Thursday, 18th of Winter

Alma took her cup of coffee outside to check her mail and see the deluxe barn. She pulled her blanket close around her and hugged her mug as she squinted into the morning sun reflecting off the snow. She could see the large barn now standing in the distance beyond the coop. She sipped her coffee and released out a contented, proud sigh. Then she stepped down to the mailbox, pulled out her mail, and brought it back into the warmth of the cabin. She put her coffee down on the table and sat by the fire to read a letter from Lewis:

"Dear Alma,

I'd like to give you some information about an upcoming event: the Feast of the Winter Star. It's a time for the community to come together and think back on all the good fortune we've had this year. A favorite tradition is the 'secret gift exchange,' where everyone in town is randomly assigned to someone else. On the day of the festival, everyone brings a gift for their secret friend and surprise them with something special.

This year, your secret friend is:

Maru

Don't tell anyone! The feast will take place on the 25th from 10AM to 2PM at the town square. See you then!

- Mayor Lewis"

It was hard to believe that Winter Star was only a week away. Her mind was flooded with memories of trips back home to see her side of the family, maybe to visit Grayson's family, and then also to see Eric's side of the family too. It was a time she missed her mother. Benji too. She wondered how he was doing. Who was he visiting for Winter Star? This year, it didn't seem she'd be able to get back home. She was excited to see how Stardew Valley celebrated.

"This year, your secret friend is: Maru." Alma wondered what Maru might want for the Winter Star. Electronics, maybe? Rare gems or minerals? She'd have to think about it and find something good for her.

Alma got dressed and stepped back outside to get to work. Besides her regular rounds to visit the coop, barn, and cave, she also saw she had a full tap of oak resin ready to bottle, and her pumpkins and sunflowers were ready in the greenhouse. Before she left the greenhouse, she saw the small machine she had gotten from completing Emily's bundle in the community center. She still wasn't really sure what it did, and just out of curiosity, she dropped in one of her not-so-good quality pumpkins to see what might happen. After a few moments, a new packet of pumpkin seeds appeared. "Oh! It … extracts seeds?" She took the pumpkin seeds and planted them back into the ground along with the sunflower seeds she got from picking her flowers. "Well that's convenient!"

Now that the barn was upgraded to the max, Alma's next focus was a mill. She dropped some things off into her chests and went back into the cabin to call about the materials needed. "It's 2,500 gold, 50 stone, 150 wood, and 4 cloth," Robin answered over the phone.

"Ah, I don't have that much wood. But no big deal; I'll harvest some and then maybe come by tomorrow to buy it."

"All right, sounds good. Happy working!"

Alma hung up the phone and made her way into town. As she passed by the clinic, she hesitated. It had been a few days since she had seen Harvey. She pushed the door open, and Maru shivered as the cold air rushed in. "Oh man, it's so cold …."

"Sorry about that," Alma said, quickly closing the door behind her and wiping her snowy boots on the rug. She saw Marnie and Jas sitting in the waiting room. She remembered last night after leaving the night market and avoided Marnie's glance.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I thought I'd just come say hi to Harvey."

And just then, Harvey came through the door to the waiting room. "Oh! Hello, Alma. Do you … have any medical questions?"

"No, I was just popping by on my way to do some errands."

"Erm … Dr. Harvey? This is completely confidential, right?"

"Yes, of course, Ms. Marnie. No need to worry. You and Miss Jas can come on back," he said, holding the door for them. "Sorry, Alma. I'll, uh, see you later?" he asked with a pitiful smile.

"No problem," she answered with a reassuring glance. "Have a good day!" She watched as he closed the door behind him and the girls. "See you later, Maru." The nurse waved as Alma went back outside. She first went to Pierre's next door to sell some produce, then she went north to the community center to drop off the fiddlehead fern she bought at the night market.

Alma needed to gather wood for the mill, so she picked up felled branches as she saw them but also chopped down some trees in some wooded areas in the mountains and around town. The sun was starting to go down, and she made her way back toward the farm, gathering wood as she went. She picked up branches around the bus stop and chopped down a few trees, and as she was placing them in her bag, she looked over to the tunnel and remembered Gunther's note in the lost book. It was dark by now, but she knew her glow ring would give her enough light to maybe see what he was talking about. She pulled her bag on her shoulders and went into the tunnel.

She looked along the walls of the tunnel for the little door Gunther wrote about. About two-thirds of the way back on the right side, sure enough, there was a small metal door, like a cover for a circuit breaker box. Alma tried to pull on the handle, but it wouldn't move. It was obviously locked. She noticed there was a wire covering that went from the lock to a compartment next to the door. It looked like a space for a battery. "It's a battery-powered lock-box," she said to herself with the realization, the sound of her voice echoing through the dark tunnel. "Unfortunately," she said, smacking her lips, "there's no battery in it. Of course." Alma wondered where she could get a battery pack that would fit the lock box. She thought she had seen the traveling saleswoman selling them before, but it was always unpredictable when she would be able to buy one from her. "It'll turn up," she said, turning around and exiting the tunnel again.

Alma checked the time and saw it was actually quite late – nearly eleven o'clock now. She didn't realize she had spent so much time around town gathering wood. She still didn't have enough for the mill, but she felt good knowing she had gotten that much closer. She yawned and decided it was time to go back to her cabin. Her boots crunched through the snow as she went back down the path toward Paradise.