This is a Christmas present for rongirl98, one of my best friends here. :) :D

I'm so so so so sooo sorry that it's late. TT_TT I just couldn't really find the time to write it until today. -.- ^.^;

I hope you still enjoy it, though.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

The Perfect Tree

Molly and Luke sat in front of a small, bare tree, a warm fire burning and crackling in the fireplace. The tree was decorated with a tinfoil star, with paper garland and cookies and household items hanging from the branches.

Just twenty-four hours ago, Molly had had a beautiful seven foot tall balsam fir with mercury glass ornaments and sparkly silver star. She would never have dreamed anything would happen to her tree, and yet, something did.

~~~~o~~~~

The tree had come from the city. Molly had gone on a trip there just for that tree. She had boarded the ship on Winter 17th, stayed in the city overnight, and had come home on Winter 18th with a balsam fir in tow. She had then erected the tree in her living room, and Luke, her boyfriend, had come over to help her decorate it.

The previous year, Molly had bought several boxes of mercury glass ornaments online. They were beautiful, if not very fragile. Since their purchase, three ornaments had shattered and one had broken in half. But still Molly put them up again the next year.

~~~~o~~~~

Molly absolutely adored Christmas. It had always been her favourite holiday, and would always be. She had always gone a little overboard when the holiday season rolled around; she had at least ten boxes stored in her attic full of decorations, all of which were hauled down every Winter 1st and strewn all over the house in a festive way.

Everyone always loved visiting Molly in Winter. They enjoyed how her house looked like it belonged in the North Pole and how cheery, warm, and welcoming it always was. Of course, Molly never turned anyone away, and always had hot apple cider and Almond Roca or eggnog and cookies to offer.

~~~~o~~~~

The tree fell down on Winter 24th, Christmas Eve. Luna and Candace had just left from a visit, and Molly was letting her dog inside. She had an Airedale terrier named Bingo who, unfortunately, loved to torment her cat, a white Persian named Lola.

Lola was lounging on the couch when Bingo came tromping in, leaving a trail of melting snow behind him. He immediately spotted the cat, and went straight for her. He stopped right in front of Lola, gazing at her with his big brown eyes. Molly, who as too busy straightening a parade of Santa Clauses and Nutcrackers, didn't notice.

Suddenly, Bingo let out a big, booming bark. Lola hissed at the dog and ran away. Bingo tore after her, attempting to crawl through places he couldn't fit in. Molly spun around, her eyes wide, watching as her dog and cat chased each other, both precariously close to her tree.

Lola raced under the tree and, determined, Bingo followed her. Molly let out a cry as the tree shook violently, tossing ornaments to the ground, where they shattered upon impact.

"Bingo! Lola!" she cried, running towards the tree, flailing a Nutcracker around. "Stop it!"

But it was too late. The tree came crashing down, smashing all but ten ornaments and splitting the star in half. Lola and Bingo continued to run around the house until Molly kicked them out in the yard, where Lola hid on the roof and Bingo sat in front of the door, barking at the cat.

~~~~o~~~~

Horrified, Molly called Luke and started yelling at him in a frantic rush about what had happened. He told her to calm down and that he was coming over. After he hung up, Molly sat on the couch staring at the mess that used to be her tree.

When Luke arrived, Molly explained everything as best she could, and helped him salvage some ornaments. Afterwards, he lugged the tree, which had been damaged beyond use, out back while Molly cleaned up the broken decorations.

"What do I do now?" she asked, when everything had been cleaned. "I don't have a tree or any ornaments!"

"Well, we'll do what we can," Luke said. "Come on."

So the two of them went outside and started searching for a new tree. There weren't many evergreens on the island, and the biggest, fullest one they could find was only about two feet tall and had several gaping holes in it.

None of the tree's branches were strong enough to hold any of Molly's remaining mercury glass ornaments, so they had to find others. Luke pulled out a roll of tinfoil and some cardboard and, cutting the cardboard into the shape of a star, covered it in tinfoil. Next, they made garland out of green and red construction paper, wrapping it around the tiny tree.

For ornaments, Molly made cookies with a bit of glue mixed into the dough so they would harden and wouldn't fall apart. Luke painted each cookie, but when they were all hung, the tree was still a bit bare. So they searched Molly's house and pulled out several different household items to use.

By the time they were finished, the tree was decorated with forks and spoons, pencils, a few candy canes, and some fridge magnets.

~~~~o~~~~

All the presents under Molly's tree had survived, even if a few had had their wrapping paper ripped. She rewrapped most of them and, that evening, handed them out to all the villagers. She put all the ones she had received under her tree to open in the morning.

~~~~o~~~~

On the morning of Winter 25th, Molly walked into her living room to celebrate Christmas with her pets. She found it a tad bit lonely, without anyone else there, but Luke soon arrived and they finished celebrating together.

The evening, most of the villagers gathered at the Inn to eat Christmas dinner together.

"Merry Christmas!" Mayor Hamilton said as they were about to start eating, lifting his wine glass in a toast.

Everyone mimicked his words, and raised their own glasses.

Molly smiled as everyone began to eat their turkey. It didn't matter if her tree had been ruined. Christmas wasn't about decorations, trees, or presents; it was about spending time with friends and family, and having fun.

Merry Christmas!