If I thought the transition between spring and summer was violent, I hadn't seen anything yet. Everything was darker, especially the leaves. One of my first thoughts as I'd gone to bed the previous night… one of the only ones that didn't involve Sam… was what sort of scenery I'd wake up to. And as drastic a change as it was, it was about what I expected.
When I went to Pierre's that day, I decided to glance at the calendar. For all I knew, the whole birthday thing was just because everyone seemed to know each other, and it was a thing. More than half the town had no idea who I was, so there was no way they'd-
Right near the 9, Fall 9, was my picture. Just as crystal clear as everyone else's. Well, that made me feel chipper.
Moments later, Pierre was ringing up the pumpkin seeds I was buying. I asked him if he knew anything about building outdoor paths.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you much myself," said Pierre. "If you want to know about building things, or having things built for you, you'll want to talk to Robin. You'll get to her place by climbing one of the staircases here and heading north."
"Alright, thank you!" I smiled, handing Pierre the money for the seeds. I then turned around and walked out.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" Pierre said from behind me.
I followed his instructions and came upon a huge house with a blue roof. Was that a telescope in the side yard? And was that a tent on a hill off to the right? It had what appeared to be a fire pit in front of it. I assumed Robin, and/or anyone else that lived here, liked to camp out sometimes. I looked around and decided that, with the mountains and the lake nearby, this would be a beautiful place to do so.
Just as I was preparing to walk up to the house, Robin walked out. I'd met her already because she and Mayor Lewis had greeted me when I first arrived here.
"Ah, hello, Rachael!" she said to me. "What can I do for you?"
"I was hoping I could get some info on how to build outdoor paths," I replied.
"Well, come on in!" she said, motioning toward the door.
And so, I did. I immediately noticed that she had a desk with a cash register. She went behind it and bent down to pick something up from under it. She came back up with a binder, and she set it on the desk in front of me.
"Have a look," she told me. "Let me know if anything stands out to you."
And nothing did until the very end of the binder. The crystal path. It had the exact aesthetic I was imagining for the farm: bold, but not blindingly bold. I was also a fan of the stepping-stone structure, rather than it just being one solid path.
"I like this one," I told her, pointing to it.
"Alright!" Robin smiled. "I'll give you the recipe for 1,000 G."
I gave her the money, and she gave me the recipe on a piece of paper.
"Have you been adjusting well to moving here?" she asked.
"Yeah, actually," I replied. "I've made friends with at least a couple of people, and I've really taken up fishing, a lot more than I expected. I'm going to use these paths to give the farm a cleaner look, too."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Robin, with obvious relief. "Sometimes, I'd get worried that old place was going to crumble to the ground. Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, okay?"
"Yeah!" I said, turning around to leave. "Have a good day!"
"You too!" I heard Robin say before I closed the door.
I got back to my farm and read that the sole ingredient for the crystal path was refined quartz.
…As in a straight mineral. A straight mineral, refined in some way.
I did NOT have it in me to go all the way back to Robin and ask her where I was supposed to get this stuff, so I called it quits for the day. I'd do it tomorrow.