Episode Four: The Dance

(Revised Version - 2018)

It was the 23rd of the month, and the day of the flower festival. Jack had never been to a town celebration like this in his entire life, but he was very excited about it, nonetheless. A knock at his door sounded and he was suddenly overjoyed that someone had come to see him. He opened the door and looked around, but could see nothing.

"Down here!" Came the voice of the mayor below.

"Buddy!" Jack picked him up and hugged him tightly.

"Yes, yes… erm, not so tight now," the mayor beckoned Jack to set him down. "I just came by to notify you that the flower festival will be taking place today at town square. My daughter, Maria, will be there. I don't think you two have met before, so it will be very interesting indeed."

"What is the flower festival?" Jack interrogated.

"Why, it is the greatest festival of all! There is dancing and all sorts of wonderful things. I met my wife there, and perhaps you will meet your future missus as well! I used to be quite the ladies man back in my day, you know!" The mayor winked with pride. Jack had no idea what a ladyman would look like, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to picture it in his mind. "Oh, and one more thing: Maria likes flowers and green perfume. She absolutely detests cakes, poisonous mushrooms, and weeds… but don't we all?"

Jack was confused by this, was it really expected of him to buy gifts for a girl he had never met before? He nodded slowly, confused as to how he should respond. Poisonous mushrooms and weeds…

"Oh, looks like you have visitors. I shall be on my way, then. See you there!" The mayor left just as Eve and Nina had approached the farm, whispering to themselves in clear dissatisfaction for one another.

"Hello, Jack!" they both said at the same time, then glared at one other.

"Hi!" Jack greeted, relieved at his lack of confusion.

"Are you coming to town square today?" Nina asked intently.

"Nope. I'm going to the flower festival!" Jack looked at them proudly. The girls laughed foolishly at the assumed joke, but Jack was serious.

These people laugh at everything.

"Well we hope to see you there," Eve smiled angelically. "I can't wait until I get to smell that wonderfully scented pink perfume!" she hinted.

"Oh, no. The green perfume is the best," Nina challenged.

Jack, knowing full-well that he would not be able to remember which color perfume each liked the most decided to get clues of what else they liked.

"Perfume sucks," they stared at him wordlessly, unaware of what he had meant by this. "I like… flowers!" he thought back to Maria's dislikes.

"Flowers are nice, and cakes," Nina remarked.

"I like anything that is given from the heart, those are the real treasures in life," Eve aimed a fake smile over at Nina. "Oh, but I hate fish..." She suddenly remembered.

"Yes, treasure is good..." Jack looked down, trying to memorize the likes and dislikes of both girls.

Another odd look circulated, and the girls took this as a sign that it was time to end the conversation. They said their goodbyes and departed, wondering what the rest of the day had in store for them all. It was an important time in all of the youths' lives today in the village, as they were all growing up and becoming young adults. Jack was very slow to realize this, unfortunately, and his low mental capacity left him straggling behind them all. Luckily for him, he was too dull to comprehend that.

"This is going to be a great day!" He smiled giddily!

Intermission

Jack made sure to take a trip up to the mountains before making his way to the celebration at town square. He remembered to get all the gifts that he could find… or, at least, he thought he did. Of course, he didn't even consider going to town to ask Ellen or Ann about their likes and dislikes, for he did not like them.

Town square was decorated completely with flower arrangements of all kinds. Jack felt like a ladyman just for being in such a girlish place, wondering why on earth he had bothered to show up there in the first place. But that all changed when he saw Nina and Eve, both of them standing by themselves in the most gorgeous dresses he could ever have imagined.

"Hi, Jack!" Came Ann's voice. Jack walked away. "Wow, father was right. He is a very shy boy."

Jack couldn't decide which girl to talk to first. It did occur to him that perhaps it wasn't an occasion that called for needless over-complication. He walked up to Eve, simply because she was the closest to him, and hollered, "Hey, you!"

"Uh, me?" Nina looked at him questioningly from across the floor.

"Yeah, come here a minute," Jack said.

"Haha, Jack, you're so funny. With all the things that seem to go wrong in your life, I'm so glad you can keep such a positive attitude!" Eve flirted from further away.

Nina walked over, a little offended that he didn't walk over to her instead. She greeted him sweetly nonetheless, and then hinted that the perfumes smelled wonderful.

"Oh yes, simply amazing." Eve agreed, stepping nearer to them shyly.

"I don't smell anything except for these flowers. I have allergies," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Wouldn't it be great to finally own some of our own, Eve?" Nina pushed on.

"Oh, yes! I would love that too!"

Jack thought long and hard at this.

"You should definitely buy some." He agreed. They both looked at him, stunned. Then he remembered their gifts… but which gifts belonged to which girl? This was not going according to plan at all!

Think… think… what were the last words they each said? Goodbye. No, wait… I don't want to give them that. Cakes and Fish! But which one likes which? Jack told them he would be right back. He had caught a fish earlier that day in the mountains, but he needed to find a cake very quickly.

"Hello there, Jack. Have you met my daughter yet?" The mayor's beautiful wife popped her head out from among the crowd as he was passing by.

"Do you have a cake?" Jack asked, ignoring her question completely.

"Uh… a cake? Well, uh… yes, I do, in fact. Why is it that you ask?"

"I need it, bad!" Jack nodded for no apparent reason.

"Well, it was supposed to be for later, but I'm sure you're famished, you poor dear. It must be hard working by yourself day after day on that old farm. The cake is on the table over there." She pointed to the other side of the square and Jack ran immediately towards it.

Picking up the cake, he ran back to the two girls he admired so much. They stared at him as he took the fish out of his pocket and dropped the gifts on the floor in front of them; the cake exploded all over the ground. Jack smiled at his accomplishment as they looked on in total astonishment and confusion.

"You really know how to take a joke too far," Nina said furiously.

"Aw, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, Nina," Eve tried.

Jack was suddenly confused, didn't he get the gifts right? The poor boy didn't have enough money to buy perfume for either of them, which he most likely wouldn't have done sensibly anyway. He apologized and walked away in shame, not knowing what to do or how to deal with the situation. Just then, Ellen showed up.

"Hi, Jack. What seems to be the matter?"

"I gave Eve and Nina presents. They didn't like them." He said sadly.

"Aw, that's too bad. Don't worry about it, they're just being spoiled brats. I would appreciate anything that was given to me, whether it was in my best tastes or not. You don't happen to have anything for me, do you Jack?" Ellen bit her lip.

"I'm not giving you your dog back, if that's what you mean." Jack said angrily and walked away, stopping only momentarily to turn back and stick out his tongue at her.

"Jack!" The mayor called just as Jack was on his way out of town square. "You must come and meet my daughter, Jack!" He stepped towards him. "This is Maria. Maria, this is the new farm boy, Jack," The mayor said as a beautiful young girl stepped forward and curtsied before him. She had long blue hair and wore a schoolgirl's outfit. She was nothing like Eve or Nina in any way, but retained her femininity, unlike Ann or Ellen. There was a certain eminence radiating from her, some kind of power that told him that this was a very special girl who was both devoted and kind.

"Poisonous mushrooms and weeds..." Jack whispered to himself.

"Pleased to meet you, sir." She said shyly.

"Meet to please you."

"Ah, the dance is beginning! Why don't you ask her to dance with you, Jack?" The mayor asked.

Jack nodded, not thinking about the fact that he did not know how to dance. Together, they joined hands and met in the middle of the square with the rest of the young people of the village. One by one, the girls circled around their partners, while the young men moved gracefully along. Jack looked around, clueless as to what to do.

"You all look very stupid!" He laughed out loud.

As uncomfortable as he was, Jack was truly in awe of how Maria danced. Her eyes were shut, her movements flawless, and her glow… there was truly something special about this girl, but Jack couldn't understand precisely what it was. Perhaps this was the girl for him, above all the rest. Looking around for an easy answer, he glanced at Eve and Nina as they danced. They appeared more beautiful than ever to him, but why did they not emanate the same wonderful glow that Maria did? Putting his hand on Maria's shoulders, Jack told her to stop dancing.

"Is something the matter, Jack?" Maria looked very concerned.

"Could you kick their asses?" He pointed towards the other girls.

"…Wh…why would I want to do that?" She could barely spit out the words now.

"They said you are a dumb-dumb," Jack's facial expression never changed from mildly disinterested.

Maria considered this carefully before answering, "I believe… that they may feel ill will towards me because of my father's position in the town, and perhaps they are right to have such feelings. But my actions define who I am, and not my position. They must remember that God loves us all equally."

Jack walked away. She sounded like a sermon, and he wouldn't have any part of it. Maria was taken aback by what had just transpired, although she did not fully understand his reasons for leaving.

Now, Jack may not have been the most polite fellow in town; but despite the way he acted, he really did like Maria. He just wished she wouldn't talk. Ever. Now, if only there were a way to get that perfume for the girls, he thought to himself.

"Jack," Maria had followed him. "Did I say something to upset you?"

Jack almost panicked, he must be able to do something to stop her from talking! He looked around quickly, but there was nothing around him but decorations. That's it! he thought. Quickly, he grabbed a bunch of flowers from the wall beside him and held them out for Maria.

"Oh, how… thoughtful!" She took them from him.

"Yeah, I think a lot," Jack agreed. "I brought them from home."

Knowing that he was lying, the kind girl thought nothing of it. She knew he was embarrassed, and people who are embarrassed lie.

"I think they are beautiful. Thank you. I must be going now, I promised the priest that I would help him set up for tomorrow's charity event at the church. Goodbye, and it was nice to finally meet you!" She smiled and walked away.

Charity…

"For me?" He reached into his empty pockets. Whatever was he going to do about growing crops next season? The little elves that tended to his fields were all dead, and he still hadn't figured out how to 'spread his seeds' yet. To his surprise, however, his pockets were not completely empty. The contents within consisted of weeds and a poisonous mushroom. It was only then that he thought if he gave back to the community, perhaps they would be willing to help him out in times of need as well.

Filled with a sense of purpose, Jack walked confidently across town square with the weeds and mushroom held securely in his arms. With pride and amusement, he dropped the gifts at the feet of Ann, the tomboy he knew to be an inventor. He had never thought twice about her level of intelligence, and always shunned the fact that this girl may one day create something worth his time. However, today, it was in his best interest to pay her the attention she deserved and compliment her on her brilliance.

"Oh, you couldn't afford perfume so you did what you could to get me a gift anyways?" Her eyes lit up and the beginning of a smile formed across her face.

"Not exactly. Can you make me a sandwich with these?"

Intermission

It had been a very confusing day, and Jack was actually quite glad that it was finally over. He still had no clue what the girls liked or disliked, he just knew whom he liked and whom he disliked. Wasn't that all that really mattered? The poor farmer boy still had a lot to learn about adulthood, but he surely couldn't learn it all in one day.

"I don't know what to do, Ruff," Jack slumped down on his bed. Ruff was nowhere to be seen.

A muffled bark sounded off from somewhere near.

Jack walked over to the door and let his dog inside, "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

Suddenly, raindrops could be heard falling on the roof.

"Ohhhh! You love the rain, Ruff!" He jumped for joy before booting the pup back outside into the pouring rain.

Yeer:1 Munth:1 Day:23

2day I wos at the taon box and I gav manee prezints too the gerls. Maria. I need muny reelee bad and sumhow I will com up with a way too git it. Donnt werry muther and fother, the farm is in good hanz. Flawers ar prittee. I hat perfyoom.

Having written yet again in the little journal, Jack's day was complete and he could finally go to sleep.

"'Night, Ruff."

THE END