Mirroring the Endless Night | Elliott x Female Farmer |

3. Egg-related Festivities

"H-hi there Elliott!" she greeted him, struggling to get the words out as her arms finally began to feel the strain the baskets were putting on her body, "would you m-maybe mind grabbing the door for me? Hands are kinda full- shit!"

She gasped as one of the basket handles snapped but quickly maneuvered to lean the basket on her hip. Before she could react a single cauliflower tumbled from the top of the pile, and she could only watch with a pained expression as it fell towards the ground.

Quickly though, Elliott had managed to lunge forward and grasp the vegetable, cradling it gently as he leaned back up. "That was nearly a disaster, luckily we managed to save this cauliflower from it's untimely stone demise," he said with a chuckle, offering a hand out to help Maria with the now broken basket.

She was more than happy to accept his offer, and she giggled watching the look on his face once he realized just how heavy the produce was.

Now with one hand free she was able to grasp the door's handle and push it open, a jingle announcing their presence to Pierre who had been reading a book behind the counter. "Hey there Maria! Got a new harvest for me?" he asked with a grin, and she knew how excited he was at the prospect of having fresh food on his shelves for customers.

"Sure do! Another cauliflower harvest, I've got about half of 'em on me right now, and another half will be waiting for you in the produce box back on the farm tonight," she explained with a smile once she and Elliott got to the counter, setting down the baskets near the register.

"Oh these will be perfect for the festival tomorrow, I'll need to call Gus and let him know he'll have more food to work with," Pierre replied, popping open the cash register to begin gathering the gold he'd pay back Maria with.

She, however, was very confused at the mention of a festival. "Festival? This is the first I'm hearing of this," she wondered aloud, looking between Elliott and Pierre in the hopes of an answer.

"Ah, yes, the Egg Festival. Held once a year every spring in the town square, if my memory serves me right last year there was a veritable buffet prepared by Gus from the saloon, an egg hunt for anyone to partake in, though it was mostly a children's venture, and the town was adorned top to bottom in festive, pastel egg-related decor," the writer explained, tapping a finger to his chin as he spoke.

"In so many words, yes," Pierre agreed, collecting the gold into a small coin sack and handing it over the counter for Maria to grab, "and I kindly thank you for the produce stock."

"There's more where that came from," Maria grinned, happily grasping the bag and tossing it between her hands playfully, "now if I could just buy... let's say, thirty cauliflower seeds? I'm planning on two more harvests before prepping my farm for the summer crops."

After collecting her seeds from the shelves and paying Pierre back, she stood by the door and watched Elliott do his bi-weekly grocery shopping, picking up essentials and food to stock in his seaside cabin. Within minutes the two were out of the store, walking side by side through the town square.

Maria had managed to convince him to let her carry some of the groceries, so now in one hand she carried a box of tea bags and in the other was a bag which held cartons of cream, packets of sugar, and honey imported from some big name brand in Zuzu City.

"I didn't know you were a tea fan," Maria hummed, lifting the box to inspect it's contents, "green tea blended with peppermint. Hmm, no wonder you always smell minty."

Elliott laughed at this, glancing down at Maria as he carried his share of the groceries, "I suppose I shall take that as a compliment? But yes, tea has been a staple of my daily life since childhood. My mother was a tea fanatic, it only made sense that this projected onto her only child."