The boy made his way back inside the crumbling town hall, pulling along a wagon containing a large cardboard box. He came up to the front and set the box down on the desk, effectively blocking his view of the clerk. "Hey, I'm done using this. Can you store it back?"
"Sure, kid." The clerk said in a gruff voice, lifting the box to place it on the floor instead. "How'd it go this time around?"
"It went great. My wagon's completely empty now!" Yu proudly stated, pointing down to the red carriage. The clerk was a tad bit too short to see over the desk, but he'd take his word for it. "In fact, I had to turn away some people because I ran out..." He sighed. If only he had carried out more fossils.
"Well, that's business for you. Your supply's gotta meet the demand," The rabbit grunted. He folded up the cardboard box and stuffed it between two nearby cabinets, waving away the dust that came flying out.
Yu pouted at the man's obvious statement. He'd been doing this for nearly two years now, he knew how these things worked. Besides, it'd been several months since that many villagers had lined up for his sale. He couldn't be blamed for not being able to predict how much people would be interested. He internally resolved to bring twice the amount of fossils next time, no matter how much strain they would put on his arms.
I'm kind of running out though... Yu lamented. The batch he'd brought out today had been more than half of what he had stocked up. He supposed he'd have to dig up more later... Wait, huh?
Suddenly struck with the feeling that he was forgetting something, he backtracked to earlier that day. The long trek from Animal Village to Boondox (which he was used to, but after a long evening, wasn't the most ideal way of travel), visiting Bouquet's house, meeting Ai in the forest... That's right, the forest! I left my bucket there, didn't I? And it was full of fossils too! He wanted to smack his forehead, I can't believe I almost forgot about that!
"Hey, you just gonna stand there, or can I help you with something else?"
Yu jolted out of his stupor, "Uh, no, sorry. Thanks Mr. Gaston!"
He murmured something in response, but Yu didn't notice as he ran out of the town hall, not being gentle with the door at all. It nearly swung off the hinges, eliciting a curse and loud footsteps from the clerk behind him. The boy increased his speed in fear of being chased after.
It was late at night by now, and the town was shrouded in darkness. Boondox, with its meager savings, could only afford one streetlamp, which flickered beside the town hall. A few moths hovered peacefully around it, movements becoming erratic as they were disturbed by Yu's ascent away from the square.
He ran along the path leading directly to the town's exit, speed unhindered by his wagon (he'd already parked it in the woods behind the hall, fairly sure it wouldn't be stolen with how tired everyone was). His shoes scraped across the ground, creating a little dirt cloud trail behind him. Some got in his eyes, but he simply rubbed it away and continued his dash.
Yu made it to the outskirts of Animal Village in no time, having been led the way by the village's lights that could be seen from Boondox in the distance. The whole settlement was considerably brighter than his home town, being richer and able to afford more street lights. The sky was also much more clear here, stars forming constellations that were barely visible in Boondox's dirt-caked environment.
Almost as if on auto-pilot, the boy made his way to the part of the forest he was in earlier, gaze fixed on the sky. If he looked closely, he could make out something resembling a heart near the half-crescent moon. There was also an hourglass, butterfly, and... a cloud? Yu's lips quirked up at the irony of it. And I thought you couldn't see clouds at night.
In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Able Sisters' shop, letting him know he was approaching his destination. Making haste, he ran the rest of the way to the bucket's approximate location; somewhere near the entrance of the woods. Sure enough, there it was, sitting in front of the familiar dug-up holes he hadn't had the time to fill in again.
Yu walked around the holes and picked up the blue plastic bucket by its side handles, relief coursing through him when he discovered it wasn't as heavy as it looked. He spared a glance at the craters before him, shrugging their existence off as he started walking out. If Resetti hadn't said anything about them before, then surely he wouldn't mind Yu leaving them there for a while. However, he still took a moment to kick some of the dirt mounds back in their places, just in case.
As he made his way to the path again, he felt his stomach violently rumble. "Ah," He paused, having not even realized how hungry he was until now. Luckily, it was spring, meaning there were fruit trees everywhere.
The brunet made a detour from the path, singling out the nearest tree he could find. He set his bucket down underneath it and stretched his arms out, preparing himself for some more manual labour. Setting his hands on either side of the trunk, he repeatedly pushed hard on it. When nothing immediately fell, he doubled down on his strength, face scrunching up from the extra effort. C'mon, why isn't anything dropping...
After what felt like ages, Yu felt something hit the top of his hat. A surprised noise escaped him, and he looked down to see a pair of bright red cherries connected by the stem. A wide smile of victory split his face as he picked them up. They looked ripe and delicious.
He popped one in his mouth, spitting out the pit when he was done. It tasted really sweet, even sweeter than some desserts he'd had the chance to try in the past. He licked his lips and threw the other cherry in his mouth, I wonder why I haven't eaten these until now. They're so good!
He threw the stem away and looked back up at the tree. He had to get more of them, not only because they tasted good, but also because he was still really hungry. Yu grabbed onto the trunk and shook as hard as he could for a good four minutes, ignoring the burning in his arms. He heard the telltale thump of the cherries hitting the grass below every minute or so. At the end of it all, he saw three pairs and a single lying scattered around the tree.
Yu scooped them up and placed the pairs in his pocket, holding the single to snack on first. He felt a little annoyed at it not being a double, but he supposed it was better than nothing.
Taking more time to savour the fruit, the unique cherry flavour spreading across his tongue brought forth a peculiar memory. Last fall, he'd asked Ai why Sally had moved away, and she'd responded with something about a 'cherry pie'. It made him think the elephant had merely left for a village with more cherry trees than this one. He dipped his head in concurrence, She's got her priorities in check, if you ask me.
Of course, he suspected it may've been more than that, but didn't pester further in favour of leaving Ai alone. But even after she had cheered up, he'd forgotten to ask her. It was only now on a late night in Animal Village, standing under a fruit tree with a bucket full of fossils, did he remember Ai's utterance of the strange phrase. Maybe I'll ask one of them about it when I get the chance... Yu thought, nibbling on the stem. Cherry pie sounded pretty good.
Sally sat on her bed, sketchbook being illuminated by the tiny desk lamp beside her. She was flipping through the papers, trying to decide on which designs she wanted to be brought to life next.
Her most recent release was the green cherry-blossom themed dress, which she heard had been a hit with the villagers of Animal Village and Treehut — the town in which she currently resided. The success had been a great source of motivation for her, and she hoped her next release would reach the citizens of other towns as well. Perhaps I'll create something spring-themed again. Catering to the seasons seems to do quite well.
She flipped to the latest page, which had a pair of red and blue plaid dresses drawn next to each other. They were cute, but she wasn't sure if the public would like them enough to purchase them. She sighed. It was times like these where she wished she could turn to her friends for an outside opinion.
But I will be able to soon, won't I? She turned to the calendar hanging across from her, gaze focusing on the circled date two weeks from then. It was nearing the one-year anniversary of Ai's arrival to Animal Village, and Sally wanted to celebrate by hosting a small get-together with their friends and any other villagers that wanted to come. She'd already sent out letters to Bouquet and Albert informing them of the plan and an ideal location. It was to be a potluck picnic, where the sole requirement for each attendee was to bring food for all of them to share. Hopefully, if it was nice and sunny out, they would be able to hold it outside.
The elephant had informed the recipients of the letters to keep it a secret from Ai, and in extension for Albert to inform Yu of the same thing. She felt bad for keeping another big thing from her best friend again, but this time she knew the pigtailed girl wouldn't mind. It was meant to be a surprise, after all.
I hope I'll hear from them soon, Sally thought, bringing a hand up to her face in anticipation. Bouquet, Yu, and Albert had to agree to it if she wanted this to work. But regardless, even if they couldn't have a get-together, she would still visit them in two weeks. When else would she be able to have another break?
Outside, something tapped against her bedside window. Sally looked over to see the beginnings of a rain shower. She frowned. This spring was shaping out to be a very rainy one... OH! This gives me an idea for a design!
Eagerly, she grabbed the pack of pencil crayons from her desk and began sketching out a dress. Internally thanking the weather for renewing her inspiration, she steeled herself for another long night beside the desk lamp.
A.N.
First of all, I just wanna apologize for this update being so overdue. Procrastination and mental health issues contributed to that orz
This is more of a buffer chapter ('cause it's pretty short) just hinting at things that will come later. Since it's been a while, I gotta take some time to re plan this story a little. Thank you to anyone who waited, and I promise not to take as long for the next update!
P.S. Huge shout out to Mario123311 on DeviantArt for making fanart of this fic ( just take out all the "(" symbols ): http(:/(/fav.(me/dczcgdr
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it :D