I woke up on my birthday experiencing something sorta weird, that being that I… didn't think much of it. I wasn't having fantasies of surprise parties or anything like that. It was as if my mind had finally fully acknowledged that that sort of thing was impossible. Had some kind of magical spell been cast on me so that I could finally keep my expectations realistic? If it was a spell, I had to thank the magician that cast it. This was so freeing, it was insane.
I decided to spend the day gathering more quartz. The paths were coming along nicely, but I still had a ways to go.
After I fed Laslow, I gathered my things and went to head out the door.
But then, he meowed.
I turned around to face him. He was sitting in front of his food bowl, facing me.
He must not have needed anything, though, because a few seconds after I turned around to look at him, he turned around and started eating.
The creatures of the mines were as defensive as usual. Well, if anything, I had to admit that there weren't as many today. I was, for the most part, able to cruise around and pick up minerals without having to stop. The whole time I was down there had a smooth flow to it.
When I emerged, bag full of minerals and monster drops, the sun was starting to set. The sky must have been nature's birthday gift to me this year, because I'm telling you, an artist could have painted it. It seemed like the different layers of orange and pink were really created by a paintbrush. Everything below it was coated in orange light. It was so surreal. I couldn't help but admire it as I headed for home.
"Hey there!" I heard Robin call from her house.
I stopped to look and see that she was standing in her front door.
"Hi!" I waved, getting ready to leave again. I stopped short when she spoke again.
"Sebastian and his friends were looking for you," she told me. "They said it's your birthday today! Happy birthday!"
"Thanks!" I said, my heart warming up. "Do you know where they are?"
"After they asked me if I'd seen you, they went toward town," she answered. "Beyond that, I'm afraid I'm not sure."
"Thanks!" I said, turning and heading toward town. "You have a good day!"
"Let me know if you need any work done on the farmhouse!" she called after me.
"I will!" I called back.
When I got to town, it was almost completely barren. Alex was petting his dog, but that was about it.
There was no sign of my friends anywhere.
"Hey, what's up?" asked a semi-familiar voice. Startled, I quickly turned to see that it was Alex who had said that.
He didn't sound awkward at all. Either he didn't give a shit who saw his romantic escapades, or he didn't know I'd seen them. While I would have preferred the latter, either was better than things being awkward, so I was content.
"Not much, not much," I answered. "How about you?"
"Just spending time with ol' Dusty," Alex answered. "…Happy birthday, by the way."
"Aw, thanks," I smiled. "Hey, speaking of which, would you happen to have seen Sebastian anywhere?"
"I just saw him and his friends go down that way," Alex answered, pointing toward the path to my house.
"Really?" I asked. "Alright, thanks!"
"Don't mention it," said Alex.
When I got close enough to home that I could see the porch, my heart skipped, like, two beats.
There, standing on my porch and conversing, were Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail. Abigail was holding Laslow (I wondered if he'd become her cat just as much as he was mine), and Sam was holding a rectangular prism about as tall as a pencil, wrapped in solid blue, as well as a plastic bag filled with what looked like food.
"I don't know why," I heard Abigail say. "But the image of Sam picking blueberries is really funny to me."
"Why?" Sam asked her. "I can pick a mean blueberry any day of the week! Just… don't ask me to make a cobbler out of them."
"The skater boy, picking blueberries," said Sebastian. "I think that's what's so funny about it."
"I prefer blackberries myself," said Abigail. "Put them in a cobbler, and you've won me over."
She then looked over and saw me standing there.
"Hey, you ever consider growing blackberries?" she asked.
As I walked over to them, I answered "I don't think anyone sells blackberry seeds here, but I could do some research. They are in season right now, if I recall correctly."
"Blackberry cobbler is life," Abigail replied. "Have you tried it?"
"'Fraid not, but I'll have to after that glowing review," I said, stopping once I got to the side railing of the porch.
"Good," Abigail smiled.
"Anyway, though," I said. "I mean this in an excited way, but what are y'all doing here?"
"What do you think?" Sam asked, walking off the porch and up to me. "It's your birthday, isn't it?"
"Did you think we were standing on your porch having an exclusive party for ourselves?" Sebastian quipped.
"Well, no, but…" I said with a nervous laugh.
Sam held the present out to me.
"Here," he said. "From all of us."
"Come up here and open it!" said Abigail.
And so, I did. I stepped onto the porch and set the present on the railing. Removing the wrapping paper revealed something I never thought I'd own, a YoYo's Crazy Day figurine. YoYo himself, in fact, giving the air an uppercut.
"You guys…" I reacted, feeling my eyes damn near tearing up. "…I don't deserve you guys."
I didn't. What had I done to be worthy of the attention of the three best people I'd ever met in my life? What had I done to deserve the angel of a kitty cat one of those people was currently holding? What earned me this beautiful sanctuary and the land it came with that was so full of life?
"Aw, come on," Sam replied. "Yeah, you do."
I'm surprised his saying that alone didn't make me burst into tears.
But it did do something. In one fell swoop, driven completely by impulse, I turned around and opened my arms for a hug. This turned into Sam hugging me, then me and Abigail sharing a hug. I didn't think Sebastian was the hugging type, so I stood and thought for a second. Fortunately, to answer my question, he awkwardly rose a fist so that we could do the most awkward fist bump of my life. It made all of us laugh.
"I brought food," Sam said to me, raising the bag in his hand to point it out. "If it's okay with you, I figured we could hang out for a while."
"Yeah, it's okay!" I answered with an obvious bit of glee. "Come in!"
I led them into the house. While I hadn't exactly been expecting company, my house was actually pretty tidy, save for a stray bit of rock here and there around my furnace.
Too late, though, I realized there wasn't really anywhere to sit. Again, wasn't expecting company. Although I guess I should add "ever" to that.
"Sorry I don't have any seating," I said.
"No biggie," Sam answered, sitting against the wall by the door and setting the bag of food down by him. Sebastian sat against another bit of wall a few feet from Sam, and Abigail, after grabbing a pack of cookies from the bag, sat cross-legged in the middle of the room. At least the floor was carpeted.
"So how are you guys doing?" I asked, sitting on my bed.
"Not bad, not bad," Sam answered, grabbing a Joja Cola from the bag. "The band's starting to work on a new song."
"Oh, speaking of which," Abigail added. "Sam, I've been practicing my drum solo, and I'm not 100% yet, but I'm getting it down!"
"Awesome!" Sam replied.
I couldn't be totally sure, but I thought something about Abigail's statement made Sebastian smile.
Abigail then turned to me and said "I can't wait until you can see us in concert. I think you'll be impressed!"
"I've actually heard you guys practice from outside," I said. "I'm not kidding, you're making some sick music in there."
"Aww, thanks!" she smiled. "We'll get you discount tickets for our first concert!"
I laughed and joked "Just because I said that?"
"Our first concert's probably gonna be a free one," said Sebastian. "Probably in the park or something."
"Well, hey, that's good," I said. "I… guess that would be a good way to start, actually. Do any music festivals happen around here?"
"There's a few a year in ZuZu," said Abigail.
"Why not apply to play for one of them?" I said.
"We've thought about that," said Sam. "We're thinking we might shoot for the family-friendly one next year. The cost to sign up is kinda bull, though."
"Yeah," Abigail agreed.
"That sucks," I said.
"Yup," Abigail agreed.
Then, silence for a few seconds. I guess that's where that conversation ended. Eventually, though, Abigail spoke up again.
"So I think Alex and Haley are dating," she said.
"I'm pretty sure they're dating," said Sam. "You saw them holding hands, right?"
"I heard her call him 'honey,'" Abigail added. "I thought she was being sarcastic, though."
Now was my chance.
"Yep, they're dating," I said. "Actually, I'll do you one better: they're fucking."
"Oh, yeah!" Abigail said, laughing. "Tell Sam and Sebastian what happened."
"Gladly," I smiled.
I told them exactly what I'd told Abigail, feeling smug the whole time. Sebastian seemed completely indifferent, but Sam was baffled.
When I finished the story, Sam reacted with "That's actually crazy."
"Well, you heard it here first," I said.
"You could totally use that to blackmail them if you wanted," said Abigail.
"I guess, but… I dunno," I replied. "The thought of being blackmailed myself scares me, so I feel weird about doing it to someone else. Maybe if they really gave me shit or something."
"How long do you think it's going to last?" asked Sam, cracking open the cola in his hand. "I bet you five dollars they'll be done by the end of the season."
"Any other girl, I'd agree," said Abigail. "But those two have known each other most of their lives."
"Have they?" asked Sam. "I mean, I guess that could mean good things. Unless he's just been waiting for a chance to get in bed with his childhood friend his whole life."
"Is Alex a fuckboy?" I asked.
"Kinda," Sam answered. "Like, he's got more personality and ambition than your standard fuckboy, but he's enough of a fuckboy to where you doubt any girl he's with will be with him long."
"Ah," I nodded, thinking back to the few times I'd spoken to him. Something in me wanted to disagree with Sam and Abigail, that Haley would be good for Alex, that he had a lot of love to give. But I'd just moved here. Who was I to judge?
"Yeah," said Abigail. "I mean, these could be unfair judgements, for all we know. I guess we'll see."
"Waiting and seeing is all we can do," I said.
"Yup," nodded Abigail.
Another few seconds of silence. I opened my mouth to bring up the video games I had waiting under my bed, but then remembered I only had a single controller. I'd moved here in part to make friends, but I never expected it to actually happen, so I didn't want to blow money on controllers that may never end up used. I guessed I'd have to get some now.
We spent the next hour or so shooting the shit, and I learned some basic information about some more of the citizens here. There was a woman named Leah who did art over by the river, Elliott was really an aspiring author who'd moved here not too long ago, the woman I'd talked to when I first saw the saloon was named Pam and was Penny's mother, Emily liked to make clothing, the blacksmith named Clint probably had a crush on said Emily, and the like.
It was around dinnertime when they left. And it had been a long while since I'd felt this genuinely good inside.
What better place for the figurine than atop the TV, I decided?