Monday, 1st of Winter

When Alma heard Marnie's rooster crow, she could immediately feel the winter cold blowing through the house. Her bedsheet was not thick enough for this cold! "Biz?" she moaned, hoping he would come cuddle with her in bed. But she didn't hear anything - nothing except Robin's hammering on the well. He must have already let himself outside. She groaned and rolled over, curling her legs in tighter and pulling the blanket closer to her chin.

She peeked at the window and saw snow continuing to fall from last night. She closed her eyes and thought through her day. First of all was therapy with Dr. Katherine, which would be soon. After that, she should go check on the animals to see what they need. Then she could clean up the dead crops, harvest mushrooms, and do a walkthrough to see if anything else needed to be addressed on the property.

She wasn't really sure what all she could do in the winter. But as she pulled herself out of bed and prepared a cup of coffee and some eggs, she thought on it. First priority was still the community center, so that meant checking the traveling cart, fishing, going to the mines, and increasing the farm's stock. For the farm, the biggest goal was the last barn upgrade. Then she could invest in more livestock. She should plant some stuff in the greenhouse too to take full advantage of that. Keep an eye out for wool to make cloth and then buy a mill. Upgrade tools. Maybe build some fences, make some paths. Robin mentioned stocking up on supplies like wood and stone. Maybe there would be a lot to keep her busy this winter.

She brought her plate and mug over to the table and waited for the phone to ring from Dr. Katherine's office. She took lots of deep breaths and wondered what they would bring up today. She felt like she was always improving, but that nightmare last week really set her back quite a bit. She was more on-edge, guarded, and in her head. She hadn't realized how much she had improved until she had gone back to her old habits. She definitely wanted to hash that out. Maybe she should talk to her too about the idea of Harvey spending the night. Was that a healthy way to cope or not?

The phone startled her, but she took a breath and answered after it rang one more time. "Hello?"

"Hello, Alma, this is Dr. Katherine's office calling. She's running a little behind, but stay near the phone and she'll be right with you."

"Okay, thanks." Alma went ahead and put some more wood on the fire before going to put on Harvey's flannel, her long overalls, her tundra boots, and her bomber jacket. She took a second to lift the collar of Harvey's shirt up to her nose before she buttoned the last button. Right as she was pulling on her jacket, the phone rang again. Alma rushed to the table and answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, Alma, it's Dr. Katherine. How are you?"

Alma never knew how to answer this question. "Oh, you know … not bad."

"Tell me about your week!"

And Alma went into it. She and Dr. Katherine talked about the nightmare, the thought spirals, the awareness of irrational thinking and feeling, and they went through coping strategies and homework for next time. "If you're comfortable with Harvey staying the night and if you think it does help you sleep better, I think it's fine. But I don't want you to get caught in a pattern of dependency where you feel like you have to have him because that's putting yourself back into some unhealthy mindsets. Are you all still doing your levels of intimacy?"

"Yes, Harvey has been really great about that."

"Excellent, I love to hear that. Have you started to notice any kind of pattern of where the line gets drawn? Or what makes a good day and what makes a bad day?"

"Not … really. It seems really … unpredictable. Some days I'm fine - like, I'll ask him to spend the night! Other days, I get uncomfortable pretty quickly. I don't even want a hug, or some comments rub me the wrong way."

"That's understandable. Just keep at it." They talked some more, and Dr. Katherine kept encouraging her. Alma really appreciated her support. "Okay, so our time is just about up. Do you have any questions for me?"

"No, thank you. Talk to you next Monday."

"Yes ma'am! Happy first day of winter! Bye!"

"Bye." Alma hung up the phone and took her dishes to the kitchen with a sigh. She felt better, but therapy was always draining. She poked at the fire to keep the embers hot while she was gone, then she went outside to get to work.

There were probably at least three inches of snow covering everything, and Alma thought it looked so picturesque. She took a minute to stand on the porch and take it in. The sky was full of big, fluffy flakes that silently packed themselves away on the ground. Bisclavret was running around the farm, barking and chasing after snowflakes. Alma laughed as she watched him playing and having fun like she thought he probably never had before. She looked back up to the sky and thought about how she was always surprised by how quiet the snowfall was. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the valley. The trees were creaking, and the wind was blowing through the branches. And of course, Bisclavret was making lots of noise with his running, panting, and barking. Then she opened her eyes when she could hear the muffled sounds of clucking in the barn. She had work to do, so she took a deep breath and stepped off the porch onto the crunchy snow. She was thankful for the tundra boots designed to keep her on top of the snow and not in it.

She passed the wilted crops and went first into the barn. "Whoo, ladies! It's chilly in here, huh?" Henriette, Little Red, Jemima, Prima Donna, and Beatrix were all huddled in the hay at the back of the coop. "Here, if you all aren't going to go outside, how about we just close this door to keep the draft from getting in?" She pulled down the door, which made it much darker inside. Light still came in through cracks in the wood, though. She gathered the eggs and tended to the mayonnaise machines. "All right, I think you all are taken care of. See you all tomorrow!"

She went next to the barn, where the livestock weren't as bothered by the cold as the smaller animals were, but it was still quite cold and drafty in that big barn. She closed the door for them too, made sure they had enough hay to eat and sleep on, milked and loved on them all, and refilled the cheese presses. She made sure to give Essa some special attention. "You stay close to your momma to keep warm, okay? She'll take good care of you." She gave one final pat on her back before she stood back up and left the barn.

Alma turned her attention next to the crops. She got out her hoe, ripped up the old crops from the ground, and covered the hardened dirt back up with snow. Then she went to the cave to harvest the mushrooms, and on her way back, she took a look at the greenhouse. She opened up the door and went inside to look it over. And as she stood there thinking about what she might plant, she made the sudden realization: Pierre wasn't going to have any seeds for her to buy! And she didn't have hardly any seeds in her own storage. She slapped her forehead. "Alma, you idiot!" She sighed and thought about what she could do. "Fruit trees maybe? I have to get some eventually to supply some fruits to the community center. And I can still plant what I do have. Maybe make a tea sapling …." She nodded slowly. She'd make it work. But, she thought as she checked the time, she probably needed to go into town before it got much later. She left the greenhouse and went to the chests to get what she needed to buy a sapling and upgrade a tool at Clint's shop too. "See ya later, Biz!" she called with a wave behind her as she rushed down the snowy path toward town.

When Alma turned back around in front of the bus stop, she gasped. There was a large shadowy figure standing right there in the middle of the road facing her too. It was amorphous but standing on two legs, with a cute little curly-cue on top of its head. It was all black, and Alma thought it looked almost translucent. The features of its face seemed like pin holes that looked right through the other side of its body. It stared at her for a moment too, looking just as startled to see her as she was to see it. "Um … hello," she carefully said. But the figure suddenly jumped and scampered down the path toward town. Alma was left baffled. "What … was that?!" She took out her journal and made a note: "Find the shadowy figure." But as she put her notebook back in her pocket, she looked down at the snow and could clearly see its small footprints. She thought maybe she could still find it if she followed the trail while it was fresh.

When she came to the cobblestone path to town, she lost the trail. But then when she looked ahead, she could see the footprints continue up the stairs on the cliff face that went up toward the fountain. She continued on the trail all the way to the grouping of bushes between the playground and the community center. The footprints seemed to stop there, and she got the feeling the figure was hiding in one of the bushes. "If you can hear me," she called as she looked around, "it's okay. I don't want to - "

Her eyes found those two pinhole eyes that opened wide when they met hers. "Eeeeep!" it screamed as it jumped out of the bush. Its voice was grating and raspy … but also strangely sweet and innocent. "You caught me! I'm sorry! Take it! Take it! It looked so valuable, I couldn't help myself …!" It bounced up and down with each hyperventilating breath, and it threw something down at her feet and ran away. Alma watched the figure run off back down the stairs and southward until it was quickly out of sight.

She looked down at her feet. In the snow was a magnifying glass. She turned it over and examined it. There were no discerning marks on it. Nothing made it look more valuable than a regular magnifying glass. Still, she put it in her bag for now. She followed the footprints again to see if she could find the creature again. They led into the little wooded park behind Emily's and Jodi's houses, then down by the graveyard and toward the entrance to the sewer. "It lives in … the sewer?" She remembered that one day in the spring when Vincent and Jas were playing near the sewer gate in the Cindersap Forest and she saw a black figure inside. It was probably the same creature. She wondered if maybe Gunther, Rasmodius, or someone else might know about it. But for now, she moved on.

Alma banged her boots on the doorframe of the store before entering. The bell above the door jingled as she came in, and Pierre looked genuinely surprised. "Well, Alma, hello! I didn't think I'd see you today! You still have something to sell?"

"I do indeed!" she said as she approached the counter. "I still have my animals, after all. And the mushrooms are still growing in the cave." She took out all the produce from her bag.

"Well, that's good that you're still making produce. You can't grow any crops during winter," he said with a shrug, "so I have no seeds to offer you. It's really going to cut into our profits."

"I understand. But I'm still happy to do business with you when I can! Plus," she said, pointing to his list of saplings on the wall, "you still have tree saplings."

"Well, yeah, but those won't produce over the winter."

"Not unless you have … a greenhouse!"

"Oh yeah! You do have one of those now, don't you? Well then, which one would you like?"

"How about an apple tree to start with?" Apple trees were the cheapest, and she remembered she needed two apples for the community center. Pierre went behind the counter and lifted up a small sapling onto the counter. Alma put her backpack on the ground and carefully put the sapling inside. "Thank you, sir! I'll buy more as money comes in." She pulled her bag back on and waved goodbye as she exited back out into the cold.

She went next to Clint's smithy. "Hi, Clint! It's nice and toasty in here!" she said, shaking off the snow at the front door.

"Yep, this is the best time of year to be a blacksmith, I guess. Though business is slow. Or … slower than usual, anyway."

"Well," she said as she slapped the counter, "I'm here to bring you some business. I'd like a tool upgrade. Maybe my ax?"

"If you want me to upgrade your tools, you'll have to give me the correct ore."

"Got it right here," she said, pulling the five copper bars from her bag and placing them on the counter.

"And you'll have to pay me a fee, of course."

"And here it is!" she said, tossing him a coin purse. "And here's my ax for you." She placed the well-used ax on the counter too.

"Thanks. I'll get started on this as soon as I can. It should be ready in a couple days."

"No worries. Thank you, sir!" Alma left the shop and checked the time. It was about three o'clock. Too early to go to the saloon, too late to do many other errands in town. She decided to go back to the farm to plant the sapling in the greenhouse first; by the time that job would be done, Harvey would probably be at the saloon and ready for a cup of coffee. As she walked past the clinic, she wondered how his day had gone. She knew she could ask him all about it at the saloon, so she continued on to the farm. She opened up the greenhouse door and thought about where would be the best place to put a tree. She felt her feet along the ground that surrounded the soil. It felt soft too, but a bit more sturdy. She used her hands to dig a hole big enough for the sapling's roots, put the little tree in, covered it back up, and watered it thoroughly. She went back out to the chests to see what other seeds she had. She just had some sunflowers and pumpkins. "Better than nothing!" she told herself. She grabbed the packets and some fertilizer then went back to the greenhouse to start planting.

Just as she finished watering the last plant, she checked the time and saw that it was after six o'clock. Perfect timing, she thought. She packed up her things, cleaned up in the sink a bit, and headed to town to go to the saloon.

When she came inside, she was surprised to see Harvey wasn't there yet. She thought he probably had a busy day and was still wrapping up some things. As she walked toward the bar, she smiled and nodded at Clint. "Hello, Alma," he said. "Care to join me?"

"Oh, uh … sure, Clint." She sat down with him at the table and could sense there was something he wanted to talk about.

"Let me just go ahead and tell you what's on my mind," he said, as if reading hers. "I have terrible luck with women, Alma." He looked down at his hands and sighed. Alma wasn't sure where this was going. "I'm a nice guy if you get to know me, I swear!"

"Well," she chuckled nervously, "rule number one of being a nice guy is to never feel like you have to prove that you're a nice guy."

"That's what I mean! That's what I need your help with. You're a girl, Alma …."

"That is right, yes."

"Then what advice can you give me?"

Alma thought about her options here for a minute. Should she tell Clint to impress women with his strength and charm? Act crazy to keep people guessing? Just be himself? Treat women the same as men? She looked at his desperate expression and was reminded of multiple times her brothers and cousins had asked her this same kind of question. Why did they overthink it so much? Why did they think women were some other species they needed to dissect to understand? "You know what, Clint? Just … treat women the same as men. Chat with them. Get to know them. Listen. Respect their time and opinions. Hang out with them. Share your hobbies. It's not rocket science. I think you put too much pressure on yourself and then crumble."

Clint looked down and slowly nodded. "Okay," he said quietly, "I'll keep that in mind."

Emily came through the saloon doors and approached them at their table. "Hi Clint," she greeted with a smile. "What can I get for you tonight?"

"Yes!" Clint answered quickly. Alma and Emily both looked at him in confusion, and his face grew increasingly red. "Er … I mean, I'll have the Big n'Cheesy. With extra sauce please."

"Got it," Emily said with a nod. Clint quickly turned away and hid his face. "Hi Alma. Need anything?"

"I'll wait til Harvey gets here, thanks."

"Okay, just let me know!"

And just as she was about to walk away, Clint said, "Er …" He cleared his throat and continued, "Th-Thanks, Emily. For … taking my order."

"Sure, no problem! Just doing my job!"

"Um, Emily?" Alma watched him carefully as he spoke. "I was … I was wondering …"

"Yes, Clint? Something else?"

He hesitated for a moment, and Alma could see the color leaving his face. "Nevermind," he finally said.

"Oh, well, okay. I'll be right back with that Big n'Cheesy." She walked off toward the bar, picked up a drink tray, and stopped next to Shane. Alma noticed Clint watching her closely over his shoulder. "Hi Shane! Here's your beverage."

"Thanks, Emily," Shane said as he put the beer on the bar. "So … how's your shift coming along?"

"It's fine," Emily answered, holding the tray up to her chest. "Thanks for asking, Shane! Do you have any new chicken stories for me?"

Clint sighed and turned back to Alma. He slumped over in his seat. "I'm doomed."

"Now, c'mon, Clint, it's not over. Shane is just being friendly. And you had an awkward moment. I don't think she was fazed by any of it. Just keep trying. It will come more naturally with time." Just then, Harvey came through the door. He spotted Alma and smiled. "Well, I'd better go. Don't lose hope." She stood up and patted him on the shoulder before she left.

"Thanks, Alma," Clint muttered.

"Hey there," Harvey said as she approached him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Aren't you glad you got that coat yesterday?" he said as he unwrapped his scarf from around his neck.

"I am, yes! How was your day? Pretty busy?"

"Yes, though not with patients, thankfully. Just still getting things ready for the season. It's not only winter, but it's flu season, so you'd better be extra careful. Make sure to wash your hands often."

"Noted, thank you. Coffee?"

He sighed as he sat down at the bar. "It's like you read my mind."