Isolated (Stardew Valley)

Chapter Eleven

MY DRUNKEN DREAMS were filled with tiny, apple-like creatures dancing around me.

They were like a parade of small coloured balls, moving around in a circle, throwing flowers and leaves and twigs all around. Everywhere I looked, these little junimos paraded around me. They whispered, chanted, sung the songs of the forest.

But I was frozen. I could not move. I sat on grass that brushed my skin in a smooth whisper and watched the tiny creatures. My heart was beating wildly, confused and alert, yet I was not scared. There was another whisper—one at the back of my mind—that told me this magic was good.

I shut my eyes and tried to block out their words, tried to block out their movement. I wanted to get out of here.

I was not sure of how much time had passed. Dreams were always like this. They could have been seconds, minutes, hours even, but you could never pinpoint how long they lasted.

A gentle breeze flew around me, cool wind caressing my cheek. The action snapped something within me. I opened my eyes and found myself not basking under the summer sun, but back in the ranch.

"Thank Yoba that was over," I muttered, and felt that my tongue was like sandpaper, dry and rough.

My legs swung off the side of my bed and I got up, my head throbbing in pain. Suddenly, memories of the previous night replayed through my mind, the events flicking through like a movie.

I touched my dry lips and gasped when I remembered. "Alex!"

My eyes immediately scanned the room, but it was silent and empty. The area where Alex slept in last night was clean, with the blankets he used neatly folded and placed on the table.

Did he leave, just like that? I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

My hand touched the side of my cheek where I felt the wind brush against it, the wind that brought me back to reality. The windows were not opened. The only way wind could have gotten in was through the–

I ran to the front door, swinging it open.

At a distance, I could see a familiar green figure getting further and further with each step. He seemed to be in a hurry, his hands tucked into his pockets, his long strides taking him back to town. Alex's back was to me, but I could spot that muscled body and letter jacket anywhere.

"Alex!" I tried to shout, but it was useless. My voice came out as more like a croak.

I saw Alex's figure pause, almost like he had heard it. But then he continued walking and soon he disappeared, his body swallowed in by the thick trees.

★

I walked into town hours later when my head didn't feel like someone was knocking into my skull and my legs felt steady again.

The first thing I heard were the whispers. I thought I was dreaming again with the junimos and that somehow their beings were still following me, but after blinking and pinching myself repeatedly, I realized how stupid I must have looked, and stopped.

But when I craned my head and saw a group of older women talking to each other, I realized that the whispers came from them.

Caroline, Jodi, and Robin sat on a nearby bench, speaking in hushed voices. Despite their age and having their own families to take care of, they still acted like teenage girls gossiping over the latest drama. Oddly enough, they reminded me of the punk trio themselves.

I rolled my eyes at this, prepared to walk away. It was only when my name was mentioned in the conversation that had me draw closer to them.

The bench area was surrounded by bushes, acting as cover while I listened to their voices.