiful day, isn't it?”

“Sure.” answered Dia in her usual emotionless tone.

Gina smiles and continues, “It's such a perfect day for a picnic. I know that soon we will be able to go outside and enjoy a day like today.”

Dia remains quiet.

“I received a letter from your father,” said Gina gaining Dia's full attention. “He wrote that he has made a generous donation to the hospital at our hometown. With it, he expects medical science to advance and find good treatments so we can enjoy days like today.”

“Even if daddy donates everything he has to science,” answered Dia. “It still would take years before they make any progress at all.”

“It's possible. . .”

Dia then continues to stare outside the window to watch the birds. Gina then says, “Dia, I am heading to the market. Do you need me to pick something up for you? I heard the blueberry pie is good today! Shall I get you a piece?”

“A blueberry pie would be nice,” answered Dia

Gina nods in response, and leaves to get some pie from the Cafe. Not too long after she leaves, Dia decides to read a book until she comes back. What she doesn't know that the Sanitarium is getting an unexpected visitor.

Pete, the local farmer of Flowerbud Village is taking a random stroll around. He stops at the Sanitarium, and takes a look at it. He has never been inside, and becomes curious to see who lives inside. He then decides to pay a visit, it's open to the public after all.

He goes inside, and takes a look. He finds the odd mix of traditional village house and clinic to be quite interesting. There is normal furnishing for visitors, but medical equipment scattered around as well. As he looks around, he thinks nobody lives here yet.

But as he walks around the sanitarium quietly, Dia lightly sneezes from the chilly spring air coming into the Sanitarium's open window. Pete hears the sneeze, and notices the stairs leading to the second floor. There are no signs saying that he cannot go upstairs, so he decides to take a look.

As Pete walks upstairs, Dia closes her book, and places it in the bookshelf. By this time, she hears someone coming up the stairs. At first, she thought that it was Gina coming back from the market. But as she looks back, she sees a complete stranger looking at her from the stairwell.

As soon as she sees him, she hides behind a nearby curtain. But even though she is hiding, she does take a good look at her guest. His clothing makes it obvious that he is a farmer with his blue overalls, white t-shirt with a few dirt stains, a red bandanna around his neck, and a blue baseball cap on his head. Even though his average height and medium brown hair is nothing special to look at, she does find his baby blue eyes to be quite charming.

Pete looks over trying to figure out why is she hiding from him. There was a moment of awkward silence before Dia says, “Who are you? What do you want?”

Pete lets out a sigh of relief and answers, “Hello, my name is Pete. I heard a rumor that someone moved here, so I wanted to introduce myself.” The silence returns for a moment, so Pete continues, “Why are you hiding, I won't bite.”

Pete tries to approach Dia, but she moves deeper into the curtain as soon as he budges. “Please, go away. I wish to be left alone.” she told him.

Pete doesn't want to scare Dia, so he begins to leave. But before he does, he asks, “Can I at least have your name?”

“It's Dia, now please go.” she answered. With that, Pete leaves the sanitarium.

On his way out, Pete runs into Gina who is coming back from the market. “Oh! Hello there Pete,” says Gina.

“Hey Gina.” answered Pete. Pete has met Gina several times before around the village, and in his farm buying vegetables. “Do you live here?”

“Yes I do. Did you come to see me about something?”

“Not really, I heard that someone moved here, and I wanted to introduce myself. I should have figured that it was you.” He then points to the stairs leading up and asks, “By the way, there is another girl here named Dia, what's her story?”

Gina gasps and says, “oh dear! She must have been surprised to see you up there.”

“I guess so. Sorry about that.”

Gina nods and says, “Dia is a close friend of mine, we both moved here together.”

“I see,” responds Pete. He then takes a whiff and smells the aroma of blueberry pie coming from the basket Gina's holding. “Smells good, is that a piece of pie?”

“Yes, it's blueberry pie. It's Dia's favorite.”

“Okay.” He then takes a look at the stairs leading up. For a moment, he wanted to go back up with Gina and apologize for appearing out of the blue. But remembering what Dia said, he doesn't think he should.

“Is everything okay?” asked Gina.

“No, I'm just about to go home. Bye then!”

“Take care,” Gina responds with a bow. After Pete leaves, Gina walks upstairs to check on Dia. At first, Dia was still hiding, but she comes out as soon as she sees Gina.

“Looks like you made a new friend,” Gina said randomly.

“Leave me alone. . . ,” responded Dia. She then goes back to her seat where Gina gives her the pie to enjoy. As she eats, Dia was tempted to take a look outside. But she then slaps herself remembering that she vowed never to trust anyone other then Gina again. And after how cold and mean she was to him, she feels sure that she'll never see him again.

[Butterscotch]

I think your writing has improved; the new chapter flowed better than the first. However, the second chapter has more problems with tense changes than the first. I know I bug you about that, but I find them jarring, much more so than spelling or grammar mistakes.

I feel bad for Dia; poor thing. I always assumed she was just sickly, so the accident is a pretty fresh idea. Is that canon or your own idea?

[Juxapose]

The accident thing was my own idea. After watching Clannad and hating it (don't ask why, I would be writing for days on the subject), I have developed a hatred of fakey illnesses. I wanted Dia to have a more realistic reason why she needs to be in a hospital-like environment at all times. I am not 100% sure if accidents can cause a terminal weakness. But I feel that if you survived a massive accident, your body will not function the same.

About the tense issue I have:

Please forgive me that I don't spell/grammar check my work. I just don't want to burden myself with hours of checking for every last detail of sentence and paragraph structure. I am doing my best to get back in the swing of writing, and extra work will bore myself out of the habit. I am doing my best to correct that, and don't worry, I like constructive criticism. It lets me know what I need to work on to be a good writer.

[Butterscotch]

I am not 100% sure if accidents can cause a terminal weakness. But I feel that if you survived a massive accident, your body will not function the same.

Nah, it makes sense to me. It's kind of similar to what I'm doing with Gray in Dream About Me.

I'm sorry if I ever seem mean when I give you con-crit; I know what it's like to do something as a hobby and to not feel like devoting a huge amount of time to it. Sometimes you just have to say "enough is enough!" and just post it.

I'll try and bug you less about it. ^^

[Juxapose]

Chapter 3

Pete comes home after a long day's work. He throws his bag of tools by the door, and slams himself on the couch to relax. He then picks up his remote and begins watching TV. It was quite a day at the farm, picking up after animals, taking crop requests from the other villagers, and checking on his other properties.

As he watches the tube, his mind constantly gets distracted with the image of the girl living in the sanitarium. It has been about a week since he visited the place. He has passed by the sanitarium several times since then, but never found the courage or a good reason to visit again.

That night after he takes a shower, he takes a look in the mirror. Looking into his own blue eyes, spiky black hair, and good physique, he thinks to himself that it's quite unfair that he's still single. He believes that he is a decent looking man, and having a girlfriend in his life is not such a bad idea.

The village may be small, but there are some attractive looking single women around. Working at the farm takes up a lot of time, but the nights are young, and the bar opens till late. There is also an attractive looking girl at the rival farm, and another at the ranch. As he continues to think about single women, he remembers the Cafe hiring quite a looker a few days ago.

After changing to his pajamas, he decides to take the plunge, and find himself someone nice to go out with. He jumps into bed, and imagines himself working at the farm with a cute looking girlfriend watching and cheering him on. Afterwards, they would go out, and have fun playing all sorts of games, and going to festivals together. He then imagines taking her home, and kissing her goodnight.

“I wonder is that Dia girl is single. . . ,” he finds himself thinking randomly. He then closes his eyes, and drifts into a deep sleep.

The next day, he wakes up, and goes to work. Like every morning, he feeds the animals, brushes them, cleans up after them, moves them around, and collects their products. By the time he's done, it's about lunchtime. So he goes home, and makes himself a good lunch. Living alone has made himself a pretty good cook, a talent he intends to abuse to get himself a lady.

After lunch, it's time to care for the crops. The morning dew has already dried off, so he needs to water the plants to keep them healthy. Some of the crops are also ripe, so he collects them in his basket, and drops them into a shipping bin located close to his house.

The day is now coming to a close. Pete is in one of his properties that he had purchased a while ago. In the plot of land, he has planted several trees to help him make a little extra money. He finds no problems with the growth of his saplings. As he further inspects the land, his attention is directed at some nearby blueberry bushes.

The property came with the bushes, and he decided not to clear them out. Around this time in spring, the bushes get filled with fresh wild blueberries ready for harvesting. As he harvests them, he remembers what Gina said about Dia and blueberry pies. Even though he originally wanted to ship the blueberries, he decides to store them in his home in case he'll need them.

The farm work is done, and now it's time to play. He takes off his blue overalls and hat, and takes a quick shower. He then changes to something a bit more casual and relaxed, like a pair of jeans, a short sleeved white shirt, with a blue sleeveless over it, and some black sneakers to complete the look. He then straightens up his spiky hair, and throws on some cologne for good measure. Before he heads out, he takes a look in the mirror, and compliments himself on how good he looks.

He heads out to the bar to start his hunt for a lovely lady. The Moonlight Cafe is open well over midnight, so he has plenty of time for flirting and romance. At the bar, he finds a small collection of attractive women, but none other stands out more than the bar girl herself Eve. Eve has that slender curvaceous figure that most men find attractive in any woman. Add in the sexy cocktail dress, heels, long blond hair, and slender red eyes, and you have a combination that would make any man drool.

Pete thinks that if he can catch this vixen, he'll surely be the envy of the village. So he heads over, and talks to the lovely young beauty. At first, they start to hit it off quite well. Eve is also attracted to him, and she shows obvious signs of interest. But as the night goes on, they start to hit some rocky roads. Neither of them had anything in common; Eve was not interested in farming, and Pete is not a constant late-night dweller. When the bar closed, Pete returned home alone and disappointed.

Several days later, Pete found some time to visit the Spring Farm, where the lovely Nina lives. She has long pink hair, and wears pretty frilly white dress like Little Bo Peep. Using his culinary skills, Pete made some strawberry jam, and fresh homemade bread for her. Nina loves strawberries, so he feels that he is sure to attract her. He invited her out to a picnic, and she accepts with a smile.

At the picnic, Pete serves his jam on the fresh bread for Nina. He then gets his flirt on, trying his best to get to know this pretty little flower. Even through they has a lot in common, Nina's personality was not as interesting as Pete thought. She was a bit excessively bubbly, and all that ever comes out of her mouth is flowers, honeybees, and her favorite fruits. A one track mind that would make a boring mate.

As soon as Pete had some more time off, he goes over to the Blue Sky Ranch and tries his luck with the more interesting girl in town, Ellen. Not too attractive, just plain brown straight hair and brown eyes. Nothing unique like the other girls, but she has that ranch girl charm to her, and would make a great mate for Pete. In order to get on her good side, he offers to help Ellen with her chores, which she finds quite charming. She happily agrees, and they both whistle while they work.

Just as he assumed, they had many things in common, and she was a lot more interesting than the other girls. They told jokes, laughed and had a good time as they tended to the animal's needs. She would be a great candidate for him, if it wasn't for that one small problem he forgot about. Her cousin Blue who also worked at the ranch is highly overprotective of her. As they made small talk, Pete finds Blue watching him from all corners of the ranch. He also carries a huge Pitchfork for what seems to be no other reason other than to be intimidating. Although he really likes Ellen, he decides to leave her alone so that he doesn't anger Blue.

The next place he tries is the Callaway Cafe. At the Cafe, he meets the new waitress called Katie. And did he ever become a fan of her looks at first sight. Katie is eighteen years old, younger than the other girls he already met. Her little black waitress dress can turn a few heads in the Cafe, making most girls jealous of her. Her hair is tied to the sides, and curled like Shirley Temple. Young, fresh, and attractive, Pete has to get to know her a little better.

He sat down at a table, and ordered the cake. Katie brags that she made the cake herself, and Pete looks forward to trying her baking skills. She came back with a slice, and placed it on the table. Since the Cafe was a bit slow, Pete took advantage and takes a moment to talk to her. Katie is from the city, and came all the way to the village to bake cakes. However, Pete made the mistake of commenting on her age, and she showed him her ill-tempered side. Her reaction completely scared him off, and went hiding in his farm.

Another week has passed, and Spring is coming to a close soon. Pete lies on his bed, and thinks to himself. Every girl he has flirted with has ended in failure. There are other single girls in town, but they are not his type. His only other options are to wait till more girls settle into the village, or just remain single.

After thinking about the week of failed flirting, his mind is once again on Dia. He has thought about her a lot over the last week. He is not sure why, they only had a moment to exchange a few words. And he feel like Dia was sort of afraid of him. But he can't get her off his mind. He wants to see her again, but doesn't know what sort of excuse he could conjure up to do so.

He then remembers what Gina said. Dia loves Blueberry pie, and Gina goes out to get some for her whenever she wants it. He also remembers the blueberries that he harvested earlier. Looking in his refrigerator, he found the blueberries he has ripening for Jam. He then thinks up a plan; the Sanitarium is open to the public, and he really doesn't need a valid excuse to visit, so he'll just go and see her. He'll bake a pie just for her so she'll fell a bit more comfortable around him.

The next day, Pete wakes up early to bake his pie. During lunch, he takes the pie out of the oven, and leaves it on his windowsill to cool off. As soon as his work is done for the day, the pie is ready for Dia. He places it carefully in a basket, and heads over to the Sanitarium to see Dia.

At the Sanitarium, Dia looks out the window with a book on her lap. Outside, she sees a young man giving some gifts to a girl. Although seeing things like that makes her feel lonely, she keeps saying to herself, that life is better this way. As she sighs sadly, Pete enters the Sanitarium. He did his best to sneak in without Dis seeing him from the window.

“Hey there.” said Pete trying to get Dia's attention. She looks over at him for a moment, but she looks back out the window ignoring him. Even though he is being ignored, he still approaches her cautiously.

As soon as he gets close enough, she asks, “What are you doing here? I thought I told you that I wanted to be alone.”

Pete smiles. He had a feeling that he is going to get a greeting like that. But still, he smiles for her and says, “I made some blueberry pie. I heard that you like blueberries. . . Do you like blueberries?”

“More than life itself.” she answered in a cold uninviting tone.

Pete then pulls out the pie from the basket, and says, “Well, I had some extra pie. I brought you some if you would accept it.”

Dia continues to look out the window, not once did she even make an attempt to look at Pete, or the pie. Rather than trying to persuade her, he places the pie on a table next to her along with a fork. “I'll be going then. I hope I didn't upset you.”

As quietly as he arrived, he leaves her giving her the space she wants. Dis continues looking out the window watching Pete walk away back to his farm. As soon as Pete is out of sight, Dia turns his attention to the pie he left behind. The scent of fresh blueberries is too much for her to resist. So she grabs a fork, and has a taste. A soft and gentle “It's good.” whispered from her lips.

To be continued.

[Juxapose]

Part 4

Several days had passed since Dia last saw Pete. She never told Gina that she had a visitor while she was away, but she did notice the remains of the pie that Pete left behind. Gina wanted to ask about it, but she feels that it's best to leave it alone. When Dia is ready to talk about it, she will.

But Gina noticed something different about Dia. She has been looking out the window more often, like if she is waiting for someone. The look in her eye insists that she has something on her mind, but even Dia has no idea what it is.

Even though she is looking out the window, Dia sits in a spot where she is not easily seen. Every now and then, she notices Pete talking back or forth to his farm, but she doesn't do anything. She doesn't hide, she doesn't feel excited to see him, she's only curious about him. He comes to her home, leaves some pie, and doesn't even come back for the plate.

Pete on the other hand, does think about Dia. Like her, Pete has become curious about her story. Why is she living in a Sanitarium? Why is she so cold and uninviting, yet she leaves her door open for everyone? Why doesn't everyone in the small village know that they have a recluse living in the newly built Sanitarium. All that, and the fact that he finds her extremely attractive.

He may not have seen her smile yet, but there is a unique charm to her that Pete has noticed. Her dress looks rather expensive, like those that you see on a porcelain doll. Her face has no make-up, yet she radiates a natural beauty that can only come from a lifetime of dedicated care. Her choice of words and accent suggests that she is highly educated, like if she graduated from a private school in Europe. All this just begs the question, why is she living in a small village?

Sooner than later, Summer arrives. The air is hot, and villagers spend their days either indoors where the sun doesn't bake them, or at the beach to cool off. While the other villagers are beginning to enjoy their Summer, Pete is in his farm sweating from the heat. The spring crops had wilted, and he is now planting tomatoes and corn. The animals are outside grazing on the lush green grass, which saves loads of time from manual feedings.

Since he has no harvests to pick, or animals to feed, he finds that he has some free time. Naturally, Dia comes to mind. He becomes curious as to how she is doing. Now that Summer has arrived, is she wearing something lighter than her long dress that covers her body from neck to toe? Is she still enjoying blueberry pie, now that blueberries are off season?

He makes the decision to see her once again. Blueberries are off season, but he has connections to get some from other places. They are expensive, but a good way to get on Dia's good side. He had already ordered them ahead of time, so he has what he needs to bake his pie. Breadfruit from the Spring season allows him to make the pie crust, and he knows some interesting blends of sugar and spices for the blueberry filling. All he needs is an excuse to go and see her.

As soon as the pie is ready, he places it in a basket, and heads over to the Sanitarium. He stays out of sight, and hides from a distance to wait for Gina to run an errand. He is not afraid of Gina, but he wants to be able to talk to Dia alone. Two is company, but three is a crowd after all.

As soon as Gina walks out of the Sanitarium, Pete tip toes over unseen. He wants to surprise her without making a dramatic entrance. Just a subtle yet unexpected hello to break the ice. As quietly as he can, he walks up the stairs, and sees Dia reading a book near the window. He smiles, and knocks on the railing to get her attention.

Dia looks over, and sees Pete hanging by the stairwell. She is rather surprised to see him, but she makes no effort to show it. She just turns her attention to her book like if nothing was out of the ordinary. But Pete expected that from her, but he is not worried.

He takes a few steps towards her, and says, “Hey there. What's up?”

Dia looks up at him, and says, “Can I help you?”

Pete scratches the back of his head nervously, and continues, “I was in the area, and I figured that I'd visit. You don't mind if I do, right?”

She looks down at her book, and says, “It's a free country. Do what you like.”

“At least she's not kicking me out.” he thought to himself. He then places the basket on a nearby table, and says, “I brought some punch and pie. Would you like some?”

“What kind of pie?” asked Dia.

“Blueberry pie. I made it myself.”

Dia finally looks up curiously and asks, “Blueberries are out of season. How did you make it?”

“I have my ways.” he answered. He then takes a slice of pie, and offers her a piece.

Dia accepts the pie, and has a taste. “These are Canadian blueberries that you used. It may be Summer, but it's still chilly up there.”

“You can tell, I'm impressed.”

“I have developed a taste for these things.”

Pete smiles. He is actually having a conversation with Dia, something he assumed that would be harder to do. But he was right about the blueberries. Offer her some, and she'll open up like a book. He then takes a slice, and has some himself.

After finishing her pie, Dia finally notices that she has let her guard down. Without realizing it, she has become friendly towards Pete. It is a bit late to be cold to him or ask him to leave, but she is curious to know why he has come back.

“So tell me, why are you here?” she asks.

“Me? I just want to talk.”

“About what?” she asks curiously. She was expecting the typical questions she would get at the hospital before she arrived in the village. Questions about her condition, her health, the accident. Too many questions that she may not be comfortable to answer.

“Tell me, why do you like blueberries?” Pete asks.

Dia is quite surprised by the question. “What do you mean? I do, because I do. There is no scientific reason why I like blueberries. It is like asking a lady, 'why do you like flowers', or 'why do you like puppies'. Of course, mother did like her wines, and she had lots of berries at home. I guess I just tried some one day, and discovered that I like blueberries over grapes, strawberries, apples and other fruits. I cannot think of any actual reason, nobody chooses what they like, it's just-”

Suddenly, Dia realizes that Pete is giggling. At first, she wonders why is he laughing. But then, she realizes that the question he asked was just meant to be idle chit chat, not something that merits a serious answer. Thinking about it causes her to giggle as well. It has been a while since she had a casual conversation with anyone. Even talking with Gina seems more like talking to a nurse than a friend.

Dia and Pete continue to talk about random topics. Just simple things like, “why is the sky blue”, and “what if pigs could fly”. Even though the conversations were pointless, Dia finds that she enjoys talking about things other than health and doctors. It feels like a breath of fresh air to her.

Gina came back from her errands about an hour after Pete came over. She was surprised to hear Dia talking and laughing upstairs. She went up, and found Pete there talking to Dia. She is also surprised to see Dia smiling, something she has not seen in a while. Rather than be concerned over Pete's unexpected visit, Gina decides to sit by, and allow Dia to enjoy her company.

Pete didn't stay long after Gina returned. But as he is leaving, Gina made an odd request of Pete. Even though Dia never asked him to come back, Gina asked him to make occasional visits to the Sanitarium whenever he had some time. Pete gladly agreed, and went back to the farm. Dia went back to reading her books quietly, but now she does so with a smile.

To be continued.

[Butterscotch]

I loved Dia's answer about why she likes blueberries.
What game is this based off? MM? Or StH or HoLV?

[Juxapose]

Magical Melody Mostly.

[Juxapose]

Hello everyone. I'm sorry, I haven't had any updates in a couple of weeks. I've been busy catching up with a whole bunch of stuff. My job is killing me, my house needs work, and I am currently dating someone new, and I think she wants to get serious. As soon as I have a day off, I'll post something new.

[Juxapose]

Hello everyone. It's me again. Sorry that I don't have an update today, and updates are REAAAAAAAALY slow. But I have good news. I just recently quit one of my jobs, and I have more time to do what I love to do. . . . WRITE!! However, the job has taken a great toll on my body and mind, and I will need some time to recouperate. But I have some great stuff written on paper that I scribbled during my break. I will be continuing a lot of my unfinished fanfiction, and starting some new ones. One of them I am really proud of, and will be my most personal favorite. Like I said, I need a little more time before I become active again. Wish me luck.

[Butterscotch]

It's good to hear from you! I look forward to reading them when you've recovered =D

[Juxapose]

Chapter 5

Time passed since Pete started visiting Dia. Summer days roll over one by one, and everyone in Flowerbud Village continues to stay cool in the summer heat. Pete continues to work on his farm, and Dia still reads her books by the windowsill.But that does not mean in any way that life is just the same for Pete and Dia.

At least once a week, Pete comes overto the Sanitarium to visit Dia. Pete always brings her blueberry piefor them to enjoy. At times, he wonders how can one person loveblueberries so much that she'll never be bored with it. He tries tomix up the recipe a bit to make the pie taste different, butblueberries are blueberries to him.

Pete usually does the talking duringthe visits. He talks about his hometown, family, friends, interests,dreams, and the reason he even decided to live in Flowerbud Village.Every once in a while, Dia would talk about her family, but it wasobvious to him that she tends to hide a lot about her past. Peteavoids the topic like the plague, but it has become the awkwardelephant in the room.

When Pete is not visiting, he dedicateshis time to his farm. The more work he does, the more time he canspend with Dia. He has no idea how he feels about her, let alone howshe feels about him. All he knows is that after a hard day's work, itfeels nice to have someone else to talk to other than cows andchickens. Even though being close to her brings him joy and comfort,the fact that she has a secret makes him believe that she doesn'ttrust him. He wants to ask about her past, but he is too scared to.He fears that touching on an unwelcome subject will ruin hisfriendship with her.

Since Pete has been coming to theSanitarium, Dia has been looking out the window more often. She knowswhy, but she'll never admit it to herself. She tells herself that sheis admiring the village from her room, but she is looking forward toPete's next visit. Sadly, her window is not in the direction of hisfarm, so she'll never be able to see him coming. She does notice himfrom time to time shopping from a distance. So many things she wantsto know that she'll never want to ask, even to herself. One time, shefound Pete talking to Nina from the Spring Farm. At first, Dia feltthe little prick in her chest, but that went away after they made abusiness exchange. A sigh of relief calms her, and she looks forwardto their next meeting.

The seasons change, and Autumn takesover the Summer heat. Pete continues to visit Dia, but he noticessomething. Sometimes while he is telling her a story, he finds herdistracted by the window. Most of the time nothing is happeningoutside, maybe the occasional squirrel or villager walking by. It'slike something outside is calling her, but he doesn't know what orwhy.

One early fall day, Pete arrives homefrom his visit with Dia. He is about to lay down for the day, butthen he realizes that he hasn't changed his calendar yet. It is thefifth day of Fall, and he still has his Summer calendar up. Afterripping the page, he takes a look at the summer events that arewritten on it. During Summer, he missed the Beach Festival, StarFestival, Firefly Festival, and the Fireworks festival because ofwork. All of them could have been nice to take Dia on a date.

Then he thought for a moment. Not oncedoes he remember Dia leaving the Sanitarium. He doesn't know if shehas attended any festivals, or even stepped out to get a breath offresh air. And if she hasn't, why?

Taking a look at the Fall calendar, heremembers that the Moon Festival is coming in a few short days. Hethinks for a moment, and the idea to take her out to the MoonFestival is born. He has never seen her outside the Sanitarium, oreven wearing anything different than her green dress she wears everyday. He imagines Dia wearing a cute Fall themed dress while having amoonlight picnic with blueberry pie. The plan seems so rich, he canalmost taste it.

The day of the Moonlight festival hasarrived. He wears his cleanest farming clothes before heading out toask his princess out of the castle. Luckily, he no longer needs tosneak into the Sanitarium, Doctor Alex and Gina are well aware thatPete is a regular visitor, and they don't mind him coming over to seeDia.

On the other hand, Alex and Gina hasalready sparked a little romance of their own. Because of theircommon carers, they both have a mutual attraction. Neither of themare very experienced in the department of romance, but they shylywork with one another while Dia is distracted with Pete. As soon asPete comes into the Sanitarium, Alex waves at him, and moves on overto ask Gina to the Moonlight Festival.

Up the stairs he goes to meet Dia. Justlike always, she is sitting there reading a book by the window. Hesmiles, and knocks on the railing. This has become like a doorbellfor him by now. And like other days, Dia smiles at him. A bitsurprised to see him so soon, but she is not complaining.

“Hey there,” greets Pete breakingthe ice.

“Hello there, you're here prettyearly. How are you?”

“I'm fine,” Pete then sits by Diaand asks, “you know, the Moonlight festival is tonight. I waswondering if you are willing to go out with me to the festival. Youknow, like a date.”

Dis gasps for a moment, then looksdown. There is a look of sadness in her face as she answers, “I. .. I can't. I'm sorry.”

Surprised by her answer, Pete sighshimself. “I see. I guess you're going with someone else then.”

“That's not it,” snapped Dia. “Ican't go because I can't go. Not with you, not with anyone.”

Pete's eyes widen, Dis is trying totell him something, but it's so cryptic that he cannot make any senseof it. “Why?” he dares ask.

“I just can't!” Dia answeredraising her voice. Her body is trembling, almost like if she ishaving a panic attack or a nervous breakdown. She wants to go, shewants to get out of the Sanitarium desperately. But she can'tphysically make the trip, and trying would only lead to explainingher condition. She's scared that if she had to tell Pete that herbody is weak, he'll stop coming by.

“I see, I'll just go then.”

As soon as Pete turns around, Diascreams, “I am weak dammit!!”

Pete looks back at her. She is cryinguncontrollably, forced to yell out one of her secrets just to get himto stay. Her outburst got Alex and Gina running up the stairs. Nobodyknows what just happened, they only see Dia crying with her facecovered, and Pete paralyzed with shock.

Gina runs over to comfort her friend,and Alex looks over towards Pete and asks, “What happened here?”

“It's all my fault,” answered Pete

Alex sighs and says, “I am going tohave to ask you to leave now.”

“Don't go,” yells Dia.

Everyone is in shock. Dia ishysterically crying because of Pete, but she is demanding that hestay. Even though Gina has no idea what happened, she calls Peteover. She can tell that Dia has something to tell him, somethingimportant.

“I. . . I have a weak body. . . Icannot go out with you. . . Because my body won't let me. . . If Imove to much. . . I'll pass out. . .”

Pete takes a deep breath. Thisconfession was very hard on her, almost terrifying. She is human, andher flaws make her feel uncomfortable. She didn't want to get closefor many reasons. One of them is to not get hurt. Another is so thatshe doesn't want to face her imperfections. But most importantly, shedoesn't want to be abandoned.

Pete places his hand on her head, “Iunderstand.”

Dia looks up at Pete straight into hisbaby blue eyes. Those comforting eyes that she has come to enjoylooking at every time he comes over. Those eyes like youngblueberries which she enjoys so much.

“I'm sorry that I made you cry. Ijust wanted to get to know you outside this place. I wanted us toenjoy ourselves outside for the first time. Please forgive me.”

Dia wipes the tears off her face andasks, “Will you stay here, and spend the festival with me?”

Pete rests his forehead against hersand answers, “Of course I will.”

And with that, Gina and Alex leavesthem alone to spend the day together. Later that night, they both saton the windowsill to watch the moon glow brightly. Gina brought themsome blueberry pie so they can enjoy with the view. Pete has learnedso much that day, but there is still so much left to learn. He'llhave to take it one day at a time.

To be continued.

[Juxapose]

Kinda weird how the original document has no spacing errors, but there is after posting the chapter. >.>