After spending her night slogging up the rough stone pathway of Caramel Falls, Akari passed under a natural archway (carved through the mountainside) and trekked on, finally stepping before a small round pool of steaming, misty water. Staring at it hesitantly, she leaned over it, her nose tingling from its warmth.

"Monkey... I'm here to answer your riddle," she said, momentarily waiting before continuing; "When you told me to meet you here, 'past the falls', I know you pretty much gave me the answer to your riddle and all... Eheheheh..." She laughed nervously, speaking into the ripples on the hot spring's surface. "But I'll tell you it now, anyway... You 'run around' by flowing through the island's groundwater and emerging everywhere, from Maple Lake to Cream Beach. That's why the water's always warm, which makes the fish thrive." She paused, growing discouraged when no one answered her. "That's how you 'make cold hot.' You make these cold areas of water hot... that's how I understand it. You're the spirit of the hot spring."

Answering her at last, a fizzy white vortex of water twirled above the hot spring's surface, broke past its steam, and spiraled upwards. "That is correct," a familiar falsetto voice answered. "But you didn't figure it out yourself, did you? Nope! You used my hint, so you're still DUMB." The vortex broke apart and splashed water everywhere, revealing the little brown monkey from before. He hobbled up onto land.

"Dumb?" Akari said, greatly insulted; "That's a cruel thing to say when you barely know me!"

"I ALONE know your thoughts," the monkey answered wisely. "Isn't that enough for me to know you well?"

Aware that this was true, Akari was silenced. "Fine. But I'll say this," she finally answered; "you're JUST as dumb. You trapped yourself in this spring, after all. Didn't you?"

Even though the monkey knew where the girl was coming from, he pretended to be clueless. "I don't know what you're talking about," he huffed.

Akari stomped forward. "You underwent a career change! You mentioned that upon our meeting, right? I know what happened to you. I know how you became a water spirit– it's also why you revealed yourself that night, when I was thinking about that story of the drowning monkeys–"

"–I DON'T know what you're talking about–"

"–You're a mountain spirit who drowned in the hot spring, aren't you?"

As soon as Akari said this, the monkey grew intensely angry; one could tell because he bared his glistening teeth and his eyes narrowed– filling with fire.

"That's," the monkey answered between humiliated huffs, "a cruel thing to say when you barely know me! Hmph."

Akari couldn't help it; she let out a light and amused chortle, which just so happened to relieve the tension between them. The monkey knew that she didn't blame him for being stupid. After all, she had apparently always felt some sympathy for the drowning monkeys of lore. Why not him?

"Fine... Yes, I did drown," he answered. "One night I was bathing and fell asleep, and, well... That's how it happened. Carelessness. We're both equally dumb. Satisfied?"

Watching him carefully, Akari knelt forward and offered him her hand. "I'll only be satisfied if we become good friends now. Since I guess... we both share the hot spring from now on."

Looking reluctantly at her hand, the monkey saluted her instead. "I'll take this moment to remind you once again that I'm not marriageable." He shimmied away.

Stunned, Akari stumbled backwards. "I wasn't even thinking that!" she yelled.

"Not now, anyway."

"Grr!"

The monkey whooped as the girl angrily flailed after him: "Ooh-ee-ooh–calm down– cut it out! Ask me that question that you wanted to ask. It's in the back of your mind– isn't it? It is!"

Calming down, Akari stopped chasing him, distracted by her thoughts. "Right," she said; "I still don't understand what happened. I tried to claim the river, to become its guardian spirit I suppose, but this happened instead..." She had apparently claimed the hot spring and somehow its spirit.

Confused, the monkey scratched his head. "Oh? But you ARE the guardian spirit of the river now. Not just the hot spring. That's why we're in this situation to begin with." He dragged his arms across the stone floor, jumping back into the hot spring with a splash. "Just as the hot spring flows into the river, the river flows into the hot spring. All is one. We share. It's complicated– but all you need to know is this: come here when you're tired, leave your shoes at the archway... and relax! All your fatigue will melt away." After he said this he sunk into the water, up to his muzzle, closing his eyes and relaxing.

"Leave my shoes at the archway?" Akari repeated, curious as to why he would say that.

"Yep. It's an unspoken and unbreakable rule for the townspeople," he answered, "since they sometimes come here to bathe, you know? It's a way to show that someone's already in the hot spring. Privacy is important here! So go ahead and get in."

"Ah. Right!" Taking his advice, Akari did just that and took a long bath which lasted until four in the morning. Saying her goodbyes to the monkey (and all her troubles), she went home, sleepy and relaxed. Her body and head reservoir were fully quenched, and just as the monkey had said, her fatigue had melted away. In addition, all her questions had been answered, and as an added bonus, she now she had a way to soak in privacy.

The morning woke Akari up with its sweetly chirping birds and the sound of the river's low roar. Yawning where she stood (as she slept that way), she raised her arms over her sloshy head and stretched. Her limbs relaxed and popped as she thought about her chores. Weeding and watering had to be done once again.

And I want to buy more seeds today, Akari thought; and maybe even... find and give something to Owen. Her face flushed pink at the idea. Even though Owen had told her not to worry about it, she still wanted to pay him back with an actual gift. After all, he had saved her life– though that was quickly becoming an excuse just to see him.

"Let's go," Akari said, brandishing her right arm. When she heard abrupt snoring from behind her, however, she cowered and spun around.

There in Akari's covers, in the bed that she had never used (not even once) was a familiar young man with eternally closed eyes. It was that fisherman. Toby.

"What–" Akari gulped, stumbling backwards. What is he doing in my bed? she wondered; Wait. Forget that. What is he doing in my HOUSE? Checking her door and then her doorknob, she discovered that there was no lock. That answered that.

Leaning over Toby– who was resting blissfully and without shame– Akari grabbed his shoulders and shook him urgently. "Excuse me," she said and kept shaking him. "Please get up. Right now! Wake up–"

Seconds passed and Toby flailed around limply in her hands. He never really opened his eyes, but Akari knew he was awake when he suddenly stiffened and snorted shortly. She let go of him. Sitting up and yawning, he rubbed his slant-like eyes, ignoring the girl who was heedfully watching him.

"Oh," Toby murmured sleepily, finally noticing Akari's glare. "Good morning." He stared back, or at least faced her direction. He spoke as if nothing was wrong. It was as if he wasn't even aware of the concept of wrong. Apparently, he was both as innocent as a baby and as depraved as an old man.

Akari was in such disbelief that her head wobbled and splashed a few exasperated drops of water. "Toby," she said, in as polite a tone as she could muster in such a situation. "I must ask you, why are you sleeping in my bed?" And when did you get INTO it? she wondered, knowing that she hadn't been asleep for too long.

Toby gazed off into the distance, probably out the window which overlooked her pathetic field. "Oh," he answered passively; "Why am I in your bed? ...You weren't using it."

That's not a good reason! Akari fumed. And how did you even know it wasn't being used? She got a creeping feeling as she realized looked around and saw that all her windows were uncovered. "Please leave," she said, pointing at the door. "And please don't do this again."

Getting up, Toby did just as he was told, but with the urgency of a turtle. Reaching for the knob, he stopped and turned around. "It's interesting," he said suddenly. "That you sleep upright... kind of like a fish."

These words rooted themselves in Akari's mind well into the afternoon.

Back from vacation– I went to an island. I saw a lot of fish, but my favorite was the garibaldi.

Garibaldi! It's a heroic name! The island reminded me of Harvest Moon...