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When the train finally pulls into New Leaf, you’re relieved to finally escape the strange blue cat and his prying questions. Why does he care whether or not you have enough money to start life in a new town?
You don’t notice how his gaze follows you as you exit the train, the friendly smile that lit his face having faded as you turned your back.
As you step out of the tiny station and into the harsh light of the summer sun, you’re ambushed by a group of animals. They all shout something in unison, but you’re too overwhelmed by the blinding light and sudden noise to comprehend what they say.
“We’re so glad you’ve finally arrived, Mayor!” a blonde dog expresses enthusiastically.
You don’t notice the slight apprehension in the eyes of the animals surrounding you.
“There must be some sort of mistake. I’m not the mayor,” you correct quickly.
You don’t notice the way the dog’s expression freezes, or the way her eyes widen ever so slightly.
“Oh- don’t be silly! Of course you’re our mayor, we were told you were coming today! And here you are,” she reassures.
“No, you don’t understand-” you try to explain.
“Come on, I’ll show you to the town hall. By the way, my name is Isabelle. It’s great that someone as young as you wants to take over as mayor. Our last mayor just retired, but he held the position for many, many years.”
You don’t notice how she almost chokes while introducing herself, or how her face crumbles after she turns around to lead the way, or how her voice catches on “last mayor.”
You enter the small town hall, and Isabelle brings you around to the desk in the back, already cluttered with a plethora of documents. She pulls her chair up next to you and drops a stack of forms on the already paper-strewn tabletop.
“So, obviously there are some things you need to fill out to make everything official. It’s easy. I’ll just ask you the questions and you can answer, and I’ll write everything down so it goes smoothly. Sound good?” she enthuses, and you nod dazedly.
“Okay, name,” she begins, starting to write before you can open your mouth.
You don’t notice how shaky she is as she erases her mistake, having begun to write the wrong name on the line.
“Um, how about I just fill this out, and you can go deal with real estate? You do need to own a house for this to be finalized…” she nervously trails off, smiling.
You exit the office to be met with a droopy-eyed raccoon.
“Oh ho! Nice to meet you. I understand you’re our new mayor? I’m Tom Nook. I handle real estate in New Leaf. I work up on Main Street. If you ever need any sort of remodeling done, do not hesitate to stop by! Now, I’m here to settle the matter about your new home. You don’t happen to have a location picked out already, hm?” he speaks in a professional, business-like voice.
You shake your head.
“Perfect! We can do that right now. Just lead the way, and I’ll be right behind you. Give me a signal when you find a location that strikes your fancy.”
You let him follow you around the little village, stopping every so often to glance at the map you received from Isabelle. What the physical layout of the land lacks in complexity is made up in beauty. You’re captivated by the waterfall on the far side of town. It’s more than a trickle, but it isn’t ostentatiously loud. You think the patch of land behind the river would be a lovely place to live. The steady rush provides comforting white noise, and the location is away from the heavy traffic areas, but not too far from the places you know you will come to frequent. You tell this to to the raccoon, and he smiles a closed-eye smile.
You don’t notice his tail wagging ever so slightly faster.
“Preparations will begin right away! In the mean time, I’ll set you up with a tent so you’ll have somewhere to stay until your house is finished… tomorrow morning!”
The tent is small and breezy, but not uncomfortably cold. You place what few belongings you brought with you inside. You figure you should get to know the locals, considering you had (not quite) agreed to take the position of mayor. You had passed a few animals when you were looking for a place to build your house, but they had done nothing but glance at you. While the figures of authority seemed pleasant enough, the villagers gave off almost a cold vibe. You wonder if they will warm up to you in time.
You exit the tent
The first animal to catch your eye is a little blue koala wearing a yellow checkered shirt. You approach her, introducing yourself as mayor and greeting her pleasantly.
“Oh, the new mayor? It’s about time, I wasn’t sure how long Tortimer was going to last after taking his job back again. I suppose he got used to the luxury of living on a tropical island, because he wasn’t doing so well back in the mayor’s chair. Dear, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Yuka. Nice to meet you, tsk tsk.”
“Taking his job back? What do you mean?”
“Oh yes, didn’t anyone tell you? He-”
Whatever would have followed is lost as Isabelle makes a reappearance between the two of you, looking flustered.
“I finished the paperwork! I see you’ve met Yuka. Good job, it’s good to get to know the locals as mayor. If you’ll follow me back to town hall, I can explain some more things to you about your job.”
You bid farewell to the snooty koala and retrace your steps to the town’s base of operations. The rest of your prepping goes smoothly.
You don’t notice how Isabelle refuses to meet your eyes.
She explains to you that you need a one-hundred percent approval rating before you can assume the position. Simple things, like watering flowers and doing menial tasks for villagers, are what will get you there. On top of that, you need to collect ten-thousand bells for a deposit for your new house. Your first day in town has found you unexpectedly busy, but you don’t mind.
Despite your contentedness, a cold wind blows, sending shivers down your spine and chilling you almost to the core. Some of the villagers take to you immediately, but some of them are reluctant to make your acquaintance.
The biggest shock comes when you go to the clothes store. You are greeted by a blue porcupine immediately, her snout twitching cheerfully. Another porcupine catches your eye, sitting sullenly at the sewing machine in the back. You make your way toward her, scooting around her counterpart and the display of clothes until you’re inches away. You introduce yourself as the new mayor. She turns her long nose to you, eyes widening confusedly, before they well up with tears and she turns away.
“Sable!” the blue porcupine scolds, “You can’t keep doing this!”
“What’s wrong with her?” You are taken aback by the sudden display of emotion.
“I’m so sorry, just ignore her. She’s… lost too many people in her life. Try coming back later.”
You aren’t sure what to make of this, so you exit the tiny shop into the adjoining building. A third porcupine greets you, and unlike the blue one, her eyes bore into you coldly. Her voice lacks inflection, almost as if she’s a robot. This part of the store is more polished, less home-like than its neighbor. You don’t stay long.
Main Street is desolate. Clouds have gathered overhead, rolling languidly across the horizon. The air is sharp with the smell of impending rain. You skitter back down the steps, hopping across the train tracks and back to the residential area of the village.
The recycling shop houses pink and blue alpacas, the blue one asleep and the pink one gazing wistfully at his back. Pelly, at the post office, gives you a tired smile, having been working 24 hour shifts since her sister quit the night shift.
The buildings that stand empty along the row don’t look long abandoned.
You have to plant a tree to commemorate coming into office. Part of the ceremony includes you chopping down the previous mayor’s tree. It doesn’t look all that old, despite all the years that Tortimer was mayor.
You don’t notice.