Chapter 2

Kari woke late, the sun streaming through the ragged holes in the curtains. She could hear someone clattering about in the main room next door; for a few minutes she couldn't remember where she was, and then it came back to her. Her soggy dress was flapping on a washing line outside, that was tied from the house's guttering to a tree a few metres off.

She changed into another outfit instead that she selected from the '2 small' shoebox; they were tight on her too but she didn't really have any other options. She stumbled into the main room, tucking her 'Amnesia' card into her shirt pocket.

"Goo' morning..." she yawned.
"Morning!" Cat replied cheerfully. "Didja sleep well?"
"Yeh 'fanks," Kari replied, still struggling with her deep-throated yawn.
"It's been sooooo long since I said that to anyone," Cat said bemusedly. "Well, what do you want to do today?"
"Huh?"
"I'm guessin' you haven't recovered any of your memories yet?" Cat asked encouragingly.
"Uh... no, I haven't. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry! But until you remember you'll be stayin' here, and while you're still recovering from getting washed ashore you won't hafta do anything - but later you gotta contribute something," he explained. "Like getting a job and paying rent, or cleaning and stuff."
"Y- you're going to let me stay here?" Kari stuttered disbelievingly. "But I'm just a nuisance!"
"Don't be stupid," Cat said brightly. "I like having guests! In fact, I have 'em quite a lot!"
"Um, but-"
"Well, I'm going out. The animals in this town are all lazy and won't help take care of it, other than not actively messing it up," Cat said, tugging on his boots. "So I hafta weed the place and water the flowers and trawl the rivers for junk... all by myself!"
"That sounds terrible," Kari said cautiously.
"It's okay but it takes a while. I gotta get started now," Cat shrugged. "The only rule of staying here is - try not to mess it up anymore than it already is, and don't trample any flowers. Oh, that's two rules."
"Are you a... a flora and fauna expert or something?" Kari asked wildly. She felt suddenly energetic; she didn't want to sit around in the house all day. She wanted to delay Cat and tell him she was going out.
"Ha ha! 'Expert' you say? Sounds good," Cat laughed raucously. "It's just my hobby. But I am part of the 'Go for Green Group' who set up towns to be natural and beautiful and to help the unintelligent wildlife to flourish."
"Wow," Kari said after a moment.
"Well, I'll see ya later. When you're better I'll take you with me on my rounds sometime."
"But I'm going out too!" Kari insisted, prepared for a battle.
"Are you?" Cat asked mildly. "Don't get lost, then. See ya!"

The truth was, Kari didn't know what she wanted to do. She wandered around town for a few hours as it warmed up, and realised it was much larger than she had thought. After a while though, she saw something gleam sharply in the sunlight through a network of trees; she gradually wound her way towards it like a magpie to a shiny bead.

In fact, when she arrived, a real magpie was stood before her. He looked quite well-groomed, his feathers shiny and neatly tucked into place. He turned his head sideways to get a better look at Kari; he was wearing a smart black jacket and a pair of 'cool' sunglasses.

"Hello," Kari said at last, politely.
"Haave you come to purchaase?" The magpie croaked.
"What?"
The magpie jerked his head sideways towards a ceramic pot, bearing arms and a face, outside his house. As he did so, it span rapidly a stared towards him.
"Purchaase from the House of Glaass," the magpie repeated. "Aall business is fully welcome."
Something in Kari's mind clicked. As she showed her 'Amnesia' card to the magpie, she spoke again uncertainly.
"That's a Spyroid!"
"Thaat is aa Gyroid," the magpie corrected her. "You haave aamnesiaa?"
"Yes. But I know that my name's Kari," she nodded. "It even says so on the card."
"So you aare new here, Kaari?"
"Yes, but I'm staying with someone called Cat. He's very good to me."
"Caat is that funny little feline who jogs aall over Rothorn aall daay, plaaying with plaants aand fish aand things, isn't he?"
"Um... yes... Don't you like him?" Kari asked, noting that the town was named 'Rothorn' but not having any sudden floods of memory return to her.
"He is fine, but he doesn't purchaase my waares," the magpie said pointedly. For the sake of politeness, Kari addressed the Gyroid.

Then she noticed the house.

It was made of an opaque crystal - it gleamed too brightly in the sunlight. Through it, Kari could just about make out furniture - but that was all made of glass. Curtains cut off a corner of the room that was presumably a bedroom or bathroom; a crystal ladder lead up to a hatch in the ceiling. The roof was made of heavy red crystal, but beneath were heavy wooden planks; so the attic space at least was private.

"It's all glass!" She cried.
"Yes, this is the House of Glaass," the magpie nodded. "I aam the glaass expert for miles aaround. I maade aall the windows in aall the towns for three hundred miles, aand aall the fish taanks."
"That's incredible!"
"Thaank you. Aare you going to purchaase aanything?"
"I only have 200 bells... sorry."
"So you caan buy aa glaass figurine!" The magpie declared brightly. "Or perhaaps this pretty flute when you have saaved 2000 Bells?"
"N- no thank you," Kari stammered.
"Aalaas aand aalaack," the magpie muttered. Then he perked up again. "But you aare coming baack once you haave saaved more Bells?"
"Yes, probably."
"Good. My naame is Siaacroh."
"Siaacroh?"
"No, Siaacroh."
"Oh - um, 'Siacroh'?"
"Yes, exaactly." The magpie shook his feathers into place again. "There is Nook's Craanny over thaat waay. Why not get aa job and staart saaving? Then you caan buy lots of pretty glaass things."
"All right. Thanks..." Kari bowed politely then hurried away.

'Nooks Craanny' was owned by a fat, greasy raccoon wearing absolutely nothing but a grimy grey apron. Kari shuddered.
"Welcome, welcome to my Cranny!" The racoon cried happily. "How I can help you today, hm?"
"Do you... have any jobs available?" Kari asked awkwardly.
"Hmm! Jobs? Part- or full-time?"
"Full? But with one day off or something?"
"Well, my beloved shop closes over the weekends - I merely forgot to lock my door on this wondrous Sunday," Nook explained cheerfully. "Yes, you're hired! But I have no work for you today, except for you to take this!"
Kari took the dress reluctantly. It was grey too and bore a leaf logo. She grimaced unhappily.
"Hmm, you don't like the colours?" Nook asked. "Grey was the cheapest option because it's a mix-mash of whatever dyes are left over!"
"Right..."
"I cannot help but notice that you are wearing... well... BOY'S clothes. Are you not a girl?"
"Oh! Yes, but I had to borrow this, because-"
"Well why not change into your new dress? Then everyone will know you aren't a boy! Hmm? And it will advertise my precious, gorgeous little Cranny for all to see!"
"Oh... well... I can't get changed right HERE..."
"No? I suppose you cannot," Nook agreed, with some reluctance. "Ah, but I suppose since you are new here, you are thinking 'why does this shop close on weekends? How foolish! How thoughtless!', are you not?"
"Not really-"
"Well, that is because this is a small town! We have a deal of unusual residents here and most of them have come to seek peace and quiet. Thus it was MY most superb idea to close down on weekends and make the town far more tranquil! Even that other silly little shop, 'Mabels & Labels' or whatever it is, has taken up the idea!"
"Oh, reall-"
"Yes! And of course the spending boom on Mondays more than makes up for two days' closure, hmm?"
"Well, probabl-"
"Now run along, run along! I was merely sweeping up shop before returning to my home - which ISN'T this shop. I have a house all of my own, you understand!"
"Of cour-"
"Not that it would be wrong in any way for me to live in the shop attic, hmm?"
"N-"
"So off you pop! I cannot close up shop whilst you remain in here, hm? No, I cannot! And I want to enjoy my peaceful weekend as much as the next mammal! So off you run, there we are!!"

It took the rest of the day, after such an onslaught, to return safely to Cat's house. He was already there, drinking a tin cup of hot tea. He grinned and handed one to Kari.
"Didya have fun?" He asked, sweeping some of the clutter - papers, string, books, an odd sock, old plates, a bunch of dried herbs - on the table aside to make room for her mug.
"Yes, it was... interesting," Kari said, flopping her new dress onto the table. "And I got a job at Nook's Cranny. Is that raccoon always so weird?"
"Yup. He's an oddball. But most animals in Rothorn are!" Cat nodded happily.
"Like Siacroh?"
"Oh! You met him, huh?"
"Yes... he said he made all of the windows and fish tanks for 300 miles around. Is it true?"
"Yup."
"Wow."
"Everyone in town's got something like that going on," Cat shrugged. "It's weird - it just seems to attract, well, oddballs. Like Nook and Siacroh and... me."
"So am I an oddball?" Kari asked teasingly.
"Oh, sure!" Cat nodded enthusiastically, playing along. "You're the oddest of 'em all!"
"Good!" Kari said fiercely.

As she lay in bed that night, she couldn't help feeling that maybe this town WAS odd, but it was also very friendly. She'd felt welcomed by everyone, even abrupt Siacroh and bizarre Nook... but especially by her new housemate and 'BFF' - as they had laughingly discussed over dinner - Cat.
She hadn't even had time to think about her old life, the one she couldn't remember. Maybe if she'd forgotten it, it wasn't as good as this one...
...or - as she fell asleep, she chillingly realised - maybe it was better. And maybe, just maybe, there would come a day when she didn't remember the life she was leading NOW either...

But luckily for her new peaceful lifestyle, she wouldn't remember that when she woke up the next day.