Chapter 6

Even though Popuri is relieved that her hens won't end up being eaten, she decides to not raise anymore hens. She cannot bear the pain of losing another set after what she already went through. Even so, she spends weeks missing her hens and wonders if they are well taken care of. Not all farmers are kind, and Popuri has never met the farmer who bought her hens. She often wonders and worries if they are happy in their new home.

Time passes, and fall will arrive soon. Mineral Town is quieting down in preparation for the cold fall air. The beach is closing, the villagers are buying fall crops seeds, and stocking up on cold medicine. One of the people who needs this medicine the most is Lillia.

One morning, Rick calls Popuri over and asks her to pick up some medicine for their ill mother. Popuri accepts, then makes her way to the clinic. At the clinic, Popuri meets up with a good friend named Elli, the town nurse.

"Hello Elli, it's been a while!" cheered Popuri.

Elli smiles and answers, "it has been! I think we last saw each other at Rick's wedding. I wish I can come over to visit, but you know that I get pretty busy at the clinic."

"I know. I need to pick up some medicine for mom, do you have some?"

"Hold on a second, I'll get it right now!"

Elli goes to the back to get some medicine. As she is away, Popuri notices a small travel booklet laying on the counter. The cover of the booklet reads, "Visit Sunny Island Today!" Popuri quickly remembers her mother mentioning that her hens were sold to a farmer there. She picks up the booklet, and quickly skims through the pages. She finds the farm that she believes her hens are living. Around the same time, Elli comes back carrying several bottles of medicine for Popuri.

"Hey Elli, what's this?" asks Popuri curiously.

Elli looks at the booklet and answers, "that belongs to Doctor Trent. It's a travel brochure to visit a place called Sunny Island. He goes there every summer, so they send him that every year. He sometimes asks me to go too, but I am not into traveling and stuff. Besides, who would look after the village if we both went?"

"It's a vacation spot?" Popuri quickly fantasizes taking a vacation out of Mineral Town to see her hens. "That sounds so nice!"

Elli hands Popuri a bag with medicine and says, "I think that will do it. Should I put it on your tab as usual?"

Popuri takes the bag, but she doesn't want to return the booklet just yet. So she comes up with an idea and says, "actually, I am going to need some Bodigizer XL too, can you please get some?"

"Sure, no problem," answers Elli, she then walks to the back once again.

As soon as Elli is in the back and no one else is around, Popuri hides the booklet in her dress. When Elli comes back, Popuri tries to act as calm as possible. She places the medicine on the counter and says, "anything else I can get for you?”

"Umm . . . Actually, I don't think I need it anymore. Thanks anyway, see you next time!" Popuri then walks out sheepishly hoping that the booklet won't drop unexpectedly. Elli scratches her head in confusion. She eventually does notice the booklet missing, but she assumes that the wind blew it away.

Back at home, Popuri drops off the medicine with her mother and rushes off to her room. She then pulls out the booklet and begins to read about the island where her hens are kept. Her eyes widen as she gazes upon the promised beauty of the island. Sunny Island is a set of four small islands connected by bridges. She learns that it was started as a farming community, but it quickly grew into a work commerce and vacation spot.

The island to the north is where the huge farm is located. Popuri is sure that her hens are living there. The pictures of the farm looks well kept, and has plenty of room for all types of animals to live. She suddenly finds the desire to visit the island, she wants to see the farm and see if her hens are happy. All she needs to figure out is how to get there.

First thing she looks for is a place to stay while on the island. There is a fancy hotel in one of the islands that tourists stay at. The hotel has a great list of luxury services perfect for a relaxing guest. Popuri imagines the fancy hotel in which she can stay at while visiting the hens. Her image makes her smile with anticipation. Her image then gets crushed when she finds the insane prices of the hotel. Even if she saves every penny she gets, she could never afford to go and stay at the hotel. So she finds an alternative and notices a cheap inn where workers stay at.

The prices of the inn are very cheap, and as long as Popuri pretends to be a farmer, she can stay there. That idea is shut down very quickly after she finds the living conditions to be unpleasant. The Inn doesn't have many walls, and guests are required to share rooms. As many as twelve people share a single room. Popuri cannot stay at an inn with little privacy and filled with sweaty miners, fishy anglers, and dirty farmers and ranchers.

Popuri becomes discouraged, but she finds a glimmer of hope. On the next page, Popuri finds that the hotel has a discounted rate during the winter. Depending on how long she stays, she can stay at the hotel for up to sixty percent reduced price. But even with the discount, the price is still out of her reach.

She checks her savings and confirms that she doesn't have enough to travel to Sunny Island. She sighs sadly, but she doesn't give up yet. If she can't afford to go, then she'll have to make the money somehow. She'll have to get a job.

Only one problem exists, Mineral Town is not known for their job openings. Most of the people at Mineral Town hire their own relatives to work in their shops. The chicken ranch can barely afford itself, so she won't be able to work at home. Even though Karen married Rick, she still works at the Supermarket. The Vineyard used to have a "help wanted" sign every fall, but they recently hired Cliff to work full time. Her only hope is the Inn, but they only hire during the winter season close to the holidays. No point in working during the winter if she wants to travel at the same time.

Popuri spends all week asking around, but no one needs any help. Monday comes around once more and Popuri visits Forget-Me-Not Valley for her weekly class. Takakura gives his lecture, but notices that Popuri is distracted. Popuri always enjoys her classes and is usually paying close attention, being distracted makes Takakura feels that something is wrong.

"Is everything okay?" Takakura asks taking a break from his lecture.

Popuri snaps back into reality and answers, "what? I mean, I'm okay. Please go on."

Takakura takes a seat in front of Popuri and says, "I may not know you too well, but I can tell when young people have something on their mind. Why don't you tell me all about it? Maybe I can help."

Popuri feels obligated to give an explanation, so she pulls out her travel booklet and gives it to Takakura. "I've been thinking about going there. My chickens are living in a farm there, and I really want to see them. Just once so that I know that they are safe."

Takakura flips through the pages of the booklet and asks, "looks like an expensive trip. Are you sure you'll be able to afford this?"

"I know it's a lot. But if I can get a job, I can visit the island during the winter. It's much cheaper then. Or do you think it's a bad idea?"

"I think you should definitely go. Traveling to other farms can give you valuable experience as a chicken rancher. But have you found any jobs where you live?" asked Takakura.

Popuri sighs sadly, "no. . . Mineral Town has enough people living there, and nobody is hiring right now. I don't know what to do."

Takakura returns the booklet and says, "if it's okay with you, I'll ask around to see if anyone needs some help in the valley. If we're lucky, we should be able to find you a job as early as next week."

"You really mean that?" asked Popuri.

"Now now, I make no promises. But I will do my best. By the way, you'll need to talk to your family about coming to the valley more often if you get a job. I'm sure if you ask nicely, they shouldn't have a problem with it," answered Takakura. Popuri smiles and thanks Takakura with a hug.

When she gets back to Mineral Town, Popuri tries her best to explain to her mother about needing to find a job. Lillia allows Popuri to go to the valley to find a job, but she becomes concerned. Popuri tells her mother that she wants to get a job, but refuses to say why. Every time Lillia asks, Popuri just responds "for personal reasons". Even though Lillia allows Popuri to find a job at the valley, she decides to ask her friend Vesta for some answers.