Let's try this story again: I had a few things I wanted to redo.

Harvest Moon and Characters (c) Natsume

The First Step Is Always Hardest

Seconds turn to minutes which turn to hours which turn to days which turn to weeks which turn to months which turn to years which turn to decades, centuries and millennia. This is the definition of time. Time heals everything: pain being the best case scenario. Does this include the pain off loss? Well of course. It may take years or decades, but time always pulls through in the end.

Chelsea knows this best. She runs a ranch on the Sunshine Island chain. She once lost something very dear to her; her young horse Storm. He had been a two-year old at least; full of energy and life. This life-filled animal was cut down in his prime though. It had been a beautiful summer day; a Friday, very hot and humid on Chelsea's second year of ranch ownership. Storm was normally running around so much that Chelsea could hardly catch him to groom him. But on that particular day, he was standing in one spot with his head hung low. Every now and then, he'd bite his stomach, or attempt to roll.

She knew something was wrong, so Chelsea ran to the local animal shop owned by a plump woman named Mirabelle. Though not an expert, Mirabelle could help ease Chelsea's worries. Or make them worse.

Storm had gotten into the other animal food in the stable that Chelsea fed all of her animals in. She fed her dog, Bandit, and her cat, Piper, in the same building to minimize the time it took to care for animals. She had watched when she first got the three to make sure they ate only their food, but after a while she just gave them their feed and moved on.

Big mistake.

Storm had suffered from a severe colic and had needed to be put down. It was an accident; everyone knew that. Vaughn, the animal trader, had thought otherwise. He saw it as Chelsea's lack of responsibility and suggested that she give up her other animals as a safety precaution. The animals in question included a flock of chickens; ten of them; two young cows and a sheep. Chelsea, in a state of numbness, had agreed without a fight at all. She was allowed to keep her heifer, Bessie, to keep some form of income.

Even after a year, the animal trader was still sour about the incident. He wasn't one to trust someone who treated animals poorly; let alone someone who lets one die. He had once been friendly towards the young rancher; would've even called her a friend. After the incident, well, he went back into his cold little shell and became quite a grouch; though not saying he wasn't one before.

Even after a year, Chelsea was still quite numb. Her property was in a horrible state and her animals could sense something was wrong. Bandit didn't bother licking her face to make her smile; it didn't work. Piper had stopped purring and rubbing her legs against the rancher; she never took notice. Even Bessie had stopped nudging her affectionately; she simply told the heifer to stop.

Chelsea wandered the edges of her property in a slight daze. It was summer again; another hot and humid day on the islands. She was getting tired of being numb; she wanted to feel again. She wanted to live on the edge of the world, kiss death on the cheek and run like hell. She wanted to fall in love and have her heart shattered to a million pieces, only to be mended by a new love. She wanted to swim to the Meadow instead of ride the boat driven by Kirk. She wanted to clean up her ranch and grow crops, raise animals and have a family again.

So what was holding her back? Her conscience? Her confidence? No. What held her back was the lack of willpower, lack of respect from those around her. She only talked to people when she needed something. She had stopped being the happy-go-lucky girl everyone looked forward to seeing.

How could she go back after a year? Was it even possible? Chelsea didn't think so. But the first step was in her hands.

No, literally.

She was holding a bag of corn seeds. All she had to do was plant them. With a deep breath; and as much courage as she could handle; she pulled out her hoe from her Mary Poppins rucksack. She made her way over to a bare plot of land and began tilling it to perfection.

As she tilled the soil, her three animals; whom were all lounging around lazily in the heat; looked up at her with piqued curiosity. Their master was working in the field. Usually, she just fed the three and went back in her house. She never did any kind of physical activity. Bandit got to his feet first and slowly made his way to his master; pausing every now and then to verify he wasn't asleep. He sat down next to a rock nearby and sniffed the air.

Chelsea looked up and spotted him. Her eyes had gone back to their original blue sparkle. She was healing, going back to normal. Even though he was a dog, Bandit understood this as a good thing. He rushed up to her whining and barking, jumping up to lick her face. Chelsea managed a small laugh, smiling as Bandit got her nose.

Upon hearing Chelsea's laughter, Piper got up from her sunny spot and stretched, parading over and jumping onto the rock. Bessie went to the edge of her pasture and mooed loudly. With another laugh, she picked Piper up and nuzzled into the soft white fur of the cat. Piper didn't appreciate being lifted too much, but kept the anger to herself as she purred loudly.

Making her way to the pasture, Chelsea put Piper on the fence and picked Bandit up as Bessie nudged her arm.

"You've always been there for me; all three of you. I get it now, I promise. It's time to move on and face the present, not to dwell in the past," she muttered to the three.

The three all looked at their master with curious eyes. Piper tilted her head slightly and blinked twice. Chelsea smiled and looked to the sky.

"I know it took a long time, but I think I'm getting better. I think I can do this, guys," she said turning back to her animals.

They all made their sounds in agreement. Bandit jumped up and put his front paws on Chelsea's leg, barking and wagging his tail. Piper purred and meowed a few times, curling her tail around her delicate paws. Bessie tossed her head around and mooed a few times before settling down.

Chelsea looked back to the sky. Time heals everything; even the pains of death, even the pains of loss. Time can even mend friendship. It may take some time, Chelsea had to admit, but she could do it. She could move forward.

All she needed was to take that first step towards a better way of life.