I woke up early the next morning. Yawning, I rolled over in my narrow bed, almost falling off. The morning sunlight slanted in through the window and shone on my face. I wasn't used to waking up so early. For a moment, I struggled to remember where I was. When I realized, I flopped back on the bed with a groan. As the events of yesterday came rushing back, I felt like going back to sleep. But then I heard footsteps outside my room.

"Fern! Fern, wake up!" Louisa called, sticking her head into the attic.

I raised my head, rubbing my eyes. "What is it, Louisa?"

"Oh, good. You're already awake," Louisa said. "Well, I guess you got plenty of sleep, since you went to bed so quickly. I came up to check on you, and you were already asleep."

"You did?" I muttered, staring out the window. The barn glistened under the early morning sunlight. I remembered the tractor that had crashed.

"We've all been up for ages," Louisa said. "I've already milked the cows and collected the eggs." I stared at her in disbelief. "Come down to breakfast. Mom made a big one for you."

"She did?" I asked in disbelief. "Uh, I'm not very hungry. Can I just stay up here?"

"Come on, Fern. It's not that bad," Louisa insisted. I could tell she wasn't talking about the breakfast. "I mean, everyone makes mistakes. And you aren't used to this place. I'm sure they understand."

"If you say so," I muttered.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Louisa held something up. "I made this for you."

"What is it?" I asked, getting out of bed. I observed the round object in Louisa's hand, with small green plants intertwined in the woven green material.

"It's a bracelet," Louisa explained. "When I heard you were arriving, I made it for you. It took a lot of work, with things from the farm. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but I forgot. Look, it has ferns in it, like your name."

"It does." I took the bracelet, which felt rough and prickly. I realized it was made of grass and twine. It probably was hard to make. I was surprised she had done it just because I was coming.

"Go on, try it on," Louisa insisted. "Does it fit?"

I slipped the bracelet around my wrist. It was a little small for me, and the sharp ferns dug into my skin. "It's… it's nice," I said.

Louisa beamed. "I'm glad you like it. Will you wear it until you leave?"

"Uh… okay, sure," I agreed. I didn't want to upset her, and I could see how excited she was for me to arrive. "Thank you, Louisa."

Louisa smiled at me, pleased. I followed her downstairs. Once I entered the kitchen, they both glanced up at me, but didn't say anything. I took a seat at the table and grabbed a glass of milk, trying not to look at anyone.

Louisa was the first to break the silence. "We're riding the horses today, aren't we? It's been so long since I've ridden any of them."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Peter quipped. "You couldn't even ride the tractor without crashing it."

Louisa lowered her head. Janet interrupted. "Oh, don't be like that. It wouldn't have taken much to take that thing apart. We should've bought a new one ages ago. Maybe now, you finally will."

"It wasn't that bad," Peter insisted. "I just need to fix it. I stayed up late trying to mend the tractor."

"And did you?" Janet asked.

"Well, no," Peter admitted. "I suppose we'll have to head into town to get it fixed. And in the meantime, we'll have to plant the seeds by hand."

"I really am sorry," Louisa insisted. "I guess I shouldn't have been on the tractor."

"It was my fault," I muttered.

"Look how guilty they both are," Janet insisted. "I'm sure it could've happened to anyone."

"If you say so," Peter agreed. "But should you really be riding the horses?"

"Horses are different from tractors," Janet reminded. "It's much harder to crash a horse. If you try, they'll start galloping in the opposite direction."

"Oh, please let me," Louisa pleaded. "It's been so long since I've seen Sandy and Pepper and…"

"Alright, fine," Peter agreed. "As long as you aren't too scared."

"Of course I'm not," Louisa insisted. "But I'd understand if Fern was. It was pretty scary for her. You know, she's never ridden the tractor before. And she's younger than me."

I hesitated. I didn't want to cause more trouble, but I did want to see the horses. "When will we ride them?" I asked.

"Oh, later on. After breakfast, we'll be harvesting the corn," Janet explained.

"That means picking it," Louisa told me.

"I know what it is," I retorted. "Could… could I help?"

"Really?" Janet asked. "You really don't have to."

"I want to," I insisted. I figured picking corn wouldn't be too hard, and I was desperate to make up for yesterday. "Unless you think I shouldn't."

"We could use the help," Peter admitted. "Nadia and Aidan will be too busy in the barn. Sometimes, I think they care more about the horses than the farm."

"It's very kind of you, Fern," Janet said. "I'd understand if you're too afraid to ride."

"Well, I'm not," I admitted. "Do you think you could let me?"

"We'll see," Peter said.

Soon I was outside the cornfield with them. I was relieved they had let me. I thought they'd let me ride the horses if I did a good job. Louisa seemed just as determined as me. I shielded my eyes from the morning sunlight as I gazed at the tall row of faded brown stalks, almost the same color as the leaves.

"I make sure you don't try eating any while you're picking them," Louisa warned while handing a basket to me. "I have to remind myself whenever we harvest the food. I feel the urge to eat them all straight away."

"Don't worry. I don't like corn, anyway," I said.

I followed them into the wide cornfield, clutching the basket tightly. I was afraid of messing up and making things worse again. The tall stalks surrounded us on all sides, the fallen leaves crunching under my shoes. I watched as Louisa pulled an ear of corn from one of the stalks. When I reached up to do the same, I had a bit more trouble. Even when I tugged, I couldn't get the corn out.

"Let me help you," Louisa suggested. She reached up to the stalk and flicked it down, placing the corn into my basket. "That's how you get the ears. That's what you call the pieces of corn."

I copied her and pulled another ear down. "Do I collect all of these?" I asked, not wanting to make a mistake.

"Yeah, take as many as you can carry," Louisa assured. "The more to eat, the better."

I gazed around at the wide field of stalks. "Can you really eat all of these?"

"Well, I easily can," Louisa admitted. "But we don't eat all of them. We send some away to the nearest town to be sold."

"The nearest town?" I asked. I hadn't seen any town as we passed.

"I mean, aside from the small one down the road, where we go shopping and I go to school," Louisa explained. "They get most of our food, but there's a larger one that we sometimes go to when we have a large enough amount of food."

"What's it called?" I asked.

"Gloomsdale," Louisa replied. "When we have enough food, we travel there to sell it. It's a nice change to get out of the farm once in a while."

I nearly dropped my basket. "That's the town I live in!" I exclaimed.

Louisa glanced at me in surprise. "Really? The town with all the rumors?"

"I can't believe Mom didn't mention it to me," I muttered.

"Maybe she didn't know," Louisa suggested. "I mean, we don't see each other often. I didn't even know where you lived until now. And I never saw you in the market. Maybe I just missed you. Dad doesn't let me go with him too often. He says I have to stay and watch the farm."

"I don't help Mom go shopping much either," I admitted. "I sometimes do, but I never like any of the vegetables Mom buys. She says I'm a picky eater."

"Not like me. Mom says I never stop eating," Louisa remarked.

"You mean, Janet?" I asked.

"Yeah, her," Louisa said. "I mean, I know she's not really my mom. But…"

She trailed off, and I spoke up. "It's fine. I mean, I'm glad you're settling in here so well. Better than me, at least. I got off to such a bad start."

"Don't say that, Fernie," Louisa insisted. "It isn't surprising that you'd have trouble adjusting at first. You'll get used to it eventually."

"Maybe," I muttered. "But will your dad ever like me?"

"He takes some time to get used to," Louisa admitted. "Just try flattering him a little. Tell him how great you think the farm is and how good he is at running it. That should work, if the work you do doesn't."

"If you say so," I agreed, reaching up to pull down another ear.

I collected as much corn as I could, wanting to please them. I didn't want to anger them even more, especially Peter. I even moved off the path to collect more of them. My hand snagged against the stalk as I reached for the corn. I returned to the path when the basket began to get heavy, satisfied with the amount I had collected. I froze when I realized the others were gone. I couldn't see them anywhere. I had been so focused on picking the corn, I hadn't realized they had gone ahead.

I started walking faster, desperate to catch up with them. "Louisa?" I called. "Louisa?" I was too afraid to call to her parents.

There was no reply. I couldn't see anything except the tall stalks surrounding me. As I walked, some of the corn fell out of the basket. I reached down to pick it up, my heart pounding. I had been looking forward to showing off how much corn I had gotten, thinking they'd be pleased with me. But they wouldn't be if I got lost.

I crouched down, deciding it was better to stay where I was until they found me. They'd have to notice I wasn't there eventually. At least Louisa would. But as I glanced up at the tall stalks towering over me, I felt very small. I had never been in the cornfield the last time I came. Actually, I spent the entire time up in my room, waiting until I had to go home. Thankfully, I was younger then, so they didn't expect me to do much work. But now that I thought about it, I had been so sulky that it was no wonder Peter was so impatient with me.

As the others didn't return, I began to worry. I stood up, scanning the cornfield. Maybe they had forgotten about me. I reached up to collect more of the corn, wanting to make a good impression on them. As I caught sight of my wrist, I realized something else was lost. It was the bracelet Louisa had given me.

I lowered my hand. There were small red pricks on my wrist from where the grass and plants had dug into my hand. I realized it must've fallen off while I was picking the corn off the path. I tried not to dwell on it, remembering how it wasn't the most comfortable to wear, but I remembered how excited Louisa had been to give it to me. She had been kind to me, and I didn't want to upset her.

I turned around and started to head back, trying to remember where I had been picking the corn. I turned to the right and headed into the field, clutching the basket tightly as the stalks pressed against my sides. I scanned the ground, searching for any signs of the bracelet, but all I could see were the golden leaves. I kicked them out of the way, realizing how easy it would be to miss the bracelet. It blended in easily with the grass, but I carefully observed the ground as I walked. I half expected to see another one of those pumpkins with the carved grins, but to my relief, I didn't. I raised my head as I bumped into one of the stalks, my heart sinking as I realized how far off I had wandered. I glanced back, realizing I couldn't see the path anymore.

When I glanced back in front, I caught sight of something through the field, obscured by the tall corn stalks. I couldn't get a good look, but as I stepped forward, it seemed like a person. They stood in the middle of the field, wearing overalls. It was the same as what Peter and Janet wore. I hesitated, but I was too desperate to find somebody. I tore through the field, dodging the corn. Once the figure came into view, I came to a stop. I realized it wasn't a person at all. It was suspended above the ground, without any feet below the dirty, tattered jeans. It was completely still and even taller than the corn stalks, towering over me. The arms were spread out at the sides, but instead of hands, straw jutted out from the ends of the old plaid sleeves.

Getting lost in a cornfield seems inevitable for a farm. Like The Scarecrow Walks, the scarecrow also comes to life at one point, but there's only one of them, and it has something to do with the jack-o-lantern instead of a nefarious farmhand.