Hey everyone! It's been a long, long time since I've uploaded on this site. I can't even remember what my old account was called. So now I'm back, with something I just came up with a few hours ago. Hopefully you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Maybe I DO own Animal Crossing! ...Ok, maybe not :(

The Fate of LuckyTown

My name is Maple. I am a small brown bear, humbly living here in LuckyTown. I've lived here all my life, actually. When I was a cub my parents taught me to walk on the soft grass. As I grew they allowed me to dip my paws in the lake. I lost my first tooth when I fell into a pitfall. It wasn't my fault- I was being chased by bees!

My heart was first broken here in LuckyTown. It didn't happen how you'd think- I've never had a crush on anyone before. But I was devastated when my parents died. They'd gone to visit a distant town. Since I had just reached adulthood and crime was virtually unheard of around here, I was allowed to stay behind. Unfortunately on their way back there had been an accident. No one survived.

I received the news from Pete, and it had turned my world upside down. I spent the night weeping, huddled up between Rolf and Nan, my only two friends in the whole wide world. They too had grown up here with me, and they could feel my pain. I didn't think about how I would be the only bear around the house or how I suddenly had to support myself. I thought of none of that, I only cried.

Rolf brought me back to reality on the third night. The funeral had been earlier that day, and once again I had needed my friends to sleep over. But this time he snapped at me.

"My…my mommy," I sobbed for the umpteenth time. "I'll never see her smile again! And my dear father-"

"Knock it off!" Rolf roared unexpectedly. "No more crying Maple, no more!"

I was too shocked to move. I just sat there staring at him, my jaw hanging open. Nan's hooves clamped tightly around my waist.

"Rolf!" She hissed. "Leave poor Maple alone, kid! She has every reason to be sad."

"3 days," He ignored her. "It's been 3 days Maple. How much food do you have left in the fridge? And how will you pay the electric bill? Yes I know it's very sad, but Maple! Maple…." He sighed, then looked straight at me. "You have to think about these things."

"Rolf…" Nan said.

I was still a bit frozen from my friend's outburst, but I did consider what he said. Rolf's parents had not been like my parents. They had not coddled him. In fact, they skipped town when he was an adolescent. At first Nan and I had assumed he would leave to go stay with relatives, but apparently he had none that he could trust. No, Rolf was going to get by on his own. Though we rarely saw him those first few months afterwards, he eventually learned how to stay afloat and had been a proud independent ever since. If anyone knew what it was like to live without parents, it was him.

"I… I understand," I nodded slowly. "I get what you mean Rolf. I will work on it, but please, for now… I just need to cry."

And cry I did, but I never forgot his words. For you see, life is fickle. When tragedy hits us, we have to change. Because if we don't, it'll destroy us.

Of course all that had been years ago, the only reason I bothered to bring it up was because I'd been doing a lot of thinking lately. Thinking about life, responsibility, and friendship.

I'd made many more friends since my cub days. Freya and Blaire became my girlpals alongside Nan. Axel, Anchovy, and Camofrog complemented Rolf well and were like big brothers to me. But I wouldn't have met any of them if it hadn't been for Derrick. Derrick moved here about a year after my parent's death, and he'd really brought the place to life. Our shops expanded, our gardens grew, and more animals flocked here than I ever thought possible.

I hadn't seen him in 36 months.

That's right… 3 years to this day was the last time I ever saw him. Same as everyone else. Tortimer had ordered a meeting 2 nights ago on that very subject. He and Booker had decided they would break down the door if he didn't come out before the 3 year mark. It wasn't right for a citizen to stay cooped up for so long, they said.

Honestly I just think they were worried.

I know I was, he must be feeling so lonely by now. I often got lost in a good book or soap opera, but never for this long! He must've had a terrible weakness.

And so as promised we had all gathered outside his mansion of a house, waiting to see our friend for the first time in years.

"Alright animals!" Booker shouted. "Stand back! We're going to pick the lock now!"

"Can you imagine how much food he must have stashed in there?" Anchovy smiled. "I have a good share of apple crisps at my place, but 3 years worth! Chuurp!"

"Hmpf, it's always about food with you," Camofrog said. "I bet our little soldier has been beefing up, preparing to become LuckyTown's next greatest hero."

"Hero?" Blair crinkled her nose. "How can you be a hero and not have any social life whatsoever? That's so lame."

"I disagree," Freya huffed. "My favorite idol from Ms. Nintendique was once holed up in her office for weeks thanks to the paparazzi. Thankfully she was able to keep in touch with her adoring fans through letters."

Rolf, who had been strangely silent on the matter up until now, suddenly let out a growl.

"And did any of you receive even one letter from Derrick?" He asked.

"Well… No, not me personally." Freya admitted. The others shook their heads.

"Maybe the letters got lost in the mail?" Axel offered.

"Maybe," Nan stroked him gently. She was always protective of naïve Axel. "They might've misplaced them, Axel."

"Hmpf," Rolf frowned but said no more.

I was about to comment, but I was stopped by Cooper's booming voice.

"Alright Derrick!" He shouted. "We have breached the lock! By order of Tortimer we are coming in now! 3…2…1!"

The first thing I noticed was a wall of a disgusting stench that hit me square in the face. The second were the many cockroaches that flew out the door.

"EEEEEEKKKKKK!" Freya squealed as one crawled too close to her. Rolf stomped on it without hesitation.

Cooper coughed, he'd gotten full blast of the smell, and covered his nose.

"Derrick…" He said through his police shirt. "Can you hear me Derrick? Derrick…"

He disappeared into the house, Booker following after him. I too took a step forward. I had an extra shirt in my bag, surely Derrick needed it if his clothes smelled that bad. But then Cooper's voice stopped me again.

"NOBODY COME IN HERE!" He yelled. "EVERYONE STAY AWAY, GO HOME!"

"What…?" Axel looked around confused. "Did he just say to-"

"GO HOME!" Cooper screamed with all his might.

We left hurriedly after that, but we didn't go home. We stayed standing in the next acre over, staring at the house. My heart was beating hard in my scared little chest. Something was wrong. It was only after the dogs came out with a body bag that we guessed the truth. Derrick hadn't been ignoring us. Derrick had died.

The official police report was this- death by tarantula.

Everyone remembered the day Derrick had caught the one that now sat in our museum. When he caught a second one, well, how could we blame him for wanting to keep that trophy?

Unfortunately it seemed to have escaped and bitten him several times. Whatever was left of his body showed signs of being nibbled- the tarantula must've been eating him to stay alive. Eventually it died, whether from lack of nutrition or old age was unclear. The only thing we knew for sure was that LuckyTown had lost its greatest citizen.

"I can't believe it…" Nan shook her head again as she sipped her coffee. "I just can't believe it, kid."

"I had a hunch," Rolf grumbled, gulping his burning coffee like it was water. "A man doesn't just disappear like that. It's a disgrace he was left there for so long."

"Yeah…" I didn't know what to say. I just nursed my coffee as I sat between them.

Brewster wiped our tears after us that night. He understood, and he shared our pain. The other villagers were at town hall, comforting each other. We 3 had dealt with tragedy together before and preferred to get through it by ourselves.

Looking back, I wish I had remembered the lesson I learned the first time.

Reviews greatly appreciated! Expect an update soon!