When he had entered the unassuming valley, invited by that strange not-quite-mayor Dunhill, he had met that woman while she was in the fields. Her overalls were stained with mud or perhaps something else. Her long, blonde hair was plastered against her forehead and neck from sweat. With a strength that he didn't think such a small person would have, she buried her hoe into the ground in front of her, turning the earth over and over, until the soil was loose and healthy and ready for seeds.

She saw them approach from the entrance to her farm. She put down her hoe and wiped her forehead, straightening to greet them. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat and her blue eyes were bright from the exercise. Amir glanced at the earth around her. There were at least sixty-four squares she had plowed thoroughly.

"Rio!" Dunhill called once they were talking distance.

"Hi, Dunhill!" she answered back. Her eyes slid past Dunhill and landed squarely on Amir curiously. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Prince Amir." Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead, disappearing beneath her bangs, damp from sweat. "He's here to study the town restoration plans you've been working on."

The farmer glanced at the old man. "How did you ever get a prince here, Dunhill?" She shook her head in disbelief and a little bit of mirth. "You're incredible." She turned toward the prince with a wide smile. "My name is Rio. I'm the farmer in these parts. It's nice to meet you!"

Amir inclined his head graciously toward her. "Dunhill has been telling me about the amazing work you've been doing around the town. I thought I could observe to help my home country in its own restoration."

"Well, Echo is pleased to have you here! This place isn't much, but I hope you enjoy your stay, Prince Amir!"

But he shook his head. "Please, call me Amir. I am neither a prince nor a royal here."

If it's possible, her smile grew even wider and Amir thought he had never met anyone who seemed to shine brighter simply by curving the corners of her lips upward. "I like you!" she declared suddenly and laughed at Amir's taken aback expression. "Let's be friends!"

She took her work gloves off her right hand and held it out in the standard Western mode of greeting. As he placed his hand in hers, the calloused, rough skin of her palm took him aback. These are the hands of a farmer, the prince realized, of one who plowed the earth, sowed seeds, and breathed life into the fields. When they let go, Amir absentmindedly rubbed his own palm, smooth and untouched by hard work.

When he met her eyes, bright from the exercise and as clear as the blue sky above them, he couldn't help but smile back.

Amir was walking along the forest road, admiring the way the wilderness was allowed to flourish, while staying perfectly acceptable to human habitation. He was so caught up in appreciating the beauty of the area that he hadn't noticed the rustling of the bushes behind him until two people came tumbling out to crash into him. Amir was just barely able to keep himself standing, but he couldn't say much about the people who crashed into him. Lying at his feet were the village children, Toni and Niko. Amir had met them not too long ago, when he had seen them running rambunctiously throughout the town. He enjoyed seeing their endless energy as they played.

He bent down toward them, "Are the two of you alright?" His gentle hands moved to pull them back onto their feet.

Toni jumped up and yelled, forgetting for the moment that Amir was there. "That was awesome!"

Niko got up a little more calmly, thanking the prince for his help before saying, "Toni, that was dangerous! Your mom's going to be angry if she found out what we were doing!"

The rambunctious boy immediately flinched at the thought of his mother being angry. "Well, yeah, but…it was so much fun!" He was back to his usual self. He grabbed Niko's arm. "We've gotta do it one more time!"

Amir chuckled lightly at their exchange and that's when they noticed him. Niko turned to him and smiled brightly, his chubby face scrunching up in glee. "Hi, Amir! Sorry for crashing into you!"

Toni, however, started to panic, face paling. "Y-you're not gonna tell my mom, are you?"

Before Amir could answer, another high-pitched voice interrupted him. "Toni! Niko!" It called. "Are you alright?"

The prince turned around to see a little girl with blonde hair tied up into a bun at the top of her head. Her cheeks were flushed from running and her face was twisted in concern. The blue ribbon tying up her hair was beginning to come loose. Seeing that her friends were okay, her face immediately changed from concern to adorable anger as she said, "Toni, you and Niko could have really gotten hurt! Don't do that again!"

Toni only smirked. "Aw, Hina don't be like that! It was fun!"

But Hina wasn't backing down. "I'll tell your mom on you!"

The boy's face paled once again.

As much as Amir enjoyed watching their interaction, he decided at this moment to clear his throat. All three young eyes stared up at him. Amir bent down a little to look at the girl who had just been telling Toni off. He smiled gently at her. "I don't think I've met you, yet. I'm Amir. What's your name?"

When she heard his name, her gray eyes widened and her face split into a smile as she grabbed his hand. "Are…are you the prince Mommy and Daddy have been telling me about?"

Amir smiled sheepishly at her. She was so adorable. "Well, I…" he began.

But she cut him off when she exclaimed. "I've always wanted to be a princess!" she hopped up and down eagerly. "Tell me, tell me! What do princes and princesses do?"

Amir laughed at her eager display and said, "Well, princes and princesses have to work hard for their people. They have to do everything they can to make their country into a great place where the people can be happy."

Hina's wide grin made Amir melt a little. She seemed satisfied with his answered as she immediately turned toward the boys who were with her and said, "Let's go play on the mountain!"

Amir thought this was his cue to leave and was about to pull his hand away from hers, but she only gripped his hand tighter. She turned her wide grey eyes back toward him and asked, "Won't you come play with us, too?"

The prince had never met a child so endearing as her. A small, cynical part of him couldn't help but think that, given time, she will become a truly powerful woman, breaking the hearts of many suitors.

But that wasn't until the far future. For now, all he could say was, "Yes."

They spent the whole evening together.

The next day, while Amir was out reading in his garden, Sanjay approached him holding the hand of a little girl with golden hair, who smiled brightly at him.

"Prince Amir," his loyal companion announced, a twinkle in his eye as he let go of her hand so that she might walk closer to him. "Ms. Hina has come to visit you."

"Hi, Amir!" she said cheerfully. "Will you come and play with me again today?"

Amir walked through the town plaza where Rod and Neil had their stalls set up. He stopped to bow toward them in greeting. "Hello, Neil, Rod. Fine weather today, isn't it?"

Neil grunted in acknowledgement as Rod replied cheerfully, "Yup! It's been great weather, recently! Makes it easy to do my work."

As if in response to Rod's cheer, one of the puppies—a black and white one with a happily wagging tail—barked from behind the fence he kept all the animals he was selling. Rod laughed as the little animal pawed enthusiastically at the fence. Rod reached in to pull him out and the dog greeted him with a friendly lick on his cheek. Amir couldn't help but smile at the endearing display. Rod glanced at the prince then held the dog toward him. "Wanna play with him?"

Neil immediately protested from his side of the plaza. "Rod, you're gonna let him play with your dog when he's probably not even going to buy him?"

Rod only stuck his tongue out at his companion. "Pets are meant to be played with, Neil, whether they're going to be bought or not."

Neil only grumbled in response, but didn't say anything more.

Amir chuckled at their exchange and held out his arms to accept the little animal. Rod placed him carefully in his arms and the dog licked Amir's cheek. The prince's heart immediately warmed. He placed the puppy down and began to pet him, scratching him behind the ear and rubbing his belly. The puppy whined when Amir stopped and stood up.

"Rod, thank you very much for your ti—" Amir paused to laugh as the puppy nudged at his hand.

Rod laughed with him. "He likes you!"

The puppy bounced all around the prince, yipping at him cutely. Rod handed Amir a ball. "Here! Tell him to go fetch!"

Amir took the ball and glanced down at the black and white puppy. He looked at the Amir and the ball, his tail wagging furiously, his tongue lolling out as he panted in expectation. The prince threw ball across the plaza yelling, "Go, fetch!"

The puppy immediately bounded across the plaza after the ball, grabbed it, then brought back to the prince. The small animal dropped it by his feet then looked back up at him, tail wagging.

Amir couldn't help it. He took the ball, slightly wet from the dog's slobber, and threw it again, this time running after the dog when it went after it. Amir laughed loudly as it grabbed the ball when it landed then turned around to launch itself in Amir's arms so enthusiastically that the prince lost his balance and fell onto the stone of the plaza. The puppy crawled all over him, the ball dropped and forgotten beside him.

Amir carried the little guy back to Rod and handed him over feeling slightly sheepish. "I greatly enjoyed my time with your dog, but I need to give him back to you."

Rod winked at him as he took the dog into his arms. "You know, I am a pet seller. If you want, you can have this dog all to yourself!"

The prince blushed, as he knew Rod had seen right through him. "I-I've never taken care of a dog before in my life. I don't think I would be a suitable caretaker for him."

"I can teach you!" Rod looked at him expectantly, while holding the dear little thing. Amir's eyes widened as he saw the combined cuteness of both Rod and the dog try to win his heart over, but he squashed the warmth in his chest with stubborn determination.

"I am sorry, Rod," he said. "But I don't think it would be a good idea."

He tried very hard not to be affected by the forlorn looks from Rod and the puppy as he walked swiftly away from them and out of the plaza.

The next day and the day after that, Amir visited Rod. Every time, he'd play with the puppy. Amir knew it was a bad idea since all he was succeeding at was getting attached to the furry animal. He always walked away slightly guilty for refusing Rod and the puppy.

Amir walked into the town plaza with the full intention of telling Rod that he will not be coming to visit to play with the puppy anymore, but lost his composure when he saw the adorable little thing. At the sight of him, the same black and white puppy he had been playing with began yipping enthusiastically behind the fence. Amir smiled and indulged to reach down to pet it as Rod approached him.

"You know, he really likes you."

Amir sighed. "I like him, too."

The puppy perked up as if he understood what Amir was saying. Rod looked at him expectantly as he said for the fourth day in a row. "You can buy him, you know."

Amir struggled with that. He really, really struggled with that. But he only sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rod. You have been so kind to let me play with him these past few days, but…"

He looked down at the puppy and at the wide dark eyes and the enthusiastically wagging tail. The tiny animal yipped cutely at the prince. At that moment, Amir knew he made a mistake.

He sheepishly turned toward the pet seller and said very slowly. "If…If you would teach me how to take care of him, I would like to buy him."

He did not notice the triumphant smirk Rod gave Neil nor the apathetic snort the animal dealer gave him back in exchange.

That day, Amir walked into the mansion with a new puppy in his arms. Sanjay took one look at him, then at the puppy, and laughed out loud. "Oh, Master, I knew you had too soft a heart."

Rio's farm was so productive that, some days, bundles and bundles of fresh vegetables and animal products would be stuffed into Emma's shipping box until it was near bursting. Amir nearly winced when he saw Emma reach into her shipping box and pull out packages upon packages of fresh produce to pile them atop her shoulders before bring them over to her cart to ship.

She noticed Amir passing by when, with hardly a grunt, she placed the items onto the back of her cart. Her horse whinnied impatiently. "Hello, Prince Amir! Fine weather we're having today!"

"Oh, Ms. Emma, please," the prince said as he approached her. "Call me Amir. I'm no prince here."

The cheerful woman chuckled. "You tell that to Hina. She's been gushing on and on about you!"

Amir's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I do my best, but she's surprisingly stubborn when it comes to things like that."

"Oh, you know how kids are. They have their heads in the clouds and their hearts in their fantasies. For Hina, it's probably a dream come true for her to meet a real and true prince. And especially such a kind and understanding one like you."

Amir shook his head. "The kind and understanding people is everyone in this village. I have never seen a community so close and tight-knit as yours. This is a very special town."

Emma laughed, a loud one, reverberating right from her gut. Amir smiled at the sound of it. "I'm glad you like it! I'm very fond of this place myself, been here all my life."

"Really?" he asked, curious.

"Yup! My grandpa was a shipper way back in the day; my papa was one, too. I just took on the family business."

He watched as she effortlessly loaded another package onto her cart. "And you like this work?"

"It's hard work, for sure, but the feel of using your muscles and helping out your friends is the best. Plus, I've met tons of great people while doing my shipping rounds. I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else."

Amir wrinkled his brow, trying to understand. "So, you love this job because you can help your friends succeed?"

The shipper stopped her work and thought about that for a moment. "Honestly, I've never thought about it like that, but yeah. That's absolutely right." She gave him another one of her bright, blinding grins. "Every time I sell one of these products, I'm not only profiting myself, but helping my friends profit. By introducing their products to others, I expand their business while expanding mine. We help each other succeed. And I guess, that's what I love about being a shipper."

Something stirred in his chest at those words. He glanced at the cheerful woman as she hummed a song while she worked. "Ms. Emma, this was truly a lovely conversation. Thank you."

She glanced at him. "Oh, sure! One of these days, Prince, you'll have to come to my house and enjoy some of my apple pie! Clement himself says it's the best he's ever tasted!"

Amir smiled and nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Everyday, promptly at six o' clock in the morning, he would hear the mailbox outside of his mansion open and close as the bubbly mail carrier dropped her daily newspaper inside. Amir often looked outside of his window, although he was barely awake to watch as the girl in orange skipped away, whistling a cheerful song.

Amir held the utmost respect for this woman who woke up at ungodly hours of the morning just to fulfill her duties as the mailer of the town.

This particular morning, Amir woke up early. Glancing at his bedside clock, he noticed that it was only five in the morning. Amir sighed. It was his own fault. He had gone to bed early the night before. Groaning, he threw his blankets off of him. His puppy, which had been sleeping soundly at the foot of his bed, blinked awake at his master's movements.

Amir smiled sleepily at the wakened pup. He reached out a hand to gently cup the tiny animal's jaw with his fingers and scratch him there. "Oh, good morning, Raki. Sorry for waking you."

The puppy only howled softly as he affectionately licked the prince's hand before going back to sleep. Amir pulled on a robe, not bothering to tie his long, snow-white hair into his usual ponytail as he went downstairs to make himself tea. When he had done so, he took the warm mug and walked outside to stroll in his garden. He smiled as he caressed the soft petals of the pink roses.

He was in deep thought when a cheerful voice behind him said, "Oh! Morning, Amir! Didn't think you'd be up and about so early!"

He turned around to greet the orange-haired mail carrier. "Good morning. Doing your usual rounds?"

"Yup!" she said while she dropped a newspaper into his mailbox. She walked toward him, cheerful as ever. "Dunhill put me in charge of delivering mail, after all! I've got to do my best."

Amir shook his head in admiration. "You and everyone in this town are such hard workers."

"Of course!" the woman giggled, "We love this place so much!"

Amir thought of Emma and her shipping business and couldn't help but smile. "I can see that. It's inspiring."

"Oh! By the way, did you hear? There's going to be another festival this Saturday!"

"Another one?" Amir chuckled. "This town sure loves its celebrations."

"Right?" Tina squealed. "That's why I love it so much here! I'm always ready for a party!"

"You know," he began, "In my home country, we never had this many festivals. We would have two or three throughout the year, but that's nothing compared to Echo."

Tina tilted her head in curiosity. "Oh, really? But festivals are so much fun! You can talk to all the villagers, have friendly competitions, and even learn about all the latest gossip!" She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "I get some of my best scoops from listening in on conversations during festivals."

The prince laughed at her straightforwardness. "Is that why this community is so close? Because of all the festivals you celebrate together?"

The mail carrier shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I wouldn't really know, since I'm not much of a town developer or anything. You should probably talk to Dunhill or Rio about that stuff. What I do know is that I became best friends with Felicity because we ended up paired together during the Foliage Festival. Who knew she loved sweets as much as me!

"Not to mention, couples have been popping up all over the place because of the festivals!" she continued. "Did you know? Neil and Rio went to the Starry Night Festival with each other last season and ever since then, they've been going everywhere together! Not to mention, Iroha and Soseki who danced with each other during the New Year's Celebration. And Allen and Yuri were impossible to separate during the Music Festival. It's really sweet to see all my friends like this, and I'm certain it wouldn't have been possible without the opportunity provided from all these festivals."

"You really pay attention to your friends, don't you, Ms. Tina?"

Said girl blinked at the prince for a while before she let out a laugh. "Ms. Tina? Oh, Amir, aren't we also friends? You only need to call me Tina!"

Now, it was Amir's turn to blink. "Friends?"

"Of course! Didn't we have a great time checking out all the different types of honey Rio made during the Honey Festival last week? You were so funny when you had eaten so much that you fell asleep against a tree after the sugar crash!"

The prince's face burned red-hot. He was hoping she would not mention that.

Tina smiled gently at him, giggling at his embarrassment. "Amir, You're just as much a part of this town as everyone else is. You're our neighbor, a friend!"

Warmth blossomed in his chest. "Do you really think so? That I…am also a part of this town?"

"Of course, silly!" Tina giggled. At the sight of her smile that spoke of sincerity and honesty and truth, Amir wondered why he ever thought any different.

Amir had passed by the restaurant multiple times with the full intention of going inside and trying the strange foods that he sometimes caught the patrons in the window eating, but right when he would get within five feet of the store, his courage would fail him and he'd end up going home to ask Sanjay to cook him something.

This was perhaps his seventh attempt at trying to go to the restaurant. He approached the welcoming steps leading up to the door and abruptly paused. When he did so, however, another figure crashed into him and Amir stumbled forward in surprise.

"Hey, watch it!" the rough voice behind him said.

Amir immediately began to form an apology as he turned around and saw who it was that had bumped into him. Amir inclined his head in greeting. "Please excuse me, Neil. I hadn't realized you were behind me."

Neil just looked away and scowled. "Yeah, it's fine."

They stood there in silence for a bit before Amir picked up his courage. "Were you, perhaps, about to go into the restaurant for lunch?"

The animal dealer nodded his head. "Yeah, what of it?"

"May I join you?"

The man before him looked stricken, like he really hadn't expected Amir to ask him to lunch. But he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sure. Do what you want." Neil passed by him without another word and entered the restaurant, Amir trailing behind.

When they were inside, Amir couldn't help but stare at the rustic tablecloths and the pictures hung all over the walls. He stopped to gaze at a photo of Clement, Rio, and Felicity with arms around each other grinning excitedly at the camera, with what looks like a newly built restaurant behind them. He couldn't help but smile at the joy exuding from the people in the picture.

He snapped out of his reverie when Neil called to him from the other side of the restaurant irritably. Amir immediately went to his side, apologizing as they sat down. Amir gazed at the strange foods on the menu, wondering what in the world they were. His brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to make his decision. "I…" he began. "I'll get the omelet rice."

When Clement took his order and left to cook it, he looked at Neil a little sheepishly. "I've never seen these types of foods before. Omelet rice is the only one I recognized." He didn't want to say that he hadn't the courage to try anything else.

Neil shrugged. "I don't think the menu is that special, but…I guess this really is your first time."

Amir only chuckled a little. "I apologize for having you eat with me. It must have been very unexpected."

But the animal dealer only shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I like this restaurant anyway. I eat here every day."

"Every day?" Amir said, taken aback. "Is the food truly that good?"

At this, Neil grinned. "Yeah! Everything on the menu is great!"

Amir was surprised at the expression on his companion's face; he was so used to seeing Neil angry or irritated. The prince couldn't help but wonder why the animal dealer didn't smile like this more often, when it was so becoming on the man's face.

Very soon, Clement came out with their prepared food. Amir looked at the strange dish in front of him and thought, Now or never. He took his spoon and scooped a little into his mouth.

Immediately, a large grin broke across his face. "This is absolutely delicious!" Amir said, looking at Neil. "I mean, Sanjay's cooking is great, but this food has real depth of flavor."

Neil just laughed. "Instead of analyzing, eat it! It won't do any good to let it get cold."

Amir nodded and continued eating his omelet rice. "You know, I am surprised every day by this place."

Neil glanced at him curiously over his food. "What do you mean?"

"This entire place: The people, the forest, the river, the mountain, the town itself… How everyone can be so happy and so lively. Even the wild animals seem content with living here. It's as if everyone is working together to live in harmony, to make this place as wonderful as it could possibly be." Amir shook his head almost as if in disbelief, smiling as his spoon dipped into the rich food in front of him. "I've never been to a town like this, where everyone seems to love it here just as ardently as their neighbor."

"You know, it wasn't always like this," Neil said, taking a bite of his food. "People used to leave this place all the time because there was nothing here." He paused before adding, "But I would never leave. There's just something about this place, you know? It's my home."

At that moment, Amir had the strangest feeling that Neil wasn't just talking for himself, but for the whole town. Like those words were echoed in the hearts of all the residents. In his mind, he thought of the children and their adventures in the forest, of cheerful Rod presenting his customers with a well-behaved puppy, of Emma lifting the contents in her shipping box upon her strong shoulders, of Tina running throughout town delivering mail, of Neil and the secret smiles he reserved for just those select few friends, of Clement smiling proudly in front of a newly built restaurant. Of the farmer who built all of these things with her bare hands.

The prince smiled at the animal dealer and said, "I think I understand what you mean."

When they finished their meal and he bid Neil farewell with a promise to have lunch with him again, Amir arrived back at his mansion to the sight of Sanjay working in the garden. His servant was on his hands and knees, pulling out weeds from among the flowers.

Amir approached him and Sanjay looked up. Amir saw the way the sun glinted off the sweat upon his friend's brow, making him shine under the light. "Oh, welcome home, Master."

"Sanjay, may I help you weed the garden?" Amir asked.

Immediately, the polite young man shook his head. "Master, I could never ask you to…"

"My friend, I am neither your master nor your prince. In this town, I am simply Amir and I would like to help you weed our garden."

Sanjay's eyes widened slightly at Amir's very deliberate choice of words. Then his face broke out into one of his gentle smiles as he said, "Yes, Master. I would very much appreciate your help."

For the first time, Amir got onto his hands and knees, pressing his palms deep into the soil, feeling the damp earth between his fingers as he grasped at weeds and pulled them out. The work was long and hard because the garden was so big and Amir didn't really know what he was doing. But with gentle instruction from Sanjay, Amir eventually got into the rhythm of the work. The prince wondered how his servant usually dealt with this all by himself. Then, he thought about the farmer and how her small body plowed into the earth with all her strength; how she managed an entire plot of land with not much more than her own steely determination.

Amir felt sweat drip down his forehead and moved to wipe it away not realizing that instead of wiping away the sweat, he had only succeeded in wiping dirt onto his face. He continued to work.

When he had finished, Sanjay, the dear man, took one look at him, laughed and said, "Hard work becomes you, my lord."

Amir grinned in response. "I was thinking the same thing, my friend."

When autumn rolled around, Amir found himself back in his home country. He ate his normal cuisine. He was dressed every morning by his attendants. His paperwork was handed to him and promptly shuffled away when he was finished.

He walked the streets of his country, smelling the pungent odor of spices and herbs permeating the air. He listened to the bustle of the city life, of the music from the street performances he had remembered by heart, of the sound of trade and exchange and business.

He threw himself into his princely duties, with the observations he had gathered from Echo Town and its residents. He invested in new irrigation and water systems. He started village restoration plans. He oversaw city projects. He planned monthly festivals. As the season passed, Amir knew that given time, this country might also one day flourish, as that tiny, unassuming town did.

Amir was born in this country and he loved this place with all his heart.

But on days where he was left alone with no paperwork to finish, town agendas to approve, or festivals to plan, he would walk to the western window of his room, look out at the horizon, and wish he were home.