Saturday, 20th of Winter

Alma was surprised to see a letter and package from Caroline waiting for her in her mailbox:

"Dear Alma,

Here's a vegetable from the little garden I keep out back. You probably have more veggies than you know what to do with, but oh well.

- Caroline"

In the package was a parsnip, which Alma knew were out of season. Though she was thankful for the kind gesture, she wondered how fresh it actually was. Still, with a shrug, she put it in her bag and continued down the porch steps to do her farmwork.

On her way to the barn, Alma could see through the trees that her maple tap was full. She quickly went back to the house, grabbed a bottle, and collected the syrup inside. She made sure the lid was nice and tight before putting it in her bag and licking her lips.

After she had made her way through the farm and gathered up all her produce, she was thinking about what she needed to do today as she was organizing items in her chests. She still didn't have enough wood for the mill, but she did have enough money for a pig. Maybe she could buy the pig and gather wood to buy a mill in the next day or two. She could also go to Clint's to process the geodes she got from the mines yesterday, and then she could drop by the library and probably see Harvey there too. So she closed up her chests, pulled on her bag, wrapped her coat around her a little tighter, and headed south to Marnie's shop.

"Hey there, Alma, it's good to see ya! Here for a pig?"

"I am indeed," she answered, knocking the snow off her boots at the door. She approached the counter and gave Marnie the money she needed.

"And what would you like to call your pig?"

"Oh, um …" Alma drummed her fingers on the counter as she thought for a moment. "My first thought is Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, but he's a boy. This pig is a sow, right?"

"Right. Maybe … Wilburina?"

"Wilburina! I love it!"

"Great! I'll send little Wilburina to her new home right away."

"Thank you so much, Marnie! I'll see you around!"

"Feel free to visit us any time you please."

Alma took the road east into town then headed north to Pierre's shop. She checked the billboard out front and saw that today was Evelyn's birthday! She had to get her something. She tried to think about what she had that Evelyn might like. She knew she loved flowers, but since it was winter, she didn't have any fresh flowers growing. In her chests, though, she did have some from earlier in the year. She went ahead inside the shop, sold her produce to Pierre, then rushed back home to look through her chests to see what flowers she had. "Fairy rose," she said to herself, looking at the colorful collection. "I think she'd love that." She chose one and carefully put it in her bag before going back into town.

Alma knocked on the Mullners' front door and heard a distant "Come in!" from inside. She creaked the door open and peeked around it.

"Hello?" she called.

"Oh! Alma! Come in, dear! I'm in the kitchen!" Alma closed the door behind her and wiped her boots before making her way to the kitchen. "You're wondering what that good smell is? Is that what brought you here?" Mrs. Mullner giggled.

"Well, not necessarily, but it does smell amazing!"

"Why, that's nice of you to say!"

"What are you making? Some pie?"

"I'm actually baking my famous cookies!"

Alma couldn't hold her excitement and gasped. "Cookies!"

"Yes, and they're actually just about finished …." Evelyn pulled on her oven mitts and opened up the oven. The space filled with warm, sweet air as she pulled the cookie sheet out and placed it on the stove. She gently tapped a few with her finger and said, "Oh, yes, they're ready." She took a spatula, moved them over to a cooling rack, and said, "Here, why don't you try one?" as she placed one warm cookie in Alma's palm. Alma took a gooey bite and moaned with closed eyes. "Well, what do you think?"

"Oh, Granny, it's delicious!"

"Thank you!"

"No, thank you! What a treat!" Alma happily ate the rest of the cookie.

"I think I've come to know you well enough to give you my recipe." She turned and opened a small box on her counter, thumbing through the loose papers and pulling one out. "Just make sure to keep it a secret."

"Thank you so much, Evelyn! I can't wait to try it out myself!" She took the recipe card and put it in her pocket. "I actually came to bring something for you. I saw on Pierre's wall that it's your birthday today, so …" She pulled out the fairy rose and presented it to Evelyn.

"A birthday gift? That's very kind of you! I love it. Fairy roses are some of my favorites."

"Well, you enjoy it. You have been so kind to me, it's the least I could do. I hope you have a wonderful day! And thank you again for the cookie!"

"You're very welcome, dear." They hugged, and Evelyn saw her out the door as she made her way to Clint's smithy.

Alma gave the blacksmith her geodes to process, and though she got a few not-so-noteworthy items like clay and rocks, she also got two beautiful stones she had not seen before. She knew she had to take them to Gunther, so she went next to the museum.

"Jasper and … neptunite, I believe," Gunther said, examining the stones on the counter. "And speaking of Jasper," he said, taking the stones and placing them in a container for cleaning later, "you might want to go take a look at the Lost Books section. I believe you'll find something rather interesting."

"Oh yeah?" Alma excitedly went into the back of the bookstacks, where she saw a new book added to the collection–and it had "M. Jasper" written on the spine. Alma immediately took it off the shelf and opened it up:

"The species commonly known as 'Goblin' seems to have originated in the forests of the far northeast, beyond the Bluemire Hills. Characterized by their green skin, bright red eyes, and foul smell, initial encounters with Goblins can be frightening for inexperienced travelers.

"Despite their unsettling appearance, Goblins possess an intellectual and emotional capacity akin to humans, and have no trouble learning our customs and languages. The goblins I've met have been rather friendly and amiable, once I've shown that I mean no harm. Unfortunately, centuries of distrust and ill-treatment from humans has led many Goblins to pursue careers in the employment of witches, warlocks, necromancers, and other unsavory types.

"A traditional Goblin diet consists of grub meat, typically from the large and juicy grub varieties native to the Goblin homeforest. On special occasions, Goblins will indulge in an item called 'void mayonnaise,' considered perhaps the finest delicacy in all Goblin cuisine."

"Well, I'm taking you home with me," Alma said, holding the book close to her chest. She went back to the front desk, saying, "I checked out the tunnel like you said."

Gunther's movements slowed, and he carefully looked up. "Yeah? And?"

She shrugged. "A whole lot of nothing. I need a battery first. So why are you so concerned?"

"Well … " He cocked his head to the side like he wasn't sure if he should speak or not. "Let's just circle back when you do get that battery." She heard some movement in the bookstacks and wondered if it might be Harvey. "Ah, yes, your personal physician is here. Best go see what he's up to," Gunther said, happy to have a reason to end the conversation.

Alma stepped toward the book stacks and sure enough, there was Harvey, gathering up his things. "Are you wrapping things up?" she asked as she came up behind him.

Harvey jumped a little when he heard her voice. "Oh! You startled me!" he chuckled, grabbing his chest. "Y-Yes, it's about time for me to head back to my apartment. Care to join me?"

"Hm, maybe. I have a few more things I'd like to do before it gets too dark."

"Such as?"

"Gathering wood for a mill. I'm hoping I can buy one tomorrow."

"Well, just don't overwork yourself, Alma. Doctor's orders! Your health is important to me." He stepped a little closer and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "What, uh … what've you got there?" he asked, gesturing to the book in her hand.

"Oh! A new lost book from Mona! It's about goblins."

Harvey paused for a minute and shook his head before pulling his coat over his shoulders. "Well, I don't know why I'm surprised."

"I want to check it out. I'm sure I'll learn a lot!" They walked together back to the front desk, and Alma checked out the book before they headed outside. The sun was starting to set, and it cast a beautiful golden hue over the snow.

"So what else did you do today?" Harvey asked as he held his arm out to escort her.

"Not much. Oh, but I did buy a pig!"

"Did you?"

"Yeah! Marnie says she has truffle pigs, so the sow I have should be able to find some truffles on my property in the spring, I guess! That should bring in some nice money."

"And you can probably make them into truffle oil. Very healthy and very valuable."

"You're right! That's a great idea. I also went to the Mullners' to give Evelyn a birthday present, and she shared her cookie recipe with me."

"Oh, you should be very honored. I know she holds that recipe close to her chest!"

"Yes, she promised me to keep it a secret. So, sorry! No recipe for you, I guess."

"That's okay," Harvey said. "Cookies aren't my favorite anyway." The came to the door of the clinic, and as he unlocked the door, he asked, "Care to, uh … come up?"

"I think I'd better move along, actually. I really want to get that wood, and I don't want to be up too late. I was out really late in the mines last night - I even came by to say hi, but you were already asleep. So I'd kind of like to get to bed early tonight. Maybe crack this baby open before bedtime."

"Well, I can't say I blame you. That sounds like a great, relaxing night."

"But I will miss you," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled and put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They rocked together for a moment and enjoyed each other's warmth, and they kissed before saying goodbye. Harvey watched Alma as she went south, and when she was out of view, he went inside the clinic and locked the door behind him.

Alma went toward the Cindersap Forest to collect wood. She picked up felled branches first then chopped down trees when there was no more wood to be seen already on the ground. She collected wood until it was completely dark, then she loaded up her things and went north to the farm. She quickly poked her head into the barn to see the little piglet snuggled in the hay for the night. The cows and goats were huddled around her, trying to keep each other warm. Seeing them gathered together like that made Alma remember that she never bought them a heater. Now there was only a week left of winter, and she had other things in mind to buy. She sighed and stepped back out, thinking that she will consider it tomorrow. For now, she went into the cabin, put more wood on the fire, changed out of her work clothes, and snuggled in bed with Bisclavret and her book about goblins.