MY PLACE s02:e07 - Melancholy Sunset

As the sun set on another average January day in Place, I caught up with Simon after getting all my chores done before returning to town hall.

“Just got done watering the old man’s flowers” he said as we both looked towards where our old neighbour once lived. Gruff wasn’t exactly the sweetest of old folk, but his death was enough to trigger something within me that’s best left unmentioned for now. Finally getting that bridge built for him helped, and both Simon and I do our part to keep his garden looking nice. We even planted a cherry tree there. I sure hope he liked cherries…

“Seems like forever ago when he was yapping at me to get this bridge built” I said, patting the cobblestone like a brand-new car.

“Time sure does fly…” added Simon, wistfully.

“This is gonna sound bad…” I said, knowing full well that starting a sentence in such a way could never end well “But did anyone really like him? He was such a grouchy old coot. I don’t think I ever had a nice interaction with him and yet…”

“It still sucks when people die” Simon shrugged “And sure, he might not have had friends, per say, but I liked him, and he used to give Bluebear those sweets old people just always seem to have on them.” He chuckled to himself. “I suppose he only really liked me because I did stuff for him. That last week before he passed, when I was giving him daily medicine from Nook’s Cranny – that was the first time he ever said thank you. It was worth it though.”

“That was supposed to be my job…” I groaned and almost headbutted the bridge in frustration.

“Oh, come on mayor!” Simon laughed, still somehow managing to tolerate my self-loathing. “You can’t keep beating yourself up for stuff like that. Every great leader made mistakes!”

“Yeah” I said “but how many of them try to run away from the place they were forced—I mean, asked to look after?”

Simon thought for a moment.
“Well…” he said “how many places can you think of that would give such a massive jerk a second chance?”

“Gee, thanks!”

We shared a laugh together, as if we’d been friends for a lifetime.
Simon was one of the few things keeping me sane throughout those first few months. Whereas everybody else seemed to either be a weirdo or hate me immediately, he was always a bro. Maybe it’s a species thing, we are the closest common ancestors in town after all. Great, now I’m once again gonna spend tonight wondering whether or not humans existed in this world.

I looked back towards Gruff’s grave. It looked kinda nice in the snow.
I wonder if an afterlife exists in this world too…

~Author’s Notes~
This has been one of my favourite episodes of My Place to both write and draw for.
Keen-eyed viewers may recognise this as a recreation of the same scene from season one, where the mayor first learns of Gruff’s passing. For those wondering, yes, there is a custom sign PWP that looks like a grave where Gruff used to live in the “real” Place.

It’s been a whole week since season two began, and now the series will return to its usual “out-when-its-out” approach instead of being daily. I hope you all continue to enjoy the ride regardless because there’s still so much more to get through.

‘till next time!