After Mikhail left, I rose and bathed my tired eyes and tear-stained cheeks before I slowly pulled on my work clothes. Then I saw the time and exclaimed out loud—it was already late morning, and I hadn't even started my chores. I breathed a sigh of relief when I looked out the window and saw clouds moving in as the radio announced the forecast for rain in the afternoon—at least I wouldn't need to water my garden. I hurried out to the pasture and tended to my livestock, then I checked on my hens and gathered eggs from the coop. When I was done, I hurried on into town. Kana seemed surprised by my lateness, as he asked if I was taking a day off. I shook my head and said no, I'd just gotten a late start due to circumstances beyond my control. He looked concerned then and started to say something, but I cut him off, telling him I had to run as I turned and opened the door, that I still had a million things to do and it was getting late. He still looked worried, but just then a customer walked in, so he simply nodded as I left.

After I finished my errands, I returned to my farm to saddle Lady up for the ride over the mountain. But when I walked up to her as she grazed in the pasture, I noticed she wasn't looking quite herself. She seemed lethargic, listless even, and I wondered if these daily rides over the mountain and back again were getting to be too much for her. She was starting to get up there in years, after all. I took her to Kana's, and he looked her over. When he was finished, he gave her a gentle pat to send her off to graze with his horses, and turned to me. He said she seemed to be in overall good health, just in need of a rest. He agreed that she was getting too old for the hard riding that I did, especially considering her age and size. I said she was nearing twenty years, but I was so fond of her, I'd never considered replacing her before. He suggested it was time for me to invest in a new horse, and said he had one he thought would suit me perfectly if I was interested. I agreed to take a look, although the thought of giving up Lady grieved me. Seeing my downcast expression, he assured me that he could find a great home for her, if I was willing. He knew the perfect place, a kind family down in the flatlands a little ways away from the mountains that wanted a gentle, sweet pony for their timid young daughter to learn to ride, where she'd have a much easier life. I sighed and nodded, then followed him out to the pasture.

He sent me to wait for him by the gate, and returned a few minutes later leading a small but muscular mare. She was pale grey with a darker grey mane and tail and dark eyes, reminding me of storm clouds. "Her sire was a champ at endurance riding, and her dam did endurance riding, too. So she's an ideal mount for the terrain here. She's a lot younger and stronger than your pony, and I've been working with her, both under saddle and with a harness. She's a quick learner. She can jump and everything—anything you'd expect in a good trail horse. I think she'll be perfect for you. Wanna give her a try?" I said sure, and he fetched her tack from the barn and saddled her up for me.

I mounted and walked her around the field a bit. "Hey, go ahead, give her a try on the trail. I'll wait here for you," Kana called to me. I nodded and turned her towards the fence. I urged her into a brisk canter, and we sailed over the fence with graceful ease before heading up the path out of town. I rode her as far as the bridge by the waterfall, then we returned to town.

Back at Kana's shop, I dismounted, and with a grin, I said, "Yeah, you're right, she's exactly what I need. I'll take her—what's her name?"

"Whatever you decide to call her," Kana replied with a laugh, as we headed back into his shop. "I just called her Stormy, since I like to give all my horses barn names, even if I'm intending to sell 'em. But don't feel obliged to keep using it. Give her a name you like, that you think fits her."

"In that case, I think I'll call her Nimbus."

Kana gave me an odd look. "Nimbus?"

I laughed at the look on his face, and explained, "Like the clouds—rain clouds. It came to me while I was riding her. She's that same mix of gray and white that storm clouds often have. Plus it sounds kind of like nimble, and she's certainly that!"

Kana laughed, too. "That's a great name. I'll be sure Lady goes to a real nice home, so don't worry about her. Enjoy your ride!" he called as I headed back out the door. I stopped to say goodbye to Lady, feeling a choked up as I stroked her nose one last time—I loved her and would miss her terribly, though I knew Kana could be trusted to find her a good home. He loved horses more than anyone I'd ever known.

As I headed up the trail, I found myself feeling somewhat apprehensive. I knew that, more than likely, somewhere up ahead Mikhail was on that mountain. I wasn't ready to meet him again, not quite yet. Not until I'd had time to think things over, too. So I stuck to the main path, mostly to try to avoid him, but also because the rain started to fall as I left town. To my great relief, I made it over the mountain without so much as a glimpse of him.

When I reached the river outside the Bluebell town gates, I spotted Cam on his walk as usual, carrying a large blue umbrella to keep himself dry. I smiled at the sight—Cam hated being wet and dirty as much as any cat ever did. I dismounted, and tied Nimbus's reins to a sapling, then strolled over to join him. "Hi, Cam. How are you today?" I called as I approached.

He turned and smiled at me as he peered out from under his umbrella. "I'm okay, just trying to stay dry. I hate rainy days!" he exclaimed.

I laughed and said, "So why are you out walking in it? Why not go back home where it's warm and dry?"

He grinned and said, "Maybe I will! Care to join me for a cup of tea?"

"I'd love to," I replied. "Want a ride? There's room for you behind me."

He looked over at my mare with a dubious expression. "Oh, I see you've got a new horse. I don't know, I'm not very good with horses...."

I smiled and said, "She's plenty strong, but if you'd rather not, I'll just walk her." He looked relieved at that suggestion, so I untied her and led her along the path, walking beside Cam as we talked. He looked nervously back at her once or twice before apparently deciding she wouldn't suddenly bite him or kick him or whatever it was he was afraid of her doing.

We chatted about one thing and another as we slowly walked towards the town. Then out of the blue, Cam asked, "So... how's Kana?"

I stared at him in surprise for a moment before answering, "Fine, I guess. I saw him just a little while ago, though we didn't really talk about much besides business. Lady was getting worn out from the long rides every day, so I went to talk to Kana about her. He sold me Nimbus here, and promised to find a good home for Lady. He's really wonderful with horses, and I trust him."

"Oh. I see.... Horses are pretty important to you, aren't they? I mean, you seem to really enjoy horseback riding, don't you? And I suppose since Kana also loves to ride, that you probably go together a lot...." Cam trailed off.

I suppressed an urge to laugh—was Cam actually... jealous? But I answered him with a straight face. "Well, yeah I do love horseback riding. I ride with Kana sometimes, but not all that often really. It's nice to have company, but he's busy with his shop most of the times I'm riding. And I do love horses, but not as much as Kana and Georgia do! Now those two would be perfect for each other!" I said with a smile.

He brightened up at that suggestion, and said, "Yeah, they would be, wouldn't they? Only, I thought...." Again he trailed off, looking off into the distance.

"You thought what?" I asked him curiously.

Cam turned and smiled, saying, "Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it. So hey, I hear some great musician has moved to Konohana? That must be interesting. Have you met him yet? What do you—hey, are you okay?" he grabbed my arm to steady me as I stumbled and nearly fell.

"Oh, uh, yeah—sorry, I just tripped over something. I'm fine. Thanks."

"Sure, no problem. Well, here we are at the gates. Are you still up for a cup of tea with me? Or do you have stuff to do first?"

Relieved at the change in subject, I replied, "I'll be over shortly. I want to say hi to a few others on my way in, and I need to check the message board and pick up a few things at Cheryl's shop. So see you there soon?"

"Yeah, thanks for walking with me. I enjoyed your company," he said with a smile, then turned and walked on into the village.

I finished up my errands, then joined Cam, Howard, and Laney for a cup of tea and a piece of Laney's delicious apple pie before returning home. Feeling a need to burn off some of my pent-up tension, I let Nimbus go at a gallop on the long, straight section of path leading down the mountain towards home. She raced down the hill, nimbly dodging or leaping over every small obstacle and irregularity in the path. I slowed her as we approached the gates, and we entered town at a brisk trot.

As we started to turn down the drive to my farm, Kana appeared at his front door and waved to me. "So how's the mare working out for ya?" he called as he strolled up.

"She's great, thanks so much, Kana!"

"I see you've been testing her speed!" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"What? Oh, well, yeah, kind of... but how'd you guess?" I asked, mystified.

"Easy," he replied, laughing, "You've got twigs in your hair!" I clapped a hand to my head, and sure enough, I felt little bits of twigs and leaves tangled in my disheveled hair. He turned and went into his house, still laughing, leaving me torn between laughter and embarrassment as I continued home.

That night, I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to sleep. The rainclouds from earlier had moved on, leaving the night mild and breezy, and the moon was waning crescent low on the horizon, providing only a glimmer of light through the trees as it slowly rose. I sat up, and then slipped out of bed, pulling a lightweight robe over my white cotton nightgown. I got out my violin case, then removed the violin and bow.

Stepping gingerly through the shaggy, damp grass in my bare feet, I selected a sturdy section of fence to perch upon, then I began to play one of the old love songs I'd loved all those years ago. I played softly, the evening breeze teasing through my hair and toying with the hems of my robe and gown before carrying the notes wherever it fancied. I closed my eyes as I played, simply feeling the music throbbing like a heartbeat through me. I played until the wisp of moon was high in the sky, bathing everything in a faint silvery glow. I stopped and looked around, admiring the view of my farm in the pale moonlight.

Just then I heard a voice close by call softly to me, "Please don't stop. You still play very well." I nearly dropped my instrument in surprise, and recognizing Mikhail's voice, I turned towards him. He stepped from the shadows of the trees along my drive. "I'm sorry. I seem to keep appearing before you unexpectedly. I didn't mean to disturb you."

He walked over to me and leaned against the fence next to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked, still breathless with surprise. "It's so late, I thought everyone in the village would be asleep by now."

He sighed and said, "I was unable to sleep. Too much on my mind, I suppose. So I decided to go for a walk, but when I reached the town gate, I heard the faintest whisper of music. So of course I followed it, and it led me here. I knew it had to be you, anyway—who here but one of us would be playing our old songs on a violin?" I nodded. "Please, don't let me interrupt your playing, though. As I said, you still play quite well. It's a shame you weren't able to continue your lessons."

I hopped down from my perch and looked up at him, and replied, "Yes, well... I wasn't really given a choice, remember? After that night, when I played for hours and hours, hoping that you'd come and you didn't, I put my violin away. I lost the heart to play it, once you left. I haven't touched it since, until only a few nights ago, when I heard you were coming here. It... just hurt too much."

He looked down into my eyes, and tenderly brushed a wisp of hair from my cheek. "All the more remarkable, then, how well you play. Most people would play dreadfully after so long." He stroked my cheek with his hand, adding, "I could give you lessons, if you like. I would so enjoy teaching you...."

I blushed at his words, sensing that he referred to more than just music. I felt my knees getting weak and steeled myself. "We'll see," I replied.

"As you wish," he said, and leaned down towards me.

I stopped him, and gently pushed him back a little. "No, Mikhail. You were my first love, and oh! how I loved you. But I can't say that you will be my last. It's been a long time, and we aren't the same people now as we were then. We don't really know each other anymore. I'm not ready to just pick up where we left off, as if the past eight years never happened. I need time... and to be honest, I just don't know how I feel now, especially since I'm dating—"

"You're seeing another man?" he interrupted with a frown. His pale eyes, dark in the faint moonlight, searched mine. "Are you saying you're in love with someone else? That you no longer love me? Because I still love you, Alice. I didn't want to—I tried very hard not to. But there it is. You are as integral to my being as music."

I leaned into his hand, still gently cradling my cheek, and closed my eyes. Right then I felt it would be so easy to fall back in love with him... but as I had told him, I didn't know him anymore. And then there was Cam, and possibly Kana.

I sighed and looked up at him. "No, that's not at all what I meant. I'm not seeing anyone, not like that. I've just been on a few dates, that's all. Until recently, I've been afraid to fall in love again. What I'm saying is that after all this time, I feel like we're virtually strangers. I want to get reacquainted with you. I can't determine how I feel about you until I know you better. And if you don't feel that way about me, too, I think you ought to. You've held all these different views of me over the past decade, and some—possibly all—of them are not who I am now. Please, let's just take it slow for now. No one here knows about our past. So let's get to know each other all over again, as if we really were strangers."

He looked at me a long while, then he sighed, and said, "If you wish it to be so, then so it will be. Tomorrow we'll be as strangers just getting acquainted for the first time. But for tonight...." With that, he pulled me close to him, leaned down, and kissed me—an intensely passionate kiss that left me dizzy and weak and sent little electric shocks down my spine. Then he pulled away, stroked my cheek gently as he gazed into my eyes, then he kissed my hand and, without another word, turned and left. I leaned against the fence, watching him slowly walk away. Once he had vanished into the darkness of the tree-lined driveway, I returned to bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep within moments of closing my eyes.