Warm smells waft past me, making me blink my eyes open. I hadn't noticed that I'd sunk into the plush couch in the lobby and drifted off. I rub my eyes and run a hand through my hands. I'd another dream. In this one I was in the ocean, searching my dad, calling out in the blue waves. Wave after wave would try and push me under, but somehow I stayed up long enough to see a glimmer of my father's rucksack. It was swallowed up by the vicious ocean, which turned stormy and pushed me under until I drowned.

I take a deep breath and try and clear my mind. Nami pops her head out of the kitchen with a smirk on her face. She takes out a steaming pan. Inside of it there was some sort of creamy dish topped with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. She passed me a fork and looked at me expectantly. I plunge the fork into the steaming dish and blow on a morsel before putting the fork into my mouth.

It was like the tasty crust that's left in a pan after you bake, but magnified to a great extent. I loved it. Nami crosses her arms and flashes a satisfying grin. She glances at the clock and snaps out of her little dream.

"If you want to feed your cows in time, you'll have to move quicker," Nami says, grabbing a fork and digging in to my Gratin. Once we're done, I say thanks to Ruby and we head back out to my farm.

Over a hill, and bridge, we reach it. I hop over the farm, take Nami's bag, and put the bags inside. I head over to my tool shed and grab two watering cans. I hand one to Nami, and we fill them up. I tell her which field to water and we both set off, watering the plans. I ring a bell for the animals to come out into the field to graze in the grass, shining like gold in the yellow sunset.

For a while, we just work in silence. Nami brushes my cows while I collect the milk and eggs, and put them in the shipping bin. Nami starts laughing while my cow licks her happily.

I laugh, "Puck is a bit of a lover."

She raises an eyebrow, "Puck?"

I nod, "I name all of my animals after Shakespeare characters."

She gives me a strange look, with a hint of a smile. "That's kind of…extremely wonderful."

I laugh. "My earliest memories are of my parents reading me Shakespearean plays. I don't really know why they would…but…it's a nice memory."

Once we finish up with the farming, we head inside. Nami huffs a sigh of relief and reclines on my bed while I prepare some food for us.

"You're right," Nami says, yawning. "This stuff is really hard. I can't imagine how hard it'd be if you did it all alone."

"Thanks for helping me today," I say. "Seriously, it made things much easier."

She smirks. "I might as well make this a regular thing," she says, "after all, Ruby wants both Rock and I to work harder, and Rock is always whining about how I take his place in the Inn. Plus, your cows are cute."

I throw her a can of grape pop. We both chug down our cold drinks. I didn't know much about Nami. We'd lived in the same valley, but we'd had different friends, and lived different lives. I knew about her through Rock. I was surprised that she knew me at all.

I had dark brown hair that never seemed to settle down, and tanned skin. Side by side, we looked like we were from two completely different places. Nami was a traveller, while I'd lived in the valley my whole life. She was reserved, but I had no doubt there was a deep intrigue within her that she kept to herself. I tried to be friends with everyone in the valley. We were two completely different people, so what force on Earth had managed to bring us both into my house?

A knock on my door stops my deep thinking. I open up to see Galen, hunched over with an apparent scowl on his face.

"Hi Galen," I say, surprised to see him. When Nina, his wife, was alive, I'd gone by their house almost every day with the spoils of the season. They could have their pick, free of charge. Once Nina was gone, Galen had locked his door. I'd gone by, every season, to a locked gate and a gusty wind. To see him at my door was unsettling, and it seemed at a giant weight had suddenly appeared in my stomach. I missed Nina, and I was sure that Galen did to, but he refused to show that to anyone.

"Jack," he says, coughing, "I…uh…I'm feeling a bit ill. I wanted to know if you had any fish for a stew. I wouldn't normally ask you but I've just been feeling very…" Galen breaks off, staggering. I grab him before he falls, and take him inside.

Nami looks up, and gets off the bed. Together, we put Galen on top of the covers and Nami takes his temperature with a thermometer in my kitchen.

"He has some sort of fever," Nami says, "and anyone with eyes can tell he's frail, pale, and definitely weak."

"Nina's death took a toll on everyone, but it hit Galen the hardest. He never wanted to share his pain with anyone though, stubborn old guy."

I prepare the best fish dish I can, and set out to get some more. Nami agrees to stay with Galen in case he wakes up, I run over to Vesta's farm, knowing that they'd always had the best apples.

"Hey," Celia calls, waving at me. "Two visits in one day; did you finish your supply of ever-growing veggies?" Celia laughs.

I sigh, my muscles aching from fieldwork. "It's not that," I say. "Galen showed up with some sort of illness. He's resting at my place, but he needs some good food to get better. My supply of eggs, milk, and fish isn't going to cut it."

Celia casts me a worried look. "I was afraid something like this would happen after Nina died. He was always far too stubborn to ask anyone for help. But he trusts you, and if there's anyone who can help him out of his rut, then it's you."

I nod. "Got any apples?"