His ears felt like they had cotton wool stuffed in them. The backs of his eyelids were still tingling, and images of countless Carrots swam across his vision. He groaned out loud. Where was he? He pulled his eyelids apart, his lashes sticking together. At first, he couldn't see anything in the dim light. Then, as his eyes became accustomed to the room, he was able to take in his surroundings. The room was rounded, and the wall had a strange texture to it; like bark, with moss growing up it. The floor was also wooden, and was ringed, like a tree trunk. Hang on... Was he inside a tree?

"Is the people awake?" came a high-pitched voice.

Jack stopped looking around and focused his eyes on the far side of the room. Three little sprites were huddled together, staring slightly accusingly at him.

"Awake, awake," chimed another.

"Good afternoon," greeted Jack. He tried to get up, but a sharp pain in his head made him wince and slowly lay himself back down.

"No, no, don't try to get up, budum," a third sprite told him.

"You hurt your head on the way in, budum."

"Head, head!"

"Budum."

The strange little sprites still clung to each other, staring at him.

"Um, excuse me. How did I get here?" Jack politely asked.

"You ate the Welcomush, silly people." The second-tallest sprite dressed in red smiled widely at him. "So you came here, budum."

"I'm Nik!" piped up the tiny sprite dressed in an oversized blue coat and hat.

"I'm Nak!" said the one dressed in red.

"I'm Flak, budum!" shouted the largest sprite in yellow.

"And I'm Jack," Jack laughed. The sprites laughed, too. They seemed like funny little things, really. He had heard about them from his father as a child, and one of his only memories of the Valley was poking around by the river with a stick, trying to find them.

"You're a funny people," said Flak.

"You have to go now, though," Nak told him.

"Hm? Why?" Jack asked, somewhat taken aback. He had sort of informed the impression that the sprites liked him.

"'Cos we have to go look for Nices, budum!" shouted Nik in his little voice.

"And you can't stay while we're out," Flak told him matter-of-factly.

"Wait, what? What are Ni-"

He was interrupted by Nak blowing some powder in his face. He instantly blacked out.

Jack woke up back outside the tree. He sat up and shook his head. Did... did that actually happen? Well, no matter if it did or didn't. He had things to do, and he couldn't wait around all day to do them. Strangely, he no longer felt the slightest bit hungry. He picked himself up out of the moss.

On his way back to the farm, he noticed Nina, over by the spring. He sort of didn't want to get caught in conversation; although Nina was a lovely lady, he didn't know her that well, and would probably end up floundering after the small talk stage. However, she spotted him, and waved him over.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Jack," she greeted him with a smile on her face as he jogged over.

"G-good afternoon, Nina," he called back. "Um, you don't need to call me Mister. ...If you don't want to."

"My, my, you're so awkward," she laughed.

He flinched. "S-sorry."

"Don't apologize! You remind me of Galen back when we were courting." She giggled to herself. "He was so cute back then."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes! You know, he used to buy me flowers from the shop on the street corner." She smiled nostalgically. "But the old goose would clutch them so hard on the way to my house that they'd end up dead by the time my father let him in."

Jack couldn't help but laugh at the thought of a nervous young Galen, his hair slicked back, clutching a bouqet of flowers in his trembling hands. "Was he really so adorable?"

"He really was." Nina laughed. "We used to have races from the top of my hill, all the way down to the lake. And you know, I always won."

"Wow!" Jack marvelled. That was impressive. Nina was so little, and Galen had way longer legs than her, too.

"Yup!" She beamed. "Of course, with Galen's back nowadays, there's no way he'd race me any more. But still."

Jack suddenly felt a little guilty. The old lady hadn't meant to be passive-aggressive at all, but he still felt bad. Nina loved to run, that was clear to see, and the fact that she wasn't able to any more must have been hard for her.

"Um, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, dear. I'm just being silly."

The two of them gazed at the spring for a while.

"Do you like to run, Jack?" Nina asked him after a while.

"Me?"

He thought back to the races that used to be held when he was in primary school. He came dead last in every single one of them.

"Um, sometimes," he lied.

"You could have races with Rock sometimes. Do you know Rock?" He nodded, his hackles rising at the thought of the blond youth. "He's an energetic boy. I'm sure he'd appreciate the company. And you two are around the same age, after all." She grinned cheerfully at him. "Maybe you could be friends!"

"Y-yeah, sure!" He put on a fake grin. He would never be friends with Rock. Not if he had any input in it, anyway. Nina didn't pick up on his lack of enthusiasm.

"I'm glad to hear that." She smiled to herself. "He's always been a lonely boy. There aren't many people his age living in the Valley. He'll be glad to have a friend as nice as you."

Rock? Lonely? He seriously doubted that. He seemed more than content with his own company. But he wasn't going to say that to Nina. He stared into the waters of the spring and thought.

"Anyway, my dear." Nina turned to Jack after a while and smiled. "Thank you for putting up with my silly old ramblings. I hope I can see you again soon."

"No, no! I really enjoyed listening to you," he insisted. And he meant it.

She just smiled. "You're very kind, dear. Goodbye."

Nina hobbled off down the track. Jack watched her go, then made his own way home. Carrot greeted him when he got back by jumping up on his jeans and barking in an overjoyed manner.

"Down, down," laughed Jack. Carrot instantly planted his bottom on the ground, and gazed up at Jack, little tail wagging. "Guess who I met today?" Jack bent down to ask. Carrot cocked his head.

"Heeeeey!" came a yell, interrupting their conversation. Jack's back tensed. That was Rock's voice. Rock was here. On his farm. Why was Rock on his farm. He snapped his head around to see the boy swaggering confidently over to him.

"Hey yo, farmer man!" he yelled a little too loudly.

"Can I help you?" Jack asked stiffly.

"Man!" Rock pretended to pout. "You're so cold. I just wanted to check your farm out."

"Well, I really need to finish up my chores. I can't show you anything right now."

Rock completely ignored him, and began to look around. "Whoa, dude! Is that a cow?" he yelled when he spotted Bess.

"Yes, that is a cow. I'd really appreciate it if you just lef-" Jack attempted to say, but Rock was already charging over to Bess' field.

"Hey! No, leave her alone!" Jack shouted after Rock as he jumped the fence. Rock paid him no heed. He sighed exasperatedly and ran after him.

"Whoa! It's so... ugly," Rock said in disappointed disbelief, poking Bess in the side. Bess glared reproachfully at the boy as Jack finally caught up with him.

"She's a she, and she's actually really cute. Could you please leave her alone?" Jack was almost begging him at this point. He really wished the boy would just leave already.

"Really? Whoa." Rock stared thoughtfully at Bess. "You have some weird tastes, farmer man. First me, then old Muffy, and now your cow."

Jack's hackles were rising. "Was that supposed to be an insult? Because it was a really pathetic attempt at one if it was." Old Muffy? Muffy couldn't be older than thirty. What was this brat's problem?

"Nah, I'm just saying." Rock poked Bess again.

"Hey, quit that."

"Why?" Rock looked at Jack questioningly. "She likes it."

Likes it? How stupid could he be? Bess was looking pleadingly at Jack.

"Do you even know the first thing about animals?" Jack asked scornfully. "She hates that. Quit it."

Rock raised his hands in surrender. "Fine! Geez, someone's touchy today." He gave Jack a look that was a mixture of disappointment and irritation. "I just wanted to come and see your farm. But I guess if you're so in love with your cow that you blow up when she prefers me, then I shouldn't have bothered. Later, gator." Rock sauntered off.

Jack glared after the boy, his stomach boiling in anger. He wanted to say something else. He couldn't let Rock have the last laugh.

"Who even says 'later, gator'?" he yelled after Rock.

"Get with the times, old man!" Rock yelled back as he hopped the fence. Jack spun around and stalked back to his cabin. Then, remembering Bess, he went back and gave her a final rub and pat.

He lay in bed that night with Carrot snoozing on his stomach, and thought angrily about his encounter with Rock. The thought that he had overreacted briefly crossed his mind, but he furiously shoved it away. Who did he think he was, coming on to his farm and insulting his Bess? He turned over on his side, accidentally sliding Carrot off his stomach. Carrot didn't wake up, though.

Sorry, Nina, he thought to himself. There's no way I'm ever gonna be friends with that guy.