[YOTB] Harvesting

Shibani and Dan had been lovers for a few years and friends for many more years and at some point were neighbors in their old hometown not too far from the rice fields. With another Mochi Moon approaching, Dan needed assistance with rice harvesting for mochi crafting, and, well, nobody was running to volunteer. Shibani was far too kind and too familiar with rice harvesting to say no when begged and now every day of the week was dedicated to catching up with demand. They would go out to the nearby fields to harvest the rice necessary for the perfect mochi and extras for everyone celebrating, It was hard work, and Shibani began to regret stepping outside her house about 5 minutes in. Dan might say something to insinuate they enjoyed the time spent together as if rice harvesting was fun- oh well what’s done is done. But as the days went by, Shibani found himself looking forward to the days spent with Dan, the conversations they had, and the laughs they shared. He found himself dreading the day when the mochi was done and their time together was over. He thought of ways to keep the moments going, He thought of ways to make them last. 

One night, Shibani had an idea. He asked Dan to stay a little longer after their mochi harvesting efforts and asked if he wanted to make a bonfire in the nearby field. Dan was taken aback by the suggestion but couldn't help but smile. He thought it could be a great chance to spend some more time together and agreed to the plan. 

The two of them gathered the sticks, logs, and firewood they needed and started the fire. They roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, laughed, talked, and enjoyed the moment. They even made a few wires on the shooting stars they saw in the night sky. 

Shibani and Dan stayed up late into the night, and as the bonfire died down, they both realized something. They had created something special that night, something that would be remembered for a long time.

Still lost in her thoughts and memories, Shibani looked around at her surroundings and noticed a strange blue light coming from the nearby cave. He was curious and decided to investigate it. He heard about the blue crystal cave and the rice that would grow from it. If it was real, and if this was it then it wouldn’t hurt to split from Dan and bring home some nice crystals and extra rice. To her surprise, the cave was actually filled with sparkling blue crystals and good rice when He took a closer look, which felt a little bit too good to be true, but a great payoff for her good deed of assisting with rice harvesting.

Shibani knew He had to keep this discovery a secret if He wanted a break from actually working and He decided to sneak away from Dan and harvest the crystals by himself. He walked into the cave and instantly the crystals all glowed brightly as if they were ready to be harvested. He used her bare hands to pick them up and store them in her pockets. After a few hours, He had a good amount of crystals and rice to take home. 

On her way back, He saw Dan still harvesting rice and He felt a twang of guilt. He had been so kind to her and He was sneaking away from him to take credit for the crystals. He thought about turning back and telling him where He had been, but He was so close to her home. He felt a little bit guilty as He kept walking and went straight home.

When Shibani finally arrived home, her family was amazed at the number of crystals and rice He had. He told them that He had gone out to the nearby fields with Dan, but didn’t tell them about the secret blue crystal cave. From then on, He had enough rice and crystals to make mochi for the Mochi Moon and enough extra to share with her family and friends. 

Shibani and Dan's friendship remained strong and they continued to go out and harvest rice together. But every once in a while, Shibani still went back to the secret blue crystal cave and harvested the crystals.