Chapter Four – Back to Work
It had been just over two weeks since Sage woke up in her bed, tucked in but with no memory of arriving home. She was still absolutely mortified. The few times she even left her farm since the incident were for a quick trip to Robin's to pick up a sign, to the community center, and to the wizard's tower. She knew she wouldn't have to worry about running into Sebastian as early as she went into the carpenter's shop. That man stayed up far too late.
The sign was then hung above the entrance to the farm, reading "Mystic Meadows" as her grandpa had named it. It felt good, giving the farm its name back.
A few days after hanging her sign, she needed to make a seed trip. She had just pulled another harvest, looking much better than her first. She was pulled from her course, however, when Mayor Lewis waved her over.
"Hello there, miss Sage. Can we walk and talk for a second?" He tilted his hat at her while speaking.
"Sure, that sounds fine." With how small the town was, Sage wouldn't be surprised if Sam let out her fainting spell and now the whole town knew. Lewis was about to berate her for it. Just like her parents used to do.
They walked in silence for a short spell but eventually, they came upon an abandoned-looking building. Not getting yelled at for being irresponsible, then.
"You see this eyesore? This is the Pelican Town Community Center… or what's left of it, anyway. It used to be the pride and joy of the town. It was always full of people and now it's empty and a shame." He shook his head sadly, tears glistening in his eyes.
"I'm on the verge of selling the land to Joja. The town could use the money. They told me that if they get one last customer, they'd send over the paperwork." Sage gasped as he said this.
She couldn't imagine that terrible company taking over such a sweet town. Now, at least, her mind was fully set in stone on not buying a membership. It was too pricey anyway and the playlist that they constantly have on repeat would drive her mad. She had listened to it every day when she was working at Joja and now couldn't bare to hear any of its songs anymore.
"You can't do that Lewis. This can totally be fixed!" She waved her arms at the building, not believing herself. This building was way beyond repair.
"Well, I suppose if you think so, I may as well leave the place unlocked for you." He found a key among many on a hoop and unlocked the door. They walked in together and the smell of earth hit her face.
It was absolutely beautiful. Something about the planet reclaiming its space absolutely awed her. When she looked back at Lewis, something was behind him. Something small and… green? Her eyes darted to Lewis but when she looked back, it was gone.
In case she was absolutely hallucinating, she didn't say anything to Lewis. There was no reason to make him think she was seeing things.
"I'll definitely look around and see if I'll be able to do anything!" She gave Lewis a parting wave and he made his way back out the front door.
Jerking her head back to where she first saw it, she saw it was back in place. Taking a second to decide whether to approach it like a person or like she would approach Jasper. Since it was just slightly bigger than the cat, she went with that approach.
Sitting back on her heels, she held her hand out to it as a peace offering. The green thing approached her slowly, very unsure of itself. She was very glad she went with the cat approach, if she just walked at it, the thing probably would have disappeared again.
"Okay, so I'm Sage. The new farmer in town. Who are you, cute thing?" The green thing touched its stickish hand out and touched hers.
Suddenly, it was bouncing and making a cute high-pitched squeaking sound. It was only seconds till the room was filling up with the creatures. They bounced around her but quickly dissipated when she stood. Only the first one remained.
It bounced up and down and tried to lead her into a room. She saw what looked like an engraving but none of the letters made any sense to her. She waved a quick goodbye to the small creature and made her way back to the shop to get on with her next batch of seeds.
The next day, she met the wizard. He was odd but very, very cool. He had her drink some potion and after a moment of motion sickness, she felt… odd.
"So, what all did that do?" She asked the old man while holding back the urge to vomit.
"Hmm. It should allow you to read that inscription you found. It seems like it also instilled some of the natural magic the valley has in you. I can sense it in you. I'm interested to see what comes of that. You'll have to update me." And with that, he was ushering her out of the tower.
She shook her head slightly. She felt disoriented, almost like feeling tipsy. She wasn't sure how he knew of the inscription, she never mentioned it. She slowly made her way back to her farm and all but collapsed on her bed.
She then spent the better half of a week sleeping off the effects of that liquid she drank. She only had the energy to water her crops and feed Jasper who snuggled up by her while she spent time in her bed.
Today, she decided, was her last day in bed. Then, she desperately needed some form of social interaction. Along with her week of self-isolating along with the week being stuck in bed, she hadn't talked to anyone in far too long.
Absolutely itching at the idea of human contact, she made her way into the shower. She spent a good portion of the shower scrubbing herself with her homemade sugar scrub. The filth Sage imagined in her pores needed to be out as soon as possible.
After getting out and lotioning up, she put on a pair of loose jeans and a grey tank top. She felt immensely better and more presentable. She left her shoulder-length, dark blonde hair wet, deciding it could air dry on the walk.
Grabbing her backpack and giving Jasper a quick head scratch, she left her house. She skipped a bit, excited to talk to anyone. The first person she saw, she vowed to make conversation with. Unfortunately, the first person she saw was a tired and cranky looking Shane making his way to the saloon.
"Hi, Shane!" She said, walking up to him.
"Uh, hi. What do you want? "Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth hung open.
He winced a bit as if surprised she'd react like that.
"Shoot, I'm sorry. It has been a really long day. How are you?" She was surprised at this. From what little she had seen, he was curt with anyone not buying him a beer.
"Oh, yeah, I'm good! Just got done being sick!" She quickly blurted out.
"Oh? What did you have?" He asked, his eyebrows up.
"I'm not super sure. It passed though so I'm doing great." She wasn't sure she wanted to tell Shane that she had drank a cup of vile liquid from the wizard she just met. That sounded a bit odd.
"That's good. I s'pose. I'm gonna grab a beer, want one?" Oh, this was fun. It was a Friday so the place should be filling up. Plus, it was nearing the end of the season, so it was bound to be bustling.
"Sure!" She could have a beer, she supposed. She wasn't huge on drinking, to be honest, she was a crier when drunk. In the end, she decided that she could use it as an excuse to see the rest of the town. Not that she was thinking about a specific person. A specific tall, goofy, blond guy who had been on her mind.
Shane ordered two beers and they made small talk for a while before people flooded in. She set her drink down, giving Shane a quick goodbye, and made her way over to Lewis. He was already talking to Marnie so she would be quick.
"Hi Marnie, hi Lewis!" I don't suppose either of you knows much about that wizard, do you?" Marnie opened her mouth, eyebrows raised.
"Not much, honestly. I'm basically his neighbor and I only know his name. Why?"
Sage just shrugged. "Just curious, I suppose. Well, I'll leave you two to get back at it!" She waved and walked away.
She made her way through the room, stopping to quickly talk to them all. Her eyes kept going back to the back room. When she finally got there, however, she was suddenly anxious. A voice in her head screaming at her that this was going to be weird.
Her social anxiety had gotten better as she aged but the pit settled in her stomach and she bounced on her toes, letting the thoughts fill her head.
She was just about to back out, unseen when Sebastian saw her. His calm demeanor slipped for a second and genuine surprise filled his face. This led to the other two turning to look down the hallway.
"Sage! Hi, where have you been?" Sam called down the hallway.
She cringed at the loudness of his voice and quickly moved forward into the room. She hoped she hadn't drawn more attention towards herself. She suddenly wished she had brought a flannel to hide in.
"Hey, guys. Sorry I've been missing, I was super sick." They all nodded but Sam's eyes were narrowed. That guy was more perceptive than she gave him credit for.
"I'm glad you're feeling better! Come sit with me, I'll fill you in on the town gossip you've been missing while the boys play pool." Abigail said, patting the spot by her on the couch.
Plopping herself down, she looked over at the girl. Her hair bounced when her head moved, and Sage felt herself get a little jealous at how pretty it was. Her mom always commented on how gross her hair color was and that she needed to color it.
She raked her hand through her hair before saying anything. It was still damp but was drying quickly in the warm spring humidity. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too poofy.
"So, what have I missed? It can't be that much, right?" Abby smiled, a devious glint in her eye. Sam's eyes darted from his shot over to them.
"Well, mostly just the usual. Lewis and Marnie drama, petty rumors about this or that, the normal stuff. I know you're still new to town but I'm sure you've heard about that stuff." She gave a wicked-looking smile, seeming rather excited to share the rest of her update. "Also, Penny asked Sam out!" Sage felt her stomach drop and her mouth was suddenly dry, the anxiety back in full force.
"Oh? What did you say?" Sage heard herself say, looking over at Sam. She didn't exactly remember saying it, though. She was mad at herself for feeling this way over a man she barely knew.
"Well, she didn't ask me out, out. Y'know. With the bouquet. She was just wanting to go on a date. But, uh, I said yeah." He looked to the side, not quite meeting her eyes.
He had always had a crush on Penny but when she finally asked him out, he wasn't ecstatic like he thought he would be. His mind immediately went to Sage. Her dark green eyes and high cheekbones. Her smile and voice.
He told Penny yes because he had always wanted to go on a date with her. He had convinced himself that he wasn't good enough for her, so he hadn't thought to ask her out. The whole time he agreed, though, he thought of Sage. He couldn't bare look her in the eyes.
Sage shuffled a bit and nodded, smiling. It didn't quite reach her eyes but if she talked enthusiastically enough, she was sure that they would buy it.
"Oh, that's great Sam! That'll be fun, she's super nice based on the conversations we've had." Abigail nodded at her statement and Sebastian joined in.
"It helps that he's had a crush on her for years," Sebastian said, chuckling.
This had Abigail beside herself laughing and Sam's cheeks super red. Well, she supposed that's what she deserved for having a crush on one of the first guys she met.
They settled down and Sage forced herself to talk with Abby. She wasn't even completely aware of what she was saying but Abby seemed to be having a good time with her.
A few hours later, Sage was overwhelmed and wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed with Jasper. She stood and stretched with her hands over her head, popping several times in the process.
"Well guys, I have an early morning, so I better head out. I'll see yah around!" The trio said a quick goodbye as she left the room. She saw Shane still in his usual spot, so she went over to say thanks again.
"Hey Shane, thanks again for the beer! I really appreciate it! I'll get you back next Friday." She smiled as he looked up at her.
"Oh, I won't take you up on that, but I appreciate it. I'm trying to cut back." He scratched the back of his head as he said this.
"Oh, cool, well maybe I can buy you a soda or something instead then. I'm sure Emily can make a mean mocktail. Either way, it was good to talk to you, I'm heading out." He gave her a wave as she walked out of the saloon. Her walk was quick, and she was soon fast asleep.
At the saloon still though, trying to not be completely made a fool while playing pool, was Sam.
His mind was racing, his thoughts more scrambled than usual. He didn't know why he felt this torn up over someone who was still a stranger to him. He didn't know her. Didn't know what kind of music she liked, what movies she watched, where she grew up, or what her parents were like.
That image of her though, head tilted just slightly as she stretched up. Her long legs looked even longer when she was fully stretching them out. He liked how tall she was. Penny was much shorter than him but that had never bothered him till now.
He called the game and claimed his mom would be waiting up for him. The other two nodded and Abby said hers probably were too. As they split up outside of the saloon, he scratched his head while kicking a rock down the road.
This was such a curveball. He wondered if he should talk to Sebastian about it but the guy hadn't even been able to ask Abigail out, so he didn't have much faith in his dating advice. Maybe Penny didn't mean it as a date date. Just a friend date. That would make it easier.
No, he wanted to go out with Penny. He knew he liked her. He was excited to go out with her. But as he walked into his house, that half of him lost its hold and he was back at war with himself. It took him longer than it usually did to fall asleep, his foot bouncing the whole time he tried to sleep.