Preface: So, I was reading a Sailor Moon fanfic recently, Flickers by Bainaku, and the premise behind it really inspired me: Basically, someone gives you a list of words, and if any call to you, you write a short story based on what that word inspired in your mind. I think it's optional as to having a time limit, although I gave myself thirty minutes for this one.

The Harvest Moon Tales Collection

ALONE

Monday morning sunlight danced through the windows of the Welvin household and its adjoining library, painting each of its residents in a soft, dappled glow. Each alone, each mired in their own thoughts.

Anna Welvin wiped her flour-smeared hands on her apron, slumping in her chair as she thought of what to do with the time she had while the cookies baked. The flowers had already been watered, the bushes were pruned, and her husband...

She sighed. Basil still loved her - she knew that. Every time their eyes met, no matter how casual and routine the occasion, she still saw how his gaze warmed. It always made her heart do somersaults, twenty-one years later. All the same, sometimes she wondered if he even realized all his research, his enthusiasm for botany, was eating into their time together.

Anna wasn't the sort of lover who had to be in the heat of passion or by her love's side at every second. Still, she missed making love to Basil nearly every night - now she was lucky if it was once a week. But she couldn't bear to tear him from his dream - even for a second. For all the regret she harbored, she refused to be an unsupportive wife.

And if it can help Lillia... and here I am, worrying about sex. Sex! He wants to save one of my dearest friends...

Anna kneaded her temples with her knuckles. Her head always did hurt so badly when she got into this mood - a tug-of-war between morality and honesty, knowing she felt childish, but still scared that the passion and fire were slowly draining from her marriage, even though she knew in her heart that Basil would never leave her, and never stop loving her.

Still, she turned a longing gaze toward the staircase leading up to their bedroom. What were a few lost minutes, a lost hour, a lost day of research, just to be touched again, to feel sexy, to feel like the most beautiful woman, the only woman, in the world?

Lives. Health. Happiness.

Shaking her head roughly in order to clear her thoughts, Anna searched desperately for something around the kitchen to help shift her focus. The dishes in the cupboards weren't all facing the same way. That would keep her occupied for a few minutes. And perhaps a lavish cake was in order... Basil's birthday would be in two days, after all. He always did appreciate the hard work Anna put into her elaborate decorations. It sometimes took hours to get the frosting just right. And the frosting would necessitate a trip to the grocery store.

Sealing away her loneliness to be dealt with at some other time, Anna got up and adjusted the oven's settings so that the cookies wouldn't burn during her trip to the store. Looking over her shoulder to gaze at the staircase once more, she sighed. They would be okay. Wouldn't they?

Notes: So, I've got three more of these to do, for the words "Relax", "Bed", and "Faeries". I'll get those written eventually, once I have more time and inspiration. For now, I hope you liked this. Feel free to leave any reviews, though, and if you'd like, submit some word ideas as well. I can't promise I'll pick a lot, if any, but let's turn the gears some, huh?