Saturday, 13th of Fall

When Alma stepped outside to the farm, she was amazed at what she saw: the ancient seed she planted last season had finally produced some fruit! It was one singular but large berry-like fruit that was the strangest shade, almost like a silvery teal. She didn't know what she should do with it: sell it, keep it, donate it to Gunther, or maybe gift it? After looking it over and thinking about it, she decided to keep it safe in her chest for now.

There was more to harvest too: beautiful fairy roses and more heads of bok choy and cranberries were all ready to pick. She kept some in her chests too and put the rest in her bag to sell. Alma continued with her work on the farm, and when she looked in her chest to see what else she might need before going into town, she saw the frozen geodes she had gotten from the mines last night. She put them in her bag and made her way out of the farm.

Alma first went to the community center to drop off one frozen geode in Demetrius's bundle. She still needed a nautilus shell and wasn't sure where she would get that; she hadn't yet seen one on the beach. She made her way out of the community center, figuring that it would turn up eventually. When she was outside, she checked the time and was surprised that it was already two o'clock. She decided to go next to Clint's smithy to break open the other geode before he closed for the day. "Good afternoon, Clint!" she greeted as she came in. "How are you today?"

"Eh, I'm all right," he answered with a shrug. "Business has been slow lately. You should upgrade your tools. I could use the cash."

"I will soon - definitely in the winter, if not before. But today, I've just got a geode." She handed it to him, and he looked it over before putting it on his anvil.

"A frozen one? How deep in the mines are you going?" he asked as he placed it on his anvil.

"Hoping to reach the bottom, eventually!" Clint threw down his hammer, and the broken geode revealed a silvery stone that looked almost red in some light. He handed it to her, and she gave him his gold. "Thank you, sir!" Alma then went down to the museum and showed the stone to Gunther. "What do you think it is?"

"This is called hematite," he said, rotating it in his gloved hands. "And are you aware that this is your twenty-first mineral addition?"

"No, wow! Has it been that many?"

"It has," he said with a nod, "and because of that, I think you deserve a special reward." He went to the back room and brought out another rather large statue, this time of a beautiful green carved stone. "This is a singing stone. It's a basalt rock formed in a volcano cooled quickly upon being brought to the surface. Because of its internal stress from such formation, its composition is more elastic, so that when you tap it," as he demonstrated, and the stone emitted a beautiful tone, "it emits an echo inside its ceramic components." He slid the stone across the counter to her with a smile.

"Wow. Well … thanks!" Alma thought that was very interesting, but she had no idea what to do with it. She crammed it into her bag and took a quick look into the bookstacks. Harvey wasn't there.

"If you're looking for the doctor, he left just before you got here," Gunther said. "I guess he got tired of waiting today. Or maybe he had something else to do." Alma walked back to the entry and flashed a quick smile before heading for the door. "I hear congratulations are in order, by the way. You and the doctor are an item?" She turned around and chuckled. "I never would have guessed! Do I at least get some credit as matchmaker?"

"Goodbye, Gunther!" she called behind her as she walked out the door. Alma needed to rush to Pierre's next before it closed at five. When she came to the building, she saw today was Abigail's birthday. Willy had also posted an ad asking for some jade. She ripped off the ad before going inside. "Hi Pierre! I'm not too late, am I?"

"Hey Alma! Nah, I'll wait on you. You're my number one customer - and supplier!" She poured out her produce, and he was especially happy to see the fairy roses. He paid her a good price.

Before she left, she asked, "You all doing anything fun for Abigail's birthday?"

"Just a special dinner. She's been spending the day doing her own thing, you know."

"I'm going to try to pick up a gift for her and bring it by. I hope I won't ruin anything."

"No, of course not! You can even join us for dinner if you'd like! I know there will be plenty."

"Oh, no, that's all right," she said, pulling her bag back on. "But I might see you in a bit!" Alma then hurried back to the farm, and on her way, Haley came down from the park near the fountain. "Hi Haley! Heading to the beach?"

"It's too cold to go to the beach anymore," she sighed. "What do you think I should do today?"

Alma thought for a moment. She shrugged her shoulders and answered, "Relax and read a magazine, maybe."

"Hmm," she thought, "that's a pretty good idea, actually!"

"I'm full of them, I guess!" Alma joked. She waved and continued on. "Have a good one!" When she got to the farm, Alma went to her chest of minerals and gems and pulled out the jade for Willy. She looked to see if there might be something that Abigail might like too. She reached for the amethyst. "This is purple, like her hair." It felt like Abigail's style. So Alma took it and put it in her bag. She hurried back down the road into town and actually saw Abigail leaving from the bus stop. "Abigail!" Alma called.

Abigail turned around and smiled. "Oh hi, Alma! I just needed to stretch my legs and get some fresh air today."

"Because today's a special day for you, right?" Alma asked with a grin. Abigail looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as if she didn't know what she was talking about. "Your … Your birthday, right?"

"Oh, is it my birthday today? I guess it is. I don't usually keep up with that kind of thing."

"Whew, you scared me for a minute! Well, whether you keep up with it or not, it's a day worth celebrating," Alma said, digging in her bag. She pulled the amethyst out and smiled. "Happy birthday!"

"Oh wow! Thanks," Abigail said, taking the amethyst with a smile. "This is nice."

"I thought you might like it! You can put it on your dresser or something." They started walking down the road into town together. "I heard your dad is planning a special dinner too. That should be fun."

Abigail rolled her eyes. "Who knows what he'll be cooking! I hope it's not awful."

"It'll be fine. Humor him," she said with a wink. When they made it to the square, they said their goodbyes, and Alma made her way south toward the beach to find Willy. She saw him standing next to the bridge to the beach, fishing in the river. "Hi Willy!" she said, coming up to him.

He turned and smiled. "Ahoy there, lass! Looks like decent weather for fishing, eh?"

"It does! Catching much?"

"Eh, a bit. I'm about to head to the saloon for a pint, though. What can I do ye for?" She pulled out the jade and handed it to him. "Oh! You brought me the item I asked for! Thanks so much!" He pulled out a coin purse. "Here's your payment, as promised."

"Thank you, sir!" She held it up for a moment like a toast to him then went back into town. She stood in the square a moment, wondering what she should do next. It was almost six in the evening now. Again, she had missed her chance to get to see Harvey, but she knew he would understand. She thought about the community center. She didn't have anything else she could donate … but she did realize she had enough money now to buy the last bundle in the vault. That would complete that room, which would be the first room to be totally fulfilled. She wondered what would happen afterward. She pulled out her records from the scrolls and saw "Bus Repair" at the bottom. "They'll fix the bus?!" she mumbled. That would allow people to travel in and out of the town, which was sure to be a big help to some people. With new resolve, she went north to the community center again.

Alma entered the old building and went to the far right corner of the building where the vault was. She saw the last bundle remaining, took a deep breath, and put down her ten thousand gold. A present appeared, and Alma opened it up to see a lightning rod. "Ooh!" she said, holding it up. "This will stop the lightning from destroying my crops during storms, I guess!" She happily put it in her bag, and as she was doing so, she jumped and screeched when she heard the sound of Junimo all around her. She stopped for a moment and looked at them jumping everywhere. They were happy! She let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

But then, the room gradually filled with light and became hazy, like she was suddenly in a cloud. A single green junimo appeared in front of her, happily bouncing. Her eyes focused on the junimo, and she could hear a voice in her head: "We are the Junimo … keepers of the forest …." Then, in a sudden flash of light, the clouds were gone, and her mind was clear again. She rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them, she couldn't believe what she saw: the dilapidated room, the broken safe, the rotted table, the vines growing from holes in the walls and floor … Everything was fixed! The vault looked brand new and was resting on a purple rug with a nice potted plant in the corner. Blue plaid wallpaper covered the walls, and there were bright sconces and a painting hanging too. A brand new wooden desk was there, clean and organized with a lamp, nameplate (labeled "Mayor"), small potted plant, and a professional leather wing-back chair. There were two filing cabinets in the corner and another large potted plant by the door. Alma stood there aghast, looking over all of the new features. It looked like the office of a wealthy businessperson, when just seconds ago, it was in shambles. She heard the sound of a junimo at her feet, and she watched it rush out of the room, like it wanted her to follow. "Star!" it squeaked in its language.

"Star?" Alma followed to see what it meant. The little yellow junimo went back to the main room, to the hut. It went inside and pulled out a gold star, carrying it to the fireplace and lifting it up to the mantle. Alma had just noticed a placard on the mantle with six recessed stars, and now, one of those was filled. "The pantry, crafts room, fish tank," Alma counted on her fingers, "bulletin board, vault, and boiler room - six!" The little junimo now jumped around her and followed her happily. "Well, aren't you a little cutie! So now … are you all going to fix the bus? Is that what the deal is?" But it just squeaked happily and gave her no real answer. "If I ask you any questions, are you able to answer me?" She waited for a reply but got nothing new. "So there's no use asking you about my grandfather, huh? Or the spirits?" The junimo still bounced and squeaked. "Okay, well, nevermind then. Maybe another time. Thanks for the help anyway!" Alma made her way for the door, and the little junimo followed her the whole way. "Bye, little guy!" she waved on her way out.

When she stepped outside, the sun was setting. Alma could see the golds and pinks in the sky all the way to the ocean, and it took her breath away. She stood for a moment and reveled in the beauty, happy to know that she was making her way through the community center. She was anxious to see what would happen with the bus. The night was still early, she thought, and she wondered if she should try for something else before heading home. "Maybe the mines?" she thought aloud. She shrugged and said, "Why not?" as she made her way toward the mountains.

The spirits must have been happy because it was very easy for Alma to move from level to level. There were hardly any monsters, not a lot of rocks to mine, and ladders were turning up easily. By the time she got to the forty-fourth level, she really began to wonder if what Harvey said was true: maybe the spirits were the Junimo, and she had made them really happy today. She dropped down to the forty-fifth level and heard the elevator ding. Then she went inside, rode it up to the surface, and walked through the mountain pass back to the farm for bed.