Evening in the neighborhood of Lost Forest as Cherry carefully walks down a path, moving past a tree trunk carved into the shape of a barn owl. Okay, maybe that is the real thing. It is the evening, so it’s a proper time for owls to be out and about, looking for fast food.

The real question here is “What the Hey is going on?” Cherry delivers a stack of flapjacks to a woman walking towards her. Sensitive readers might start asking questions at this point, pointing to the woman’s color (which may not be so apparent in the black & white version of the strip). Those are the wrong questions, I believe. Still, why must they meet outside? Is this woman contagious? Is she extremely claustrophobic? Was she thrown out of Planet Pancake in the past for a major indiscretion, such as asking for pancakes with a topping of popcorn? Presumably, this box of hotcakes (which are not likely very hot by now) also contains necessary cutlery and little plastic tubs of butter and syrup. Let’s hope the butter is real, at least. Bon appetite, mademoiselle!

As for who this woman is, I have no idea. A Pokémon cosplay friend, perhaps? Maybe it is Cherry’s beekeeper friend, mentioned a few weeks ago. Well, one thing we can say about the crazy world of Lost Forest Nuovo is that it has its quotient of eccentric characters. You’d almost think we were back in California at the Herp Hacienda. But that’s okay; although sometimes annoying, they are more interesting than the usual stock extras that filled the secondary roles before Rivera came on board.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and we wrap up this exciting week with Cherry’s World and how her storyline has intermingled with Mark’s. Once again, I’m going out on a limb to predict that this comingling will become even more deliberate and fundamental over time. The signs are all there for us to see. See?