Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

- - - - - Chapter 1: Breathless - - - - -

…I wasn't sure what to think. Everything was happening so fast – it was all so surreal to me. Standing there in front of a disheveled farm and a poorly built ranch house… I wasn't sure what to think and I stood there dumbfounded. I was never the type of person to come out and just cry, but it happened. My eyes became glazed over and the tears began to fall. I did nothing to stop them; I barely noticed the tears roll down my cheeks. My mouth didn't twitch and my nose didn't run…

I was young, 16 years young to be exact. I was a city girl and I was a music junkie. To me, nothing else mattered but the melodic rhythms that consumed me... that devoured my very soul. I was in a band with the love of my life and three of my best friends… We named the band Breathless. I dropped out of school and got a low-paying job when I was 15 to pursue our band. It was all I wanted… all I ever dreamed of. Breathless was what kept me going on, what kept the blood in my veins pumping. I was an aspiring vocalist; I wanted to dominate the world. I wanted… to leave the world completely and utterly… breathless.

Breathless was just starting to get big. We had more and more gigs as the months that passed us. Every show we played, the more adoring fans we conceived… and as you could have guessed, we left them utterly breathless. We came and dominated each and every soul. We left them screaming for more, more, more… Stomping their feet and crying out for us. But that pure ecstasy and bliss I had was soon to be shattered.

My band mates and I were all walking back to our studio after an all-out-blast gig we just had. It was December 24th and we were all drunk and having the time of our lives. I was being carried on Ridge's back (my boyfriend and the bassist for our band) and we were followed by our two lunatic guitarists and drummer laughing at something hysterical. Ridge and I thought nothing of it – we were all drunk and couldn't think straight. All we had on our mind was pure bliss, pure happiness, pure freedom… We all crashed at our studio that night, we were worn out and it was Christmas Eve; everyone was on vacation after all.

It was December 26th… Just two days later from the best gig our band ever had. The phone rang and Ridge picked it up answering with a soft "hello?"… I became worried as Ridge's face turned pale. I wasn't sure what happened on the phone, he replied with such short sentences. He slowly turned to me and looked me dead in the eye and told me it was the police. He had told me that the police said Jesse, Adam, and Justin nearly killed three teenagers on the street two nights ago. My mind raced… was that why they were laughing so coldly and hysterically? I knew the three of them were delinquents, druggies… I knew they picked fights but I also knew they were good at heart. It turned out those three teenagers were the sons of an important company somewhere in the city. I couldn't fathom Ridge's words, I felt sick and rushed to the bathroom to puke.

That was it for the band. We were forced to disband, our record company didn't want anything to do with us – no matter how good we were. My purpose in my life was taken away from me so abruptly. The one thing I held so close to me, the one thing I cherished the most, the one thing I gave everything in my life up for… was ripped from my clutches and left me there to bleed and run dry.

Jesse, Adam, and Justin left. I wasn't exactly sure where… no one told me anything. It was rumored they fled the country and were in different sections in Europe. They would never be able to lead a life in music again… neither was I or Ridge.

After the disbandment, Ridge and I tried to remain strong. Strong to support us. But it didn't last… Nearly half a year after our band incident, Ridge left me. For reasons I still couldn't comprehend in my mind. I was beyond broken, beyond repair… Breathless and Ridge were the things in my life that I dearly and sincerely loved and in the end, I was left with nothing.

I came upon an article in the newspaper… "the exciting ranch plan". I scoffed at the idea but decided to take up the offer.

And here I am…

- - - - - End: Breathless - - - - -

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- Tara