tamingthemuse | Prompt 120-Window-Buried Cosmos-tiaordona

Title: Buried Cosmos
Author: tiaordona
Prompt: 120, Window
Fandom: Harvest Moon, AWL! I do not own, by the way. XP
Summary: As Jill and Marlin's relationship expands, so does their tale, finally growing into something with amazing vivacity and responsibility.

Read from the beginning.

I am the river.

I am the silky blue ribbon that carves life into the raw, earthy crevices of the valley. I am the transporter, the keeper of the delicate paper boats of a child, the drifter of a pure white lily that erupts from my glassy surface. I am a mirror, a reflector of the harsh, livid sunlight of afternoon.

A day passes, and I am the forest.

I am the faithful protector of my valley, the tall and proud bodyguard of my dearest homeland. I am a vessel, suited for cradling life in my gnarled, branched fingertips. As the season change, I also…I abhor the frigid temperatures and embrace the mild, warm ones.

And yet, another day passes. And I am the sky.

I am the venerable painting that reflects the energy of the sun, the source of my vitality. I am the thing that disperses magnificent colors upon the landscape, the one that scatters millions of diamond stars on the velvety indigo of twilight. I clasp my valley in my palm and hold it closely.

This is life. A full circle that has yet to be completed. A single link in a perpetual chain, the universe. Life is all around me, surrounding me, enclosing me in a warm envelope. Life is inside of me…

Inside of me?

Something is growing. Something latches on to me desperately, seizing me and clinging tightly. Something yearns for attention and
passion and comfort…my maternity, and no one else’s. My love.

And a sense of responsibility curls around me, pulling me tightly into its unbreakable bonds. My heart thumps loudly, dully throbbing, a pulse that overtakes my whole body. The nights turn to days and the days turn to nights and time soars to the beat of my pulse. The being that I am harboring turns warm, then hot, and pent up energy explodes from within me.

The stars disperse, sliding away like a thousand gems, falling helplessly into thick silence, blackness. The colors of the sky lapse to an emotionless gray, closing a dome around me. The forest loses its leaves and wilts into a weepy mess of tangled wood, the energy sapped from it. The world stops.

An infantile wail quivers through the still air.

And everything bursts forth in a jumbled rush. The sky explodes with extraordinary color. The trees are sucked toward the sky, leaves and flowers blossoming from their bare, haggard limbs. The river gushes and bubbles forward with vivacity. The northern breeze chills me, yet the sun warms me, kissing away the cold.

All is still and peaceful, all but the high-pitched cry that sends a cold, jittery swoop to the deepest pits in my stomach.

My eyes snap open. I am lying in bed, Marlin snoring softly at my side. I clutch the woolen bed sheets closer to me, shivering and recuperating from the dream. Cold sweat forms a pearly pattern upon my temple, and I sigh, a quivering, hoarse breath. What on earth could posses me to dream such strange things?

Morning touches the world, and I roll to my side, glancing through my window. The trees have gone yellow, red and orange, following through to a spectacular finale before their petty deaths. A single leaf trembles and silently succumbs to force, spiraling lightly to the ground. The ranch is motionless, long and quiet under the cerulean sky of a new day. The window is a small box, a frame for the boisterous world it encloses. I hug my sheets a little closer, watching as the ever-sullen mist over the field finds its greetings in the air. The pasture is barely alight over the thick fog, the tufts of white clinging to the newborn sprouts of the autumn’s pick.

New life.

A cramp grips my lower half, paralyzing me. A splutter of pain escapes my cracked, parted lips as it squeezes me, seizing me in agony. I try to relax, but it doggedly hangs on, through my wracking breaths and half-hearted massages. Tears of pain gather at the corners of my eyes as the burning constricts my lungs, blocks the passage of precious oxygen.

I can barely see through the vibrant stains on the lenses of my eyes. It isn’t until I hear Marlin’s soothing murmur that I realize he has awakened to my suffering. His fingers lightly graze circles on my hip, his hands slinking under me as he gathers me into his arms. Settling into his lap, my head lolls onto his chest, and I absently place my hands on my stomach. I can feel my own muscles, twisting and trembling violently. Marlin places his hands over top of mine, using his rough, calloused thumb to stroke my whitened knuckles.

“Are you sick, Jill?” he mutters with a hushed tone in my ear. “Where does it hurt?”

I moan, a long pitiful whine, as I wait for my muscles to relax. And so the two of us sit in contented, golden silence as the morning stretches on. The pain begins to fade, ever so slowly, and I chase it away with the soulful strength, radiating from my husband.

Bile rises into my throat, hissing into it, burning into it like acid. I bite my lip and tighten my grip on my stomach, trying to calm the fierce bubbling in my stomach. But it rages on, and I can’t take it. I cannot take it.

I rip myself from Marlin’s soft embrace, jumping to my feet with urgency, but faltering in my tremendous weakness. “I…I…”

Marlin’s brow creases for a second, before repulsion swallows his expression. “Oh, Jill…” he murmurs, hopping to my side.

I rush into the bathroom, and my stomach gives one final lurch before heaving, flipping upside down. Foamy vomit pours from my mouth, leaking from my throat. My stomach turns and twists with every thrust, ridding itself of the vile liquid. After moments of violent retching, I catch my breath enough to rise. Marlin releases my knotted brown hair from the nape of my neck, gently bringing his cool hand to my cheek and patting away the sweaty dampness on it.

“I’m going to call the doctor, okay?” he asks slowly, his eyes folding tenderly at the corners with increasing concern. “It’s probably just a bug, but we don’t want to risk anything.” His guise is calm, but taut lines are still drawn at his mouth.

I sigh again, gripping my pained stomach as I reach for a jacket. Outside my window is a perfect painting of scenery. I yearn for that tranquility. If only everything in my being could be as peaceful as the panes of my window.

If only.

---

“Hmmm…”

Hardy’s beady eye narrows as he surveys the results carefully. Nervously, I fidget with my hands in the sterile waiting room, pulling against
my dry skin again and again. The seconds tick by on the nearby clock, slow enough to suffocate me. Marlin presses his arms onto my shoulder blades. The hurt, bottled inside of me, has slowly receded to a dull neutral, and yet nerves are mishmash in the pit of my
stomach.

Tick…tick…tick…

I catch a brief glance at the results of the simple blood test. Bright pinks and reds are evident in it, but the symbols are meaningless to me.
As the seconds drift by lazily, I want nothing more that for Hardy to flesh out words to animate those colors.

Tick…tick…tick…

Marlin clenches his jaw, bites his tongue, but the aggravation slides from him. “Listen, doc. Would you please tell me what’s wrong with my wife?” he snaps.

Hardy raises an eyebrow, and I press closer to my seething husband, huddling from the impact of the words that the doctor will speak. And the seconds feel like hours as the wait’s final moments simmer, and I know that I can never, ever be as peaceful as the panes of my window again.

“Quite frankly, Marlin,” the aged man starts slowly. “Jill’s illness is not necessarily something to be unhappy about.” And his features contort
to a smile. “Rather, I should be saying, congratulations!”

The clock stops. The seconds halt. The tension melts to unbridled euphoria as the impact of the words hits the two of us. In less than a second, Marlin’s face goes from sullen to joyful, ecstatic. And all the pieces fall to place at that incredible moment. A link in the chain of the universe…

“You…you mean?” I stutter breathlessly.

The doctor beams magnificently now, happiness that makes an ugly face like his, angelic. “That’s right! Jill, Marlin…you are going to be parents!”