Okay, so the end of this wasn't really necessary, and I've been doubting whether I should include it at all, but this is what the 'Commission for Robin' was all about. I've read a lot about Wicca and it just seems like a really logical thing for a farmer to get into because of the emphasis they put on things like the seasons, crops and harvests, the fertility of the animals etc. It's also a very LGBTQ-inclusive religion. But mostly I figured Evan would get into something like this after getting overwhelmed by all the magic he was finding in the world around him and as Wicca has an element of witchcraft (it's where the name comes from), something like this might help him feel a bit safer and less out of his depth. After all, if junimos and ghosts exist and magic potions can give you the ability to talk to bears... who can tell what's NOT real anymore?

6 Spring, year 4

Coming home

By 6 pm we arrive at the bus stop of Stardew Valley. The desert bus is sitting in its spot, just as abandoned and rusty as when we left.

I expect Harvey to turn left at the path – I expect to need to convince him to come along to the farm – but when we reach the opening in the fence, he turns right toward the farm without a nudge from me.

"Hey," I speak up. "Wanna switch suitcases?"

"Sure," he says after a moment. I lift up his bigger and heavier suitcase to prevent the wheels from getting full of sand.

Inside, I light a fire in the chimney – it does still get pretty cool at night – and in the meantime Harvey roots around in his suitcase.

"I got you something," he says as soon as I'm done. I look up – I wasn't expecting that. When did he even have the chance to get me something without me knowing?

I go over and he starts handing me sealed paper envelopes with printed pictures of plants on them. I know these kinds of envelopes.

"Seeds?"

"Yup. You never had a chance to take a look at them. I didn't really know what you'd be interested in, I tried to pick only things I'd never seen on the farm... There's some celery... broccoli, I think, and a few herbs."

On the one hand, I'm really happy – I found it a real shame I didn't get to look at these in the city. But I also realize now when he must've gotten these.

"You went back into the supermarket?"

I can see in Harvey's face that he knows what I'm thinking.

"I did, yes."

"I imagine Dylan was still there?"

"He was. Very interested in where exactly you moved to. Keen on telling me all sorts of things about you that anyone who's had two conversations with you should know are complete bullshit. Pretty in line with what you told me. If I were a psychologist, I'd probably have a field day with the man."

"What did he say?"

"Evan..." Harvey takes both my hands between his. I drop the seeds – this is more important. "That's just morbid curiosity, and it isn't going to make anything better. I am telling you that I don't believe a word of it, and if I were doubting, I would ask you. And I would believe you, Evan."

"And you don't? You don't want to ask me about any of it? You don't have anything in the back of your head going 'but what if it's true and he just doesn't want me to know'?"

"No, I don't. I trust you to tell me anything I need to know, I trust you to be truthful with me, and anything outside of that is irrelevant."

I can breathe a little again.

"Thank you so much for this, Harvey. This is just about exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping to find." I pick the seed packets back up and look closely at them. Celery, broccoli, thyme, chives, parsley, sage, rosemary...

"I hope it's enough seeds for you to be able to use them. I was doubting between variety and quantity."

"Purple carrots?" I turn the packet so he can see the picture. "That's amazing, I never expected to come across that. And this... Hyacinths. I love hyacinths," I smile. "Harvey, you're the best. Don't worry about the quantity, as soon as I have a healthy plant I can propagate the seeds."

"You like them? I was a bit worried about them, the packet says it takes them a whole year to grow..."

"They smell heavenly, they're pretty... Hyacinth, gladiolus, poppies, carnations, bluebells, what have you. Iris is another one, but they bloom in late summer. I love iris and gladiolus because you get a bunch of different colors, and bluebells are just cute – the others all smell great, especially together."

"How about lavender?"

"Lavender is great too."

"Roses?"

"I'm not a fan of roses, actually. They're hard to keep looking healthy, but nearly impossible to kill, and I'm sure you've heard of rose gardener's disease."

"Not immediately."

"Really? Roses tend to have a specific fungus living on them, all over their stems. If you prick yourself on the thorns, the wounds turn into growing and expanding welts, which are basically an attempt from the body to encapsulate the fungus in that one spot and prevent it from doing more damage. Back before they had proper medicine, it would invariably become debilitating with time. Roses just aren't worth the effort, really. Neither are tulips, if you ask me. You have a bunch of differently-colored variants as well, and some of them can be pretty, but there's so many other flowers that look better and also smell heavenly. Which flowers do you like?"

"Well, I... do like the look of roses," Harvey answers a bit crestfallen. "They're beautiful, and they do smell nice. But I imagine I might have changed my mind earlier if I were aware of that particular disease. Columbines are nice, too."

"Hmm. What about lupines?"

"I don't know those, I think."

"Foxgloves?"

"Pretty but dangerous."

I shrug.

"The danger of foxglove is in the roots. At least you can touch and even pick them without hallucinating. Wolfsbane is what's dangerous. One drop of sap on your skin and you're in a bad trip with some heart palpitations to top it off."

"That sounds like I should've heard of it."

"Monkshood? Aconite? That plant has a lot of names."

"Oh, monkshood, of course."

I put the packets of seeds on the table and put my arms around Harvey.

"Thanks for having my back. Back in the supermarket. You know, in the spirit of 'credit where credit is due'."

"You're what's important to me," he answers. "And I'm glad you were honest with me. I think anyone else would've lied about why you suddenly wanted to be as far as possible away from those seeds you were looking for."

I kiss him deeply and he immediately responds in kind. It seems we've both missed the liberty of doing whatever we please with each other. We haven't had sex for the whole time we were in the city – aside from my midnight blowjob – so I am hungry for him. Harvey seems to be aware, because he pulls my t-shirt off almost immediately. I make short work of his, as well, and attach my mouth to one of his nipples.

"No," he says, and I quickly pull back. If he's taking charge, I'm going to wait for his instructions.

"You are going to go shower," he adds. "Thoroughly."

"But –" I start. I don't want to wait any longer.

"No buts. Off you go."

I am aware that he has something planned, and I'm probably going to love it. It's still hard to turn around and go. We have all the time of the world for games. I want him now.

But not badly enough to press the matter, really. I'm sure it'll be worth it. So I shower, thoroughly, and go back into the living room still drying off. Harvey isn't there, so I move on to the bedroom. There he is, sitting on the bed, naked, and hard with anticipation. He's spread out a towel on top of the covers next to him. I go stand in front of him to let him look at me.

"All clean, sir," I report. I spot the bottle of lube lying on the covers as well.

For a few seconds, he just stares, a satisfied expression on his face. Then he stands up, walks around until he's behind me, and my pulse quickens with just the inability to know what he's going to do and when, but I don't look. He puts his arms around me, pulling his own body up against mine, letting his hands roam over my chest and stomach. I can feel his big rod push up against my behind. He teases my lower belly and thighs, but takes his time.

Then, unexpectedly, everything I can feel of him disappears, and I get one hand on my back pushing me forward. When I reach the edge of the bed and he still doesn't stop, I take the hint and let myself fall forward onto the towel, then crawl further over to make space for him.

"No, you don't," Harvey says from behind me. He grabs my ankles and unceremoniously pulls me back.

So someone is gaining confidence here.

I like it.

I end up half lying on the bed, half standing on my feet, and Harvey takes another minute to caress my back and behind before disappearing again for a few seconds. By the time I decide to look around to find out what he's doing, I feel him pulling my cheeks apart and putting his mouth on my anus.

My dick pulses in response, and I hum to show my appreciation. Harvey chuckles and goes on with what he's doing.

"Oh, Harvey, that's so good."

When he starts pushing a finger in, I dig my hand under my own body to stroke myself, but Harvey stops me.

"Evan. Just don't do anything unless I tell you to."

I don't protest this time, though I want to. I trust that Harvey will make me come, and he's not doing anything I'm opposed to... But I'd really like to get some friction.

As soon as I can take that one finger easily, he starts massaging my prostate. Not just a rub or two to tease, either, but a full-on attack that has me moaning in quick bursts and pushing back against him. Then he stops, starts working in the second finger, and goes right back to my prostate. He goes on with three fingers; by this time I'm getting tired, and I feel like I'm not far from the end.

"Harvey, please get inside me before I come."

"Are you coming?"

"It's not gonna take much more."

"Okay. Move forward."

I crawl further onto the bed again and wait for him.

"Lie down."

I obey. As Harvey moves over, he pushes my legs closer together, then straddles me.

He pushes in slowly – it's still a bit of a stretch – and when he can bottom out easily, he crawls even further up. I figure he'll be thrusting just about straight down this way.

He starts slow, but inside of a few thrusts he's pounding me – and hitting my teased, swollen prostate with every single thrust.

"Ohh, yes, Harvey, there!" My hands ball themselves into the sheets and I am hardly aware that my voice is suddenly a lot higher. I want to move, but I don't, and I want this to go on forever, but I'm so ready to come. My balls get so tight they hurt a little, and then, finally, I'm there.

Harvey takes a little longer, but finally he buries himself deep inside me, stays there for a few seconds, and then pulls out and sits down, panting.

"C'm'ere," I mumble, rolling onto my side to give him space on the towel. It has a wet spot in it, of course, but then we're both going to need a shower.

"After cleaning up. You first."

I have to admit that I've gotten dirtier, so I go and take the towel with me to wash that as well.

After we've both cleaned ourselves up, we cuddle under the covers. Harvey is still naked; I picked up a trick from my sister on our little visit. They're called 'panty liners', but really they're just a much smaller version of the common sanitary pad. No more leaks for me.

"Did this house have electricity when you first moved in here?" Harvey asks.

"Nope. It was just one room, too. No kitchen, no bathroom. Robin's a lifesaver... She fixed the whole thing up to make it livable when I could really only pay her half the price, just to make sure I wouldn't have to wash in the river in winter. We spent three days digging a hole for this groundwater filter tank."

"But your grandfather lived here just like that?"

"Yeah. Would've died here, too, if my dad hadn't forced him to go to the hospital. He was a smoker, but then one day my dad came to visit and he had this dreadful cough, and my dad basically forced him into the car and took him to the hospital. Lung cancer. By the time they found out it was terminal."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could've been here earlier."

"Nah. My dad refers to my grandpa as the 'cranky old man' sometimes, now that it doesn't hurt anymore. From what I've heard, he could've given George a run for his money on the subject of not wanting to listen to doctors. Swore by his fish oil, and anyone who told him to stop smoking was a hack and out for the one pleasure he had left in life. He insisted that smoking wasn't the thing that had caused his cancer until the day he died, because people who don't smoke can also get lung cancer."

Silence falls, probably because Harvey can't think of anything to say that he can be sure won't insult me.

"I'm... honestly kind of glad for him, in a weird way," I go on. "He refused to leave the farm if his only other option was a nursing home, and I can understand that. The society we live in doesn't know what to do with people who aren't 'productive members of society' anymore, pensions are always a grudging concession, nursing homes are chronically understaffed, which is logical because the staff is criminally underpaid... The government doesn't want to spend any money on you as soon as you stop making money for them, and then it's up to your kids to keep you healthy and fed even though they're forced to be a part of the rat race and they can barely pay for their own children's education. We have children just to make sure someone will be keeping us alive when we can't anymore, and then our children will be forced to choose between us or their own kids."

"That all sounds... very grim, Evan."

"Yeah. I know. I'm... kind of scared of it. I've heard horror stories about abuse and neglect in nursing homes, but also from live-in nurses or even people's own children, and I've heard about elderly people without children or whose children just have their own lives to run, going depressed with loneliness... Honestly, if those are the options, I also understand why the suicide rates go up in that demographic. I'm not going to worry about that right now – I've got years and years ahead of me and I have more important things to worry about. It's just... there, in my head, I guess. At least it gives me one more reason to save money for the future."

"That's what you do it for?"

"Not only. I don't know, I've always wanted to save money. When I was a kid, I remember once or twice that I was in a shop with my mom and I wanted something... a toy or something... and my mom had to say "no, we can't get that now, there's no money. Maybe next month." By the next month I'd have forgotten all about that toy, but I still remember now that that did happen a couple of times. And when I came home from school and my parents and Sandra were mopping the floor in the kitchen because it was full of water, because the laundry machine broke. My mom would take our laundry to a friend's house to wash for a few weeks before there was enough money to have it repaired. My parents have always tried to keep this away from us as much as possible, but I have realized by now that we have probably had to miss out on a few vacations they were planning because something broke down or needed replacing, and there was just no money for the repair and the vacation. So I don't really feel comfortable unless I have some money stashed away for an emergency, so that I won't have to change my plans because something broke down or something."

"I never would have thought. Your family doesn't seem to be missing anything."

"For my whole life, everything I truly needed was always there. But the house they live in, they bought it when I was twelve, and it was an old building. They spent the next fourteen years renovating, room by room, whenever there was money. The electricity was not up to modern regulations, so we had to put new electricity in the walls – and we had to do that ourselves, cut long ridges into the walls, put in pipes, then close up the hole and pull the wires through. We cooked with a gas fire for camping for a few weeks while they took out the old kitchen and put in the new one. At some point the roof should be replaced, because it has a leak but they can't find it. Sandra and I are thinking to give them that one for their thirtieth anniversary, if we can get enough money together."

Harvey doesn't respond anymore. I don't really know what else to say, so I fall silent too. Then, out of nowhere, he kisses me.

"I'm going to go home and unpack."

He starts moving away from me to get up.

"Oh, I... I actually wanted to show you something."

"What?"

"It's on the farm. Not far, but I want to... show you."

I get up too and quickly get into my clothes. When he's ready, I go ahead of him across a plank bridge to one of the smaller islands of the farm.

"So this has basically become a... non-farm island," I start. Harvey goes over to the stone shrine to grandpa.

"That's really nice of you, Evan," he comments.

"Um, that's not... actually the thing. I don't know how this shrine got here, I didn't build it... it was already there. Anyway..."

I pull a plastic sheet off the other thing on this island: a low, square pine wood table with a beautiful decoration carved into the top. It has a swan on the left side, flying up from the water, with the half moon between its wings; a stag on the right with the sun between its antlers; a ring with a five-pointed star in the center between them, point upward; and all around plants and animals, from insects to birds to a horse. It's the kind of thing you can keep staring at for hours and still find new things you hadn't spotted yet. It has a single wide drawer, hanging under the table top.

Robin found the story of why I wanted it somewhat strange and possibly a bit worrying, but she has done a marvelous job.

Harvey looks on while I kneel in front of the table and open the drawer.

"I took off all the extra stuff for the trip," I explain, "because the table can hold up against the rain but not all of this stuff is that sturdy." I place a cracked-open geode full of little emerald crystals on the center pentagram, a bit above its heart; a basic, transparent glass on the left side; a tea candle below, right up close to myself; and a little bunch of feathers from my chickens on the right. I also put two bigger, fatter candles right above the carvings of the sun and the moon. There's more in the drawer, but this is the most basic possible setup.

Then, I look up, kind of worried about what I'm even going to say. Harvey still looks expectant at this point; it looks like he has no idea what all of this means.

"It's... my altar," I admit.

Harvey thinks this over for a moment.

"I can't help but notice you look worried," he says then.

"I am."

"This is not an altar to Yoba, is it."

"No."

I'm still not seeing any sign of approval or disapproval on his face.

"Then what?"

"I... first heard about this religion in the city, so you may have heard of it too, I don't really know. It's called Wicca, and it centers around the God of the Forest and the Mother Goddess." I signal at the swan and the stag carved on the table. "Their symbols are the sun and the moon."

"If you consider yourself a part of this... religion, I don't think the one I've heard about is the same thing. Or I hope so, at least."

"No sacrifice of anything alive is ever involved," I tell him. That's the main thing I've heard people say myself. "It's mainly about following the seasons, the sun and the moon, and celebrating life and its cycles in the world around us. And... trying to be better people, I guess, being good for the world and for other people and trying to become better ourselves."

"What do you use this altar for, exactly?"

"Mainly for the four big celebrations of the year. The solstices and the equinoxes."

"So this... religion... these are not the people that call themselves witches?"

"It is. It does include the idea of performing magick. Not everyone does this. I don't really believe in that part, and either way, I can solve my problems without magick. Look, I am not asking you to be a part of this. I'm not going to ask you to do any of this with me, or anything like that. I just wanted you to know, because I know there are... people out there who would consider something like this a deal breaker. I would... personally consider that unfair, but I won't have it said that I kept this a secret."

"You're keeping it a secret from everyone else."

"It doesn't affect them, so they don't need to know."

"You celebrate the feast of the winter star with them like it's nothing."

"So does Shane, and he'll tell anyone who will hear him right there at the festival that he's an atheist and he doesn't believe in that winter star stuff. The feast of the winter star is the day after the winter solstice. So I celebrate the solstice, here at my altar, and that's a religious thing for me. Then I go into the village and celebrate the winter star with the people there, and to me that's just a party with friends. I mean, that celebration is about gratitude for the good things we have in life. I have another celebration that's all about gratitude in fall."

Harvey stares at the altar for a while.

"I guess now I know why you're always saying 'gods'. But your sister says Yoba."

"My family is nice and mainstream. This is just me. Honestly I only really started getting into this last year. It's... Wicca was created by and for city people, but ironically, it's all about crops and fields and animals. It's about being responsible, living in harmony with other living creatures and looking after them. It's about not taking too much and being grateful for what you get, and trying to give in return, doing your best not to be a burden on the world... The gods are just metaphors, in the end. I'm not a Wiccan because I believe in the gods. I'm a Wiccan because this religion is in line with what I was already doing, with ideas I already believed in. It just gives it... more meaning, or something. It makes it... more... I don't know. Vivid, maybe. It reminds me of what's important to me, too. Celebrating every harvest, the births of my baby animals, being grateful for all of it."

It still takes Harvey a while to figure out how to respond.

"Alright," he says in the end. "You wanted me to know. Now I know. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

I stand up. This isn't the worst possible reaction, but I'm not entirely sure how to interpret this.

"I love you."

"I love you too. I was honestly not expecting this, but hearing the way you explain it, I don't think I can be against it. As long as you're still the Evan I know, and you don't start any communes..."

"No, no, of course not. I absolutely don't feel like the type of authority to go telling other people how to live their lives and I'm very happy with my privacy out here."

"I'll take your word for it, then. Now I would like to go unpack."

"Yes. Of course. I'm sorry for keeping you."