Buds, Birds and Bigfoot | Budville Mystery Theater

In the quaint, perpetually chill seaside town of Budville, a peculiar problem had arisen that baffled the laid-back locals. A crafty crow, whom the townsfolk had affectionately named "The Bud Burglar," had taken to nicking lighters from unsuspecting surfers and stoners alike. This left the town in a tizzy, for how does one enjoy Budville's famous cannabis without the means to light up?

Enter our protagonist, Sage, a local barista by day and amateur detective by night, known for her love of mystery novels and her ability to remember every weed strain like they were her children. Sage was determined to solve this case, not just for the community's sake, but because her own lighter collection was dwindling fast. The plot thickened when tales began to circulate about a large, shadowy figure seen skulking around the outskirts of town, particularly near the dense, pungent cannabis patch known as "Ganja Grove." This figure, rumored to be Bigfoot himself, was supposedly immune to the crow's antics, as he never used lighters. Instead, he had an ancient method of sparking up using the friction from rubbing two sticks together, a skill he learned from his ancestors. Sage, armed with a notebook covered in doodles of cannabis leaves and a magnifying glass (more for aesthetic than actual use), decided to investigate. Her first clue came from Old Man Smokey, the town's oldest resident and self-proclaimed "Weed Whisperer." Smokey claimed he saw the crow fly off towards Ganja Grove every time it stole a lighter. Venturing into the wild, Sage encountered the very Bigfoot she'd heard of, sitting cross-legged, puffing away on what looked like a giant joint. Surprisingly, Bigfoot was quite articulate and explained his peaceful coexistence with the crow. "The crow and I have a deal," Bigfoot said with a smoky exhale. "I give him shiny things from the forest, and in return, he doesn't mess with my stash or my fire-starting sticks."

But why was the crow stealing lighters? Bigfoot revealed that the crow was actually looking for a specific type of lighter, one with a mirror finish, to use as a distraction during his shiny object thefts around town. This lighter was in the possession of Sage herself, a gift from her late grandfather, a master of the herb. With this revelation, Sage devised a plan. She would bait the crow with her grandfather's lighter, leading him to a trap where she could have a little chat about the importance of sharing and not stealing. However, upon setting the trap, Sage realized the true mystery: the crow wasn't just stealing for fun or greed but was collecting lighters to build a nest that could reflect the sun's rays, signaling to his mate who had lost her way during migration. The story concluded not with punishment but with understanding. Sage, along with Bigfoot, helped the crow signal his mate, and in return, the crow returned all the lighters. Budville could light up again, and Sage learned a valuable lesson about looking beyond the surface of any mystery. And Bigfoot? He just wanted some peace, quiet, and the occasional puff in his super high strain cannabis patch, far from the town's lighter drama.