Robin was preparing himself a small lunch and taking a break from this morning's attempts to once again clean the hall decorations when he heard a strange knock on the door. Knowing that Jo was at school and Holly wouldn't knock at her own house, Robin ignored it. Surely, he thought, whoever it was at the door would return later, or leave whatever they had brought at the door.

The knock sounded again, a bit more aggressive this time. Robin crept out to the hall hesitantly. The doorknob rattled, and a man's voice yelled angrily over the noise.

"Hello? I've got a delivery of pears for Sunshine Acres."

Robin let out a surprised chuckle, feeling a mix of amusement and apprehension.

There were pear salesmen, after all. Not that he thought the ladies were lying, but he was amused that he was finally encountering one.

Remembering the warning he was given, he ignored the rattling at the door and quietly snuck back to the kitchen to finish making his lunch. The hounding at the front door continued for several minutes. Robin reassured himself that the house of the sorceress had to have extra magical locks of some sort. Cookie, his constant companion and personal guard dog for the last couple of weeks, had gone to the market with Holly today. Robin had to admit that, at this moment, he wished the Nanahound had been left behind to watch him.

Suddenly, Robin heard a branch snap outside the kitchen window. He looked up just as a man's head popped into view.

A pudgy man with long blond hair started banging on the window when he saw Robin sitting in the kitchen. He frantically pointed at the cabinet near the hearth and then at the tray of pears in his hand.

Robin shook his head at the man, waving him off.

"The lady's pears! These are for the ladies in this house. Are the girls home?" The man yelled through the glass.

"We don't need any more pears, but thank you!" Robin yelled back.

This seemed to make the man more insistent. He banged harder on the window.

Worried that the window might break from the man's forceful pounding, Robin left his lunch and went around to the front door to talk with the pushy salesman.

"Finally!" the man said, exasperated as he rounded the porch. "Don't you know I have a tight schedule? I can't stand banging on your window all morning when I have other places to be."

"Well," Robin said, crossing his arms. "As far as I know, you might as well hurry up and get to the rest of your schedule. We aren't expecting a delivery of pears."

"Hah," the man laughed, amused. "And you know so much, do you? Let me tell you, I've been delivering pears to this house for years, and they've never said no to extra pears."

"Well, they might not, but I am."

"Hah!" the man spat on the porch in amused annoyance. "Oh, and are you so tough, huh? Protecting a witch's house?" He laughed mockingly at Robin.
"Let me give you an insider secret, young man," the burly pear salesman continued. "This Sunshine Acres lady is known for causing a lot of trouble, and if she finds out you refused her pears, you'll be next."

"Oh, and what specifically has this lady done to cause trouble? Has Miss Ivy ever done anything to you?"

"I've been delivering pears to her house for years," the man said, shoving Robin with his box to get through the door. "I've heard things. So get out of my way, witch lover."

Robin stood his ground.

"Oh," Robin said through gritted teeth, trying to push back against the giant man. "So you're the tough guy because you know so much about a stranger after barely talking to them and forcing them to eat your pears for years? Huh?" Robin grunted, using all his strength to shove the larger man back onto the porch.
"You say she's trouble? I haven't seen that." Robin continued, surprisingly holding his own against the burly man. "However, Miss Ivy said you would be trouble, and I have all the evidence I need here to prove she was right." Robin huffed as the man continued to fight against him.

The man was strong, but fortunately, Robin had managed to close the front door behind him, so it now only a matter of guarding the doorknob from the man's large hand.

"Just take the damn Pears!" The man growled.

"For free? I don't have any money, and Miss Ivy is out."

The man grunted. "Not for free; I'll go to town and get my money from Miss Ivy at her shop."

"Why not just go ahead and bring her pears there? If she is so willing to buy them?"

The man's eyes narrowed.

"Oh?" Robin mused in fake shock." Is it because you don't want people in town to see how you act, forcing your pears on someone and then demanding they pay? Or is it because you are scared of Miss Ivy? Wow! A tough guy like you?"

"I'll show you scared, you pompous—" the man yelled as he threw the wooden tray of pears to the ground, lunging for Robin.

Robin realized that he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with this man. Guarding the door was one thing, but he shouldn't have provoked the large man into a fight, Robin knew he wouldn't win. Robin knew basic self-defense and could likely hold his own against someone his own size, but this man was twice Robin's size at least.

As Robin braced himself for the man to throw his giant fist into Robin's face, the salesman collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain.

As the man lay on the porch cursing and scrambling away from Robin, Robin noticed that the pearman's pants were ripped down the back of each leg in three long lines. Deep claw marks were dug into his skin as if talons from a large wild animal had attacked him.

Holly stood behind the fallen man on the porch steps, her arms crossed with an annoyed look on her face. Cookie, a large furry white wolfhound beside her, snarled at the injured man on the porch.

Cookie quickly leaped on the man's back, pinning him down and snapping at him.

The pear man yelled curses as he attempted to fight off the dog.

"I warned you, Erley," Holly said, shaking her head. " I don't need any more pears. Come back here in six months with an apology and the pears at the price you bought them from the farmer. Then I'll reconsider buying pears from you again." Holly said nonchalantly, casually picking up the pears he dropped to put back in the tray. Pocketing a few when the man wasn't looking. When she finished, she called Cookie off the man and tried to help him up by his arms, but the humiliated man shook her off. Holly took a step back and shoved the tray into his chest.

"Come back sooner than that, and you will consider yourself lucky that I let you hobble home," Holly said, her tone lowering as she pushed him off her porch.

"Witch. With your stupid Nanadog. You should consider yourselves lucky I come with pears and not the f*cking authorities." Earley spat.

Holly clicked her tongue and shook her head. Suddenly, the man was on the ground again, this time knocked unconscious by whatever spell Holly had cast on him.

Holly turned to Robin with a strained smile.

"You'll have to excuse me for a moment, Robin," her smile fading. "I don't take threats like that lightly."

Holly stomped off the porch and over to the man on the ground. Picking up his tray of pears in one hand, she touched her free hand to her left foot and lifted her arm. Moving it above her head, and in a circle, she the. grabbed the man by the collar and stepped forward, disappearing into thin air.

Robin stood there stunned, not sure what he just witnessed.

Now a small dog again, Cookie whined at Robin's feet and ran in circles as if asking if he was okay.

At that moment, Robin was very aware of Miss Jackie's initial warning, and a fearsome beast in the shape of a small dog was at his feet. He was living in the house of a witch who could knock out a grown man in the blink of an eye. He didn't know what Jo was capable of, but being Holly's apprentice, Robin had no doubt he should be afraid of her, too.

Robin felt a panic rise in his chest. Should he run? Would Holly come back and harm him for what he saw? Or would it be okay, was she protecting him?

Before Robin could decide, Holly stepped back through thin air, returning from wherever she had disappeared to. Shaking her head, and walking up to him, she let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm so sorry, Robin. I—" Holly's eyes went wide. "You're bleeding..."

Robin looked to where Holly's eyes had landed. It seemed that when the pear man had shoved him with his crate, it had torn his shirt and sleeve, cutting into the skin beneath.

"Oh, I—"

"Hurry, come inside, Robin. I have some ointment." Holly says, opening the door and shooing him inside. She seemed surprisingly shaken considering the fact of the wounds she had inflicted on the Pear Man were much more substantial.

Holly hurried him over to the table to pull out a chair for him before rushing into the mudroom. She returned with a handful of medical supplies and dumped them onto the table.

"I think this should help. Hopefully. But I have more if you just wait—"

"This is fine, Holly. Thank you." Robin said, placing a hand on her arm to reassure her. "I'm a doctor, remember? I can take care of this."

"Oh, right," Holly said, letting out a small sigh, a bit embarrassed. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Robin hesitated. The cut on his arm was painful, but nothing he couldn't handle. The real issue was his mind racing with the strange encounter.

"Did you kill that man?"

"Oh! Of course not!" Holly said, sounding genuinely surprised by the assumption. "As a sorceress, I've vowed never to use my magic to kill. I just knocked him out for a bit."

Holly hesitated, looking slightly ashamed. "And... I mean, I did cut his legs open, but it's nothing he won't recover from. I left him at the jail, saying that he tried to attack me at my home, and my dog got a hold of him. The town doctor will look after him, and he'll be fine. Honestly, Earley is a menace. The jailhouse is used to hearing these stories of him."

Holly quickly looked back at his still-bleeding arm. She sat beside him and survived the supplies she brought out.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else? I can take you into town if you need anything."

Robin joined her in examining the array of medicines. All the items Holly had brought were specialized wound care, not typically needed for a simple cut.

"No, I'll be fine, without any medication actually."Robin said hesitantly. "Can I let you in on my doctor's secret?"

Holly tilted her head, intrigued.

Robin lifted his hand to the wound, and when he removed his hand, not only was the wound gone, but the tear in his clothes disappeared as well.

"Woah," Holly says, her eyes wide. "I have heard of healing magic, but-"

"I prefer to call it fixing magic," Robin said. "I can fix anything torn or broken as if it had never been broken in the first place." He fiddled with a broken cap on top of one of the medicines, fixing the crack in the side of it. "However, I'm only a magician, so there are limitations, of course. If someone is ill, I can heal the sores on their skin as if their skin never broke open, but I can't get rid of an illness."

"That must make you a highly sought-after doctor," Holly said, impressed.

"Yes and no," Robin admitted. "I went into the medical field thinking it would be an easy moneymaker with my gift of fixing. But there's more to healing than just fixing. I can heal physical wounds, but not heal everything. It almost feels like a failure each time I can't."

"Truthfully that's the real reason I'm here," Robin continued. The frightening encounter seemingly shaking the truth from him. "I worked all my life to be a doctor, only to feel disillusioned. I don't like it; I only did it because I thought it would be easy, and I had a gift that could help others. But now, it feels like a trap. The greedy men who are only in it for the money, who hurt people more than they heal them. Then there are those patients that have hear about my magic, but I can't heal, wondering what's wrong with me... but It's past my limitation."

Robin paused, realizing he was rambling. When he looked at Holly, she nodded as if she understood.

"I don't know. I wish I had a passion for being a doctor, like some people do. I mean, I like the title and enjoy helping others, but I'm just not passionate about it. I know I shouldn't withhold my gift from those who need it, and I want to help improve the field and people's lives, but... I also feel that giving it up would be such a relief..." Robin paused, unsure if what he said was making sense, " but to leave it behind... I just feel so selfish. So I needed an escape from it. All of it."

As Robin finished his confession, he felt embarrassed to have shared all the feelings. Some of them plaguing him for months to this near stranger that sat across from him.

Holly didn't respond for a moment. She only smiled sadly at him briefly before looking out the window.

A pang hit Robin's heart when he realized she might not understand what he was talking about; he rethought over what he had confessed, and he had to admit, what he said did sound rather selfish of him.

"That's a hard situation," Holly finally said, gazing into the pasture. "But, If you want my thoughts, I would say there is more to someone's life than just one thing, passion, or talent... If you get so caught up in one, you lose so much of a life you could have lived. So many different people to meet and things to experience."

Holly paused, choosing her words carefully.

" I only say that because... well, I used to think I only had one purpose or talent ...I didn't enjoy it either, but I was one of the best. When I gave it up because I selfishly didn't want my life revolving around this one path I was so gifted in... It was hard. I had spent so much time wanting to be the best, working to achieve that, until I realized I didn't want to be who being the best would make me be."

Holly took a deep breath.

"I held on too long, trying to fix things, but more problems kept arising. So, I walked away. Honestly, it felt like my life had ended... that life had ended. But the new life I found afterwards was so much better. I am no longer living life focused on a singular passion for a purpose but...just being alive. Everyday. I have found that there is so much more to life, so many little things to discover and to love..."

Holly cleared her voice and shifted towards Robin. "I don't know if this makes sense, but It's like, I used to take so much pride in being one strong rock...but I have found so much more freedom in being nothing more than worthless sand."

Holly chuckled, shaking her head. "Maybe I'm just rambling.. but I mean to say I know how you feel."

"I ...I mean, I wouldn't say sand is worthless," Robin offered. Not quite knowing what she was talking about, but feeling a bit better after her thoughts on his struggles.

"Yes...well..." Holly mumbled.

"And aren't some rocks made of sand?"

"Sedimentary rocks are made of sand," Holly said with a small laugh. "So, you know, maybe there is hope for me yet."

Holly gave Robin a soft smile as she put her hand on his arm. "And there's hope for you too. Even if life feels like it's crumbling, as you said, there is still worth in the sand."

Robin sat in silence, her words revolving around his head. What Holly said made sense to him; his life focused on something that brought him little joy. He needed to find more of it, outside of his profession. But one thing Robin wasn't sure of...What did bring him joy?

Robin sat contemplating her words as Holly left to put away her medical supplies. He finally got up and grabbed a pear to snack on from the Pear Closet as Holly re-entered the room.

"Robin, do you think maybe you could teach me how to use your healing magic?" Holly asked shyly.

"Teach you?"

"Yes, I know general healing magic, but it's very limited," she said, embarrassed. "I'd love to learn your Fixing Magic if you wouldn't mind."

"I can try...When would you like to start?" Robin asked, reopening the pear closet and offering her a pear.

Holly smiled as she took it from his hand. "Are you free now? I closed the jewelry shop early today because business was slow, so I have nothing else to do for the rest of the day."

"Well, I, on the other hand, have a hectic schedule, working two jobs as a housekeeper and a cook," Robin said, making Holly scoff. "So if you help me make the pie for dinner tonight, then I'll teach you."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Well, in that case, I don't want to learn anymore."

"Your choice," Robin said, turning to get the pans from a different cabinet and beginning to work on the pie.

"Okay, fine. Fine. You got me," Holly said, bumping him with her shoulder as she joined him. "Just tell me what you need, Chef Robin."

As he instructed her on the crust, Robin prepared the filling. Holly, the easily distracted sous-chef, put on some old records in the living room and hummed along, pointing out her favorite songs. Her distraction made the pie crust take longer to prepare, but Robin couldn't deny that the music made him smile while he worked. The twangy orchestra and banjo music suited Sunshine Acres. He even caught himself humming along a few times.

Though considerably slower, Robin found that cooking with Holly was significantly more enjoyable than cooking alone. He wondered if he might be able to convince her to do it again.

Within the span of two records, they finished the pie, and Robin carefully placed in the hearth. Holly eagerly then pulled Robin out the kitchen's backyard door for him to teach his magic.

"Alright, I'll go easy on you today since you're a Fixing Magic newbie," Robin joked, closing the kitchen door behind him.

He gathered some sticks from the ground for practice.

"My, what a kind gentleman you are!" Holly mocked.

"Always," Robin teased with a wink, recalling her words from a few days ago.

Holly rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what magic you know, but my magic involves healing something to be the same as before the harm is done. So some things, like putting this twig back on the branch as if it never broke off, would be seemingly impossible. I would have to first have to go around to find the exact tree and the exact place it broke off-"

"Ah, the limitations of being a magician," Holly teased, shaking her head.

"Remind me, Holly, who is the teacher, and who is the student right now?" Robin said, snapping a twig and handing it to her.

Holly clicked her tongue but didn't reply.

Robin held back a small smile at his victory.

"Let me see what you can do, sorceress."

Holly held the two sticks together, and new twig material sprouted from both ends, joining in the middle.

"That's one way to do it," Robin said, examining her work. "But not my way." He pointed to the lump on the stick. "Instead of creating new matter, focus on rejoining and fixing what's already there." He broke another stick and put it back together, handing it over for her to study. Robin broke several more twigs for her to try.

By the time the pie was done baking in the hearth, Holly still hadn't mastered his Fixing magic. All the sticks she attempted to fix still looked wielded.

Robin promised to help her another time, and they bantered over whether she was a lousy student or if he was a poor teacher.

The scent of pie wafted through the window, and Robin felt a warm pang in his chest.

Maybe this is what Holly was talking about. Maybe this was the joy he was looking for.