Trees passed by in high speed, but the only thing that was moving in the silent landscape was the train. The colors blue, white and black stood out in the vast green ground, trees and flowers. Inside this train was someone called Lovino, a young man who boarded this train to reach his new hometown.
Moving had usually been a very difficult thing for the lad. When little, he lived with the Vargas family consisting of his brother, Feliciano, and his grandpa and together they lived in a town named Rome. Their house was bigger than the rest of the town, making it obvious they had a high status. The people in town were nice, but Lovino rather wanted to spend time with his grandpa then with the rest. Unfortunately their grandpa wasn't home often, so the time they could spent with him was scarce.
Lovino had always been jealous of his brother, who got to spend more time with their grandpa when he was home. He couldn't only blame Feliciano though, it was clear as a sunny day that his brother had been his grandpa's favorite grandson.
So when one night their grandpa didn't return and the townspeople told them he had passed away, Lovino could only say ''That serves that bastard right.''
His brother cried for days and let the townspeople take care of him, Lovino however, turned everyone down and had locked himself up in his room. Since the townspeople couldn't take care of them forever, the brothers got separated through adoption. Feliciano moved somewhere to the north-east, while Lovino moved to a town in the south not far from Rome. The distance between them was big and the only connection they had left was by sending letters to each other.
Years had passed and during those times, Lovino had moved locations for several times. He loathed packing his belongings only to unpack them in another town. Next to that he was bad at remembering names and had a hard time adjusting to the new environment.
On one day, when he was finally allowed to be free and live on his own, he got a letter from his brother, who invited him to come to live with him in a town called Germany. He didn't refuse that offer.
On one side he was glad to see his brother, alive and being annoyingly cheerful as always, but on the other side he couldn't stand his brother's friend or boyfriend or whatever. Feliciano only had eye for him and soon Lovino understood that moving in with his brother had been useless. He packed his bags and boarded this train, after getting a conformation of his next hometown that he's allowed to live there. Of course, no one knew about this and no one could stop him.
He had laid his eyes one last time on the landscape, before the train entered a tunnel, blocking his view with darkness. The lights in the train turned on, making it possible to see his own reflection in the window.
Lovino saw something move in the corner of his eye. A couple of seats away from him was sitting a cat, staring at him with red glowing irises. The cat smiled when making eye contact with Lovino and hopped off his seat to make his way towards him.
Something Lovino never understood: Why were there so many animals compared to humans? He had met more animals than humans, not that he complains much, but sometimes it makes him think about the weirdest theories that his head starts to hurt.
''Oh! Excuse me!'' The cat purred with a happy voice, pulling Lovino out of his thoughts. ''I have a quick question for you. It's now 2:35 p.m. on June 21th, 2014, right?''
''Eh, yeah. So what?'' Lovino replied rather cranky.
''I was right! Oh good!'' The cat smiled. ''This watch of mine, it gets thrown off really easily sometimes.''
There is a short pause before the cat spoke again. ''...I'm just gonna plop down in the seat across from you. If you don't mind, of course!'' But even before Lovino could protest, the cat had already taken the seat across from him.
'Tsk. If you were going to sit there from the beginning, at least said so in the first place.' Lovino thought to himself.
''By the way, you..'' The cat began. ''Can I ask your name? Mine's Rover!''
Lovino hesitated before telling his name. Rover seemed harmless, but he's still a stranger.
''Oh, Lovino? Well, that's a fantastically great name!'' He complimented.
''Cool, right?''
''Yeah, you seem like a pretty cool guy to me!''
A pregnant pause fell between the two of them. It seemed like only Rover was the one making the conversation.
''So, Lovino.. Tell me, where are you headed today?''
''To the town Tulipia.''
''The town of Tulipia? Hmmm. Tulipia, yeah, OK.. Don't think I've heard of it. I wonder where it is.. Oh right! Map, map, map..'' Rover placed a map on his lap, eyes searching for a specific word.
''Ah, maybe this is it right here?'' The feline nearly shoved the map into Lovino's face. If you were wondering, Lovino is really holding back his irritation and could literally pat his shoulder for not losing his cool in the presence of this stranger.
''Yeah, that seems like it, from what I remember from the pictures though.'' He says after examining the map shortly.
''I see! That's were Tulipia is! So do you get to go to Tulipia very often?''
''I've never been there.''
''Oh, today is your first time? That sounds like tons of fun! Can I ask, why are you headed there?'' Rover never seemed to stop with asking questions, Lovino noted, and he wondered if the cat had downed some catnip because he was very energetic.
''Well... I'm moving.''
''Oh, wow, is that right? That sounds pretty good to me!''
'God, when does he stop talking?!'
''But you said this is your first time there. Does that mean you haven't even seen your house yet?''
''I'll get a place there.''
''I see, so you're going house hunting once you get there. Heh. I guess it'll 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!''
On that moment the speakers cracked, following with the next message: ''Now arriving in Tulipia. Tulipia Station.''
''Oh hey! Looks like we're about to arrive in Tulipia.''
'No shit Sherlock.'
The tunnel reached its end, letting the sun shine inside and reveal the greenery of the landscape. Lovino stood up to get his bags and coat.
''Thanks for chatting with me! It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a train ride this much!'' Rover ended with his probably never ending smile. Lovino nodded and muttered a low ''me too''.
''Come to think of it, I've been riding the rails an awful lot again lately. Haven't done this much traveling by train since 2002 or so... Man, that's weird.'' The cat didn't notice Lovino slowly backing away towards the doors, since he was talking an awful lot again. As the train reached the station Rover stopped mid sentence to wave his new found friend goodbye.
''OK, good luck, Lovino! Bye-bye!''
Lovino waved without looking back and exited the train. It seemed like he was the only one getting off at this stop, judging by how the doors closed behind him with no one on the train budging to move. He inhaled the air and exhaled through his mouth. 'This is it.' He thought as his grip on his bags tightened and stepped out of the station.
Bright and colorful, those were the first words Lovino could think of when he took in his surroundings. Tulips in all kinds of colors greeted him while the apples in the trees shone bright red, standing out from the green leaves, which softly rustled in the cool summer breeze.
'I think I could get used to this.' He thought as he walked down the road, exploring the town.
Not later he crossed paths with one of the villagers, who was watering the flowers in front of her house. It appeared to be a rabbit, whose burnt-orange ears twitched when Lovino approached
''OMIGOSH!'' The rabbit squealed at the sight of Lovino. ''You must be the new resident right?''
He nodded while observing her movements. She talked a lot and seemed to be very peppy at the moment.
''..sure seems to be a good spot- Oh, I totally forgot to say my name! I'm Bunnie!''
''Lovino is the name. Say, could you tell me where I can find the Town Hall?''
''Sure! Just cross this bridge, follow the path straight ahead and take the first turn to the right. I think you can easily find it from there on!''
''Thanks Bunnie.''
''No problem! Have a nice day!''
''Yeah, see ya around.''
Peppy villager, Check.
The Town Hall was indeed easily to find after following Bunnie's instructions. The flag of an orange tulip waved gracefully on top of the building.
Once inside he saw a bright yellow puppy, wearing a green checkered vest with a white top and a red ribbon underneath. Her hair is tied up with a red ribbon with bells attached which jingled when she looked up from her desk.
''Good afternoon! How can I- OH! You must be Lovino!'' Said person nodded in confirmation and let the lady talk on. ''First of all, welcome to Tulipia! I'm Isabelle, the mayor's secretary. If you have problems or questions you can come to me, it's my job after all.''
Isabelle handed over a map. ''Here's your town map! Keep it somewhere safe so you won't lose it.''
''Got it.''
''For your house, you have to go to the Real Estate, called Nook's Homes. There you have to ask the owner Tom Nook about building a new house and he will help you further.''
''Alright- Wait, WHAT? The house still needs to be build?!'' Lovino asked baffled.
''Of course! Oh and I almost forgot. The mayor is very busy today and doesn't have time to proper greet you.'' Isabelle pointed to the mayor's desk behind her. The paperwork on the table was organized neatly, like the mayor wasn't that busy at all. Next to that there were picture frames and a little rabbit plush present, which seemed to give a less official feeling compared to the rest of the place.
Judging by these objects, Lovino assumed that the mayor was a woman. The kind of woman that has brown hair in a top-knot, wearing glasses and formal clothes to give off an office vibe. She probably would be stern all the time, but the plush gives away that she has a very soft and sweet side.
''It's alright, mayor gotta do what they gotta do.''
''Thanks for understanding. I'm sure he will get in touch with you as soon as he can. Good luck with your house!'' Isabelle waved at him as he left the building. Once outside he stood still.
'Wait. HE?!' It suddenly occurred to him that the secretary indeed mentioned that the mayor is a man and not a woman.
'But if the mayor is a he,' Lovino thought as he moved on. 'then how the heck would he be like?'
Images of how he thinks the mayor would look like flash into his head. A man with black hair, glasses and clothes that grandpas would wear and has some serious issues. Or maybe it was an elderly man, the plush being a present from his granddaughter. It would explain a lot.
Lovino shook his head. Now is not the time to picture people who could be the mayor. 'I still have to get a damn house that isn't even build yet!'
Grumpily he made his way to the shop, hoping for them that they are miracle workers, cause he isn't planning on waiting for a descend house.