At 21 I never believed my life would turn out the way it did. I was going down a straight path all that time and somehow I turned off course and ended up in my wonderful new life.
I spent my whole life the youngest, the one who had to do something extraordinary to get noticed by dad. Having an older sister and older brother who both excelled at everything they did made becoming who I am hard. They weren't mean about it but it was hard when my dad praised them and then turned to me with a look that made me want to hide. I didn't get trophies like them, or excel in sports. I got good grades and spent a lot of time reading . I only had a few friends and they moved away when we went to college. I did achieve one thing my siblings didn't. When I entered my college I decided I would get my degree as fast as I could. So at 21 I graduated with a Master's in Tourism and the top 5% of my class. But even then dad was unapprovingly and I felt lost. Even when I did something amazing, it wasn't good enough. I was my sibling's shadow and my dad's disappointment. If it wasn't for my mom I would have never made it. She was my rock and support group which made my next decision harder than anything I have ever done. I had decided to move away…Far away where my siblings couldn't affect me. Go to some little town, make some new friends and help them build their tourism or something…a friend of mine, Haru, had moved to Animal Crossing and he was doing fine among the animals. Dad threw a fit but I still got on that train. Mom waved and Dad pouted. I was ready to start a new adventure and found out who I am. Tailvill was my destination and I was ready to move right in.
As I watched the country side go by I wondered what the little sea town was like. What kind of job I could get, the house I could have, and what fruit grew there. My mom loved gardening and grew peach trees at home. My siblings were always too busy to help her out but I always tried to make time to help, so soon I grew to love gardening.
It was about halfway to town that a Blue and white cat came up to me. His red eyes matched the diamonds on his sweater.
"Oh! Excuse me! I have a quick question for you?" He put a paw to his chin and turned his head curiously. "It's now 11:30 am, on February 21st, 2015, right?"
I was a bit taken back by the very specific question, almost surprised he didn't ask for the exact seconds. But I had made a resolution to make friends so I smiled.
"Yep!" I couldn't seem to find another way to answer but tried to sound as friendly as possible. I was never the most outgoing of my parent's children. In most situations I was awkward and now was no exception. However the Cat didn't seem to notice my awkward answer.
"I was right!" He smiled at me in an equally friendly way. "Oh good! This watch of mine, it gets thrown off really easily sometimes." He shrugged his shoulders and looked mockingly annoyed. I smiled which I think he had planned and smiled back. "…I'm just gonna plop down in the seat across from you. If you don't mind of course." I motioned to the seat and he took it gladly. Long train rides could get quite lonesome without company and I was happy to have it, seeing as he seemed like quite a nice guy.
"By the way, you…hold it!" He raised his voice suddenly causing me to flinch. "Can I ask your name?" I chuckled to myself seeing as I hadn't asked his name either.
"Sylvi."
"Oh, Sylvi…?" I looked at him, thinking maybe I had the name of an ex-girlfriend or something. But he again smiled. "Well, that's a fantastically great name!" It was the first time anyone had complemented me like that and it felt good, especially since my sister was the one who usually got the complements.
"Cute, right? It was a birthday present." The cat laughed wholeheartedly with his head thrown back.
"Yeah. You seem like a pretty cute girl to me! And that was a good one…I'll have to remember that!" I blushed but didn't look too much into it.
"I know, right? And your name?" Rover looked a little embarrassed.
"How rude of me. I'm Rover. Pleased to meet you." He closed his eyes and kind of bounced to and fro on the seat. "So, Sylvi…Tell me, where are you headed today?"
" Tailvill."
"The Town of Tailvill?" I wasn't sure if he was heard of hearing or just being silly.
"Uh-huh." Again Rover put his paw to his face in a curious manner.
"Hmmmm. Tailvill, Yeah, OK…Don't think I've heard of it. I wonder where it is." He jumped up suddenly grabbing something in his pockets. "Oh, Right! Map, map, map…Let's take a look along this train line…" He must have been quite the traveler to keep a map of the train lines in his pocket but I decided not to question it. "Ah, may this is right here?" He showed me a small map of a little sea side town with only a few residents.
"That's it!"
"Heh!" he grinned, "I'm glad we found it! This is Tailvill, is it?" I nodded. "So do you go to Tailsvill very often?"
"Actually…I've never been there." He smiled again not looked at all as shocked as people had before.
"oh, today is your first time?" I was ready for him to judge me when he sang out. "That sounds like tons of fun! Can I ask, why you're headed there?" Again I nodded.
"I'm moving. I'm turning over a new leaf." He chuckled like I had made some sort of inside joke between us.
"Oh, wow is that right? Sounds pretty good to me!" He chuckled. "But you said this is your first time there, right?" I nodded. "Does that mean you haven't seen your house yet?" This time I felt a little silly. I was moving far away from home…to a little town I had never been too…no idea about a house or a job and telling complete strangers. But I was this far and wasn't going back now since I spent all my money on the train ticket and needed this experience. Not to mention, what my dad would think and say if I turned around with my tail between my legs.
"I'll get a place there." I said as confident as I could, praying to the dear lord I sounded convincing.
"I see," Another worry free smile. "So you're going house hunting once you get there, Heh. I guess it will be a lot more fun that way! I hope you find an awesome little house and have tons of fun in your happy, new town!" I was just about to ask him where he was from when the conductor called back.
"Now Arriving in Tailvill. Tailvill station." Rover looked back at me with a smile.
"Oh, Hey! Looks like we're about to arrive in Tailvill." He continued to bob about the seat. "Thanks for chatting with me! It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a train ride this much. Come to think of it, I've been riding the rails an awful lot again lately."
"Again?" I asked as he sat with his paw to his face.
"Haven't done this much traveling by train since 2002 or so…Man, that's weird." I don't think he actually heard me ask him about his time in 2002 but I ran out of time as we pulled into the station. I stood up and grabbed my things, small bag with a few clothes, from above. As I went to head for the door I turned back.
"Thanks for talking to me Rover. You helped me a lot." He grinned a cat like grin and bobbed on the seat.
"Good luck, Sylvi! Bye-bye!" And even now I wonder if I'll see him again.
"This Stop is Tailvill. Everyone for Tailwill, exit here! Eek, Eek" The porter monkey at the gate called out.
It was a brisk February morning and there was still snow on the ground. Something we didn't get much of at home but it felt good. New. I stepped out the door of the train station with a new song in my heart.
"You see that girl?" someone called out.
"That's gotta be her, right?" another cried.
"Someone say something!" a third whispered.
"Ok, Everyone!" A small cute yellow puppy called out.
"Here we go…Ready? And…
From those of us in Tailvill…
WELCOME!" the group yelled!
I jumped back in surprise falling back onto the steps of the station. The puppy ran to me and helped me up.
"Mayor! We're so happy you're finally here!" I was still in shock and looked up at the name on the station.
"Is this the right stop?" The puppy looked at me for a moment in confusion.
"Um…" Then she began to squirm uncomfortably almost like she needed to pee, with a face of seer distress. "Don't pretend you don't know! Didn't you hear the conductor announcing our town name? You said you would arrive on this train! And we've all been waiting your arrival!" I glanced around at the smiling faces around me.
"but I'm not the Mayor..."I managed to squeak. I was getting very uncomfortable and I felt bad but this was just like a bad dream. Finally the puppy smiled.
"You can't fool me! No one else got off the train! You're a funny one, aren't you? Tee hee!" Suddenly I had a flash of Rover…could he have?
"Hey! Wait…" I started to feel my face fall into despair myself and looked around for a way out.
"Well, let's continue this discussion at the town hall, shall we? Here's a map of Tailvill for your reference, Mayor Sylvi." I took the map and looked back at her.
"How did you know my name?" She pointed at the map almost ignoring me. "There's town hall, so let's head that way together, shall we?" She took my hand and began to lead me as my head began to swim with confusion and worry. What is going on here?
Almost as if I had fainted, the next thing I knew I was sitting on the town hall's black sofa. It was a simple room with class and very official looking with a counter stacked with paper and some lovely sunflowers blooming in a vase. A plaque sat on the desk that read, Isabelle. Behind there was a large desk with more papers, some file cabinets and a portrait of an old tortoise.
"Mayor, this town hall will be your base of operations." She smiled. "Oh! And I completely forgot to mention I'm on staff here too! I'm Isabelle, your secretary, and I'm here to help you in any way I can." I was still in shock and couldn't speak. I continue to look around until I found she was staring at me. She blushed. "Sorry. But if I may be frank, I was surprised to see someone as young as you step off the train." And I'm surprised to step off a train somewhere I have never been and be dubbed mayor. "I mean, our former mayor held the position for many, many years and was quite set in his ways." I glanced at the portrait in the corner behind the desk. "But youth is a breath of fresh air. And exactly the new image our town needs! You're perfect for the Job!"
"Now wait one moment…" I finally said finding my voice. "How do you know?"
Isabelle smiled.
"I can just tell."
It was the first time I had ever been told that I was perfect for something. And these people needed a mayor since the other didn't show up. So…why not? Maybe Mayor is who I am…Maybe Tailvill could make me my own person. Maybe I can start this new leaf…