MY PLACE s01:e15 - Lantern

Midnight.
We were there until midnight.

God was I tired. Not because I was stood on my feet for three hours, but because I had to partake in small talk for the entire time. To be honest, I didn’t chat to anyone other than Simon and occasionally Isabelle, who was too busy making sure everyone else was happy. Simon introduced me to a girl called Bluebear at some point, and maybe some other friends of his, but I was hardly paying attention, I just wanted bed.

As the festivities ended and I said goodnight to everybody, I dragged myself towards my… oh yeah, tent. I live in a tent. I live in a tent in the middle of a backwater village in a world I don’t belong in. I stopped in front of my humble abode and sighed. I’ve never even been camping before…

“Ahem, excuse me? Mayor?” came a hushed voice from behind me. Fatigued and drowsy, I turned to see Isabelle carrying a lantern, bright eyed, as if her day had barely started.

“Oh, hey Isabelle” I yawned “What’s up?”

“I just came to see if you’re alright” she said “You looked kinda tired back there”

“Yeah…” I replied “It’s been a long day”

She giggled and asked to see if she could look inside my tent. I saw no reason not to, so I opened it up for her. She poked her head inside and looked around, as if expecting to find something worth looking at.

“Wow!” she exclaimed “So exciting! It’s just like you’re camping, isn’t it? It reminds me a lot of my childhood! Everyone would get all worked up, and we’d roast marshmallows and make popcorn over the fire… We’d always burn the popcorn a bit” she admitted, her tone softening a little “but you know something? That just made it extra delicious! …oh no! I’ve gotten carried away again, I’m so sorry!” Sheepishly making her way back out of the tent, I noticed how Isabelle wasn’t acting as her usual self right now. True, she was still losing track of her thoughts, but she was visibly more relaxed than normal. Well, before she started vehemently apologising anyway.

“It’s okay” I said, too tired to make a convincing fake laugh “We never went camping much”

“That’s a shame” she sighed “It’s a lot of fun. Anyway, mayor, I brought you something nice!”

She held up that old looking lantern. It had definitely seen its fair share of use, but it’s warm light brought some life to the otherwise desolate fields of pear trees.

“It’s a lantern!” she said “I thought I’d be perfect for you, since you’re sleeping in a tent!” I have to admit, that made me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. It was nice knowing that people here were nice enough to consider me. “Since it’s so old” she explained “I wasn’t sure if it would work properly, but it looks like it works just fine!”

“Thanks” I said, conjuring up the best smile my tired face could handle “You know, my tent isn’t the only place that needs some lighting around here…”

Isabelle sighed, instantly knowing what I was referring to.
“Yes, we do need some lamps installing but… well, truth be told, mayor, we don’t really have the funds right now. BUT you are the mayor!” she smiled “Who knows what could happen!”

She took her leave, promising to see me tomorrow morning at Town Hall.
I gave her a wave and took my lantern inside. I guess tonight won’t be so cold after all.

~Author’s Notes~
One of my favourite things about the writing process of My Place is seeing how characters react when the player actually responds to them. I have a document with all of Isabelle’s dialogue from New Leaf (can’t remember where I found it) and reading it is helping me get her speech patterns down so I have an idea as to how she would respond to anything “non-scripted”, as it were.

I really like how the picture turned out this time. It’s so cozy!