One morning, I went into town to see Sebastian and Abigail sitting together by the river (Sebastian's arm being wound tightly around Abigail's shoulders), Sam practicing what I thought was a kickflip near them, and Elliott sat against the tree by those few gravestones and reading a book.

I walked over to the gravestones, more out of curiosity than anything. While I was new to Stardew and still learning what it was all about, I shrugged this collection of graves off as a little cemetery... but I came to realize that not one addition had been made to it since I'd been here. Was this place really that small, that not one person had died in all that time?

I'd only ever been able to read the gravestone that said "Our beloved Mona." I tried to read the others, but they had been smoothed over so badly that I couldn't make out a single letter. They may as well have been weirdly-upstanding rocks. With that much time having been able to wear away at them, I imagined the people who were buried underneath them must have been pioneers, perhaps the first to discover the beauty that was Stardew Valley. Perhaps one or two of them had named Stardew Valley and Pelican Town.

"Having any luck making out what those gravestones say?" I heard Elliott ask from behind me. "I've never been able to read them, either."

I whipped around, out of shock, to see that Elliott hadn't moved from his position by that tree. His book was still open and everything.

"I-I'm afraid not," I said, walking over to him. "I wonder how long ago the people under them died, for so much time to have gone by that their gravestones are that weathered."

"It is a mystery," Elliott replied.

Then, the first lull in the conversation. I turned toward the beach.

"Come," he then said. "Sit with me. I-I mean, if you'd like."

I thought for a moment. Well, the sun was certainly out for vengeance today, and the shade of the tree looked like an amazing refuge. I shrugged the tiniest shrug and went to sit next to Elliott.

"What are you reading?" I asked, peeking over at his book.

"Ah, I've unfortunately run into some more writer's block," he answered, seeming a bit irritated at said writer's block. "I planned today to read the works of an author I used to love in middle school, to try to gather some inspiration."

"Oh, nice," I said, "Who's that?"

"He has never revealed his real name, but goes by the pen name 'Wyck Sarks,'" he said, lightening back up. "He writes all sorts of romance. This one in particular involves a couple being brought together via the shenanigans the woman's dog gets up to."

"Aww, that sounds sweet," I said.

He then went back to reading for maybe a second, before speaking up again.

"How were your travels back here?" he asked. "It seems you left the resort before I did."

"Ah, so you must have booked a later train," I said. "Yeah, I was wondering where you were at. The ride was fine, and obviously, I'm here safe, so that's good."

"That is good," he nodded.

"And your travels?" I asked. "Obviously, you're here safe, but I hope everything went alright."

"Everything went smoothly," he nodded. "No delays, no maintenance... Probably the best possible outcome. Well..."

I then realized his gaze was more directly on me than it had ever been this entire conversation. I looked up at him to see that he was... blushing a bit. I wasn't sure if I was ready for whatever he was about to say next.

"I-I must admit..." he said. "My travels were... a little... lonelier without-"

Then, a loud noise from over by where Sam had been. In the moment, all my brain had processed was some kind of loud noise that made me try to look over and see what had happened. Elliott seemed mildly curious, but only enough to stop mid-sentence and look over in that general direction.

A few seconds later, I realized the sound had sounded like some kind of metal object falling over. A trash can? I realized I wasn't going to see anything unless I stood up from my position.

When I did that, I found Sebastian and Abigail standing over Sam, who was now in a sitting position by Haley and Emily's trash can, which had been knocked over. I then noticed that Sam's skateboard was rolling to a slow stop by the little section of fence by the graveyard.

Thankfully, when Abigail asked Sam if he was okay, he said he was completely fine.

Without thinking, I walked over to the skateboard, picked it up, and told Elliott "I should probably return this to Sam. It was good talking to you, Elliott!"

"Y-Yeah," Elliott replied, his voice laced with a bit of disappointment. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah..." I said, the guilt of just leaving Elliott like that starting to set in.

I looked over at Sam, who'd stood up and was looking around for his board, which I was holding.

Welp, I'd chosen this course of action, so I was going to follow through with it. I silently decided to try to make it up to Elliott later, took a breath, and went over to return Sam's board.