Chapter 3

On the Job

Spring 2, 2005 (Tuesday)

Morning arrives at Forget-Me-Not Valley, Muffy wakes up to the shining early sun. She sits up, stretches her arms and lets out a huge yawn. She reaches out to the other side of the bed and tries to wake up her husband, but notices that Trei is not there. She then remembers that he decided to sleep on the floor the night before. She hops out of bed, and shakes his shoulder to wake him up.

“Trei, sweetheart. Time to get up, It's morning.”

Trei sits up feeling groggy. He rubs his eyes and says, “uh, I had a very strange dream last night. I found myself in a strange house, and a strange woman hugs me. . .” Before he finishes his story, he looks to his side and finds Muffy stare at him. “Oh my god! It's still going!” panicked Trei.

“Shh! Can you keep it down. You'll wake up Myo again.” said Muffy.

Trei sighs and says, “sorry, it was just a nightmare.”

Muffy closes her eyes, and puckers her lips waiting for her “good morning” kiss. As soon as she bring her lips close to his, he moves away nervously. Trei thought, “okay, I know that we're married and everything, but I can't do this! I don't even know her yet!”

Wondering why Muffy hasn't felt her husband's warm tender lips against hers, she opens her eyes. She notices that Trei has pulled himself away from her. Trei's eyes resembles that of a nervous child who has never kissed a woman before. She becomes annoyed at his reaction, so she turns away and says, “if you don't want to kiss me, fine then. But I won't forget this.”

She walks to Myo's bed, and wakes her up. After waking her up, she carries her around for a few minutes until she is fully awake. She then turns around, and sees that Trei still has not moved a muscle since he woke him up. She sighs again and says, “are you going to sit there all day? Why don't you go take a shower?”

At that moment, he realizes that he doesn’t know where his bathroom is. He knows that asking his wife for directions would be too strange, so he uses his common sense instead. In the bedroom, he finds two doors. One door leads outside, and the other leads to the kitchen. Yesterday morning, he was able to find the washroom from the kitchen. He remembers that there was a second door next to the washroom, so he gets up and goes over to that door. He opens the door to find the bathtub, he sighs in relief and walks in.

“Good, I found the bathroom,” whispered Trei to himself. “I sure could use a bath right about now. Yesterday was so hectic, I didn't get a chance to take a bath.”

In the corner of the bathroom, he notices a pile of clothing resting on a small table. They are cleaned, pressed, and neatly folded. They are men's clothing like the ones he found in his drawer the day before. “Muffy must have laid this out for me last night before we went to sleep. You know. . . Being married may not be so bad after all. Well, let's get to it, and take a shower.”

He undresses and steps into the shower. It takes a while for the hot water to come around, one of the inconveniences of living in the countryside. As he showers, Muffy walks into the bathroom. The shower is so loud, that Trei doesn't hear her come inside. Muffy undresses and slowly climbs into the shower with him. She presses her body against his, and tries to wrap her arms around him. Trei turns around, and sees his wife in the bathtub with him as naked as the day she was born. He screams out of panic, and pulls the curtain between them.

“Muffy! What are you doing in here?!” yelled Trei.

“What do you think, I want to take a shower,” answered Muffy.

“You didn't know that I was in here first?” asked Trei.

“Yeah, what's wrong? We take showers like this all the time,” answers Muffy.

“We do?” asked Trei. Muffy leers at him which makes him feel nervous. He knows that he is married, but he couldn't do this sort of thing and keep a straight face. He tries his best to come up with an excuse, “well. . . I'm feeling a bit shy today. So I think it's best if we take our showers separately. Maybe we could do it another day?”

“Shy?” asked Muffy angrily. “Why are you being so insecure? You've seen my body so many times already! And I've seen every inch of yours too! For god sakes, we have a child together! How do you think babies are made anyway?” Trei's face turns red in embarrassment. Muffy turns away and yells, “ugh, Fine then! Take your freaking shower in peace! I'll go make breakfast!”

Muffy steps out of the shower and grabs a bath robe. She storms out of the bathroom angrily and slams the door behind her. Trei quickly runs to the door and locks it before something else happens. He leans against the door trying to catch his breath, he could not believe what just happened.

He finishes his bath without any other incidents. He walks out changed into the working clothes that was left out for him. He takes a good look at himself outside the bathroom. Although the blue pants are tough and comfortable, he feels that the white shirt would get dirty too easily out in the barns. The heavy leather boots and gloves are also comfortable and well used. Since he knows that he has to do some farm work, he didn't bother styling his hair. He just left it spiking around in all directions.

He finds his wife making breakfast in the kitchen. Unlike yesterday, Muffy now wears a scarlet red dress, a very small blue jacket, black hair band and slippers. The skirt ends around her kneecaps, which still reveals plenty of well toned legs. He sits on the table, and waits to be served. After a few minutes, Muffy sets a plate of food in front of him. She then returns to the stove, and starts preparing another batch.

Trei was expecting a well-made home cooked meal, but he looks down at his plate and sighs in disbelief. Without taking time to think about his words, he says, “umm. . . I know that you're mad at me and everything, but did you have to burn the food?” Muffy suddenly stops cooking shocked by his comment. He grabs a fork, and starts to poke at the food without eating anything. “I mean look at these eggs. The borders are completely black, and the inside is hardly cooked. The toast smells like charcoal, and is as hard as wood.” Muffy's face turns red in fury as Trei continues to insult her food. He fails to notice her become angry, so he continues, “the fish is too well done. It's crunchy and tasteless. I'm sorry, but I can't eat this.”

Muffy has tried her best to control herself, but she can't take anymore of his insults. She walks to the table almost stomping, and slams her palms against the table shaking everything. Trei jumps back completely terrified of her.

“WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!!!” yelled Muffy to the top of her lungs. “First, you don't kiss me! Then you crap bricks at the sight of my body! Then you make fun of my cooking that hasn't changed since we got married!”

“Wait, you mean this is normal?” asked Trei with a terrified look on his face.

Tears start to fall from Muffy's angry eyes. Trei knows that her feelings are hurt from his odd actions. She trembles as she says, “I'm trying my best for you, but you're just making things so hard!”

Trei is in a tight spot. He wants to get out of the house as soon as possible to give her some time to calm down. He looks out the window, and remembers that he works as a rancher. He runs out of the kitchen yelling, “I need to go to work now, see you later!”

Even after he left, Muffy still feels frustrated and depressed. She sits on the table forgetting that she has food burning on the stove. She places her hands on her face, and cries her frustrations away.

As soon as Trei steps out of the house, he stops to catch his breath. He then looks up and says, “damn, she's scary when she's mad. I thought for sure that she was going to kill me.”

“Hello Trei.” said a familiar voice. Trei looks down, and finds Flik standing in front of him once again. He quickly becomes angry at the sight of the small Harvest Sprite. “So, tell me. How is the married life - GACK!!”

Before Trei allows Flik to finish his sentence, he grabs him again and starts to shake him around once again. He yells, “it sucks! I want to go back home, and I want to go back now!”

Flik forces himself out of Trei's grasp on it's own, luckily it's not hurt. “What's wrong? Can't get along with your wife?” said Flik.

“Don't get me started!” answered Trei. “She is mean, cranky, and has a severe attitude problem. There is no way I could have married her out of my own free will!”

“But you still married her whether you want to accept it or not,” said Flik.

“Yeah, most likely a shotgun wedding,” answered Trei.

Flik laughs for a moment. Then he clears his throat and explains, “maybe Muffy is not the problem. Maybe it's you.”

Trei pucks up Flik, and holds it close to his face. “Me? Why would I be the problem?”

“Think about it,” answered Flik. “Muffy married you, but you are not 'You'. . . Well, technically you are, but this 'You' is not the same person Muffy married. Just like you are getting frustrated, she is most likely feeling the same way.”

Trei sighs, “okay, I get it already. So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“You married her for some reason. There are millions of women in this world, but you chose her. If you find out what made you fall in love with her, you may have an easier time getting back home.”

Trei knows that Flik is right. He let out another stressful sigh and says, “okay, I'll try a little bit harder. Anything that will send me home sooner, the better.”

Trei returns Flik to the ground. “That's good to hear,” it said with a smile on it's face. “Now, let's talk about your job. How is it going? Enjoying your life as a rancher?”

Trei stares out at the pasture and the barn. He knows that he has been doing ranch work for years, but he doesn't know how to do the work now. So he tells Flik, “I haven't even started working yet. That old guy Takakura did the chores for me yesterday. Now that I think about it, I have no clue how to do anything.”

Flik happily announces, “That's no problem! We'll ask the other sprites for help! Follow me!”

Flik runs off before Trei has a chance to ask anything. He rubs his head from thought that there are more little Harvest Sprites other than Flik. But he doesn't have any choice but to rely on their help. He follows Flik out of the ranch and into the forest. Deep in the forest, he finds a small pond, and a huge tree that looks like it's been around for centuries. There is a magical aura coming from the air around the tree and pond.

“Here we are!” yelled Flik standing in front of the tree.

Trei looks around, but sees no other Harvest Sprites other than Flik. “You must be kidding. There is nobody here!”

“Of course not. They live inside of the great tree.” Flik walks up to a suspicious looking red and white mushroom growing at the base of the tree. He points at it and says, “See this mushroom? Eat it.”

“Are you sure that I am supposed to eat that? It looks like it could kill me.”

“Trust me, you'll be fine,” assured Flik.

Trei carefully picks the mushroom. It has a strong scent that leaves him slightly light headed. He knows that if he wants to return back to his home, he has to do what Flik asks him. In a single bite, he eats the mushroom. The horrid taste makes him want to vomit, but he holds it in to the best of his ability. He starts to feel weak shortly after. His vision becomes blurry, he falls to his knees, and collapses on the ground falling asleep.

Trei finds himself in a very strange place as soon as he wakes up. He is now inside a large room that looks like it is carved in the middle of a tree. He finds Flik standing next to him, but he screams in panic as soon as he sees that he is now as short as he is. In the room, he finds three more Harvest Sprites. A Harvest Sprite in read who is slightly taller than Flik. A Yellow heavily obese Harvest Sprite. And a short Harvest sprite wearing blue clothing that is far too big.

“Flik, what is going on here! Why are you as tall as I am?” asked Trei.

“I didn't get taller, you just got shorter.” Flik then walks over to the other Harvest Sprites, and announces, “Welcome to the great tree of the Harvest Sprites!”

“Um, That's great and everything. But who are those three behind you?” asked Trei.

The three new Harvest sprites look at one another in confusion. Then they stare at Flik and says, “Why is Trei acting like if he doesn't know us!” Trei is shocked that they know his name.

“That's because he doesn't,” answered Flik. “Nik, Nak, Flak, allow me to introduce you to Trei from 5 years ago!”

All three new Harvest Sprites shakes their heads in disbelief. The tall Harvest sprite in red says, “Not another one! What is this, like the fourth time already?”

“It's not my fault,” answered Flik. “These humans make the most typical wishes. Always wanted to know what the future holds for them. Then I get the heat for their problems.”

“I guess that's true,” said the Harvest Sprite in yellow.

“Well, we might as well re-introduce ourselves,” said the Harvest Sprite in blue.

The red Harvest sprite steps forward and says, “hello Trei! I am Nik, the Harvest Sprite of family.”

The short Harvest Sprite in blue follows, “my name is Nak, the Harvest Sprite of animals.”

Finally, the obese Harvest sprites waddles over and says, “and I am Flak, the Harvest Sprite of crops and produce.”

Trei scratches his head and asks, “Okay. . . So, exactly how many of you Harvest Sprites exist in the world?”

“Let's see. . . Last time I checked, there are 101 of us. But some more could have been born since then,” answered Nik.

Trei doesn't want to have to deal with the Harvest sprites, but he lets out another stressful sigh and says, “I guess I have no choice. I really don't know how to do any ranch work, can you all please help me?”

“Sure we can!” cheered all the Harvest Sprites.

All four sprites leaves the tree and Trei follows them out. Outside the tree, Trei wakes up from his odd dream, and finds all the Harvest Sprite outside. The only logical explanation that he could come up with is that he was inside the tree spiritually, but his body remained outside.

He follows all the Harvest Sprites back into the ranch. Each harvest Sprite is only good at one specific type of job. They split up, one goes over to the tool shed, one goes over to the fields, and the last one goes over to the house. Flik remains with Trei. Trei decides to go over to when Nak is to hear what he has to say.

“I am the Harvest Sprite who is good with animals. I shall teach you how to care for the animals, come inside of the tool shed with me.” Inside the Tool shed, Nak explains what each tool is used for. Then they go into the barn where he is introduced to all his animals. He has several cows, bulls, sheep, and a horse. One by one, Nak explains how to care for the large animals. After Nak is done explaining the barn, they head over to the coop where Trei is introduced to the chickens and ducks. Once again, Nik explains how to care for the birds in the ranch.

After Nak is done, Trei heads out of the coop and finds Flak. Flak says, “I am the Harvest Sprite of crops and produce. I will teach you how to care for plants, and how to ship your goods.” Flak explains that there are three field in the ranch. The one closest to the house has poor soil, and is used to grow trees. The one furthest has good soil, and is used to plant smaller crops like strawberries. Flak also explains that the crops need to be watered twice a day, and needs fertilizer every week. They move over to the tall store room where Flak explains that all goods that needs to be shipped must go inside the refrigerated storage box. Takakura takes all the goods, and pays Trei later in the day.

Finally, it is Nik's turn. Nik says, “I am the Harvest Sprite of Family. I am good when it comes to teaching you how to get calves. I can also offer you advice on how to raise your daughter.” Nik gives Trei some basic ideas on how to raise children. After they get that covered, Nik takes him back to the barn where Trei is taught that cows can only give milk after giving birth. The bulls in the barn mates with the cows, and gets them pregnant. The cows give birth to calves, and starts to give special milk. Ten days later, the cows start to give normal milk for three seasons. However, there is no rooms for new young cows, so Nik explains that calves need to be sold.

After the three Harvest Sprites are done with their teachings, it is now time that Trei put all that he learned into practice. Even with the help of the Harvest Sprites, he has a tough time with the work. He knows that the old Trei has been doing the work for years, but since he skipped five years, catching up is much harder than starting from the beginning. Even after he is done with the work later that day, he knows that he couldn't do the work alone yet.

At sunset, the Harvest Sprites said their goodbyes. They need to return to the tree before it gets dark and wild animals might mistake them as prey. But before they leave him alone at the farm, Trei yells, “Wait a minute! Will you be able to help me tomorrow?”

“We will!” yelled Nik, Nak, and Flak.

“I can't,” answered Flik.

“What!?” yelled Trei surprised by Flik's answer. “Why not?”

“I have to get going. There are other people across time who needs guidance. I will not be able to check on you for some time.”

“Don't you dare!” yelled Trei who is now running at Flik to attempt to catch him. However, Flik vanishes before he is able to get his hands on the Harvest Sprite. He stomps on the dirt and complains, “I can't believe it! He just left me here!”

“Don't worry Trei!” yelled the other Harvest Sprites. “We'll help you out until the end!”

The Harvest Sprites returns to their tree. Before Trei returns to his home, he takes another good look at the ranch. He didn't go home until 7:00 PM. He opens the door slowly, and finds Muffy and Myo asleep already. The house completely clean, laundry is washed, and clothing is folded for the next day. Muffy is tired from working trying to get her mind off her frustrations, and Trei is also tired from the first day of ranch work.

Trei sighs and whisperes, “looks like she won’t not be complaining about me sleeping on the floor tonight.” Trei grabs the sheets, and tries to sleeps on the floor. He is worries over the work load, and if he can really handle it until he returns home. He is worn out, and falls asleep quickly.