Three days had passed since Isaac and Mya's wedding. They, along with a few others who had traveled abroad for the wedding, had left on a ship to go to Watersong. Life in the town began to return to its regular schedule. Everything was less hectic, and the town could finally start to relax again…

Well, not for Jowee.

That morning, Jowee was abruptly woken up from a peaceful dream by his mother, who was nudging his shoulder. But Jowee couldn't find the energy to open his eyelids. It felt early, WAY too early for Jowee to be up. He didn't want to get up just yet. It was too cozy and warm under the multiple layers of blankets.

"Hey, buddy, wake up," Inez whispered. "A friend of yours came over to play." She leaned over Jowee, giving him a gentle smile. She began to remove the layers of blankets burying Jowee in his bed.

"Come on, let's get you ready."

Jowee groggily sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. To his right, Mari and the mayor were sitting around a small table in the center of the house, sipping on some water from small, wooden cups offered to them. Mari gave a small wave towards him, setting down her cup.

Jowee's father was by the small stove in the back, stoking hot coals underneath the food he was preparing. The sweet and smoky aroma wafted through the air and into Jowee's nose. Jowee's stomach grumbled. It must be a banya flapjack kind of day… He knew that flapjack days could only mean something special.

"Come on, Jowee. If you get ready quickly, you can have a fresh flapjack," Jowee's mother persuaded. "How does that sound?"

This perked Jowee up a bit. He managed to kick the rest of the blankets off him, and shoved himself out of bed. He ran up to the table, and nearly jumped into a chair, causing the mayor's glass on the table to rattle. Who could blame him? His father's banya flapjacks were to DIE for. In his opinion, they probably were better than Cookie's, but no one would come up to Cookie and tell them that.

Inez let out a breathy laugh, as she examined Jowee. He was still in his pajamas, and his curly hair was a tangled mess. If she tried to comb through it now, it would probably break the comb. "Jowee, you do realize you're still in your pajamas, right?"

"I can't help it. Mari's here, AND Dad's making flapjacks," Jowee said, in his most informative tone. "And flapjack days can only mean good things," he continued, pointing at his mother.

"Well, you won't be eating with our guests looking like that," she said, ruffling Jowee's matted hair. "Come on, I'll help you get ready." Jowee hopped down from the chair, slightly disappointed. His pajamas were so soft, and cozy… he didn't want to get into anything uncomfortable.

"Bertrand, where did you put the divider last?" Inez asked from across the room. Since the house was one giant room, Jowee and his family would occasionally set up a few big screen dividers to give each other privacy in parts of the house.

"I think I put it on the wall by Jowee's bed; check there," Jowee's father turned from the small stove after flipping over a pancake. He gestured to the wall by the door. There it was: a wooden screen divider folded up, under the stairs, rested in between the wall and Jowee's bed.

Inez walked back to Jowee's bed to grab the divider. However, she had forgotten how heavy it was, and struggled a bit to drag it out from the base of the bed. She pulled on it a bit more, but to no avail. Wanting to help out, Jowee ran over and tried to lift it up from the bottom.

It was certainly a humorous sight to watch. While Jowee's efforts did not help them both in the slightest, they managed to drag it out in front of the nook of the stairs and unfold the divider. They stopped to catch their breath; meanwhile, Jowee collapsed on the floor, out of breath from all the efforts he made to help. Mari covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

Inez looked back down at Jowee, sprawled out by her feet. "All right, get off the floor, Jowee. You need to go get ready."

Jowee looked up at his mother, and began to act overly dramatic as he crawled limply behind the divider, which just made Mari throw her head back and burst into even more laughter.

Inez couldn't help but laugh a little as well. Oh, Creator, this kid of hers…

He was ridiculous, a huge goofball, but she loved her son for that.

Mari and the mayor turned back to each other, exchanging bewildered yet amused looks. Mari picked up her cup to take another drink of her water.

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, the only sounds ever interrupting the silence being the crackling embers coming from the stove and the wooden cups being placed back down on the table.

Jowee's father was the one to break the silence. "So, Mari," he said, flipping over a pancake before turning towards the table. "We're planning on going to the beach after breakfast. Would you like to join us and Jowee?"

The mayor turned towards his daughter. "Doesn't that sound like fun?" he asked. "It's supposed to be really nice today, too!"

"We're even planning on bringing out a basket of food to have a small luncheon there!" Jowee's father continued. "And we'll even bring over a few of Cookie's banya muffins," he said in a sing-song tone.

Now Chef Cookie's banya muffins were an offer Mari couldn't resist. Her mouth was already watering at the thought.

"Yeah! It sounds like fun!" Mari exclaimed. "Also, Cookie's banya muffins are my favorite…" she continued, exaggerating on the end of her sentence. She slumped her shoulders, reminiscing about those delicious, heavenly muffins, which made her father chuckle.

"Well, we can't resist that offer," the mayor added, gesturing towards Mari. "We'd love to join!" He paused. "Actually, Bertrand, is it alright if you bring Mari along with you? I have a few things I need to help out with today, but I could be there by noon."

Bertrand waved it off. "Don't worry, Edwin! We can keep a lookout for her," he assured.

Bertrand continued flipping the pancakes on the small pan, the batter sizzling each time he would flip one over. He stacked the finished ones on a plate, sprinkling each with a sweet, powdery substance one by one. He finished it off by pouring a small bottle of thick syrup on top, and brought it to the table, proud of his creation. A small amount of steam floated from the stack into the air. Mari looked at the plate with eyes as wide as the pancakes themselves. They looked amazing…

Bertrand came back with a few ceramic plates and utensils and set them in front of Mari and the mayor. Mari glanced towards Bertrand, back to the pancakes, and back to Bertrand again.

He laughed, gesturing towards the stack. "Go ahead, help yourself!"

Soon after he spoke, Jowee came out from behind the divider, clothed in a light green shirt and beige pants that were a bit short on him. His hair was frizzy from being brushed out, and while it was still wildly curly, it wasn't as tangled and matted as it was when he woke up. His mother walked out from the divider as well, tying her hair into a braid with a ribbon that was around her arm. She stretched, and then began to fold the divider back up again to put away. Bertrand noticed her struggling, and walked over to help her.

Jowee turned his head towards the table, only to see the plate stacked with pancakes and the three others already beginning to eat. He jogged towards the table, scrambling into a chair, grabbed a pancake with his fork, and began to scarf it down quickly and quietly. Once he finished, he dropped his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin.

"Dad, you did REALLY good on these flapjacks this time," Jowee said, wiping away a few crumbs from his mouth. "I bet that if you got into a flapjack cooking contest against Cookie, you would win for sure!"

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure of that…" Jowee's father responded from across the room, looking a bit sheepish.

Mari piped up. "No, really! These are really, REALLY good". She placed down her fork, finishing the last bite on her plate. "Like, they taste all fluffy and melty inside your mouth…" she described, using small hand gestures to exaggerate her enjoyment. Jowee nodded in agreement.

Overwhelmed with the flattery, Jowee's father looked towards the mayor, who nodded to him in approval as well, as he took a bite of his food.

Jowee's father was known for putting his all into things, even if he thought they weren't the best in the world. He would have rather be out of the center of attention, but everyone was being too kind today, flattering him on his cooking skills. He decided to shove those feelings aside for the moment.

"Aw, well…" He shrugged his shoulders with a grin. "Thank you, all. I'm glad you enjoy them."

Jowee's parents began to walk towards the table. They had just finished putting away the divider, which was much easier than setting it up last time. Still a bit tired, Inez slumped into a chair and stabbed a pancake with her fork, placing it onto a ceramic plate. Bertrand had already eaten, and noticed Inez's current state. She had bags under her eyes, and would often turn back abruptly to check on her other child, still asleep in the bed.

"I can take the two to the beach if you're still tired," he said towards Inez, then turned towards the mayor. "If that's alright with you, of course." The mayor nodded.

Bertrand bent down towards Mari and Jowee. Jowee was teaching her a rhythmic hand game. He paused, noticing his father bend down toward him. "You two ready to go have fun at the beach?"

"Yeah!"

He opened the front door and led the way for the two. Bertrand gave a wave to the mayor and Inez, who were still talking, and shut the door gently.

The three began to head eastward, past the mayor's house and towards the town wishing well.

"Um, Dad, the beach is THAT way." Jowee pointed northward, at a pathway with a sign on it that read "Beach - Up North".

Jowee leaned towards Mari to whisper something to her. "I think he's lost. The beach is over that way." He began to jog towards the northern path, dragging Mari along by her wrist. "Come on, we're gonna go find so much treasure…." Mari struggled to keep up.

"Not just yet, Jowee," his father interrupted. "I have to run an errand at the general shop. You wait over there," he said, pointing near the wishing well, just south of the store. "I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Mari, but especially Jowee, slumped over and dragged their feet over towards the well. It was surrounded by a small pile of gravel, which made the kids' footsteps much…. crunchier, as they kicked the pebbles when they walked.

"You be careful, alright?" he called one last time before heading into the store. The bells hanging from the door jingled as the door swung open, and then shut again.

The two were left leaning against the well. Mari slouched down, and began to pick at the pebbles around the well. It was pretty quiet between the two; nothing but the crunching of gravel and the whistling wind filled in the silence.

Jowee piped up, breaking the silence. "Did you know that this well is magical?"

Mari looked confused. "That can't be true," she responded, shaking her head. "Magic is only in fairy tales."

"But it's TRUE!" Jowee countered. "I heard that on the other side of the wishing well, you'd find a brand new village at the bottom. And not only are there raposa down there. There's other creatures there too!"

Mari's ears perked up. "Like what?" she asked.

"Well, I heard that there's these things called 'Humans' that live with them. They're like this kind of Baki, but they're like, NICE Baki."

Mari began to listen more intently. "Nice Baki?"

Jowee continued rambling. "Yeah. And I've heard that these humans don't even have ears. Like at all." Mari cocked her head in response. "I don't think I'd want to meet a human though. They sound weird." He shrugged and scrunched up his face, which caused Mari to laugh.

As Mari stood up again, she brushed off her dress and grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground. A few fell down from her hand and onto the ground again. She glanced at the pebbles in her hand, then back to the well again.

"Do you think they can get stuff we throw in the well? I wanna try something."

Leaning over the edge of the well, Mari began to throw the pebbles down the well, one by one. She listened intently as the pebbles dropped down, trying to hear how deep the well was. After a few seconds, Mari was left with a few remnants, which she brushed off from her palm of her hand into the well.

Mari pushed herself away from the "Hm… Nothing happened," she said, a bit disappointed.

Jowee caught on to the idea, picking up a few pebbles to throw down himself. "Maybe they want bigger rocks…?"

They both bent down and scrounged the ground for any pebbles that were bigger than the others. If they found something good enough, it was a possibility the so called "village" would give something back…

Mari found a few bigger sized rocks from the pile, and threw them all into the well, watching them fall. Meanwhile, Jowee was still gathering a few, when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something shiny near the base of the well. It couldn't have been a rock. Rocks weren't shiny like… whatever that was. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look.

"Oh? What's this?"

He sifted through the rocks with his hands, shoving them into small piles. After digging, he finally spotted the source of the glint of light: a shiny silver coin.

"Wait, Mari, maybe the well doesn't want rocks," he suggested, looking up at her. She had just dumped all her rocks into the well. "Maybe we should try… this coin…" He held up the coin with his thumb and forefinger. It still had a bit of dust on it. More interested in the coin, Mari let the pebbles in her hand fall to the ground.

"Try it!"

Jowee stood up, peered over the well once more, and dropped the coin. The two watched the coin fall down, down, down... until it had finally descended into the darkest part of the well. Funnily enough, the glint of light from the coin was starting to become visible again… but this time, there were five lights. They were floating up from the well.

"Woah… Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Mari asked, turning to Jowee with wide eyes. She quickly whipped her head towards the well again, not wanting to miss what was happening.

The glints of light began to become bigger and bigger, until they had finally floated to the top of the well and flew towards Jowee. He noticed that they were five shiny rapo-coins, just like the one he had dropped down moments ago. He tried to catch them with his hands as they flew toward his face. Three of the coins were caught, while the other two fell to the ground. As he went to pick them up, Mari and Jowee looked at each other, shocked and excited.

"Look at that!" Jowee stood up and held out the five coins in his palms. "I never thought the well would do THAT!"

Mari picked up a coin and examined it, still in awe. "Maybe it's the town saying thank y-"

She was interrupted by a stern voice. "MARI! What are you DOING over there?!"

Mari and Jowee whipped their heads around, only to be greeted with a very stern looking mayor. He was approaching them quickly.

After stumbling on the gravel for a second, Mari and Jowee began to run away from the well, to the side of Isaac's shop. They were definitely in trouble.

But why? It was just a regular old well. They weren't doing anything bad…

He speed-walked over to the kids on the side of the shop, and towered over the two.

"You know that well is not safe to play around! I cannot have you two getting hurt!" The mayor's expression turned into a concerned state, and his past-angered stance became less stiff. He let out a deep breath. "Please don't play there again."

"But we didn't-" Mari started.

"I can't have you getting hurt, Mari. You're only five years old; what if you fell into the well?"

As she looked up at her father's face, covered with anger and worry, Mari was unsure of what to say. She wanted to tell him about the coins that Jowee had received from the well, and how there might actually be a village down the well, but at the same time, she wondered, what if it was all just some made up story? What if she did fall down, and she got hurt, or worse…?

Mari hung her head down.

"Where is that father of yours, anyways?" The mayor turned towards Jowee, who gestured to the shop. It was a coincidence that Bertrand walked out at the exact moment he pointed. In his arms was a large quilt, and dangling from his fingers was a key on a chain. He struggled to lock the shop door, trying to keep a grip on the key slipping from his fingers.

As he attempted to close the door, he turned his head to find the three sets of eyes glancing up at him. Judging from the mayor's distressed countenance, Bertrand realized something was wrong, and rushed over to the two, leaving the key in the lock.

"Is something the matter?"

The mayor pulled him towards the side. "They were playing by the well. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but I'm worried if they get to careless, they might…" The mayor began to stumble over his words. "They might fall. Do you remember what happened with Karina when she fell down there? Who knows where they might end up if that happened?"

Bertrand wasn't sure what to think of the situation. He didn't mind that his son was playing so close to something so "dangerous"; after all, his family was all about adventure. The mayor, on the other hand... he had gone through so many losses. He could understand why he was so worried about the two, but he knew Jowee better. After all, it was just a well.

"Oh- Of course, Edwin. I'll make sure he avoids playing near there," he lied through his teeth.

The mayor let out a quiet sigh. "Thank you, Bertrand. I know you're probably all right with him being near there, but…" The mayor brought his voice down to a whisper. "I'm worried about Mari. I want her to have fun, but… I don't want her to get severely hurt, either."

"I understand."

Bertrand beckoned with his hand for Mari and Jowee. Their ears had drooped down.

"Come on, you two. It's beach time!"

The two children perked up, cheering to themselves. They began to follow Jowee's father up the trail, with skips in their steps. Bertrand realized he had left Isaac's spare key in the door, and rushed back towards the shop to grab it.

After managing to lock up the shop again, he turned the mayor, who was watching Mari and Jowee run up the trail.

"And don't worry, I'll make sure they're safe." Bertrand gave the mayor a reassuring smile. He sent the mayor off with a pat on the back, and jogged up the northern path to catch up with the two.


After much anticipation from the two, Mari and Jowee had finally made it to the beach. Bertrand had spread the quilt across the sand, taking in the little amount of sun that wasn't blocked by the clouds, while also managing to watch over the two kids.

"Make sure not to go out too deep!" he called out to the two.

While Mari had been to the northern docks with her father several times before, she had never gone to the beach to have fun. She waded into the ocean as far as she could go without getting the hem of her dress wet. She didn't mind the bitter coldness of the water; it wasn't all that bad.

Jowee, on the other hand, remained near the soft, wet sand that had been touched by the ocean. The sand where the land and the ocean met always had the best treasure, he believed. Digging with his hands, he began to form a hole in the sand, only for it to be washed up by the ocean when the waves flooded in. The waves would always leave him with a half-dug pool, slowly filling up with sand again. Jowee decided that the endless loop of digging and flooding was not going to work for him, and moved away from the waves to start digging again.

The only "treasure" he was able to find were pieces of broken seashells. Not exactly treasure, but the pinkish ones looked kind of shiny. He decided to keep them, shoving them into one of his pockets.

"Hey, Mari!" Jowee called out to her, still wading in the ocean. "Have you found treasure yet?"

"It's too deep to dig here!" she called back, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"What?"

Mari picked up the hem of her dress, which had become wet around the edges, and waded towards the shore. A draft blew from her left, and she began to shiver, realizing how cold the ocean water really was.

"I s-said… It's t-too deep to dig th-there," she repeated through chattering teeth.

Jowee noted her shivering. "Do you need a blanket or something?"

"I'm fine! Really," she assured him. She wasn't lying, she was having fun. She didn't mind how cold the water was; it wasn't as if it had snowed recently. The clouds forming over the town were about to say otherwise.

Jowee stepped into the ocean water. A chill went from his feet to his head. "How can you like how cold this is?!"

Mari scoffed. "It's not THAT bad." She dipped her hands into the ocean water, and splashed Jowee. "You're just scared," she teased.

"Am not." Jowee kicked some water at her, giggling.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

The splashing fight went on for quite some time, leading them deeper into the water. They were up to their knees in the icy water, and soon enough Jowee was soaked, after Mari had flung so much water at him it knocked him over. Mari was worried he might drown, but he pushed himself up, unfazed. They found themselves in fits of giggles.

Mari stepped back into a stance to fling a great wave of water at him, when she felt something smooth and glassy underneath her feet. Something that wasn't sand. She felt around the bottom of the ocean with her foot, brushing off the sand caked around the object.

"Wait, Jowee, stop." She reached down towards the object, which, to her surprise, hadn't been washed away by any waves yet. "I think I might have found some treasure!"

Mari grabbed the object out of the water. She was surprised to find a glass bottle with a note inside. The bottle was sealed with a cork. She held the bottle over her head triumphantly; the water droplets that remained on the bottle dripped onto Mari's head.

She made her way back to shore, treading through the water. "Come on! Let's open it!"

Mari walked towards the blanket, grimacing with every step she took. Gritty sand began to cake the bottom of her feet, and every few steps, she would try to kick it off. She multitasked the kicking with trying to pull the cork out of the bottle with her hands. She resorted to pulling the cork out with her teeth instead, which resulted in a loud pop.

She pulled the cork from out of her teeth, leaving behind deep bite marks. Mari sat down on the blanket, being ever so careful to not get any sand on it, and shook the bottle upside down. She pulled the paper in the bottle out with her thumb and forefinger. Jowee made it to Mari after struggling to wade back to shore, and chose to sit on the sand instead of on the blanket.

"What does it say?" Jowee leaned over the rolled-up paper. He was still soaking wet from playing in the ocean, and drops of water from his hair dripped down. Mari shoved him away.

"Hey! Be careful!" she whined. "We can't ruin this!"

"Ruin what?"

Jowee's father looked up from a book, and towards the two kids. His eyes widened, surprised by the possibility that the kids were able to find "treasure". "Wow! You two found that?"

Mari nodded, proud of her accomplishment. She turned back to the bottle and unrolled the paper, setting it on the ground. This was not the wisest idea, as the paper kept rolling back up. Mari resorted to holding it open with her hands. She glanced over the opened paper.

It was a letter, written in scribbly handwriting. It looked fairly old, but it looked like it could have been written fairly recently. Mari squinted at the handwriting, trying to make out anything that was legible.

"What's it say?"

"Hold on, I'm trying to see…" Mari held the letter closer to her face.

"It says… 'De-Dear'…. 'Dear Bea-ah'…" Mari stumbled over the words, still struggling to read the messy handwriting. "Spelled B-E-A."

Mari's face scrunched up. She tapped Jowee's father on the shoulder. "Wait, do you say it 'beeeee' or 'bee-ah'?"

He faced Mari, a confused expression plastering his face. "Bea? Spelled B-E-A?"

Mari nodded.

"Let me see the letter." Mari handed it over, proud of herself for reading the first two words out loud.

He glanced through the letter, and immediately recognized the handwriting. The letter was embellished with a leaning, swooped signature at the bottom, whose signature could only be the mayor's. His suspicions were right. This letter wasn't to just any person named Bea; this was a letter to the mayor's late wife.

Mari's mother.

Bertrand rolled up the letter and shoved it back into the bottle. "This letter isn't for you two to read."

Mari became agitated. "But why?! I found it!"

"Yeah, I wanna see what it is, too!" Jowee added. "It's treasure!"

Bertrand reached for the cork, pushing it back in the bottle. It was covered in a bit of saliva, and was slimy to the touch. He grimaced. His expression changed back to seriousness in almost an instant.

"Mari, I'll have to give this to your father. If you want to know about it, ask him."

She pouted, crossing her arms, and tears welled up in her eyes. "B-but I… I found it." Her voice had reached a harsh whisper, preventing herself from letting any tears fall out. "That isn't fair."

Jowee leaned over, trying to console her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "We can always find more treasure…"

Mari didn't look up from her spot.

"I bet that hill with that big rock has some!" Jowee added, trying to cheer her up. "I've found stuff there all the time."

He stood up. Sand had gotten into his hair (which was unruly as it was sandy), and all over his legs. A few stray grains of sand flew off, and landed onto the blanket.

"Come on, Mari. I'll show you. I bet the treasure there is way better." Jowee gave a solemn nod.

Wiping away the built up tears, Mari stood up, not fully trusting Jowee about his gossip of treasure. She dragged her feet behind Jowee, who was skipping away.

"We'll be right back, Dad!" Jowee called out. "We're going to the hill with the rock!"


It was a steep ascent up the hill (as they sprinted the whole way up there), but they made it to the top, stopping to catch their breath at a boulder that rest on top of the hill.

"Alright, where could that treasure be?" Mari wondered, slowly regaining her breath.

Jowee made his way to one side of the hill. Several types of trees and bushes were abundant. They looked… prickly.

"All the best treasure can be found in the plants!" He picked out a few berries that were hanging on a nearby bush. Mari sulked. How did Jowee find berries as an equivalent for treasure?

Mari marched her way over to where Jowee stood. "If we're finding treasure, we're finding REAL treasure." She crossed her arms. "NOT berries."

Jowee wasn't phased by Mari's frustration. "Okay! I bet if we go farther, there'll be better treasure!"

He began to shove his way through the bushes, the leaves snagging onto his shirt. Well, not only was he covered in a mixture of saltwater and sand, but the leaves topped it off. It made Jowee scratch at his neck.

Mari followed him through the bushes, being cautious to not rip her dress on the sharp leaves. The vines seemed to increase in number the further they ventured.

This almost instantaneously became unexciting for Mari. She turned around, trying to clear a pathway through the bushes.

"Come on, Jowee. This isn't fun anymore."

Jowee grabbed her arm. "Aw, come on, Mari. It could be! We just need to keep looking!"

She took a few steps back, Jowee following her movements. Much to her surprise, she stumbled backwards. There was no ground under her heels anymore. Or, her feet, for that matter.

They had walked right off the edge of the cliff, and Mari and Jowee fell, down, down, down, letting out a cry…

before landing face first into another pile of sand.


Mari pushed herself off the ground and brushed the sand off her dress. As she began to stand up, rubbing her shoulder, her face lit up with fear and awe.

"I've never seen THIS part of the beach before…"

The two found themselves in a small cove, east of the beach. The water was a much more vibrant, saturated blue, compared to the cooler colored water on the other side of the cove. It was also surrounded by thick trees and prickly vines, and a small hill from which they tumbled down divided it off from the main beach area, covered in more flora. It would be impossible to get back to the beach that way without getting tangled in the bushes. They would have to find a different way out.

However, there was one problem: how would they be able to leave? There were no exits. Well, at least not anymore…

The safest way out had been sealed off with thick, grey clouds, which were slowly growing bigger and bigger.

"This doesn't look safe…" Mari began to grow fearful. She tapped a finger on Jowee's shoulder. "We need to get out of here…"

Jowee, however, was not paying attention to her. He was observing the dark clouds, which were slowly growing in size, and approached them slowly. There was something absolutely fascinating and intriguing about them, as they seemed to scream out "adventure" to him.

Mari, on the other hand? A siren had been blaring inside her head as soon as she laid eyes on the clouds. The word "DANGER!" repeated through her head like a broken record.

Jowee was finally on the edge of the cloud barrier, and began to inspect it. There had to be a safe way out, he thought…

"Jowee, what are you doing?!" Mari was tense with worry. What if the clouds were actually dangerous, like she suspected? She couldn't bear to see her newfound friend get hurt.

Being the impulsive little kid that he was, Jowee stuck his hand into the shadow. Nothing happened. Little by little, he stuck his hand in further and soon enough, his whole right arm had been engulfed in the cloud. A cold wave rushed over his body.

"See, Mari?" said Jowee, fascinated. "It's not that bad! It's just kind of cold."

Mari grasped onto Jowee's other arm, unexposed to the dark clouds. "Jowee, let's go… this isn't safe…" She was trembling.

"Oh, come on! I'm sure we could make it this-"

He froze.

Something else had begun to grasp his other arm, from deep within the clouds, and was slowly creeping up his arm. It felt like a cold and… somewhat slimy hand. Another arm quickly popped out from the clouds as well, and began grabbing Jowee by his right ankle. As the hand came into view, peeking out of the clouds, it became more relevant on what the… thing… actually was.

The hand was made of pure shadow. It had begun dragging Jowee into the clouds with extreme force. His blood ran cold, and he stood paralyzed with fear as the shadow being began to drag him in.

"MARI, HELP! MARI!"

An expression of pure terror had been plastered onto Jowee's face as he turned to Mari and began to scream out for her help.

The further Jowee sunk into the clouds, it became colder, and colder, until his entire hand felt like it was made of ice. He needed someone to pull him out of there; it was his only chance to escape the dark abyss of clouds that were drawing him in.

He was thankful that Mari had grabbed onto his arm beforehand. Her grip tightened around his forearm, and she began to attempt to pull him out of the clouds. The sand under her heels made it hard for her to keep her balance, and she nearly tipped over as she struggled to tug him out. Nevertheless, Mari persevered.

Jowee's struggling eventually led him to get his arm free, and while it was still stiff from coldness, he managed to fling it out of the clouds, reaching towards Mari. He felt a tingly sensation as his arm came out of the clouds. He thought of it like the sensation of when someone comes inside from the bitter, cold, snow and into a tub full of steaming, hot water.

Mari managed to quickly grab onto Jowee's other arm, which was ice cold to the touch, and began to use all of her strength to pull him out of the clouds. It seemed to go a bit easier from there, as the only thing pulling Jowee the opposite direction was a shadow creature at his ankle.

After delivering one more big, final tug, the shadow creature's grip from Jowee's ankle loosened. Jowee came flying from the clouds, and face-planted onto the cool sand. He quickly sat up, brushing off the sand that was stuck on his cheek, and turned back to the clouds. He observed Mari facing the clouds, catching her breath.

She jolted towards Jowee as she stood up, which caused her hair to bounce a little bit. The grains of sand that had been caught in her hair when she fell onto the sand ended up hitting Mari in the face, and she flinched.

She approached Jowee with a careful mindset as he began to stand up, greeting him with a warm, yet tight embrace. She buried her head into his shoulder.

"Are you okay?! I was so scared!"

"Uh.. yeah. 'M fine," Jowee muttered, out of breath. Mari gave really tight hugs.

Oh, well. That wasn't what mattered right now. He was alive, for one thing. He returned the embrace.

From the corner of her eye, Mari could see the fog growing bigger. Out of instinct, she grabbed Jowee's arm again, and headed to the hill from where they fell from.

"The cloud is getting bigger," Mari sped through the sentence. "Come on, we need to get out of here!"

They both began to run towards the cliff they fell off as the cloud slowly creeped closer and closer to them. They needed to escape, and quickly. It was only a matter of time before the cloud covered the entire cove. If they didn't make it out in time, they would be trapped in the cove, lost in the dark clouds forever.

The two managed to hoist themselves back onto the steep cliff they had fallen from with the help of a boulder close to the cliff. It was a bit tall for them, but with a few jumps, they pushed themselves onto the edge and looked down, watching the clouds begin to cover more of the cove.

As they balanced along the edge of the cliff, it seemed much more… abundant in nature than they thought. There was no way they would be able to get through without getting stuck in all the bushes. They were all prickly, and thick, and… well, bushy. If they walked through it, they'd get even more injuries compared to a minute ago, where they nearly got pulled into a shadow cloud. On the other hand, if they didn't, they'd have to swim to the other side in their good clothing. The bad side of that was that they didn't know how to. Not to mention, the water was probably getting too cold to swim in…

Either way, they had no choice. The clouds had covered the entirety of the cove's beach, and they had to get out somehow that resulted in as little injury as possible. They quickly scanned the safest route through the bushes to take out of the cove, treading and shoving their way through the prickly leaves, trying to get as far away from the clouds as possible.

The two soon made their way out of the bushes, covered in leaves. A few twigs even managed to find their way into their hair. Mari and Jowee couldn't be confronted looking like this; their parents would get worried and scold them. Even worse, if they found about what happened with Jowee and the clouds, a serious town meeting would have to come into play.

Mari quickly brushed herself off and began to follow Jowee downhill, nearly tripping over a boulder that sat on top of the hill. Her father was not going to be happy with this. The way he had reacted when he found the two playing by the well made him worried; who knew what was going to happen if he found out about them almost getting pulled into whatever those clouds were.

Mari and Jowee were almost at the beach. Just one sharp turn, and they'd be back where they started. Just a few more steps-

Boom. Something tall was blocking their way, and they had run right into it, causing them to fall down again. They shook their heads and looked up, only to realize they had bumped into Jowee's parents and the mayor, who were looking down at them worriedly. Jowee's mother was grasping Lizzi, Jowee's sister, who was balanced on her hip; meanwhile, both Jowee's father and the mayor were gasping for air, out of breath from sprinting from the beach to the location where they heard Jowee scream for help.

The mayor bent down and scooped Mari into his arms. Bertrand and Inez did the same to Jowee.

"Are you two alright? We heard Jowee yell, and-"

The mayor couldn't continue. He was too out of breath.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Mari's voice was hushed. A lump formed in her throat. "I do need to be careful, like you told me."

The mayor gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about, Mari?"

Mari pointed towards the billowing clouds that had swallowed the cove. "Jowee almost got… pulled in there. Something was in those clouds... pulling him in," she choked out. The mayor's face went pale.

Big tears had formed in her eyes, and began rolling down her face. "I… I saw a hand grab his leg, and… it looked…"

"It looked like a monster…"

The two turned toward Jowee and his family, scooping him up in his arms. He was shaking, and his face was buried into his father's shoulder. Was it from fear? Was it from the cold? Maybe both?

They all decided going home was the best decision.


The mayor paced around the house for what seemed to be hours; on occasion taking a glance at his daughter, fast asleep in her bed. His mind raced.

How long had that shadow been there? What was in that shadow? Was this another one of Wilfre's tricks?

He needed to get his mind off what could have happened. Wiping his forehead, he sat down at the small table in the center of the house. Books and papers were scattered all over the table. He picked one up, reading the illegible scribbles at the bottom. It had something to do with the pay of a house being built across town, dated three years back.

Too old. He needed something different. Something… less understandable. Something more recent. Picking up another sheet, he glanced at an unfinished document.

A vacate notice from Cricket. He, along with his brother and nephew, was leaving in one month.

Reason for leaving: "Strange anomalies occur too frequently".

Below the written answer, a smaller line of text was written in snoopy handwriting.

"(Also, Unagi annoys the shit out of me.)"

The mayor pretended to ignore the last line, rolling his eyes in amusement.

That vacate notice was the spark in the mayor's head that told him he couldn't ignore whatever this was forever. Ever since Wilfre had ripped up the Book of Life, strange things had happened all over the town. Reports of warped buildings or disappearing structures frequently popped up, but shadow? With some kind of bloodthirsty creatures in it? The thought wouldn't go away.

A town meeting would have to come into play.


"Wait, so you're saying that we should evacuate the northern part of town? But it's in a good living condition! Do you know how crowded it will get?!"

A group of raposa had met at the Eternal Flame to discuss the fate of the northern part of town. It wasn't the best place to meet, as clouds darkened overhead and a chilling wind rushed by. It was uncharacteristic of the weather compared to earlier that day, which only had a slight chill. Spring should have been in full bloom moons ago. Several raposa were bundled in layers of blankets and coats, wrapped around their shoulders.

"I am just saying it could be a good idea to relocate everyone south! In case whatever that thing is spreads." A huff came from Cricket, who seemed unbothered by the cold. A visible cloud formed from his breath, which dissipated into the air.

"Why would this even matter to you? You're moving away!"

Another debate between Unagi and Cricket had arisen. At almost every town meeting, they seemed to argue about every little instance they couldn't agree on. This was the fifty-sixth time an argument had happened in one of the meetings. The mayor added a tally mark to his journal, keeping count of every instance passive tones would be exchanged, or if another debate broke out. The mayor, along with several others, let out a subtle sigh.

"Now, now, there's no need to debate," the mayor interjected, breaking the two apart from each other. Even so, it felt like volts of electricity coursed in the space between the two, as they gave each other dirty glares. "Tell us your reasons why you think staying up north would be alright, Unagi."

"I've lived in the northern part of town my whole life." Unagi crossed his arms. "My parents grew up there. It's an important place for me. I won't step foot outside there even if it meant being consumed by the shadow."

The mayor grimaced at Unagi's unsafe mindset. "And you, Cricket?"

He inhaled. "My job is to make sure the people of this town are safe. I feel if we were to let people stay in the northern area, disastrous atrocities could occur." Cricket's face fell. "You know what happened with Mari and Jowee. They're only small children. What if that happened to us?"

The group murmured amongst themselves. Cricket was right… but then again, he was moving away. Why listen to him if he was planning on leaving town in the first place?

Unagi huffed for a second time. "I can be safe up north. I'll go as far as Rapo City if it means I'm safe. And you cannot convince me otherwise."

He turned away, and headed up the trail northward, muttering to himself. "This is ridiculous. I don't need someone who's leaving town to find his boyfriend to tell me where to go."

Cricket covered his mouth to hide the embarrassment plastered on his face. Unagi wasn't completely wrong; he was planning on finding Zsasha, but… not like that. Not yet, anyways.

He pretended to ignore him and turned back to the crowd, who were still discussing their options.

"I think I agree with Cricket on this one," a voice from the crowd piped up. "Even if he's leaving, it's still a good idea to help out the ones who have to stay."

A woman squeezed her way to the middle of the group, raising her hand. "We do have a few vacant houses down by the southeast gate…"

"I can make room in my house for people!"

"I'm located in the northeastern district; I feel like I could be unsafe if I stayed for too long."

"I have extra storage up in my loft!"

Various calls of volunteers became louder, until the mayor silenced them with an "Alright, alright, alright!"

"So is that a yes from everyone?"

The group responded with an enthusiastic yes.

"If you're available to make room for anyone, meet with me tomorrow. We'll pick the subject up then."

The group then began to disperse, making their way back to their homes. A few people went to people who were traveling north, asking them if they wanted to stay the night just in case. A gust of a painful, cold wind blew towards the town, and everyone clutched their coats tighter to their bodies.

Satisfied, the mayor turned back towards his house and reached for the doorknob when a familiar voice greeted him.

"Edwin."

He turned around. Jowee's father. He held a bottle in his left hand.

"Bertrand! Thank you for coming to tonight's meeting, by the way. I wasn't expecting for it to be so cold. May I help you?"

He fiddled with the bottle in his hands. It was beginning to grow cold in his hands, and he handed it to the mayor.

"Mari found this at the beach earlier today. I feel like you should take a look at it."

The mayor looked at the glass. It had a note inside, and teeth marks were in the cork. Something about the bottle seemed familiar. "Mari?"

"Yeah. She tried reading it for herself a little bit, but I think you should take a look at it yourself."

He reached to open the door. The glowing warmth of the house drew him in. "Well… thank you, Bertrand. I will. You have a good night, alright?"

"Of course. You too."


With that, the mayor closed the door to his house, only to find Mari half-asleep, rolling around on the bed. She looked like she wanted to sleep, but could not find the motivation to.

"Mari? Why are you still up?"

Mari turned towards her dad, rubbing at her eye."There was too much yelling."

The mayor let out a breathy laugh, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Heh, well, Unagi and Cricket are just like that sometimes."

"Hey, that's the bottle I found at the beach today." Mari pointed. "Jowee's dad took it away from me."

"Sure is," he replied, holding it up for her to see. She reached out for it, but he pulled it away from Mari. "Maybe you can read it later, Mari. We need to go to bed."

Mari obliged, which was the complete opposite of what her father was expecting. No tantrums, no complaining… She went along with it, laying her head down on a pillow and letting out a yawn.

"Oh, okay. Good night, dad."

And just like that, her eyes fluttered asleep.

"Good night, Mari."

Being as careful as he could to not wake his daughter up, the mayor tiptoed to his side of the house, attempting to not step on any squeaky floorboards. He let out a deep sigh as he reached his bed and threw his coat onto it. He didn't waste any time getting under the covers and settling into bed.

He would have fallen asleep right then, but there was still something on his mind. What was so important about that message in a bottle?

He reached for the bottle with the letter on it, resting upright on the nightstand, reaching again for his monocle with the other hand. He opened the bottle with a resounding pop, and shook out the letter. Unfurling it, he began to make out the words in the dim light.

It occurred to the mayor why this message was so important. He'd recognize this handwriting anywhere.

It was his own.

He had vague memories of writing the letter, but it all seemed so familiar at the same time. He read it twice before resting his head onto his pillow and falling asleep.


"Dear Bea,

"At the time I write this, you have been away for two weeks. I can only hope this letter can find you before the time you return. I hope your research in Lavasteam has been going well. Writing those kind of things must be difficult to many, but I have no doubt you would have any trouble with that. You're one of the most talented writers I can think of."

"Events in town have slowed down drastically since you've been gone. It seems so dull and dreary whenever you're away. The only interesting event that has happened recently was when Wilfre broke into a stash of banya beer the other day. Now THAT was a sight to behold. I have never seen a person swear as much as that man had in my entire life! He has the wildest ideas. He told me in slurred speech on how 'gruesome' he found the Creator's drawings, saying he 'could do better'. Now, I'm no art critic, but I do not think I could trust a man like him to do such a thing."

"The weeks go on so slowly without you around. I miss you more and more every day. I am excited to hear about your research once you return, however. If there is any help you need with editing or advice, I am more than happy to help. The way you go on about your interests always bring me joy."

"This may be the wrong place and wrong time to confess this, but there have been recurring thoughts on my mind about your wellbeing. I know how hard it was for you to arrive in town with the eruption, and I can only imagine you could be homesick for Lavasteam. If you ever need to talk to me about it, if you ever need support… I can be here for you. I love you and care about you so much, and I just want you to feel alright. If you ever need anything, just know that."

"If you ever do find this, feel free to make fun of all the grammatical errors you like. I am currently writing this in one night with no revision, if that explains why. I just want to close off this letter saying that I miss you and I hope you return safely. I hope you are able to connect with your lost kin in Lavasteam, if you meet any, and that you are able to complete your research."

"-Yours, Edwin."

(P.S.: If anyone besides Bea ever finds this, return it to the mayor in Rapoville. They will know what to do with it.)