Breakfast that morning was exactly like dinner the night before. Craig and Ruth, intent on bickering at each other– pounded the table– rattling the plates and silverware like a typhoon ravaging a greenhouse.
"CRAIG!" Ruth yelled; "we need more turnips for snack food!"
"I said, those grow too fast!" he complained. "I don't feel like re-seeding and re-hoeing twice a week... We're sticking to vine crops."
"TUUURNIPS–"
Feeling uncomfortable beyond compare, Akari held her eating utensils close to keep them from bouncing off the dining table.
Anissa, the daughter of Ruth and Craig, wisely stared down at her tea mug with sensitive eyes and held her cloth napkin roll. When the argument reached an unbearable level, however, she unsheathed a butter knife from the napkin and– swiftly– cleaved it down– piercing the air with a violent clang and slicing her tea mug clear in two.
Red tea gushed out from the halved mug, spreading over the table along with an unsettling silence. Akari nearly jumped from her seat but was too startled to do so. Did Anissa just... CUT A WHOLE MUG IN HALF? And with a butter knife, no less.
"...Right." Craig said at last, pulling at his flat cap's brim. "Today. After Akari harvests the strawberries, I'll grow some turnips."
His wife nodded forcibly and wiped her mouth before answering: "Thank you. I'm sorry for yelling at you, dear."
Was this how this family's dynamics worked? From this event, Akari finally understood the relationship between the couple. Their daughter was their marriage-counseling ninja.
High noon couldn't have arrived sooner that day, but when Akari trudged in from the strawberry fields, she was positively withered from its brutal passage. Things have been calm ever since Anissa showed up, and everyone has been so generous, she thought; but I can't stay here much longer! If I do, I'll shrivel up like dried fish.
Despite several small sneaks from the watering can behind the house, Akari had no real privacy for soaking her scales or refilling her head bowl. There wasn't even a bathroom! That was understandable, though, since no one ever needed to use the bathroom in this world. Every person was perpetually constipated.
Ruth, having beckoned Akari in from the fields, made an effort to not look so woeful as the girl entered the house. "Oh!" the woman said, nearly bobbling her troubled head off; "Done already?" Reaching behind and producing a handful of strawberries from NOWHERE, she stuffed them into Akari's hands and told her to deliver them to all the kind neighbors– whoever they were– and to "come back by six."
Eager to repay her hostess's kindness (as being polite was important), Akari obliged and ran from the dusty dirt roads of the Ganache Mining District. Holding her breath, she listened to the irregular heartbeat pounding in her chest and her strength momentarily returned. When required to do something by proper etiquette, a kappa can never refuse– and will often resist one's physical limits just to obey...
Southward Akari ran, soaring down the wooden gated road and gazing longingly at the lakefront. Maple Lake, she remembered it's name, observing its lily pad covered shores. I was planning on this being my new home, she thought; but now... It was impossible. When she had first seen the brochure map of Waffle Island (fabricated by the mayor), she understood Maple Lake as being a sanctuary guarded by forest and greenery. In reality, though, it was guarded by homes hungry for a lakefront view.
Terrible... I can't even swim here! Akari thought, holding her face and quivering. If I do, the whole town will see my disgusting monster scales! What do I do? There's another place, right? A river... Glancing around, her eyes caught sight of Anissa on the lake shore's far end– who was standing, motionlessly– staring at the water. Perhaps she wanted to slice it with a butter knife.
Akari's feet moved on their own and before she was even aware of it, she was pushing a strawberry in the young woman's face. As polite as Akari was, it was impossible for her to fight her violent kappa gift-giving instincts. It was almost as if some other force was controlling her!
"Those strawberries look delicious!" Anissa emitted. "But why are you giving me these?"
"A simple gift..." Akari chocked, realizing how ridiculous this was. These strawberries were from Anissa's own farm! I look like a moron. Akari realized, trying not to cry. To her surprise, though, the young woman happily took the strawberry and kept it. Soothing away any doubts, she bid Akari good luck on the rest of her deliveries.
Running around frantically for the next hour (lost) Akari eventually found the head chef of Sundae Inn– Yolanda. Gladly taking a strawberry, the elderly woman offered her regards to Souffle Farm and the girl took off again, running breathlessly, searching for ANYONE to dump the last berry on. It's five o'clock... But Ruth said to be back by six!
"No matter," Akari said to herself. I'll definitely make it! Determined, she took the next route that caught her eye– an uphill road which led to a church overlooking the lake district. Bounding up its crumbling pavers, she reached the top and shortly caught her breath, locking eyes with her next human target.
"Kni..." Akari said, recognizing the young man from the town hall: the mayor's son."–Knickerbockers?"
He glared at her, wondering if she truly forgot his name. How is that even possible? he wondered; It's four letters! Gill. Is she doing this to tick me off? Irritated, he got ready to give hear an earful– but not before she shoved a fresh strawberry in his face and shouted a forcefully jubilant: "HEY THERE."
"Ha...hi?" Gill managed to speak, instinctively grabbing the fresh produce away. For... me? he wondered, finally noticing how nervous Akari was; her eyes were squeezed shut and her fists were clenched tightly against her chest.
A fidgety girl, giving a sudden gift to a boy? Gill definitely knew what was going on– not that he could blame her or anything. He felt that he was quite the catch. "Hm," he scoffed in a self-satisfied manner; "thanks."
"You're welcome!" Akari said, punching the air excitedly. "A simple gift from Souffle Farm! ...Now I can go eat dinner." Facing away, she rubbed her belly.
Gill choked, his breath sucked away as if he had been punched in the gut. Forlorn, he looked away– off into the distance– to a place where he didn't have to admit that he had overestimated himself. Did glory exist for an unrewarded youth like him? Endless trials existed for great heroes. He was definitely going to write about these epic thoughts. Later.
"Are you being useful at Souffle Farm?" Gill said, unable to hide his dissatisfaction; "Don't slack off." Expecting Akari to faint in anger, he instead found that she had turned her back on him completely– as if he wasn't even there– just so that she could jump one meter in the air (and in the most ridiculous bow-legged jumping jack that he had ever seen).
"Finished delivering all strawberries!" Akari narrated aloud; "Let's go back to the farm to report."
Discombobulated, Gill watched her wobble down the road lifelessly, like a drooling, lead-headed zombie. Or a half asleep cow. "There's definitely something..." he muttered; "–wrong with that girl."