Georgie peeked in the library window from outside. Jas and Miss Penny were there along with a boy named Vincent. He was all Jas could talk about in their slumber party, sometimes fondly, mostly out of frustration. She ducked out of the window and crept on the walls to arrive on the far side of the library where no one can could see her. She sat on the ground with her back to its wall. It was a narrow passageway sandwiched between library and a steep looming mountain, both their shadows adequately giving her cover.

Shadows like these gave reminder to her primary directive. As an emerald servant, it was her duty to provide sustenance for shadow people. Keeping them alive and feeding them so they don’t die out. In turn the shadow people attract slimes and skeletons like moth to light. Keep the shadow people alive meant keeping the presence of monsters. It was their terrorizing presence to the residents of Stardew valley that the emerald witch took great pleasure in. “Revenge is a dish best served cold, Georgie. Remember that.” she cackled that one time when Georgie found herself in the witch’s study room overfilling with thousands of papers plastered on each four walls, they were all decorated and organized with colored strings that made connections to every paper.

“What is this, mistress?” she had asked the emerald witch.

She stopped her cackling to reply, “My thousand year punishment to my ex-husband. All planned out, see? Just have to get it organized soon.” she muttered, scratching her wiry head. There was a distracted gaze about her that Georgie didn’t envy. The emerald witch could well be the most powerful witch in all four dimensions but the woman couldn’t keep still. There was always something to be done, something to be worried about. And she hardly takes any rests. If Georgie didn’t know better, she would have thought her boss had an aversion to sleeping.

The orange chicken awakening snapped her back from the past. It chirped up at her, wings flapping as she bounced off her arms.

“Hold on, wait!” she said as the little bird made a beeline towards the library, jumping on the windowsill peering inside and bounced and bounced, wing span opening wide.

Immediately, Jas slammed the front door open with a bewildered expression. “Chick’a’lee?”

Bouncing off the windowsill to the ground, the one named Chick’a’lee made a march towards Jas with a waddling gait. “TOO TOO TOO”

“You missed me?” asked Jas.

Vincent gasped next to her, “Is that some of new species mayor Lewis was talking about?”

“Don’t touch it.” hissed Miss Penny, pulling back both Jas and Vincent by their shoulders.

“No, miss Penny. Chick’a’lee is a friend. She won’t hurt us. Ain’t that right?”

Chick’a’lee clung around Jas’ ankles, chirping at an even higher level.

“What’s that, Chick’a’lee? The other torchics been mean to you. Poor baby.”

Miss Penny bent and leaned forward with her knees “How can you understand it?”

“She lets me.”

“She?”

“Yes, she’s a she. And she prefers to be referred that way.”

“Interesting” said Miss Penny “What else does she prefer?”

“She likes racing games. Besting her brothers at them. She’s extremely good at it. No faster torchic than this little girl right here.”

“What is a torchic?”

“It’s what they call themselves.”

“Hmm,” Miss Penny’s look turned downright contemplative then it shifted to curiosity when it landed on Georgie, she didn’t even bat an eye to Georgie’s beast ears and bare foot “Oh you must be the farmer’s guest. Georgie, isn’t it?”

Startled, “W-what?”

“Word gets around fast.” said Miss Penny. “Why don’t you come along with us for class and then after we can all get acquainted with ice cream.”

Vincent tugged on her sleeves, “But miss Penny she’s one of them strangers. Don’t seem okay to me.”

She rose on her full height, sunlight on her back giving her a warm halo glow. “Perhaps after ice cream we won’t all be strangers to each other. Come along Georgie. Jas tells me you need to get stamps?”

Jas remembered her? Georgie got struck dumb at the thought. How can that be?

Once Miss Penny and Jas went inside, Vincent with his strawberry-blonde hair and orange-striped shirt grunted at her with a look of disdain. “Don’t think those cheap cosplay ears are doing favors for you. It’s not. It makes you look weird.”

“No weirder than your stubby knees, strawberry boy.” she bit back in soft murmurs, not enough for the boy to hear her as he sped past inside the library.

Even as her mouth moved, she felt it numbed. Her feet seemed to be glued to the ground, frozen by shock. She peered up at the green building with rustic design. Since the community center was out of service, the town library was the placeholder to become the official business hub of their entire town. This place was held as their function room, lecture room, town meetings and maybe more. Georgie could never step into a place like this. Not where all the humans congregated. But what could she do? She was already neck-deep into trouble.

Might as well see through it to the end, she decided.

Otherwise, she will have to spend the rest of her hundred years behind bars wondering what could have been.