A few years ago, Dirk had a goal.

It was to be a cook and help in the local café in his town. Maybe he would have moved out to expand his cooking skills for a while, but he was going to move back if he did. After all, someone needed to feed his brother Ivan. His big brother was going to open up a school and what Dirk had seen, teaching was tiring to the point where meals could be skipped. He didn't want Ivan to faint because he was too busy to eat. Be a cook to support his brother. That was his goal.

However, time brought change. Ivan ended up getting married, and Dirk soon realized that his plans had to change as well. Ivan, with the intent of being a better brother and husband, stayed longer and took less jobs in order to spend time with his family. The three of them weren't struggling financially because of it. Ivan's wife was doing pretty well from her farmer occupation and both brothers brought home money as well. However, there were clues that Ivan wasn't completely satisfied with the situation. Sometimes, he would say that it would be 'nice to learn more' or it would be 'great to teach more kids and see their faces light up when they understood something.'. When Dirk would push and ask why he won't act on his whims, Ivan would always add that he was happy spending time with him and Gretel. It only took a little while longer to realize that he was not going to help his brother by staying in town.

It was a summer night when it finally clicked for him. Staying here was not going to help his brother at all. Ivan, being so worried for him, had hindered his own progress. The realization and the overwhelming guilt that swiftly followed made him feel like he was suffocating. Hurriedly, he left the house and sat outside in the cool air. He tried to calm himself down and ended up looking at the moon. It was coincidentally a full moon that night. The soft light it casted slowly relaxed him and made him feel like he was floating away…

"Makes you think, eh?"

Dirk blinked and the scenery changed around him. He was on the festival grounds, surrounded by quiet chatter of Konohana residents. The person who had dragged him back to the present was Gombe, who had an empty plate in his hands and a content smile on his face.

"Uh-yeah." Dirk stuttered. "It does."

"I was scared that you were going to drop the dumplings on the ground and not even notice it." Dirk, confused, looked down and realized that he, in fact, had a plate with a couple of the white balls on it.

"I forgot I had them." How did he not drop them?

Gombe chortled. "I thought young people like you were not supposed to have memory problems. I guess the legends are true about the full moon having an effect on people." Gombe then yawned. "See, the powers are strong. It's making me sleepy and I never am tired! The moon is trying to age us, Dirk. But I will never get old! I will fight the moon!"

Dirk replied to the old man's antics with a chuckle. They conversed a few minutes more before the older man went to go get more food. Dirk decided to amble to place his now empty plate in the pile. Tonight was the Moon Viewing festival for Konohana so the whole village was out and about on the mountain top. Even the children had been up here, but they had been ushered home earlier by Yun because it had been getting too late for them. Other villagers were standing around talking as they adjusted their jackets and hats to combat the autumn wind that finally decided to make an appearance. He checked his watch. Ina would be concluding the festival soon, so it wouldn't hurt to start gathering up the rest of the empty dishes to make it easier to take them down the mountain.

"Postman!"

Dirk rolled his eyes in amusement at the call. "Horseman!" He shouted back. He felt the heavy clap on his shoulder a second later as Kana approached him with Hiro in tow. The bigger man was red faced and leaned on him slightly. The skinner man had an expression that mirrored Dirk's.

"So weird to see you at festivals, man!"

"Kana, you don't have to yell." Hiro chided his best friend. "He's right here, in front of you."

"Sorry, dude."

"It's fine." Dirk didn't brush off his arm. He was afraid of Kana falling over on him. Or worse, Hiro. "I was pressured to come this time by Sage."

"I'm not surprised." Hiro hummed. "She has a way of convincing anyone to do things for her."

"It was more of a whining contest between us this time. She won."

"You're a real lucky guy to have such a wonderful girlfriend, Postman." Kana interrupted. Dirk could now hear the slight slur in his speech now.

"Again, not dating her." Why did everyone think that they were a couple? Sure, they hung out a lot, but that was because they were best friends and shared a lot in common.

Kana furrowed his brow, seemingly thinking about something. Curious about his train of thought, Dirk stayed silent. Kana didn't keep them waiting for too long.

"That means Hiro has a chance!"

"What?!" The nurse turned scarlet from shock and embarrassment. The sight sent Dirk into a fit of laughter. Kana, oblivious to his friend's predicament, went on.

"You've been telling me all of her good qualities for a couple of seasons now. How strong she is, how bea-…" Dirk didn't get to hear the rest of the list because Hiro somehow managed the strength to pull Kana off the postman and slapped a hand over the man's mouth. Dirk, now free, lifted his arm to cover the coughs coming out of him.

"Kana, stop talking." Hiro begged. Kana made a noise, probably of agreement because he fell silent after. Dirk calmed down enough to grab a drink of…whatever was the closest drink to him. It was wine. Of course it was. He forced a few sips down, just enough to lubricate his throat.

Ina decided to then call a close to the festival. Cleanup was swift and Dirk found himself walking down the mountain path with the plates he had been messing with earlier alongside Hiro and Kana in tow, the latter surprisingly keeping his balance.

"So…" Dirk shot the nurse a wicked grin. "Should I make Kana's outburst the highlight of my summary of the Moon Viewing festival to Sage?" He wasn't sure if the sudden paleness of Hiro was from the moonlight or from pure terror.

"Goddess, no."

The next day was thankfully a Sunday. Despite staying up later than usual, Dirk woke up at his usual time. His body made up for it by being slower in his routine, though, and it was well past noon by the time he shambled out of his house. Rahi was already hard at work in the small field plot that he owned.

Rahi was a hardworking kid, no doubt getting that part of his personality from his mother. He was the second person that he met coming into town after Ina because he thought it was one of his duties to know who is coming in and out of town at all times. The kid even posts himself at the entrance of town at times to greet incoming visitors.

Rahi was also very nice. Dirk had been sort of pressured to plant some of his own crops soon after he came to live in Konohana. It was to be expected as the town was known for their farming. However, the job of being postman for the two mountain towns was very tiring. He didn't have the time or energy to keep up with the plot. He was only able to just keep them alive. In the middle of his first season here, the good-natured Rahi stepped in. The first time, Rahi simply commented on how long it was taking the crops to bloom. When Dirk explained his reasons why, Rahi just nodded and walked off. He came back with some gardening tools of his own, to Dirk's genuine surprise, and helped him weed the land. After that, Rahi decided for the both of them that he would help with the upkeep of his garden while the postman did his deliveries. When asked why the kid replied that it would give him something to do while he was on 'sentry duty'. Dirk would try his best to join him when he could, which ended up being on Sundays. Eventually, a friendship evolved between.

"You're late." Rahi chided as Dirk kneeled to help pick out the remaining weeds.

"I know. The festival made me stay up longer than usual. Just tired."

"Ying was very concerned for you at the end. She said that you were looking at the moon for a very long time. She wanted me to check on you, but Yun took us home before I was able to."

Dirk paused. Was he really that out of it last night?

"Tell Ying that I'm sorry for making her worry. I'm okay."

Rahi hummed, turning his attention back to the weeds. They picked up conversation again a few minutes later and soon finished up the garden work. They then continued their routine by going inside and taking an early afternoon tea break, or in Rahi's case since he hated tea, juice break. Sage had appeared as the tea was being made and she and the boy fell into conversation while Dirk finished up in the kitchen. The postman noticed a bag of homemade chocolate cookies that had appeared on the table, and as soon as he was done pouring the tea and the mixed juice, he grabbed one.

"They have cherries in them?" Dirk detected as he bit into the dessert. Sage nodded eagerly.

"They are from my last cherry harvest. I managed to dry them out to last longer. How are they?" Her heather eyes were filled with nervousness. Ever since she found out that Dirk had a lot of experience in the cooking field, she occasionally brings her dishes for him to try before she passes them to other people or enter them in the cooking festival. Since he did not join in the cooking festival, he had no qualms in helping the farmer who lived in the rival town. It's not like he tipped the scales in Bluebell's favor too much, as Konohana had their share of victories as well. However, he never went out of the way to say he helps Sage tweak the very same recipes she uses in the festivals. He liked being friends with everyone in his village, after all.

"I think they're delicious!" The kid in front of the postman beamed and Dirk agreed with a thumbs up because he was still chewing. Sage gave a quiet sigh of relief. Dirk had to admit that she was a great baker, but she still had some trouble with more complicated dishes. On one of the nights he stayed over at her place due to bad weather, she tried to make pho. She put so much chili pepper powder in the mix that they both ended up hanging out the window with her dog so they could breathe. Luckily for them, the storm had settled down to a mist by then.

"I'm sorry that I only made a sample amount, you guys." She pushed around the now empty bag.

"It's fine." Dirk broke off in a yawn.

"Did my cookies make you sleepy?" Sage joked.

"He's been tired all day. He blames being out so late at the festival." Rahi answered for the postman. I could see the guilt starting to form on the farmer's face. Sage is a bit of a pushy person, however she also turns into a very remorseful person if her actions end up inhibiting the person.

"It's fine." Dirk repeated as he waved his hands, trying to assure her. Thinking of what happened last night, he broke into a grin. "I got to see a tipsy Kana."

"Ooh!" A smile tugged on her lips as well and Rahi's eyes went wide as he told them the antics of the resident animal caretaker and the nurse that followed him around out of worry. Dirk did not tell them the details of what Kana had said, out of respect for Hiro. They talked for a few more minutes before Rahi excused himself and left. The two friends sat for a minute in silence after saying their goodbyes to the kid. Sage's hum broke it.

"I'm still sorry that I forced you to go the festival so I would know what happens here."

"I said that it was fine…"

"It's really not." She drummed her fingers, her face in a slight frown. I waited for her to speak again, refilling her tea cup in the meantime.

"I'm going to move to Konohana this month."

"What? Why? What brought this up?" He didn't hide the shock on his face. Sage had been against moving to Konohana. She mostly had trees on her farm because, like him, she was not too much of a crop person. Her knack was animal husbandry. Bluebell's focus on animals was the deciding factor in her town choice. Dirk had seen her animal skills up front frequently when he went to deliver her mail and he could agree that she had chosen correctly.

"You know how my goal is to unite both towns, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, how can I do it if I don't know how Konohana like I know Bluebell. Even though I'm a regular here, most of the older residents are still a little standoffish to me just because I chose to live somewhere else." She crumpled the cookie bag in her hands.

"I see." I sipped my tea. "When are you planning on moving here?"

"The end of fall. I plan to stay here at least a year to get the full experience of Konohana."

"That's going to be hard." I mumbled.

"Why do you say that?"

"I won't have any peace with you as my neighbor."

Sage growled and threw the cookie bag at my face.