So it turns out I'm terrible at maintaining scheduled updates (but I already knew that…!) Er, updates will probably be really slow after this one…
Also, I made a little mistake in the last chapter. The location of Collin's pedestal is actually the Soufflé Farm, instead of the Brownie Ranch. Come to think of it, I could've still worked with what I had, but I probably would've gone crazy knowing that even a small detail was off…
Even if they're similar, they're different
Mandarins and oranges
Friends and lovers
And our two hearts too
Bittersweet
The Sundae Inn dining room went completely still as Holly gently placed the Yellow Bell down onto the stained pine table nearest to the kitchen.
Now in the quiet, Holly found it more difficult than ever to drown out her anxious, fear-filled thoughts. She tried to push them from her mind, tried to focus on the little details around her – the distant muffled noises of Jake and Colleen upstairs, the familiar sweet aroma that wafted through the air, the rise and fall of Finn's chest as he sat propped up against the salt shaker, asleep – but the moment she glanced up across the table, she remembered her problems weren't going away any time soon.
It was a rare occurrence to see his emotions so unguarded, and she had to admit, it thrilled her. A glimpse into the true feelings he carefully kept private: deeply creased eyebrows told of his uncertainty and tightly folded arms were a sign of frustration, yet something else that kept him from leaving lay hidden behind his eyes – curiosity.
Chase glanced up and held her gaze for a moment, before his shoulders sunk with a deep sigh. "Tell me again why I agreed to this."
Any hint of curiosity, safely masked once again.
Holly still reeled from the shock of his compliance. Outright rejection, dismissal, another insanity declaration – she had expected and prepared herself for these things. Instead, Chase had nodded. Even though his own expression showed the same disbelief she'd felt, he'd agreed; yes, we can work together to save the island.
They'd planned to meet the following day at the Sundae Inn, early in the morning to ensure no one would be around to overhear their conversation. If she had to be honest with herself, deep down she thought Chase wouldn't come, that he had only agreed to shut her up.
But there he had been, waiting.
Holly didn't understand his sudden change of heart. All she knew was she no longer had to do this alone and for that she was very thankful.
Chase returned his attention to the bell. His hand had moved up to his head, his fingers ruffling his already messy locks of peach blond hair. "I really don't know how I can help you," He went on, "Have you asked Ramsey about this? He is the expert on this sort of thing."
"I spoke with him yesterday actually. But the usual method won't work on this bell… this isn't a normal bell," Holly told him softly. Her explanations were getting weaker and weaker, she realised.
He arched an eyebrow. The inquisitiveness had returned. "Because of the metal?" He asked.
"Um, something like that."
"…That's too bad."
She caught the underlying suspicion.
Holly couldn't blame him. The bell's true purpose was something she'd intentionally left out. Hearing everything at once would've been too much of an overload – or so she had told herself. In actuality, she didn't want to scare him off.
"If it helps, I still don't understand it very well myself," Holly admitted.
He frowned. "I'm just a cook, you know." Just as she feared, he'd come to regret his decision and was now looking for a way out.
"And I only wanted to be a farmer, but I was…" If she said 'chosen' he would ask more questions. Question she didn't know the answers to. "I just know I have to do this."
A tensely quiet moment followed. Holly watched breathlessly as Chase continued to stare at the table – this was it, he'd had enough, she was sure he'd leave – but then he reached out and picked up the golden bell.
"Lemon juice," He murmured, running a finger over the coarse surface, "We use it to remove stains from pots. So a similar effect might happen to this rust if we leave it to soak for a while?"
"…That's a really good idea!" It sounded so simple though, and Holly wondered if it would really be enough. She put those thoughts out of her mind. What other choice did she have?
With the bell in hand, Chase disappeared off to the kitchen, where he began slicing and juicing the needed lemons. The farmer, now alone, was left with only her worrying thoughts to occupy her. She sat with her back to the kitchen – away from the agonising anticipation – and prayed as hard as she could for a miracle.
The inn doors suddenly swung open and she almost jumped up out of her seat.
"Sorry I'm late!"
After all that fretting, Holly had nearly forgotten about the third person she'd invited to their discussion group. Calvin headed over to her table, seeming flustered – probably from hurrying around town – but grinning widely. Her heart lifted; did this mean good news?
Under one arm, the archaeologist carried a large, rather worn out-looking roll of paper. He also had a dark green rucksack slung over his shoulder. Now that he was up close, she saw there were shallow scratches and bandaids all along his tanned forearms.
Holly involuntarily reached out for his hand. "Calvin, you're hurt! What happened?"
"Haha, oh this?" Calvin seemed too amicable to have been hurting and simply waved it off, "I'll tell you later. First, I have something much more interesting to show you."
She let him continue but couldn't stop the frown that made its way onto her face.
"Oh by the way, how's the bell?" He asked as he put the rolled paper down onto the table and shrugged the bag off his shoulder.
"We think we've found a way to treat the rust," She replied.
His smile widened, "Wonderful!"
The farmer helped Calvin with the rolled paper, using the salt and pepper shakers to anchor down the corners – she was careful to not disturb Finn. The Sprite managed to sleep soundly even after being nudged off to the side.
"A map?" She murmured when everything had been set up.
The whole island was sketched out in full detail. Calvin then placed photographs over various familiar locations on the map – the Ganache Mountain, the Soufflé Farm, the Brownie Ranch among others – photos of a rocky surface with simplistic lines and curves drawn into it. The shapes were oddly reminiscent of bells.
Holly leant in closer. She had seen pictures like this before in history books, documentations of images carved into rocks by ancient civilisations.
"Owen and I stumbled across something astonishing in the mines yesterday," He began to explain, in a voice that resonated with the youthfulness of a boy, "An ancient stone tablet as tall as this wall here."
"That sounds… amazing," Holly breathed.
"It really was. After I spent all that time searching… to finally find what I'd been looking for…" Wistfulness touched his smile. He chuckled, suddenly seeming shy as he removed his hat and placed it on the table, "Sorry, I'm just so glad to have someone to share this with."
Holly beamed warmly at him. She felt the same way; if not for those who supported her, she would've lost her will to continue weeks ago.
"There seems to be some writing in these pictures. Do you know what is says?" She ducked her head and took particular interest in the photographs, as a flush crept over her cheeks.
"Unfortunately no. It was much too old and faded," Calvin replied, "But the shapes beneath the writing seem familiar, don't they?"
Like a bell, she had seen that. It suddenly clicked.
"You've found the locations of the bells!" Holly turned to him excitedly.
He nodded proudly, "Your search should be much easier now."
"Calvin, I-I don't know… how I can thank you for all of this…" Her voice wavered with the desperate need to cry out in joy.
The archaeologist laughed quietly, scratching the back of his neck, "Actually, I have a small confession. I had some help with the photography."
"You did?"
"This is all thanks to Phoebe, really. If it wasn't for her, I'd still be down there trying to figure out how to show you all this," He revealed.
"Phoebe? Oh! Simon and Barbara's daughter." Not that Holly knew the girl by face. More like she knew her by the sound of the explosions that occasionally emanated from the General Store's basement. Apparently, Phoebe was a budding inventor, but could get a little overzealous at times.
Calvin picked up one of the pictures by its corner and gazed at it fondly. "She told me her father is looking into starting a photography business, so she modified one of his old cameras. Isn't that impressive?"
"It really is," Holly agreed. Especially when she wasn't great with technology herself; she recalled how she needed her younger brother's help whenever she attempted to use the computer.
"You know, Phoebe is very interested in old ruins – that's why she was in the mines. In fact, I was going to ask her to join us here today, but the camera suddenly started smoking and, well…" He gestured to the bandages and scratches. "It sort of exploded. But by some miracle, the film wasn't damaged at all…"
The farmer smiled. A miracle. Just what she'd asked for.
Calvin marked down the bell locations on a smaller map for Holly. They both gathered up the photographs and larger map, returning the table to how it had been set out before.
As the archaeologist headed upstairs to put his things away, Holly checked over her map. It seemed as if the Blue Bell was hidden beneath the island, in the underground waterways, the Green could be found near the Brownie Ranch and the Purple Bell should be in the old church in the town square. In only a few hours everything had changed so much, had become so much clearer – it was so overwhelming.
No, she couldn't do this on her own. However, with so many kind people willing to go to such lengths to help her, she was certain she could save the island and Waffle Town.
"You look happy… good news?"
Chase's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She tried to bite back her smile, but it was difficult to control.
The blond man shook his head, "Let's go check on that bell before you get too ahead of yourself."
Still grinning brightly, Holly nodded and followed him back to the kitchen.
"How does it look?"
One of Yolanda's ceramic mixing bowls was on the counter. Chase examined it; a soft gasp escaped his lips.
"What's the matter?" Curiously, she peered around him.
"This… has never happened before," He murmured.
The Yellow Bell sat in a shallow bath of lemon juice, completely rust and damage free, as if it were a different bell entirely. The golden metal surface gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight that streamed in through the windows.
Holly mouthed silently, at a loss for words. "T-The bell… the rust!" She choked out. With wide eyes she glanced up at the man beside her, "T-Thank you so much, Chase!"
Emotions built up in her chest, so many at once that she was sure she would explode.
"I thought… I thought that this time it might be the end, but…!"
It happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that neither knew how to react.
She moved closer. He stood frozen to the spot. Her arms lifted, moving upwards, around, encircling his waist.
His chest stilled in mid-breath. Her heart thumped erratically.
Warmth spread over her. A comforting sensation she had been missing ever since she'd left her family.
Time had slowed to a complete stop.
His hand touched her upper arm. The contact was a splash of cold water. Holly pulled away quickly. She kept her arms held in front of her, not trusting herself with such misbehaving limbs. Her mouth opened to apologise, but no sound left her throat.
Finally, Chase held up a hand to stop her. His head remained averted in the other direction, unwilling to meet her eye.
"…Are you sure I deserved that? All I did was suggest a home remedy to get rid of rust. Not like that Calvin guy who risked his very well being to bring you that ancient map."
Of all the things he could've been – angry, shocked, embarrassed – he seemed… jealous?
The farmer mentally shook herself. It couldn't be; she was just imagining things. Strangely, the notion had calmed her mind, though her heart still pounded away at a million miles a minute.
"I-I didn't mean to…" Holly murmured at long last, blushing bright red, "I was just so happy… and I…"
There it was again; the dubious frown she'd seen the day of their first meeting. Although, this time it was marred by the slight blush on his cheeks. It brought another smile to her face.
Not much was said as Chase cleaned and dried the bell. When he finished, he held it out to her and her hand trembled slightly as she received it. The silence remained, even as Holly collected her things – not forgetting to wake up Finn, who for now was thankfully too groggy to question her new crimson complexion – in preparation for the long walk to the Soufflé Farm.
She soon found herself at the inn's entrance, ready to leave. The farmer hesitated; something inside her felt restless, although she couldn't pin-point why.
The door suddenly opened for her. Chase leant against it, not looking at her but at something in the distance outside.
"So where are you off to now?" He asked, trying to sound casual.
Holly faltered. "I–"
He cut her off, "Ah, I get it. Can't say?"
"Not yet. I'm sorry."
Chase shook his head, "It's fine. Go on then, go be… a hero."
Even though he probably said it as mockery, her smile only widened. "I'll do my best."
Now with a renewed courage, Holly set out to restore the power of earth to the island. She walked the familiar path through Waffle Town, past her farm, and onto the dirt road that ran throughout the Gelato Meadow. Surrounded by nothing but empty green fields, she told her trusted partner Finn everything she'd discovered that morning – about the ancient stone tablet map Calvin had found and how Chase had repaired the Yellow Bell's damaged surface with the simple juice of a lemon.
"I missed so much! Why didn't you wake me up Holly…?" Finn cried when her explanations came to an end, "Now I'm out of the loop!"
"I didn't want to disturb you," She said with an apologetic smile, "You always look so peaceful when you sleep."
The Sprite huffed slightly, "Well… as long as I still get to see the Yellow Bell being rung, then I guess it's okay…"
Luckily for Finn, the Soufflé Farm's entrance was coming into view. Although, now that they were on private property, Holly thought it was be best if she asked the owners if it would be all right for her to have a look around. She headed into the main farmhouse where Ruth was tending to her family's store as always, and as always it was obvious that her shoulders carried a heavy burden.
"Frame…? Oh, you must mean that shabby old monument on the hill," Ruth had muttered offhandedly when she'd asked, not bothering to take her eyes off her work, "Craig goes up there sometimes. Thinks the Harvest Goddess will help us if he prays hard enough… I think he's getting senile in his old age, if he still believes in things like that."
Despite her less than enthusiastic response, Ruth showed Holly the path she needed to take. A rusted old gate blocked the way, but the farm mistress unlocked it for her. The farmer thanked her and quickly rushed off.
The hill could be seen in the distance. It seemed like a haze in the sunlight, not at all green like the rest of the meadow. As she walked up the dirt trail towards its peak, the grass gradually thinned until there was nothing left, bar a few patches of dried yellow weeds.
At the top of the hill, Holly found the pedestal, just as Ruth had said. The metal frame was weather-worn and dilapidated, but someone – presumably Craig – had attempted to tame the bushes that grew wild around it.
Holly retrieved the Yellow Bell out of her rucksack, handling it as carefully as she could, to prevent the surface from being damaged again.
"Collin, we're here..."
The golden glow stirred within the bell. It suddenly surged towards the sky and Collin reappeared in a flash above her.
It took a moment for the yellow Harvest Sprite to realise what had happened. He looked at each hand, then down at his feet, his eyes widening in disbelief when he finally spotted the farmer and Finn.
"…Holly! And the pipsqueak is here too!" Collin exclaimed as he floated closer.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, only just realising that the nervous butterflies in her stomach had returned with vengeance.
The Sprite tentatively flexed his arms. "I'm feelin'… I'm feelin' stronger than ever! Woah, it's like I've been recharged or something!"
"Thank goodness…" Holly breathed a sigh in relief. All of her worries and insecurities left her in an instant. "Are you strong enough to ring your bell?"
"Yup, yup, just leave it ta me!"
Collin closed his eyes. The glow surrounded his body and the bell as he concentrated his power. The bell floated out of Holly's hands and hooked itself onto the frame. There, it magically grew ten times its size. The Harvest Sprite Guardian moved his hands back and forth in a rocking motion. As if an invisible hand was pushing it, the bell started to sway in time with Collin's movements.
Its sound echoed loudly through the air. The ground pulsed at each chime, with waves of vibrant golden energy that spread outwards across the whole island.
"It's working, it's working!" Finn cried, joining Collin in a joyous dance.
Holly looked down.
The patchy grass beneath her feet was slowly turning green.