Monday, 22nd of Summer

When Alma woke up to the peaceful sound of rain, she could hardly believe it: her last nightmare was last Wednesday, making this the fifth consecutive night she had a peaceful sleep. It seemed each week, her sleep was improving. Last week, she only had one nightmare - only one in seven days. Alma shook her head in disbelief. It was amazing. She wondered if it was because she was physically exhausting herself every day, because she was feeling more at peace with life here in Stardew Valley, or maybe a mix of both. Bisclavret was curled up at the foot of the bed, and she patted for him to come next to her. He walked up the bed and rested his head on her chest, looking at her with questioning but content eyes. She rubbed his head and sighed. Her pain, her trauma, her loss, her regret were all feeling further and further away as happiness - true happiness - seemed to inch closer and closer. "I'd love to sit and cuddle and have deep existential questions with you all day, but we've got a lot going on today." Bisclavret lifted his head and, as if understanding, jumped off the bed and sat eagerly on the floor.

Alma looked at the clock. The first thing to do today was her first therapy appointment, which was at seven. Alma got dressed and sat down at the table by the phone. Bisclavret came and lay down at her feet under the table. She waited for the phone to ring and drummed her fingers on the table. Alma felt surprisingly nervous. Maybe it was because she didn't know quite what to expect. The phone rang, and it made her jump. She picked up the receiver and took a deep breath. "H-Hello?"

"Hello, Alma?" a kind voice asked on the other end.

Somewhat surprisingly, Alma immediately felt at ease. "Yes, is this Dr. Katherine?"

"Yes, good morning! It's so nice to get to talk to you. So you're in Pelican Town, huh? And under Harvey's care?"

"That's right, yes, though I've only been here since the beginning of the year."

"He's a great guy, isn't he? He cares so much for his patients, and he really loves Pelican Town, I know. I've tried to ask him to come partner with me here in Grampleton, and he just won't leave!" she laughed.

"Yes, he is a great doctor and a good friend too."

"Anyway, I'm glad he's taking care of you, and I'm glad he trusts me enough to put in a referral for your mental health. So, let's talk." Dr. Katherine asked questions based on the paperwork that Alma emailed in, and she listened patiently while Alma opened up to her about her marriage, her brothers, her mother's death, her time at Joja, her nightmares, and much more. Alma cried as she talked; it was a lot to bring up all at once. Dr. Katherine was very understanding, and Alma could hear the kindness and gentleness in her voice. "It sounds like you have been through a lot. I can understand why you struggle to see positivity in your life. Do you feel like your perceptions have improved since you've moved and gotten away from these stimuli?"

"For the most part, yes. Just this morning, I was thinking about how my sleep has improved. When I lived in the city, I was having nightmares every day, sometimes reliving events, sometimes just having stress-related or violent dreams that were your typical mish-mash of brainwaves. But that has slowly improved, with nightmares getting less and less each week. And today was my fifth day since having a nightmare, which is just … incredible to me!"

"Well, that all sounds very positive!" They went on to discuss goals that they could work toward in their sessions, and Dr. Katherine gave some suggestions of things that Alma could do right now to take helpful steps toward her goals. "Do you think you can try some of those things and let me know how they went for you by next week?"

"Sure, I think so."

"Okay, great. And does this time still work for you?"

"Yes, if it's not too early for you."

"Nah," Dr. Katherine laughed, "I'm usually up before the sun most days. So with the bus broken down, there's no access to getting out of town for you, huh?"

"No, not right now. And no real idea of when the bus will be repaired."

"Hm, okay. Well, phone will have to do for now! And if you have any questions, concerns, or emergencies between now and next Monday, just give my office a call, okay? And you can always talk to Harvey too if you're in a pinch. He has some training in self-help and emergency protocol in the event of a breakdown or something. All right?"

"Okay, thank you, Doctor. I'm, uh … really hopeful about this."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm on board to get you feeling better if you are, all right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay, talk to you next week, Alma. Bye now."

"Goodbye." Alma hung up the phone, and Bisclavret lifted his head. She rubbed behind his ears and took a deep breath. She looked at the time and saw it was now eight o'clock. Though she already felt quite drained, she did also feel a huge sense of relief and, as she said, hope. There was a plan in place to help her overcome some things that she thought she'd have to carry with her for the rest of her life. "All right, Biz," she said, standing up and stretching, "I've got to get going. You take care of the cabin while I'm gone, okay?" She scrubbed his head again one more time before going outside.

Alma first saw that she had a letter from Mayor Lewis inside her mailbox. She leaned against the house to be under the protection of the roof line as she opened it and read:

"Alma,

I've heard you've been giving some people a hand around town! Everyone seems really thankful.

I'm giving you this month's 'Best Neighbor' award (and a small cash prize).

Keep it up!

Mayor"

Enclosed was a smaller envelope with five hundred gold! All for just running errands for people? She smiled and put the money in her bag.

As she folded the letter, she looked over the crops and saw she had quite a bit to harvest today: melons, corn, blueberries, radishes, sunflowers, and hops were all ready! She started first with the melons, hoping there would be more high quality ones that she could donate to the community center. But unfortunately, with how many she already had, she didn't have enough. "Am I really going to have to wait until next year to get that fulfilled?" she moaned. But she did now have enough quality corn that she could drop off, so that was good. She went next to gather mushrooms from the cave, and on the way, she saw that her maple tree tap was filled with beautiful syrup. She bottled it up and put it in her bag to take to the community center later. In the coop, she loved on the chickens and duckling, gathered their eggs, and made sure they had enough hay to eat during the rain. Then she went to the barn and did the same, putting hay in the cows' feeding trough. As she petted both of them, she noticed that their udders were quite full. "Are you all ready to milk now?" she asked. As if on cue, Io mooed. Alma laughed and said, "All right, let me get a pail!" She rushed through the rain back to the chests in front of the cabin and got the milk pail. Inside the barn, she pulled up a stool and sat down next to Io's back hocks. She pinched and pulled at the teats, and after a few pulls, golden-white milk squirted onto the dirt. Alma gasped. "Good girl!" She pulled the pail over and let the milk fill it up - about two gallons' worth! She strained it out as she poured it into a jug. Then she did the same thing for Lottie, who also gave her a full pail. She was definitely going to save one for herself, but she knew Pierre would be really pleased to buy this too. She put one jug in the fridge, gathered up her other things to sell or drop off at the community center, and went into town.

On the front of Pierre's shop, she saw a Help Wanted ad that Rasmodius was looking for topaz. Alma remembered she had some at home, so she tore off the paper and stuck it in her pocket before going in. "Alma! Hello!"

"Hi Pierre!" she said as she wiped her boots on the rug. "How's business today?"

"Pretty good, pretty good. Oh, and hey, remember those tomatoes you sold me the other day?"

"Yeah, did you sell any?"

Pierre nodded and said, "I ended up serving them to the family for a special dinner. Tomato egg drop soup! My wife loved it! And Abby even started going to town on it after I smothered the thing in hoisin sauce."

Alma laughed. "That's great! I'm glad it was a hit."

"Well, back to business, huh? What have you got for me today?"

"Something special!" She pulled out the jug of milk, and Pierre whistled.

"Look at that, look at that. First milk?" Alma nodded. "Have you pasteurized it yet?"

"Uh … no. I don't know how to, now that you mention it."

"Oh, it's easy," he said, lifting the jug and putting it on the ground. "All you have to do is use a double-boil system to heat it for at least thirty minutes at 150 degrees. Then you put it in an ice bath and let it cool until it's about sixty-eight degrees. Package it up, and it's good to go!" Alma pulled out her notepad and wrote this down. "I can do this one for you, but maybe if you want to pasteurize it yourself before bringing it in, I can give you a bit of a higher price for it. Marnie doesn't usually pasteurize hers, and I just sell it raw at a cheaper price. Customers have to pasteurize it themselves at home."

"You just tell me which you would like me to do. Which would be best for you?"

Pierre thought for a moment. "Why don't you let me do it for you, and I give you a lower price, like Marnie? Then I can offer raw or pasteurized milk in the store - and I think I know which will sell better. Maybe that will put pressure on Marnie to do hers too or let me do it for her. She's always insisted on selling raw, but I've always thought that puts me a bit at a risk in case someone gets sick or something."

"Sounds good. I appreciate it, Pierre."

"Anytime. You got other stuff too?"

"Do I?" Alma poured out the contents of her bag, and it filled Pierre's counter with a ton of fresh (albeit wet) produce.

Pierre laughed and started totaling everything up for her. "Think you'll buy any seeds for one more harvest?"

Alma looked at the seeds and considered their germination periods. "I ought to be able to do radishes one more time, and sunflowers go through the fall too. Let me have a few of those too." Pierre gave her the seeds and her leftover money. "Thanks so much, Pierre. See you around!"

"See you later!"

Alma went next to the community center to drop off five high quality ears of corn and maple syrup. She took a quick look at some of the bundles around the building to see if there was anything else she could contribute soon. Maybe she could buy the five thousand gold bundle in the vault, she could make the fried egg for the chef's bundle on the bulletin board, some more animal products would be coming soon, she'd keep trying for tuna and sturgeon for the fish bundles, and as she kept going down the mines, maybe she'd find more stuff there quickly. She felt good about the progress she was making and just reminded herself to keep going at it. For now, she went up north to the mountains to take a melon to Demetrius.

"Hi Alma! Wanting to build something again so soon?" Robin asked. Maru was there sitting in Robin's shop too, and she smiled and waved as Alma came in.

"Actually, I'm here to bring something to your husband! Is he in the lab?"

"He is," Robin said, gesturing that way. "I hope Demetrius doesn't blow the house up with those science experiments of his. I'm not even sure what he's working on. I think it has something to do with plants."

"My mother is a carpenter and my dad is a scientist," Maru said. "I guess it makes sense that I'm into building gadgets."

"I guess it does!" Alma answered. "Thanks." She stepped across the hall and saw Demetrius taking notes while inspecting something under a microscope. "Hi there, Demetrius. I got your letter about the melon and had a harvest just today, so here you go!"

Demetrius turned around and smiled. "This is perfect!" He took the melon from her and tapped in at its base. "It's just what I need for my research. It's going to be hard not to eat it! Thanks a bunch."

"No problem," Alma said as she put her bag back on her shoulders. "I hope it helps you with your work."

"It will, definitely. Now, I'm sorry, but I'm really busy. I don't have much time to talk. There's so many plants to study right now."

"Oh, yep, no problem. I've got more errands to run myself too, so I'll leave you to it."

Demetrius smiled and turned back to his microscope. Alma said goodbye to Robin and Maru as she left the shop. She decided to go through the mountain pass back to the farm to get that topaz for Rasmodius before trying to fish for sturgeon again. She got her topaz out from her chest in front of the cabin and went south into the forest. Before she even knocked, the door opened and Rasmodius welcomed her in. "Ah, yes. I have seen many things about your future, young Alma."

"Really?" Alma asked as she entered. "Like what?"

"If I were to tell you, there would be grave consequences," he said with a wave of his cloak.

Alma raised an eyebrow. She sometimes wondered how much of Rasmodius was authentic and how much was for show. "Would Welwick come after you for stealing her brand?"

Rasmodius paused and turned away. "Either you have something for me or you want something from me. Which is it today?" Alma took out the topaz and held it out to him. "Ah, the item I requested." He took it from her and examined it. "Your work was satisfactory. Here is your compensation." He took out a coin purse and threw it at her. She caught it and put it in her bag. "Now leave me be," he said, turning and walking away. "I have much work to attend to."

"Of course, sir. Until next time."

"... Which won't be long from now," he said as she walked out the door. She turned around and looked at him, and he peeked around at her too before the door closed behind her, pushing her outside.

Alma chuckled and shook her head as she went down the stairs and through the forest. As she passed by Marnie's and Leah's houses, she felt a pull to Leah's cottage. She wanted to get to know Leah better and had just been talking to her and giving her little gifts along the way while she was doing other things. Maybe it was time to drop in and visit her. She went back around to the front of the cottage and knocked on the door. She could hear some hammering or something inside, so she thought maybe Leah couldn't hear her. She poked her head in the door. "Hi, Leah?"

Leah turned from hammering on a sculpture and smiled. "Oh, hi, Alma! Come in, come in." Alma wiped her boots on the rug before stepping inside. "What brings you over today?" she asked as she put her hammer and chisel in her smock and dusted off her hands.

"Oh, nothing really. Just wanted to pop in and say hello!"

"Well, that's sweet of you," Leah said with a smile. "I'm just working on this sculpture here."

Alma looked over the abstract wooden piece and said, "It looks really great so far! Nice movement."

"Thanks," she said. "Come here, watch this." Alma came a little closer to her as she took out her hammer and chisel again and started carving at the wood. As she cut into some of the hard, outer layers of wood, she uncovered a meatier, lighter texture underneath. "See that?" she asked, shaping it some more. "I'm revealing the essence of the wood." She stepped back and looked at the sculpture then to Alma. "Once you get past the outer layers, the true nature starts to show …."

Alma nodded and got close to the wood again. She could smell its citrusy scent. "It's the same with people."

"... What?"

She looked up at Leah. "People have layers that you can chisel away too. Wouldn't you say? Everyone tends to have a layer that they show the world and then a deeper side that shows who they really are - for better or worse."

"Oh! Yeah," she said, nodding. "I hadn't thought of it that way. That's absolutely right." She took her thumb and scraped away at some loose pieces of bark. "I first visited this valley as a little girl, while on vacation with my parents."

"Really? Wow."

"I knew I had to come back some day …. Even as a young girl, I knew this place has great artistic potential! There's so much natural beauty, a diversity of ecosystems, and four distinct seasons - almost like Yoba flips a switch every four weeks. I love too how it's secluded but not lonely. There's just something … magical about this part of the country."

"You're right," Alma agreed, sitting on her stool. "That's the kind of thing that attracted my grandfather here in the first place and the appeal that I've grown to love too."

Leah smiled. But her smile faded, and she put her hands on her hips and looked at her sculpture again. "Although, I have to admit," she said with a sigh, "it's not easy to pay the bills as an artist."

"I can understand that. There's not a big market for art buyers in town, is there?" But saying this aloud gave Alma an idea. "Wait! No, that might not be a bad idea!" Leah turned and looked at her. "Why don't you have an art show in town? People are always more interested in the artwork if they have a connection to the artist, and it would bring a bit of culture to Pelican Town! We can even advertise to neighboring towns to see if any tourists might come in and check it out."

"Hmm … interesting," she pondered. "I guess that could set the wheels in motion to making Pelican Town a true art destination …."

"You said it yourself: it's got great art potential! If we can help other people see that, it might breathe a bit of life into this little town."

Leah dropped her head a bit. "But what if no one likes my sculptures? I'd be crushed."

"Part of art's about taking risks, right?" Alma gestured to the wood sculpture and said, "You didn't know what this would look like as you started carving at it. The wood could have been diseased or tough or uncooperative, but you took a chance on it - and look what you've made out of it!" She looked at Leah as the wheels were turning in her head. "You've got nothing to lose. And if it goes well, you could make your living a bit easier and help out the town as well - maybe even pave the way for new artists to come in and see their expression waiting in the secrets of the valley."

Leah looked over the sculpture, her hands back on her hips. "I'll have to think about it." She ran her hands over her braid and sighed, "Well, thanks for dropping by, Alma."

"Sure thing," she said, standing up from the stool. "I'll see you around." Leah walked her to the door, and they said their goodbyes. Alma made her way into town, going north back into the mountains. It was about four o'clock now, so she had a few hours to try to get a sturgeon before meeting Harvey at the saloon. She set her bag down next to her and pulled out her fishing rod. "Here goes," she said, casting the line out into the lake. There wasn't a lot biting today; the spirits must not have been happy. In the three hours she sat there, she caught one carp, one chub, and a bunch of algae. It was not a good day for fishing. She sighed, packed up her stuff, and went down to the saloon.

When the door opened, Harvey turned to look over his shoulder and smiled as Alma walked in. "Come on in!" Gus called.

She wiped her boots on the rug and shook off her clothes a bit before stepping in. She looked up and smiled at Harvey, walking to the barstool next to him. He had his coat off and hanging over the bar, presumably to let it dry. "Hi there. Let me make my rounds to say hello," she said as she put down her bag and took off her hat.

"Sure thing," he said. She patted his shoulder before she walked away to the opposite side of the saloon. He watched her as she moved from one person to the next, smiling to them and making pleasant small talk. They would all smile back, shake her hand, pat her back, chat happily with her, laugh …. It was as if she lit everyone up just by checking in on them. Harvey thought she made it look so easy. Even Shane looked less perturbed after she came and said hi. She took a deep breath and grinned at Harvey as she took her seat again at the barstool next to him. "How do you do that?" he asked, wagging his head.

"Do what?"

"You just … effortlessly go around the room and talk to everyone like - like you've known them for years. Here I thought it was just me under your, uh, your charm, but now I see that everyone is enchanted by it. It's like magic."

She laughed. "Well, I am one with the forest spirits now. Maybe they have bestowed upon me the gift of charisma." She turned to Gus and asked for a cup of coffee and a glass of wine.

"It's for me?" Harvey asked, and when she nodded, he looked at her as if she didn't need to do that - like she beat him to the punch of ordering drinks for them. "I think my, uh … bedside manner could learn a lot from you, Ms. 'Best Neighbor.'"

Alma groaned. "You heard about that, huh?"

"Yes, Mayor Lewis put up a post about it in front of Pierre's store. Y-You didn't see it?"

"I guess not. Or maybe I chose not to notice it."

"Here you go, Alma," Gus said, placing the drinks in front of her.

She thanked Gus and slid the coffee to Harvey who took a deep breath and smiled. "This is my favorite stuff. It's like you read my mind." He took a nice, long sip and seemed to immediately relax.

"Well, at least for the people here, this is what I've learned about making friends," she said, gesturing to his coffee. "Everyone has gifts they like, so if you give gifts and help them with errands, they seem to appreciate it. Plus, my dad taught me to always say hi to everyone you make eye contact with as you're walking along. It was kind of a hard rule to follow in the city, but here, it makes a big difference."

"Do you think maybe that was a piece of advice that trickled down from your grandfather? Something he, uh … learned from his time here?"

Alma paused a minute and smiled. "You know what, that's very possible. He was always so friendly to everyone. And maybe he saw how that affected people so much here and carried that with him through the rest of his life, and even to his children."

"And grandchildren," he said with a sip.

Alma nodded slowly. "But, you know, I'm not the only one with a good reputation." She sipped her coffee and said, "I had my first session with Dr. Katherine this morning, and she started off by talking about how good of a person you are and how lucky we are here to have you as our doctor."

He smiled and looked down bashfully. "Katherine is too kind." He wrapped his hands around his coffee mug and sighed. "I feel responsible for the health of this whole community. I take it very seriously, and it's kind of stressful. It's a pretty small community, though, and I'm fortunate to be able to build a good relationship with my patients."

"Well, it's not just us here in town who take notice of that care. She spoke very highly of you."

He tried to divert the attention elsewhere and asked, "How was, uh - How was your session? Do you think it's going to help?"

"Oh, yes, I'm … I'm very hopeful."

"Good," he said with emphatic nodding, "that's excellent to hear."

"We talked about some of my major issues, we set up some goals, and then she gave me some homework for things to start working on. We're meeting again over the phone next week, but she said if I needed anything before then, I could either call her office or come talk to you."

"And she's absolutely right. I'm here for you, and I will do whatever I can to help."

"I know you will," she said, lifting her glass up to her lips. "That's the kind of person you are."