Ch. 9 Spirit's Eve

Fall seemed to be speeding by for Carrissa as she busied herself with all her different crops. She could only hope she made enough profit to make it through her first winter on the farm. Her magic had taken priority over her crops in the previous seasons, and she couldn't help but panic about having to ask for help to make it through the season ahead. Shaking her head, she stepped out to harvest her pumpkins. She loaded down her Papa's old wagon, and began pulling the produce into town. What were you thinking by moving out here?

Her thoughts shrouded with dark clouds the entire walk to Pierre's. Caroline stood outside watering her flower bed outside the shop when Carri arrived. Her eyes lit up when she saw the pumpkins. "Oh, Carri, you grew pumpkins! Those are Abby's favorite. It's a yearly tradition of ours to carve a jack-o-lantern. May I buy one from you?"

"Uh, sure. Pick one out." Carrissa watched as the woman browsed her produce for the biggest pumpkin she could find.

"Ya know, Abby has been worried about you recently. Have you two gotten into a fight? She's been in her room so much more than normal. I guess I'm just worrying about her." The mother laughed lightly. "Maybe when you are selling your pumpkins inside, you could check on her for me? This time of year has always been her favorite, so it's unlike her to stay cooped up."

A simple nod is all Carri offered as she headed inside after accepting Caroline's payment. "Ms. Moongrove! It's so nice of you to stop by!" Pierre eyed the cart of pumpkins and offered a smile as he browsed her produce and made his purchase. After selling her wares, Carrissa strode her way to Abby's door. "Hey, Abs? Can I come in?" A muffled sound from the other side which could only be assumed a confirmation was heard before the farmer took a step inside. Looking over to the goth girl's bed, she noticed a lump and sighed. "You gonna stay in bed all day?"

"And what if I am?" The girl clenched the sheets in her hand until her knuckles were white. "What does it matter?"

Carrissa shook her head. "And are you just gonna skip Spirit's Eve tonight? I've been looking forward to doing the maze with you! Remember when you told me Maru won't do it and Sam won't get far?"

"Because they won't." She stated between a sniffle. When Carri pulled the covers off her, tears were rolling down her face. "I don't even want to go tonight. This fortune teller crap is all in my head still." The farmer stiffened beside her. Please don't be about her father. "I don't know how to go about it. It's Sebastian. We are in a band together, and we hang out all the time!" Carrissa couldn't help but sigh in relief then laugh. Thank YOBA. "This isn't funny, Carri! I've had a crush on Sebastian like most of my life! We even dated a few years ago!"

"Oh, I didn't know you had dated before! That's cute! Why not tell him how you feel? You guys seem pretty close."

Wiping her tears, Abigail sat up in the bed. "He left me last time because I annoyed him. He still acts like that now…. I was considering giving him a bouquet tonight, but I can't."

"I never took Seb for the flower type, so I think you will be fine."

"Do you not know the tradition here?" Abby laughed. "When you want to date someone, you give them a bouquet. My dad sells them here, but that's part of why I can't! Can you imagine me trying to buy one, and my dad being all protective and telling me no?"

Carrissa thought for a moment. "Yeah, that could be rough, but why not just buy one when you are watching the store one day? Your dad would have gotten paid for it, and not have to know it was you."

"Yoba, Carri, you are a genius!" She hugged the farmer tight as she could. "Now just to find out when to give it to Sebastian! I'm thinking either tonight or the Dance of Moonlight Jellies. He loves both of those. Anyway, enough about me, how have you been? It's been a hot minute since we have hung out. You avoiding us or something?"

Carrissa could feel her cheeks heat as she waved her arms defensively. "I've just been busy with training!" SHIT. "I-I mean… in the mines! Ya know, fighting monsters and all that!"

"You must be getting pretty good at it if you have been coming out unharmed." Abby stated proudly. "I wish I could go down, but my parents would freak. Anyway, if we are going to this festival. I better go take a shower and get ready. See you tonight, Carri!"

The rest of the day went by uneventfully for Carrissa until ten when she walked into the transformed town center. Everything was so well decorated. Pierre had a shop set up with pumpkins to carve and some already made Jack-o-lanterns. The normal area leading to the community center was decked out with overgrown maze walls. How did they even set this up?

"Evening, young adept. So, what do you think of the square? I feel it may be a little overboard." The wizard's presence was unnoticeable until he spoke.

"Well, that explains how the maze was set up." Carri said with a laugh. "Since when do you actually set up for festivals? That seems like a… friendly person kind of thing to do. I wouldn't expect help from you."

Rasmodius shrugged. "The town doing this alone would make it too"; he struggled to think of the word. "Childish. More like your normal city kind of gimmick. It would be a shame for the magic in the valley to be mocked in such a manner. So I volunteered to make it more entertaining. Anyway, I am off to speak with an old friend. Enjoy your night."

As the hermit departed, Carrissa came across Sam's band all admiring a large cage. "Hey, guys." When she saw what stalked beyond the cage bars, her blood ran cold. "S-skeletons?" Looking to her right, she saw Marlon, from the adventurer's guild. "Marlon! Why are these here? Aren't they from the ice caverns in the mines? How is this not dangerous?!"

"Don't worry, Carri! We have it under control. They are contained, and never before have monsters come out of the caves on their own accord. Monitored, these will be fine. Go enjoy your festivities."

Carri's blood boiled as she walked the few feet back to her friends, giving her concern glances at her outburst. Sam placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Carri. I'm sure Lewis wouldn't have allowed it if it was an actual danger. Jas and Vince are here after all."

"Yeah!" Abby agreed. "They are probably fake ones anyway. Robots if you will. Anyway, how about we go through this maze now! It's gonna be a blast." Her enthusiasm overflowed as she fistpumped the air.

This doesn't feel right, but I can't ruin their fun either. It has to be under control. "Yeah, let's go." Confidently, she marched toward the maze ready to conquer its trial.

After a few wrong turns the group made it to a path with zombie hands sticking from the ground. When one grabbed Maru by the ankle, she quickly fled after being freed, stating this was "not exactly her kind of thing." Not too much further in, Abigail refused to go on because of spiders. "Abby! You said you would be the one to make it to the end!" Carri half whined.

She shook her head adamantly. "There were never big ass spiders before. Nope. No. NOT GOING."

Sebastian let out a sigh. "You and Sam keep going. I will walk scaredy pants here out of the maze." And with that, there were two.

Carrissa couldn't help but steal a glance at Sam. He seemed to be enjoying the maze still, and that encouraged her to do her best and make it to the end. However, after an hour of twists and turns, the two seemed to be at a dead end. The farmer couldn't help but release a sigh. I could have sworn this was the right way. We've gone everywhere else! The sunshine boy however just smiled. "Well, at least if we are lost, we are lost together."

For some reason, the thought of that isn't so bad. I wonder…. With a burst of confidence (never mind the blush on her face), Carri grabbed Sam's hands and pulled him against her. Her back rested against the maze wall, and Sam followed her lead. He wrapped his arms around her waist, their bodies pressed together, and leaned in for a kiss, but not before the shrubbery behind Carrissa gave way and they fell through. The violet haired girl yelped under Sam's sudden weight on top of her. "Sorry! Shit." Sam's face was as crimson as a harvest moon as he stood and helped her up. "Are you alright?"

Carrissa nodded before taking his hand in hers. "I think we may have just found the way." She pointed to a tunnel with small torches. "I can promise you that isn't normally here, so I'm assuming we're close." Hand in hand, they walked through the tunnel, trying to avoid the topic of the previous flirty disaster. Once through they entered a clearing. "Sammy, look! A treasure chest!" Together they opened it, removed the golden pumpkin and exited the maze.