Chapter 17

With only one piece left to go, Yuto and Jennifer focuses their attention on finding the last shard of the Jewel of Truth. Every moment they don’t spend working is dedicated to searching high and low for clues or rumors. Each night their dreams would get written down, then dissected for clues. Any strange sightings or misplaced stone would get checked. They search everywhere twice. They spend endless hours at the library reading every book front to back for even a glimmer of hope. No matter how hard they try, they can’t find the final piece.

Autumn ends, and the snow of winter blankets Mineral Town once again. They find themselves with more time on their hands to keep searching high and low for the final piece. Yuto explores the mines, while Jennifer checks the library and asks the residents for any clues. They explore up the mountains and through the densest forest. Time is running out as they keep searching, and they still need a lot of money before Joja arrives to destroy everything.

Before they realize it, winter’s end draws near. They only have one last year to make enough money to save Mineral Town. In the two years they work long hours tirelessly, they haven’t even come up with half the money they need. Even if they work to the bone for the next year without spending any money at all, they can’t earn the rest by themselves. Without the help of the Harvest Sprites, things look hopeless.

On New Years Eve, Yuto and Jennifer meet up on the peak of Moon Mountain once again. They look over Mineral Town praying for a miracle to happen. If they can’t get the help they need, Mineral Town and all the nature around it will die. The damage Joja will cause to the environment will be catastrophic forever.

Even if everything is hopeless, they refuse to give up. They will continue to work until the very end. All they need is a clue, an idea, even a miracle. Something they can use to save the town and the farm they love.

Later that night, they go back home to rest. Spring will come tomorrow, and they have a lot of work to do. They need to prepare the soil, plant the spring crops, water the field, and help the grass grow. Even though they know it won’t be enough, they plan to keep on working until something happens.

As Yuto sleeps, he dreams about being on a boat floating over Mother’s Lake. He has a fishing pole in his hands, but the air is odd and heavy. Not warm, but not cold either. There is a hazy fog over the lake that makes it hard to see far away. He has no idea how he got there or why.

“Hey there Yuto!” said Tony who is sitting in the boat with him. Yuto looks at him curiously who is just fishing with him casually like nothing is strange. Tony looks just the same as the last time he saw him when he was a kid, old with white hair wearing the blue overalls and blue hat traditionally worn by old farmers. The same blue overalls, hat, and white shirt that still rests in the drawer back at the farm. Yuto should be shocked or afraid, but he feels calm and comfortable. The same feeling he once had when they fished together so long ago.

“How’s the farming life? You like it?” asked Tony with a warm smile.

Yuto sighs sadly answering, “I love this job. I am working so hard, but I think I’m going to lose the farm. I need ten million, but that’s just so much money. After two years, I made less than half that much, I feel like such a failure.”

Tony chuckles as he continues, “I see. I wish I can help you, but I’m sure you know why I can’t. All I can do for you is watch over you with my wife.”

Yuto remains silent for a while. He then says, “I just need one more piece of the Jewel of Truth. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t find it. I just need a clue.”

Tony turns to Yuto smiling. “You know, you can ask my friend Kappa for help.”

Yuto then looks back at Tony asking, “Kappa? Who is that?”

Tony doesn’t answer him. All he does is point at the water of Mother’s Lake. As he points towards the water, some bubbles start to rise. Yuto looks down into the lake to see a creepy mysterious green glow coming from deep below. As the bubbles intensifies, a huge splash of water engulfs him.

Yuto wakes up with a jerk breathing heavily. The alarm of his cell phone blares loudly, telling him it is now six in the morning. The spring air is cool yet refreshing. His mind is hazy, but he clearly remembers the dream he had with Tony.

After getting dressed, he calls Jennifer into the house for an emergency meeting. He describes the events of his dream to her, about Tony and how self aware that he was deceased. Jennifer takes in everything that Yuto is telling her, then asks, “so you think that Tony was speaking to you in your dream? Not just dreaming about him, but talking to his actual ghost?”

Yuto nods saying “I am sure he was talking to me. It didn’t feel like a dream, but I was in a different world where he is. He said that he was watching us from there.”

“Did he say anything else?” she asked curiously.

Yuto thinks hard trying to remember every last work Tony said. “I was talking to him about the Jewel of Truth. He told me to find someone named Kappa.” As soon as he says that name, Jennifer gasps in shock. “Wait, do you know someone named Kappa?”

“Well. . . Kappa is not exactly a who, but rather a what.” She then notices Yuto’s confused expression. She sighs before continuing, “let’s head to the library, you’ll need to see something.”

They ignore their daily work to head to the library. After Jennifer looks through the catalog of books, she pulls one titled, “The Legend of Kappa”. She then brings it to the table, then opens it to show Yuto who is Kappa. He looks at the scary image of Kappa who is shown to be a green imp-like monster with a water puddle on it’s head. He sweats nervously as he imagines Tony knowing such a terrifying beast.

“This is Kappa. A legendary water imp that lives in large lakes and rivers. They say that Kappa lives near villages to drag unsuspecting people into the water to drown. Rumors and legends says that Kappa only lives to feed off the bodily fluid of humans by sucking it through their anus,” explained Jennifer.

Yuto cringes as he asks, “and you are telling me that Tony knows this creature? And we’re supposed to find it?”

“If Tony really spoke to you in your dream and told you that Kappa knows the location of the last piece of the Jewel of Truth, then I don’t feel that we have much of a choice.” Jennifer continues to read out loud, “according to this book, if we know where a Kappa lives, we can offer it it’s favorite food to summon it. Kappa loves cucumbers more than anything else on earth. Do you know where the Kappa Tony knows might live?”

Yuto nods saying, “Tony pointed at the water of Mother’s Lake when I asked him.”

“In that case, we will need to grow some cucumbers, then throw them into Mother’s Lake.” As she closes the book, Jennifer notices that Yuto is lost in thought. “What’s on your mind? Is there anything else that I should know?”

“Something still doesn’t make sense. When I was talking to Tony, he mentioned having a wife. His exact words were, ‘all I can do is watch over you with my wife.’ But Tony was never married, or had any kids for that matter.”

Jennifer curiously asks, “did Tony actually tell you he was never married?”

Yuto thinks long and hard about his answer. In the many years that he has known Tony, he had never seen any clues of having a wife such as pictures or mementos. “Technically no. When I knew him as a kid, he ran the farm all by himself. He never mentioned a wife while I was in the farm, or anytime after. I just assumed he was unmarried all this time. Even after I inherited the farm, I didn’t find any clues that he got married at all. But if that was the case, how come he never mentioned it until now?”

Jennifer thinks for a while, what Yuto is saying is strange but not unheard of. Remembering something she has seen in a book, she goes back to the book shelves to scan for a different book. She then pulls out a strange old book with no title on the cover. She then returns to the desk where she can read silently. After an hour of reading, Yuto tries to look at the book to see what she is reading. She then quickly shuts the book to declare, “I think I know the identity of Tony’s wife!”

Yuto is taken aback from Jennifer’s sudden shocking outburst. He then asks, “really? Who?”

“According to what I’ve learned about Tony from your memories, I believe that Tony was and is married to the Harvest Goddess!”

“Wait a dog gone second! You can actually marry the Harvest Goddess?” asked Yuto.

Jennifer nods saying, “most definitely. It’s not easy, but the Harvest Goddess can become attracted to those who are close to nature. When the spouse of a Harvest Goddess dies, they will become one with nature. This explains everything we have learned so far. The reason why I can’t sense his presence is because Tony is not a spirit. He is one with the trees and the animals, the earth and the water, the fire and the winds.

“Yuto, I always believed that you were chosen by the goddess to run the farm in Tony’s place. But now I know that I am incorrect. Tony chose you to be nature’s champion, and the goddess chose me. This is why we met that day, our destinies were intertwined. You and I are destined to save Mineral Town!”

Yuto gasps, realizing everything coming together. “Now I understand why Tony was interested in my family. Why he was so eager to keep in touch after we left. And why he left the farm to me after he died. Jennifer, we are going to find Kappa and get the last piece of the Jewel of Truth to save Mineral Town!”

They are both psyched. After understanding what they need to do, they rush back to the farm to plant a lot of cucumber seeds so they can summon Kappa once the crops bear fruit. They both have renewed confidence that they will save Mineral Town once they get the last piece of the jewel they have been searching for so long. And so, they continue to work one day at a time until the cucumber plants bring them their first harvest. They also plant a collection of other crops, they still need to make as much money as they can before the end of the year after all.

By mid spring, the cucumbers are ripe. They pick them carefully loading up their basket so they can offer the best quality cucumbers. After dragging the basket to the lake, Yuto becomes nervous knowing that they are intentionally trying to summon a water imp. But he also remembers that if Tony was friends with it, it can’t be as dangerous as the book says. He also hopes hat they are not making a mistake.

He takes a deep breath before finally tossing a cucumber into the lake. He then stands back waiting for something to happen. Nothing happens for a few minutes, until bubbles start to form from the bottom of the lake. They then see some type of shadow slowly approaches the lake’s shore. They take a few steps back as the creature they are waiting for emerges out of the water.

As Kappa stands before them, they are shocked seeing I how it looks nothing like the book described. Unlike the naked scaly wrinkly monster they were expecting, Kappa is wearing male traditional Japanese garments. It’s threatening maw is instead a duck’s bill with the cucumber Yuto threw in the lake in it. It’s face is calm and emotionless. Despite it’s green skin and duck bill, Kappa almost seems human.

Kappa sucks in the cucumber, crunches it, then swallows before saying, “you’re not Tony. Who are you?”

Yuto steps forward to answer, “Tony passed away a few years ago. My name is Yuto, I am a friend of his!”

Kappa’s expression doesn’t change. It just responds, “I see, I was wondering why he hasn’t delivered his annual cucumber offerings in a while. I was about to come to his farm and give him a piece of my mind. Well, since you summoned me, what do you want?”

“Tony asked me to find you and ask you about a piece of the Jewel of Truth,” answered Yuto.

“Jewel of Truth? Never heard of it,” replied Kappa.

Jennifer steps forward. She then pulls out one of their pieces asking, “please, it looks like one of these. Are you sure you haven’t seen one?”

Kappa smirks while answering, “ah, yes! I have one of those.” Kappa then takes his hat off, then pulls out the last piece of the Jewel of Truth out of it.

Yuto gasps. “That’s it! Can we have it?”

“No,” answered Kappa

“Huh? Why not?” asked Yuto.

“Because it’s mine. I may not want it, I don’t like it, but it keeps my hat on my head when I am in the water. Give me one good reason why I should give this to a human like you?”

Jennifer and Yuto nods, knowing what to do. They step aside showing off the basket of cucumbers they have harvested for Kappa. Kappa salivates as he sees the fresh delicious cucumbers behind them. He walks to the basket to inspect them and fantasize about what delicious meals he can make with them. Kappa then looks at Yuto and Jennifer saying, “fine, I’ll trade you this worthless rock for this beautiful basket of cucumbers.”

Kappa hands Yuto the last piece of the Jewel of Truth as payment for the cucumbers. It then picks up the basket, then walks towards the lake. Before it jumps in, Kappa looks back at Yuto to say, “by the way, you are the new farmer, right? I can smell the dirt on you.”

Yuto nods. Kappa then continues, “I’ll be expecting a yearly donation to my lake from now on. If you don’t, I’ll kill and eat you.” Yuto turns blue with worry and nearly passes out. Kappa then smiles, “relax, I was only kidding. I am a vegetarian. But seriously, I’m coming to your farm next year if I don’t see some fresh cucumbers. Then you’ll have to deal with my anger.” Kappa then jumps into the lake, vanishing with the basket of cucumbers.

“Hey! I need that basket!” yelled Yuto

“Forget the basket, we can buy another one! Come on, we’re running out of time!” yelled Jennifer. Yuto nods, remembering that they have a mission to finish. They then rush back to the farm so they can move on with their plan.