Tipping Point

It was a bright, sunny Sunday morning. The sight of the healthy red hue of her radish crop gave Violet a warm, fuzzy feeling she could not quite explain. On some basic level, the young farmer simply felt a stirring in her soul. From that vague sense of belonging, Violet knew she was where she was meant to be, here in the Valley. Her grandparents' old farmhouse already felt more like home than any other place the woman had lived. It was hers now...

Ironically, the only things that particularly bothered Violet on this beautiful day were some plants in her garden. The strangeness of the mysteriously variegated blueberries and hops plants were odd from the start. Now that they were more mature, it was obvious that the rich crimson of the blueberry bushes and the lustrous bronze of the hops were not simply tricks of the light. If not for the literal comparison of the normal specimens next to them, Violet would have wondered if Pierre had accidentally sold her the wrong seeds.

No, something else must have caused the dramatic change. But what? Violet's lips twitched to one side as she considered the possibilities. Could this be another example of magic in Pelican Town? If it were the land itself, Violet suspected it would have happened to all her crops, even during Spring. Then again, it could be a person. But who would bother enchanting her crops? Was Rasmodius angry at Violet about something? Or maybe this was the Shadow creatures' way of showing their displeasure at being banned from creeping up to her window in the middle of the night. There was always Sebastian. Maybe something happened when he tried all those spells that they did not notice right away?

But what spell could have possibly turned her plants such bizarre colors? While Violet had to admit they were beautiful in their own way, the farmer was cautious not to touch them when she watered the crops each morning. Violet's nature hike with Leah was enough to open her eyes to the potential dangers - if not minor inconveniences - a plant could cause the human body.

Violet sighed. She would not get any definitive answers by guessing haphazardly. For now, the farmer decided to wait until they produced fruit - assuming they would at all. The young woman was still a bit wary of Rasmodius after their first encounter and she was not about to have Bex in a state of panic again. So, after making her rounds to check the small cave on the property, the taps on her trees, and adding water to Bruno's bowl, Violet decided to pay Talla a visit before spending the rest of the day fishing. She had enough money for now, so she decided to forego the trip to Pierre's to sell her radishes.

On her way, the pastel-haired woman found the summer forageables the Junimos had requested and tucked them away in her bag for safekeeping. Violet had grown accustomed to hearing Talla's singing before she spied the woman across the forest clearing, so it was no surprise to catch the song wafting through the shade of the trees. The farmer did not understand the words, but this tune sounded somewhat spiteful.

"Has someone upset you?" Violet asked the merchant cautiously as she approached the cart. The purple hog snorted a reply of its own before Talla could speak.

"Only a disrespectful drunkard," the woman answered coolly, lifting her eyebrows, and lowering her eyelids as if to look down at an ant. "He would not have tasted well, anyway…" Talla sniffed. She leaned against the counter to better view her customer as she handed Violet the usual catalog of goods. "Now which of my goods catches your sea-blue eyes today, little flower?"

Sundays. They were the fucking worst day of the week. All they did was drag on forever to remind Shane that he lacked friends or a social life. Even the sun was too damn bright in his eyes as he stepped outside. It was blinding, mocking him as the hot rays beamed down on him like he was an ant under a magnifying glass.

Had the weather forecast really called for it to be this humid today? Eh, fuck it. It would be cooler in the forest. Shane's dark eyes rounded the corner of the fence that marked the boundary of Marnie's ranch. Jas was already gone to play on the beach with Vincent. At least he could sneak off without her asking too many questions.

"Shane!" The man paused. It was Aunt Marnie, who took his hand in hers and placed an object into his palm. "You almost forgot your phone," the brunette told him in a playfully scolding manner. "I charged it for you."

The disheveled chicken farmer stared at the device in his hand. Shane had meant to leave it on purpose. He did not want to be bothered today, not that anyone would call him, though. He sighed heavily and pocketed the phone in his holey Jojo Mart jacket. "Thanks, aunt Marn..." he responded in a gruff voice.

"Will you be out late tonight, Shane?" the rancher asked her nephew. "Or should I expect you back at your usual time?"

The dark-haired man shrugged. "Don't wait up for me," he replied with the non-committal gesture, his black eyes avoiding his aunt's hopeful stare. Marnie thought that meant he would be out with friends. Stupid. He did not have any real friends. Emily only talked to him because he was a regular at her job. Sam was a co-worker at best and an obnoxious reminder of the past at worst. The rest of the younger adults just... pitied him. It was all a ruse when they invited him to join their pool match under the guise of needing more players. Shane did not want their sympathetic smiles or their condescendingly "understanding" about how shitty he felt about himself all the time.

No, today he needed to be alone. Morris put him on fucking "probation" for leaving early for Jas' party, even though he still worked a full shift. That bastard was just a demon in a bow tie. A power-hungry little man with nothing to do but enforce ludicrously rigid rules for pettiness' sake. Shane never hated someone as much as he did Morris. And yet there was nothing he could do about it. Except drink.

Shane glanced around, scanning the forest to make sure no one was watching him. He heard a strange voice calling to him from the trees, though. The dark-haired man felt a tug on his body to head west, but he resisted. "Leave me alone!" he shouted to the voice angrily, stomping southward toward his destination. "And keep it down, no one wants to hear your stupid singing anyway!"

Harvey stood on the dock of the small forest pond, peering over the edge to groom himself before he approached the traveling cart. Doctor Harvey had decided against his kelly green jacket today. It was far too hot in the sun for layers, but he made sure his clean white shirt was as neat as possible before he left the clinic. Too bad he was already sweating through it slightly. A stray strand of brunet hair stuck straight up and his comb could not tame it. The doctor dipped his hand in the pond and tried to dampen his hair slightly to force the uncooperative thing into submission, but all it did was make him as if a tiny rain cloud caught him off-guard. He sighed in defeat.

Still, the mustached man was not about to be deterred. Harvey intended to know what Talla meant when she said she would have to decide if he was suitable. Did she want him as a source along her mercantile route? It would be a way to make some extra money, assuming he could still get necessary items at the discount he received as a medical professional next season. If that were the case, Harvey knew he would have to be careful. If certain government officials caught on that he was selling his surplus at a profit, it could cost Pelican Town's only doctor his license.

But Harvey would not let momentary vanity keep him from chatting with the mysterious merchant today. Talla must have all sorts of interesting stories from her travels. The doctor knew already she was a talented singer and businesswoman. The man could not help but be drawn to another professional, even if they were in vastly different fields.

Of course, Harvey would be lying to himself if he did not acknowledge Talla's beauty. He could not help but be impressed by the stunning and accomplished woman. She could not be much older than him, assuming she was older. Perhaps that was silly of Harvey to automatically think any woman traveling the world on her own and running her own successful business had to be older than him.

He smiled as the sound of Talla's haunting humming reached his ears. Harvey foolishly thought for a moment that it meant she knew he was close-by. Why on earth would she do that? They had only met once after all.

The teal-haired woman flashed Harvey a charming smile as he approached the shuttered opening of the cart where she stood. "Ah, it is the Doctor," she practically purred in delight. "I was not sure you would return today…" the vendor admitted with a pleasant smirk.

"You… did say I should come see you again," Harvey replied with a nervous laugh, suddenly self-conscious by how much he was sweating through his once-crisp white shirt.

The fabric of her ocean-blue dress rustled with her movement as she propped her arms on the counter of her cart. "And you listened," she stated aloud, the curve of her lips turning upward. "It is good when a man listens to a woman's words and takes heed." Harvey could tell that Talla was in a good mood. Perhaps other men along the trader's route did not treat her as an equal because of her sex. How frustrating.

"I take it that in your experience, men do not listen all that often?"

Something flickered in the merchant's eyes and her grin widened almost a bit too much. Harvey wondered if it was because the heat and humidity combined, like a momentary mirage. "Oh, many men listen to my words," Talla replied. "But it does not always end well for them."

Suddenly, Harvey began to wonder if Talla's past were perhaps a bit more violent than he originally anticipated. Was she part of a crime ring? A drug cartel? The doctor began to wonder if he should dare to get more details. If Talla was considering doing business with him, it would be in Harvey's best interest to find out. Surely this vendor would not do anything to someone from a small town. Everyone would find out quickly that the local doctor had met his untimely demise, unlike somewhere like a big city where a murder victim might be more anonymous.

The mustached man realized that he must have reacted in a noticeable way because Talla began to laugh. "Do not worry. I do not go out of my way to punish men. I am more of an... opportunist." She straightened herself and added, "And I defend my fellow women when the need arises."

Harvey relaxed at the latter part of that statement. "Ah, yes. That's an honorable thing to do." While he had never personally been sexually harassed, he imagined women were both victims and witnesses to that kind of behavior. The doctor would never condemn someone for helping someone else in that situation.

"You must lead an interesting life as a merchant," Harvey said, trying to drum up a conversation. He wanted to hear more about Talla's experiences from other countries.

"Interesting is a word for my life, yes," Talla replied. Her deep blue eyes glanced down at him. "I take it you do not intend to buy anything from my shop today?"

The brunet tugged at the collar of his buttoned shirt, loosening the topmost fastener along with his brown tie. "I uh… Well, I suppose I could take a look at what you have to offer."

Talla offered him the list of her wares, which Harvey accepted, and the woman propped her head on her hand. "I could certainly share a few tales as you browse," she stated dismissively. "I imagine you are the only other potential customer I shall see today anyway…"

Maru sat beside a smiling Penny on the bench outside the old Community Center. The scientist was amazed at how happy her best friend had become. When Penny spoke about the editing she had done for Elliott's new book, her bright green eyes seemed more vibrant somehow, though Maru could not find a measurable difference in their hue. "I never knew I would enjoy editing so much," the teacher confessed to Maru. "It's not that I don't enjoy grading the children's assignments, but it's so… different!"

"I'll bet!" the overall-clad woman agreed with a chuckle. "Do you know when the book will be published?" Maru asked curiously. Even if she was not particularly fond of romance novels, the woman wanted to support Penny's passion projects.

Penny shook her head. "Elliott said the final draft should be ready to send to the publisher in the next week or two. From there, it could take a while before it's printed and distributed." From under her sunhat, Penny glanced at Maru. "How are things going with Alex?" she asked.

Maru pondered the question for a moment before answering. "Well, he's starting to show signs of improvement in his running endurance," the amateur trainer informed her friend. "And his musculature is changing slightly now that he's doing a more varied workout routine."

"Is that… good?" Penny wondered aloud. While she did not know a lot about sports or anatomy, she wanted to give Maru a chance to talk about her hobbies.

The bespectacled woman grinned. "Yes, actually. Alex seems to think he's losing muscle and panicked a bit, but I assured him that he's only evening things out throughout his whole body rather than concentrating on just his upper body."

Penny blushed at the thought. "Oh, so you… see his muscles often?"

Maru shrugged, "We do measurements every other week and he tends to remove his shirt when he gets sweaty." The scientist paused when she noticed Penny's face go as red as her formally dyed hair. "Is… everything okay?" she inquired.

"It all just seems so… intimate," Penny squeaked, hiding her blushing face behind her hands. "I can't imagine being in that situation."

This was one of those areas that Maru and Penny were vastly different in their ways of thinking. Maru saw clothing as something useful: protective from the elements, chemicals, etc. and therefore necessary for safety purposes. From when Maru understood, Penny viewed clothing as something to cover something inherently… sacred, perhaps. The nurse acknowledged that she had seen many bodies in her practice and not thought much of it. Physical forms were necessary for acting upon the world around us and for taking in stimuli, but Maru did not see the point of Penny's concept of "modesty." Though, thinking upon it now, the scientist realized that her overalls might give off the wrong impression to her best friend in terms of supposed agreement with the idea. Maru only really wore them because they had so many useful pockets!

Maru shrugged nonchalantly, "It's just part of the recording progress, nothing more. Neither of us seem to mind." She leaned back on the bench and inhaled deeply as the warmth of the late afternoon sun hit her face, warming her. "Smell that rain!" she declared excitedly as she pointed out the clouds on the horizon.

Penny looked puzzled. "It's not supposed to rain until tomorrow…" she said.

"From the smell in the air, it'll probably start raining sometime late tonight," Maru assured Penny. "We're in no danger of getting wet just sitting here for a while."

The teacher relaxed, settling back into her seat on the bench. Her face lit up as she recalled something of interest. "Oh, it's been a while, but how is that flying camera coming?" Penny questioned Maru.

"The drone is coming along nicely!" Maru replied enthusiastically. "I added a few new views to the camera, like black and white, night vision, and heat signatures rather than the regular picture." She pulled out a few photos from her overall pockets as examples. While Penny marveled over how different they looked, despite being an image of the same specimen. Maru said, "The last one I'm working on is for radiation, but that's going to take some time to develop properly because it's much more complicated..."

Emily had lain awake in her bed for hours, listening to the sounds of the storm outside. Normally, the rain put her to sleep right away, but the woman could not help but shake the foreboding seeping into her bones.

Her chestnut eyes gazed up at the moonless night, the thick clouds curtaining the moon and stars from those below. Shane had not come to The Stardrop Saloon tonight. He always came in after work. While it might be a good thing that the late-night regular did not show up, Emily felt uneasy. It was almost better for Shane to show up so she could keep tabs on him rather than wonder where he was at any given moment - physically and mentally.

The sapphire-haired woman sat up in her bed and snatched her phone from her nightstand. Emily hesitated. It was well past two in the morning. Even Shane should be asleep by now. The young woman frowned, running her hands through her soft, short hair. The barkeep did not want to wake the rest of the household needlessly, but still. Something was wrong.

Finally, after a few minutes sitting in the dark, debating the pros and cons of simply walking over to the ranch in the rain, her phone lit up in her hand. Emily nearly dropped the phone in her rush to answer. "Shane!" Emily answered anxiously. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

The voice on the other end sounded weak against the thud of the raindrops. "Emily… I… I'm sorry..." A drunken hiccup escaped his lips.

Emily threw the blanket off her bed as she rose to dress herself. "Don't apologize, Shane. I told you that you can call me whenever," she assured her friend. This was one of the times when Emily appreciated her ability to multitask as she pulled on her rain gear and headed out the door.

There was an eerie silence on the phone. "Shane! Can you hear me?" Emily shouted in a panic.

A chill ran down Emily's spine when he finally spoke up. "Emily… What's to stop me from jumping?"

Her boot stomped the ground, splashing water up onto her legs, but she did not care. "Don't you dare, Shane!" Emily's eyes welled up with tears. "J-just tell me where you are, please."

"I'm with the rest of the garbage…" he muttered miserably.

"Emily, what are you doing?" Haley's voice came from the doorway of the house behind her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and closed her pink robe tightly around her body. "It's the middle of the night…"

The eldest sister bit her lip, "Don't you hang up, Shane. I'm coming to find you." Emily glanced at her sister, whose eyes widened as she nodded in understanding after seeing the desperation on Emily's face.

Emily covered her phone to speak to Haley briefly. "I'm going to look in the Cindersap Forest near the pond," she informed the blonde. "See if you can find out if anyone has seen him today. Text me if you do, I'll be busy talking him out of…" Her voice trailed off. Haley had never seen her sister look so grim. It frightened her.

Without another word to her sister, Emily flipped the hood of her raincoat up over her head and began running westward. "Shane, stay with me. Okay?"

Leah had been dead to the world when a pounding came at her front door. The sound startled her, nearly causing her to fall out of bed. The red-head's first reaction was to grab her chisel as a weapon of self-defense in case the intruder tried to break in.

"Leah, it's Haley!" a voice came from the door. "Please open up!" The woman outside smacked the door again, not realizing that the house's inhabitant was already awake.

While the artist could not understand what was so urgent, she lowered her instrument and opened the door. The blonde was soaked to the bone as she stepped inside. Haley had not prepared proper attire for the weather raging outside. Something must really be wrong.

"Emily… went looking for Shane," Haley said breathlessly. "I think... he's in trouble!" Leah knew that Haley did not particularly care for Shane, but if her sister was involved, that probably made it her business. "Have you seen him at all today?" the blonde asked, her damp hair stuck to the side of her face.

Leah shook her head gravely. "No, I haven't…" she confessed guiltily. Without a second though, the red-head pulled on a raincoat and her boots quickly. She tossed an extra poncho to Haley. "Here, put this on. I'll come with you," she said, grabbing her emergency flashlights and a lantern.

Haley did not question the choice in wardrobe and donned the polyester rain gear. "Thanks…" she said appreciatively, realizing she must have looked like a drowned rat.

"I think we should get Violet, too," Leah informed her search party partner. "If nothing else, maybe Bruno can help find a missing person."

"You think her dog is trained to sniff someone out?" Haley questioned doubtfully, closing the door behind her as they stepped out into the rain.

Leah shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't have to find Shane," she reasoned. "Bruno can probably reach places we can't to search, or maybe Shane will hear the barking and come to us. Either way, I think it's a good idea. And a third set of eyes will be helpful with the weather. If something goes wrong, one person can stay with an injured party and the other person can go for help."

Haley had not thought of that. It was probably a good idea, given the likelihood that someone could get lost or hurt with this much rain there was relatively low visibility. "Okay," the blonde agreed. "But let's hurry. I don't want Emily out here by herself too long."

Maru doubted her alarm when it began to chime. There was no way it was already time to get up. After a moment, however, she realized the sound was not her alarm, but a phone call. Who in the world would call her so late? Picking up the device, she tapped the answer button and the speaker, so she could lie in bed while talking.

"Hello?" Maru answered groggily.

"Maru!" It was Violet. "It's an emergency. Shane is missing and we think he's in danger!"

The scientist shot up from her bed, adrenaline already reaching her system. "What can I do?"

"We tried getting Bruno to sniff for Shane, but he led us to the Mayor's house!" Violet sighed in exasperation. "Can your drone be safely used in this storm? It's the only thing I can think of that might give us a better chance of finding Shane quickly."

Maru doubted the drone would survive long in this storm, but she had no doubts it would be helpful if they were lucky for long enough. If they could save Shane, it would be worth a busted drone. "I'll see what I can do," Maru stated. "Do you have any suspicions for where he might have gone?"

"Haley texted Emily for any hints. She's been looking in the Cindersap Forest, but no luck so far. Apparently, he told Emily he was 'with the rest of the garbage,' if that means anything to you."

The drone hummed to life as Maru prepared it as best she could for the elements outdoors. "I have two guesses, though one is out of the town boundaries. I'm going to take an educated guess to go with my gut here," the tinkerer told the farmer. "Meanwhile, head to the Cindersap Forest and try to connect with Emily. I'll call you again once I have any updates."

Emily emerged from the tree line crying, though if it were not from the sounds of her sobs, the others would have never been able to tell from how soaked from the rain she had become. "I can't find him!" she wailed. "The lake is flooding, so if he's on one of the little islands, there's no way to get to him without swimming. The bridges are completely covered."

Haley pulled her sister into a hug. "We're going to find him, Emily," she promised, though in her heart she knew they may not like what they found. "What happened to your phone? I thought you were still talking to Shane."

The sapphire-haired woman shuddered. "I slipped in the mud and dropped it. I can't get it to turn on anymore," she cried pitifully.

Violet and Leah stood quietly for a moment before the farmer spoke up. "Emily, if you want to take a break, we can keep looking. You must be exhausted…"

Emily shook her head furiously. "No, I can't rest until Shane is safe!" she replied adamantly, clutching Haley tightly.

Violet's phone rang and she immediately answered. "Maru? What's the word?" The pastel-haired woman nodded in understanding and she held the phone away from her face for a moment to speak to the other participants in their manhunt. "She said she found something on the cliffs by the sewers, but… if that's him his body temperature is getting too low. We need to head that way now!"

Emily's warm brown eyes widened, and she dashed off, not waiting for the trio of women behind her. She did not even hear the others calling her name, all Emily could hear was the beating of the heart in her chest and the sound of her ragged breathing. "Please be okay, Shane…"

When she finally found him on the ridge above the sea, Emily's heart leapt when she noticed Shane breathing. "Shane! Thank Yoba!"

The man lie face down on the wet ground as he coughed a greeting to Emily. "M… My life… It's a pathetic joke… Look at me…"

"You're having a bad brain day, Shane," Emily wept, holding his head in her lap. "It's going to be okay now. Help is on its way…"

Shane did not seem to hear her. "Why do I even try?" He sobbed, "I'm too small and stupid to… to take control of my life…"

Emily stroked his head gently, "Shhh… You're not stupid, Shane. Don't talk like that."

"I'm just a p… piece of soiled garbage flittering in the wind…" he protested, rolling off her lap to vomit over the edge of the cliff.

"I've been coming here often lately…" the man told his friend. "Looking down…" He chuckled, but it was a laugh of pain, Emily realized as she could feel her heart breaking at the sound of his voice. "Here's a chance to finally take control of my life... These cliffs…"

Emily grasped at his jacket to keep him from falling over the side of the drop-off, but Shane swatted her hand away. "B… bu…" he retched again. "But I'm too scared, too anxious. Just like always…"

"It's a sign of real strength, Shane," Emily insisted. "You've been so strong trying to bear all this on your own, but you need to let others help you…"

Shane collapsed, his face protruding over the cliff slightly as he stared down at the white-capped waves below. "Emily… All I do is work, sleep, and drink… t… to dull the feelings of self-hatred." He posed a question as he balled his fists around the grass beneath him. "Why should I even go on?" The tears that ran down his cheeks mingled with the rain drops on his face. "Tell me… T… Tell me why I shouldn't roll off this cliff right now…"

Emily draped herself across his body, shielding him from the storm. "Jas needs you. You're like a father to her." And after a moment of silence, she added, "And I…"

Shane must not have heard and interrupted "You're right. Jas…" he groaned miserably, trying to rise to his feet. Emily sat back on her heels to allow him up. "Ugh, God… I'm a horrible..." He hiccupped, "... selfish person. Now I feel even worse."

"Please stop…" Emily begged Shane, quietly, touching his shoulder lightly. "Stop talking about yourself like that."

Shane sat down, realizing he could not reasonably expect to stand in his condition. His dark eyes glanced at his friend. "Emily… I think you should take me to the hospital now."

Emily bobbed her head and rose to her feet, offering a hand to help him up. She was alarmed at how cold his hands were, but she was relieved as soon as she heard the squelching steps of other three women close-by. "Let's get you out of the rain, okay?"

Shane nodded, accepted her hand, but a look of panic took over his pale face as he felt the ground beneath him shift. The sapphire-haired woman realized that part of the cliff face was separating from the ground and tried her best to fight gravity, pulling Shane toward her. It was no use; they were both going to fall. Then, Shane made eye contact with her, let go of her hand, and pushed Emily back toward firmer ground. "Sorry…" he whispered. "I didn't mean to make you cry…" Suddenly, both Shane and the earth beneath him disappeared into the ocean below leaving only frothing bubbles where they made contact with the surface that swallowed them whole.