MY PLACE s01:e59 - New Year's Resolutions

The next couple days were a little awkward.
I wasn’t exactly sure how to reintroduce myself to everybody, so I just decided to go about what was my daily routine before running off to Tortimer Island. Suffice it to say, I got a variety of reactions. Yuka mostly ignored me, Charlise nearly ripped my head off, Beardo had no idea who I was, and Alice was astounded by my sudden return – pure shock I tell you, it was pretty crazy to see her so bewildered.

Simon was glad to see me again, as I was to him.
“You were the elephant in the room for over three months, bro” he told me “Well, chimp in the village would probably be the better expression, huh?” Maybe one day I’ll let him know that I’m not exactly just a shaved member of his species.

You might be wondering how a certain Mr Nook felt about my return. Well, he definitely knows that I’m back in town, but I’ve yet to pay him a visit. According to Digby, he failed to hide his astonishment when he learned the news – a fact I’m not supposed to know about. I’ll get around to him eventually.

The Ables were happy to have me back.
Well, Mable was. Labelle barely payed me any attention and Sable wasn’t making her disappointment in me subtle. It was like me and her were back to square one. She did chuckle when her sister and I spoke of the Santa suit though. I suppose it took my utter humiliation to make her smile in the end. Here’s hoping that there are more… elegant solutions in the future.

New Year’s eventually rolled around. It was quite a bittersweet evening, that’s for sure.

Everyone stood in the plaza under the town tree, as a massive display counted down the remaining minutes of 2013. That tree had grown a lot since the day I planted it back in August. Sure, it was no great oak or anything, but seeing that tiny sapling become a moderately sized stump while I was away was oddly satisfying.

Despite our reunion being quite a happy one in the end, me and Isabelle failed to surpass a level of awkwardness as we stood around making sure everyone was happy. Sometimes our eyes would meet, and she’d respond with a sort of half-smile whereas I would nod my head or something equally as half-assed. I think she’s a little muddled up in the head right now, so best to give her space.

Alice was there, surprisingly, though she refused to wear any of the novelty hats that Redd fellah was selling at the nearby standee. It didn’t stop Simon and I from partaking in the festivities though, as he grabbed himself a yellow party hat and I adorned my head with an oversized top hat that made the mere act of looking people in the eye a challenge in and of itself.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

And with that, the year was over.
Confetti and cheers filled the air as an armada of pricey looking fireworks glittered the midnight sky. As everyone watched in awe at the marvellous array of explosions, I thought about what the hell had just happened these last four months. My entire world had been turned inside out, flipped upside down and twisted into an unimaginable mess in less than half a year. I thought about my family back home, and whether I’ll ever see them again. I thought about the firework shows back in August, and how I met complete strangers who truly gave a damn about me… and I thought about how I had let them down.

Looking over to the closest friends I have here in talking animal land, I considered my priorities. Finding a way home seemed hopeless, trying to “escape” to a tropical island was a terrible idea… I think that’s its time to accept the terrible truth: I am now the mayor of Place, and I have gotta start acting like it.

I glanced back towards Isabelle.
I could tell by her expression as she watched the light show with her tired eyes, that she was doing some thinking of her own…

~Author’s Notes~
This really should have been uploaded earlier, but I’ve been busy with other stuff. Apologies for that.

Just one more episode of the season, folks. I know things have been ranging from sad to melancholy as of late, but I promise that the ending will be somewhat of a triumphant one. Besides, it wouldn’t be Animal Crossing without some bitter-sweetness, huh?