> A Hard Place To Be > by Ditz > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “How much longer am I going to fly?” Ditzy Doo cried out, looking to the seemingly never-ending landscape under her, an orange mantle covering the land as far as the eye could see, only the occasional rock formation and plant life breaking the near-perfect murder plot she had been staring at for hours. The stretch between Appleloosa and Ponyville was well known for its charring warmth, and like an erupting volcano, the heat rained down on the valley, giving no moment of reprieve to anyone daring to walk it—or in Ditzy’s case fly through it—during its hot summer days. The sun hovered right over her, sparing zero shade, punishing anypony foalish enough to attempt the trip. “It’s so hot!” Ditzy cried out specially loud, her voice going hoarse almost immediately as a punishment for her complaints. The mailbag she carried only felt heavier by the second, every letter and package stumbling inside like a rock pushing her down, the band wrapping around her neck like a rope pulling on her, attempting to drive her down into the ground. She felt her desperation grow as her muscles screamed, her wings especially begging for some respite. Come oooon, it has to be around here! Go, Ditzy! They wouldn’t lie to you! She thought, frantically searching the land. She could feel her vision blur momentarily as she did so, serving as motivation for her to search harder. Then, she saw it: she couldn’t quite place what she was staring at, a feeling of disappointment rising in her at the mere thought of a mirage; a cruel joke by the desert would be just her luck. Yet, as she flew closer, she felt her heart beat faster in excitement as the building loomed even closer, the words ‘rest area’ etched across the sign of its roof making her the happiest she had been in a very long time. Momentarily ignoring how sad that made her feel, she dove right in, forgetting how tired she’d been, an equestrian athlete skillfully flying into the place, quickly searching for her coveted prize. Then, she saw it. Sunlight broke slightly through a part of the ceiling, a spotlight glaring down on the water fountain, welcoming her. She felt drool slip down her lips despite her dry mouth, and without a second thought, she dove right in, taking sip after sip from the glorious liquid. They should have brought a poet Ditzy thought for a second as she drank. Then, taking a moment to stop, she stared into the fountain. She rattled through her brain for a second before finally, she said:  “Fountain of my dreams,  nourish all my needs,  thank you for the gift,  sweet nectar just for me.” There was a moment of silence, as if waiting for a reaction that would never come. Clearing her throat, she slowly dove back in, hoping the cold drink to be enough to put out the fire on her flushing cheeks. T-they should have brought a better poet… She spend what felt like an eternity drinking, until finally, she let out a satisfied sigh. “Wow, that really hit the spot.” “Achoo!” Ditzy screamed, jumping high enough that she could feel the ceiling above greet her, feeling her mane barely touching it. She hovered back down, breathing heavily, frantically looking around for the source of the sound, though she could see nothing more than a mahogany counter at the opposite end of the entrance, a small postcard display right on top of it alongside a couple of snowglobes hanging to the side—though the term ‘sand globes’ would fit the items better given the cactus and sinister skulls adorning them inside. She searched for a couple of seconds, expecting to find some pony by the counter, but seeing nothing of the sort. “Did I imagine it?” she wondered. Maybe I overdid it on the water drinking… “U-um…” she heard the voice again, this time even closer. “I-I’m sorry! Who’s there?” Ditzy asked, looking around in panic. “Are you a g-g-g-ghost?” “Wh-” the voice called out before just as quickly falling silent again, though this time, Ditzy was able to discern where it had come from, her eyes landing on the previously inspected counter.. Slowly, she approached it, a sense of dread watching over her. Was it really not a ghost? What if it was lying? No one had ever said that ghosts couldn’t lie. Reaching the edge of the counter, Ditzy peered over it, carefully avoiding hitting the paraphernalia on display. She slowly searched for any sign of strange behavior, but as her eyes reached the other side, any worry in her mind was now replaced by utter confusion; a pair of eyes looked up into hers, deep pools of blue watching her intently, silently scanning her. She stared right back, taking notice of the pony awkwardly sprawled on the floor under her. Beads of sweat fell down his sunshine coat once he seemed to realize this, his eyes shifting rapidly every which way the longer they stared. Noticing this, Ditzy said: “Um, are you ok—“ Without warning, the strange pony shot straight up, nearly hitting Ditzy who had barely managed to avoid the hit. Eyes wide as plates, he breathed heavily as he finally spoke: “W-welcome to A Hard Place! M-m-my name is Jumper! Have a p-pleasant stay!” Ditzy blinked, too baffled to even utter a single coherent sentence. “m… well, th—“ “And yes, I am okay! Thank you for asking!” he interrupted once more, blaring his teeth with a large, ‘natural’ smile. “Right, okay, sure!” Ditzy replied rapidly, red flags jumping at her. “Well, I, um, drank my water, so I'm pretty ready to hit the ol’ dusty road!” she said with a smile that could easily match the clerk’s as she slowly aimed for the exit Nowhere’s smile faltered in an instant. “A-are you sure?” he asked, a glimmer of hope still glowing in his eyes. “Please, I bet you had a long trip, right? It wouldn’t hurt to stay a little longer to rest, would it?” It was as if the pony had conjured an odd spell—or rather, a curse—Ditzy’s joints aching the moment he had even mentioned it. She felt her wings scream against her sides. No! They said. Don’t make me fly again! Please, just accept the paranoid stranger’s offer! They pleaded, feeling like they had just clamped themselves shut before she had any chance to argue. Against her better judgment, Ditzy relented. “Y-yeah, okay! I’ll stay a bit longer. But if you don’t mind...” she trailed off, taking a tentative walk to the one bench closest to the exit. Despite her own misgivings, Ditzy couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as she took a seat, feeling the pressure of the day’s long flight flee her body, melting into the seat with a satisfied grin. Yeah, that’s the spot, she thought, feeling suddenly relaxed. “Um, excu—” “Aah!” Ditzy yelped, nearly falling off the bench, not noticing the pony standing only a leg’s length of her. “Yes!? Do you need some—“ “Desert globe?” the pony asked, shaking the sphere up to Ditzy’s face, its contents hovering wildly inside, the plastic cactus and skulls inside strangely floating alongside the sand “No!” Ditzy replied quickly, though quickly pulled back, noticing her tone. “I’m sorry, I meant to say that I’m really not interested. I’m already carrying a little too much, and I really couldn’t handle more right now.” Jumper’s hoof slowly pulled back, his face barely hiding the look of disappointment. “O-okay! That’s fine! I, um, I bet you already have a ton of souvenirs from Appleloosa, right? Why would you need more, am I right?” “Oh, I wish these were souvenirs,” Ditzy laughed, a sardonic smile on her face. “I probably would have dropped my bag off somewhere in the desert! Frankly, I’ve half a mind to drop this bag already as it is,” she joked, though the serious thought of doing it lingered for a moment. Jumper stared intently at Ditzy’s clothes, his eyes lighting up in realization. “Wait, you are a Ponyville delivery pony! I guess I just wasn’t expecting to see a mail pony all the way out here?” he appeared to mull over his own question, still focused on Ditzy who had already guessed the ponies’ follow-up before it had even come: “Wait, what’s a delivery pony from Ponyville doing all the way out here?” “You know, one of those ‘Ponyville Regulars,” Ditzy sighed, the phrase old and tired in her mind. It was sad to her how often it happened ever since she arrived in town; the pony in front of her didn’t seem quite as worrying in comparison. “Who would have thought that a loose friendship laser would be enough to level the entirety of the train station and the friendship express!” Jumper gasped, horrified. “Goodness! That bad?” “No! No, everypony was okay,” Ditzy quickly assured him, though the look he gave he didn’t show him to be entirely convinced. “It’s alright! Friendship beams don’t really ‘hurt’ anypony, but they do occasionally seem to have an effect on anything not alive that happens to be in its way. It’s inconsistent like that.” “Ah, okay,” Jumper muttered understanding, though no less visibly concerned.“Um, is that why you are delivering the mail right now?” “Yep, yep!” Ditzy said with a nonchalant nod, happy to oblige him. “Losing the shortest route between Appleloosa and Canterlot was a huge hit on the mail delivery, so here I am!” she said, waggling her legs in mock celebration. “Wow,” Jumper said in a low voice. “They must really be really relying on you, huh?” “They…” Ditzy started saying something, letting the word linger in the air for a moment before simply closing her mouth. Shaking her head rapidly, she jjumped on her hooves. “Anyway, yeah, I’ve been here too long now. I really should be going,” she said suddenly, turning her back to the pony. “O-oh, I see!” Jumper said, with clear surprise. “Well, thank you for stopping by! I hope you had yourself a good rest. It’s always nice to have someone responsible and dependable show up in my stop! Feel free to stop by any time, okay?” “M-,maybe, we’ll see…” Ditzy stuttered, though as she made her way outside, she looked back once more. “Oh, my name is Ditzy, by the way. It’s, um, nice to meet you,” before unfurling her wings and diving out into the blistering heat once again. Despite the vagueness of her promise, she had found herself stopping by the store every trip, necessity getting the best of her; a pony could only fly so long without almost collapsing. Often times she found herself popping by for nary a couple of minutes, while others she would end up staying for nearly an hour, holding nonchalant conversations about her deliveries, though every single time she found Jumper greeting her excitedly without fail, saying things in conversation like: “Ooh, a buffalo today? You must be great with other species!” Or…  “You managed to get THAT through this weather? You must have packed it really well!” It could be something as small as one letter, and she would be showered with inane praise, some of it nonsensical at times. Despite this, she had found herself excitedly looking forward to her Appleloosa routes, the delivery only but a stopgap before she could reach her destination at the ‘Place’ as she affectionately referred to it one particular Monday morning. As the weeks passed, she slowly grew more comfortable with Jumper, at first doing simple things like greeting him and asking about his day, but soon followed by talking more about life outside work, carefully relegating it to speaking of the general goings-on of her hometown. There wasn’t much to their back and forth, but she appreciated those conversations the more because of it. But.. “Why do you work here?” she had found herself suddenly asking during one of their usual conversations, regretting it almost instantly. Though the question had been one she had been silently contemplating on for a while, it felt wrong. The moment she asked a personal question like a breach in their silent contract. Her panic only grew as Jumper smiled—an uncharacteristically confident grin adorning his face—before chuckling to himself. “W-what’s so funny?” Ditzy reluctantly asked. “O-oh, I’m sorry!” he quickly apologized, returning to his usual demeanor. “It’s just that, well… nopony has really asked me that.” “What? Really? Why is that?” Ditzy felt her heart beating against her chest. She had gone past the one boundary she hadn’t wanted to cross, yet, she couldn’t help but urge him on; the curiosity that had always been there coming out full force. “Yeah, well, I bet you’ve been asking yourself why a shop is even open in such a place, right?” Jumper asked. The thought had crossed her mind many a time.  Train stops were practically nonexistent in the middle of the desert, usually relegated to small communities and towns like Appleloosa and Dodge Junction. Not that it had been something Ditzy had known herself, only finding out by haphazardly flipping through the pamphlet she had received from the postmaster when given her assignment to the area. It had been the only reason she had even found out about ‘Hard Place’ as a stop to begin with. “Maybe a little,” Ditzy said sheepishly. “I bet you have.” Jumper laughed, walking past Ditzy and towards the entrance, his eyes focused on something in the distance.  “This place is so out of the way that the roads are barely visible. It’s so bad that I have to go to Appleloosa directly to restock—I guess nopony wants to deliver supplies here.” Ditzy followed right behind him, stopping only a few feet from him. “I just don’t get it! It’s so out of the way that it looks like a condemned building from afar! I mean, no offense!” she quickly corrected herself. “No, you are right,” Jumper said, placing a hoof on the wall, softly rubbing it across it. “In fact, that’s what this ol’ place was when I bought it—a rugged, desolate and broken building. To be honest, it cost me a pretty bit to get it to the state it’s in now!” he explained, a tinge of pride coating his words. “Then, why here?” Ditzy asked, growing increasingly confused by the second. “I mean, why would you put it in such a place? What’s the point?” Slowly, Jumper turned back, and what had at first been the nervous, timid pony, now stood a tall, confident stallion, beaming with joy as he proudly stated: “To show everypony that I could!” Like a gust of wind smacking her across the face, Ditzy felt the intensity of Jumper’s words. She could barely breathe as she gazed at the towering figure in front of her, her heart palpitating loudly against her ears. The image of the oddball, awkward pony she had come to know now replaced by a total stranger—one that she wouldn’t mind getting to know better. “I-I...” “W-well,” Jumper stuttered, breaking the tension, turning away to clear his throat, a tinge of red adorning his cheeks. “A-anyway, yeah, that’s why I’m here! You know! Sometimes you just, um, gotta do things!” Ditzy nodded slowly. “R-right, of course. You gotta do… things,” she finished awkwardly. She stared at Jumper again, noticing the modest, awkward pony she had known for weeks. But she now knew it wasn’t all there was to him. A pony with drive. A pony with goals. A pony with aspirations. “Ms. Ditzy?” Jumper called, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Did you hear?” “Y-yes? Sorry! What was that, again?” she asked, not realizing Jumper had been speaking to her. “I was asking you why you were out here doing the Appleloosa route! I mean, it’s such a dangerous route to take with the weather, right? How come you are out here taking on the elements like you are?” he asked, waiting eagerly for a response. Ditzy couldn’t say a thing, feeling like words were caught in her throat. “Ms. Ditzy? What’s wrong? You look pale! Do you need to sit down?” “No!” she suddenly found herself saying, though Jumper’s flinching suggested a harsher tone from her voice. “Look, I’m sorry, I have to go! Sorry!” she ran out the door and took into the air, never looking back. Anger welling up within her as she shot straight towards Ponyville. As the store disappeared in the distance, one thought ran through Ditzy’s mind. He is the type of pony that I am not. STAR-TO HERE  The next few days were an exercise in avoidance, as Ditzy pushed her Appleloosa duties to some unsuspecting co-worker, always ready with any excuses, explaining that she felt too sick to go out into the desert. I mean, that’s not a complete lie… she justified it to herself at one point. To her misfortune, the ignoring of her responsibilities didn’t last very long, however. Arriving at work one unsuspecting morning just a week later, she found her bags on the floor, a small note flimsily attached with some tape at the top. She didn’t have to grab it to see what it said, reading the words without issue from where she stood. You took the assignment, you do it! I’m done! I guess I couldn’t put it off too long, could I? Exhaustion took hold even as she departed from Ponyville, her package a heavier burden than anything she had ever bothered to tackle before. The upwind didn’t make things any easier for Ditzy, forcing her to fly low and making her journey an even bigger nuisance than before. The day couldn’t have been any more against her. “Why do deserts have to be hot!? Why couldn’t they just be moderately cool!” she complained as she trekked deep into the usual plains. She groaned with every flap of her wings, feeling the solitary package’s weight dragging her down with each second. “Wait,” she stopped, realization dawning on her. “Where am I even supposed to deliver this to?” hovering silently for a moment, she sighed, having forgotten to check the package’s destination in her rush to leave. Annoyed at even the short delay, she reached into her bags, forcibly pulling the package out, staring daggers at the side of the box, hoping that they would somehow cut the address away and force her to go back home. Ditzy blinked once, then again. Slowly, she reached into her bags, pulling out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Taking a moment to carefully adjust them, she then pushed her face against the box, reading the address multiple times silently, then reading it a few more out loud. Finally, deciding that she had made completely sure she had read it correctly, she stared at the package; a stoic look reflecting none of her thoughts, finally sighing and shoving the box back into her bags. Between a rock and a hard place it is, then. ~~~~~ Pushing her way through the double doors, Ditzy made a beeline for the store’s counter. “Your package, sir!” she muttered, her voice not letting up even a little as she slammed the package onto the desk, nearby trinkets shaking as if in panic. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go,” ready to leave without another word, she unfurled her wings, prepared to take off. “Wait,” a timid voice called right behind her. “I-I’m supposed to signing for that package, a-aren’t I?” “It’s not mandatory!” Ditzy replied without turning, still walking to the exit. “It’s optional!” “W-well, um…” the pony said audibly panicking. “I want to sign! Yes! I would love to sign for the package!” Ditzy was stopped in her tracks, cursing herself for her slip of tongue. With a sigh, she turned around, slowly walking to the counter where Jumper waited expectantly, his lips moving between a grin and a grimace, eyes shifting side-to-side, unable to stare ahead of him—unable to stare at Ditzy. In an attempt to appear intimidating, Ditzy haphazardly tossed the signing board onto the counter, though much to the surprise of the two, the board bounced off the surface, flying directly into Jumper’s snout, its metal making a cut across the unsuspecting pony’s face. “Oh my gosh! Jumper!” Ditzy screamed in shock, abandoning her tough role and going around the desk to check on him. “I’m so sorry, are you okay!?” “Y-yeah, I’m okay,” Jumper replied, hissing through the pain as a small trail of blood fell down his snout and quickly dripped onto the floor. “Please, sit down! Um…” giving the place a quick glance, she then turned to Jumper. “Do you have a first aid kid?” Jumper nodded quickly. “Yes, r-right under the counter!” Ditzy spend the next few minutes silently treating the wound. Jumper didn’t say much of anything, letting out small cries of pain as she worked on it, a small gauze soon covering the spot the cut had been. Staring at her handiwork, she nodded satisfied. “Thank you, Ditzy,” Jumper said, his face beaming with a grateful grin. “You are w-” she stopped, an abrupt fit of coughing interrupting her.  “Ditzy! Are you okay?” Jumper called, reaching out to hold her, but stopping short just inches from her, seemingly unable to know what to do. “N-no! Er, I mean I’m okay! Really!” Ditzy replied with a hoarse, suddenly realizing she had been barely breathing the entire time she treated Jumper. “I just swallowed some spit, is all!” Jumper stared silently as Ditzy tried to recover. his gaze somehow piercing despite the soft look of his eyes. Unwavering. “Ditzy?” Curious. “Yeah?” “I know this is sudden, but I really wanna know: why did you run away?” Ditzy gulped, expecting the question to have come. She eyed the exit for just a moment, wanting to fly away, but glancing back at her friend’s eyes, and she saw it. You owe me that much they said, and he would be right. The gauze resting just under those very eyes of his gave her enough pause, and with a defeated sigh, she relented. “Well, you know?” she said. “I know?” Jumper asked.  “Yeah! See? You know!” Jumper blinked. “Know... what?” “You! I mean…” she rubbed her mane angrily, her cheeks flushing furiously as she made an attempt to continue. “Look, you are just so awkward, so clumsy, so darned praisefu—wait, listen, I have a point, okay?” she quickly explained, noticing the look Jumper was giving her. Reluctantly, he nodded her to continue. “The point is that even though you are all of those things, you are still a kind, hard-working pony who gets things done no matter the challenges; ponies said you couldn’t do it, and yet here you are, owning your own business in the middle of nowhere! And you are happy about it!” she paused. “Wait, you are happy about it, right?” “Of course!” Jumper said, half-laughing. “Golly, I’m not exactly sure how to even reply to all that, it was mighty kind of you to say that about me! Thank you.” “No, don’t thank me! Half of the praise was insults to you!” Ditzy groaned, letting her head fall on the package. “I don’t deserve your thanks, Jumper. I’m not worthy.” “I don’t think I really understand, why wouldn’t you be worthy?” he asked, confused. “Because I treated you like a lesser pony, okay!?” she nearly shouted, forcing her eyes shut to avoid looking at him. “You always greeted me, always praised me even though I didn’t deserve it! I started stopping by because it was… nice. It made me feel good about myself and I even started to believe it was all true. But then, you told me about you, and I felt...upset!” she could barely contain herself, her hooves shaking angrily. “‘Even he is a better pony than I am!’ I thought. I was jealous. The facade just fell through, and I realized that all you had been to me was just somepony I was using and I-I just couldn’t stand it!” “Ditzy, I…” “And that’s not even all!” she continued, determined to have her piece before letting Jumper tear her to shreds. “You asked me why I took the job, right? Well, get a load of this: I took it because I felt important! I felt that if I took it, I would have more value! I didn’t take it because they needed my help! I took it because I wanted to show them that I could, but turns out all I did was complain and complain, and then all this happened. I just went and ditched my duties because I was so upset! I just…” she couldn’t continue, her increasingly louder sobs making it difficult for her to speak anymore. Instead, she slowly looked up, expecting to find anger, a look of contempt at the very least would be something she deserved. Confusingly for her, she found herself looking at Jumper’s warm smile, his leg extended to her; his hoof snugly over hers, stroking it gently. “But wh—” Ditzy stopped short, Jumper’s hoof hovering over her snout. “Shh, let me say something first, please,” he said, and all Ditzy could do was nod before he slowly pulled it back. “I’m going to be completely honest, because what I did wasn’t exactly, well, innocent.” “H-huh?” Ditzy tried to utter through her covered mouth. “Look, I may be a happy business owner, but that doesn’t mean I’m still not just some random pony selling things in the middle of nowhere,” he paused, looking at Ditzy. “You know what I’m trying to say?” “Oh? Oh! Ooooooh…” gazing around the store, she observed the shelves. No matter how often she looked, she could only find the same packed spaces she had seen each and every time she had arrived. It made complete sense of course—who would be buying a souvenir at a store out on nowhere? “I tried to butter you up so you could buy something. Anything, really,” he continued, picking up one of the sand globes on the counter, tossing it up into the air, skillfully catching it in his hoof. “I couldn’t even sell you one of these, not even once. What kind of salespony am I? Not even able to convince you after praising your skills.” How could I be so dumb? Ditzy though, chuckling to herself. “Okay, so what you are saying is that we were both just using the other for selfish reasons?” Jumper nodded. “Pretty much.” Looking at each other for only a moment, they burst into laughter. A laugh that seemed to reverberate even in the small, broken space. A peaceful mood somehow settling between the two. “But!” Jumper started again. “It doesn’t end there.” “D-doesn’t it, now?” Ditzy asked, feeling a knot in her throat; just what else was there to say? “I mean, d-don’t get me wrong!” getting off the seat, he walked past the counter, slowly making his way to the middle of the store, turning to face her. “What I did was awful of me, but to be completely honest, it quickly went from wanting to get some business going, to…” his words became a whisper, his cheeks glowing bright and red. “Well, me just wanting to see you come over more, is all.” Ditzy’s eyes grew, and she could feel the pit of her stomach swirling, the emptiness replaced by a warm feeling, her cheeks burning as much, matching Jumper’s cheeks in color. “J-Jumper! I can’t! I just…” forcing words out became difficult, her brain struggling to fight her struggling feelings. Digging through the fog in her mind, she could only come up with a few words: “But Jumper, what I did! I—“ “And that’s okay!” Jumper shouted, likely guessing the words Ditzy would utter. “I understand that you were just trying to deal with a situation. Sure, you did complain about it one, two, maybe ten times, but tell me this: did you ever give up? In fact, even though you could have simply let it go, did you do it?” “W-well, no? But…” “And tell me, how long did you say you’ve been working there?” he continued, not relenting in his barrage. “You complained, but did you ever really quit?”  “But I did quit! I mean, I stopped delivering the package here! I mean, I didn’t even notice where I was supposed to deliver the package until I was halfway through the road, and I— “And you still went ahead and delivered it,” Jumper said, a smile now on his face. “See? You sell yourself short, but even now I see that you didn’t really give up on it. You complain about the mail, but you still do it. You could have dropped my package and pretended you lost it, but still delivered it, your feelings aside,” pausing for a moment, he approached Ditzy. “And even though you could have just let me be and never talked to me again, you still came here. Maybe it wasn’t your plan, but it’s clear to me now that you really wanted to apologize, didn’t you?” Ditzy was left speechless, unable to argue back. “You aren’t perfect, but if there is anything that I respect about you, is that you don’t really give up. You could say I, um, really, really like that about you…” he muttered, his words barely audible as he turned his head, his blush a picture worth more than a thousand words. “You really believe in me?” Ditzy finally asked, her words filled with longing. Hopeful. Jumper nodded. “Okay,” Ditzy said, nodding back. A long silence followed, the two ponies staring at each other. The two fidgeted similarly, as if waiting for the other to react, and as the minutes passed and nopony said anything, Ditzy, albeit reluctantly, finally broke the ice. “I’m sorry, about everything, I mean.” “I, um, don’t be, you know? Things happen, right?” he mumbled, returning to his usual awkward self. “So…” Ditzy started again, looking towards the door and noticing the clock hanging loosely over it. “Oh, crud! I, um, I have to go! I need to go before nightfall!” she quickly flew past Jumper, grabbing the signing board, its metallic top still glowing with a faint red tint where it had hit Jumper’s face. “Um, sorry about your face again, I really mean it!” “I know! I-it’s no problem, really!” Jumper replied, holding a sidelong grimace. “Well… bye, then!” Ditzy said lamely before nearly trotting to the entrance, only to quickly turn back. “But before I go, can I ask you something?” “Yeah?” Jumper said, looking up again. “Can I...  still come over during my shifts?” Jumper’s eyes widened, smiling as he enthusiastically replied. “Yes, of course you can!” Smiling, Ditzy turned back to the entrance, only to come to a complete stop, turning to Jumper again, her face now hosting two very noticeable red spots on her face. “Um, what I meant to say was if I could, you know? I could come over even if I didn't have to deliver the mail, right?” As Ditzy flew out into the desert, all she could think of was Jumper nodding, his beaming smile etched into her mind before she left something she would never forget. Maybe she really could.