Author's note: I apologize to everyone for taking months with this chapter. I hope it's at least decent. :)
As I walk away from the Fortune Shop, I really have no idea what to think of my prior encounter there. This whole mess just adds to my confusion, in general.
Part of me would just really like some answers right about now, but has no plan of how to go about getting them. And part of me just wants to give up, whatever that entails, perhaps curling up in a ball and disappearing or something similar of the sort.
Neither of those thoughts are particularly reassuring or useful in any way. But even though my situation is worse than ever, somehow, I'm too mentally exhausted to really feel bad about it right now.
I just wish there was somewhere I could start, however small a step, to get me on track.
I'm about to head home when a sudden flicker of movement catches my eye. The sudden flicker being the flicker of lights turning on.
That's right... The Emporium, it's open! I still need to buy that bed, I suppose. I feel a little relieved at that small sense of purpose.
I push past the spinning doors and walk into the massive shop. A tiny raccoon walks up to me and says, "How may I help you?"
"Timmy?" I ask. The raccoon seems to light up in recognition. "You must be Reina. My brother told me about you. I'm Tommy. You're new to Pig Pen, yes?"
I nod and voice an affirmative, "Mmhmm."
"Thank you for taking the time to stop by our humble store. It's much appreciated." He says the last part in a small voice.
"No problem," I mutter. I look a little to the side and catch the eye of a sloth, who to my surprise, grins widely at me.
I stare for a moment, but then look away as soon as I realize what I was doing, feeling flustered.
Tommy snaps me out of my state of embarrassment. "What were you looking for today?"
"J-just some furniture." I stutter.
"Oh! We have a selection of furniture upstairs. Or you may want to order from our catalog over here for any other things you may need." He leads me to a computer which I briefly glance at before mumbling a quick thanks and deciding to head upstairs first.
When I get upstairs, another raccoon greets me, this one with a bored expression.
"How may I help you?" He drones.
I smile halfheartedly. His "act" is just as see through as before, but I try to be friendly. "H-hey Timmy." He perks up a bit.
"I'm just gonna look around, okay?" I walk away before he can say anything in reply.
There are a few things for sale. A bicycle, an overly colorful cupboard... There's also a lamp shaped like a number 7 and a few other trinkets. In short though, it's all useless to me.
I glance over at a rolled up bundle of paper I see lying on a counter and Timmy surprises me at that moment by walking over and stating, "That's a dotted wall. Would you like to preview it?"
I shrug, not really caring either way.
Timmy touches it and true to its name, a dotted wall appears on the far left of the room. I blink in surprise, but then I remind myself not to question it again.
"...Will you take it?"
"Huh?" I mutter stupidly, having missed the first part of what he said.
Timmy sighs. "Do you want it or not?"
I feel a a little hurt by his tone, but I mutter in reply, "N-no thanks... Sorry."
I back away a bit and turn towards the exit, making some sort of choked sound when I almost bump into a blue squirrel who was clearly gawking at me.
I nod apologetically, feeling incredibly awkward, before rushing back down the stairs.
I head to the catalog machine next. I scroll through a long list of items on the touch screen and promptly order a common bed and a washer/dryer I figure I might need, leaving me with about half of my money, 2800 bells after I complete my transaction with the machine.
I'm about to leave when a voice stops me in my tracks.
"Miss, may I have a moment of your time?"
I look towards the owner of the voice. It's the sloth from earlier. A very cheerful looking sloth. I shakily grin back and he beams even more.
"Y-yeah?" I say after a moment of silence.
"I couldn't help but notice how pretty you are, miss...Reina, was it?"
I glance up and he still seems...smiley, I can't really tell if he's being sincere, but I choke out a quiet, "Um...yeah?.." In reply.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm Leif. But enough about me, sweetheart. You, my dear, are absolutely stunning."
I stare at the ground, feeling incredibly flustered. This guy's...flirting with me?
"You're like...a delicate flower."
"..." I don't say a thing.
"Your eyes are gray as a cloudy day in spring. And your hair is white as a Jacob's Ladder. ...They only grow in the most perfect of circumstances, did you know?"
"I...um..." I choke on my words.
He beams some more. "Oh! I also called you over because I wanted you to have this. Use it to make the town more beautiful, beauty!" He offers me a watering can.
"Thanks..." I whisper, accepting the gift so as to not be rude. I stuff it in my pocket.
"You're very welcome, luv!" He exclaims. "Have a happy day!
"You too..." I reply. I glance around his tiny shop in the corner. He's obviously selling...gardening supplies. Something tells me that's a rough business to be in.
I guess I like flowers as much as anyone else, but I really can't afford to buy anything right now. I'll have to come back another time.
I run out of the shop without another word, feeling just a little guilty. I decide to check out the rest of the right side of the street.
I come across a Barber shop next and beside that, a clothes shop, The Able Sisters. I could really use some new clothes...
I walk in and immediately, a blue hedgehog greets me. "Hello! Welcome to the handmade fashion palace of the one and only Able Sisters! I'm Mabel."
"Reina." I say simply, looking around. There's a selection of clothes on display in the front and some in the back as well. I notice another brown hedgehog sewing in the corner.
"So, how may I help you?" Mabel asks.
"Oh...well, um...I was just looking for some nice clothes." I say quietly.
Mabel laughs. "Well, all of our clothes are nice. But are you looking for anything specific? We have a few dresses if that's what you prefer."
I smile awkwardly. "I'll look around."
I take a look at the front designs, they all seem pretty plain, so I go to the back where there seems to be more of a selection. I'm undecided on what to buy though. I notice the brown hedgehog sewing in the corner again.
She appears to be sewing a gray article of clothing with dark gray stripes on the sleeves.
I walk over to her and surprise myself by saying, "That looks really cool... Do you make all the clothes here?"
She looks up from her work for a moment and nods. I guess everything really is handmade here.
As I'm wondering if I should say anything else, Mabel walks over to me and says, "Sable's a bit busy. But I'd be happy to help you with whatever you need."
I feel a bit guility, so I simply say, "Sorry," to Sable. She doesn't really react as she sews, but I know she heard me.
I turn back to Mabel. "I think I'll go take a look at the back again."
I end up buying a few new clothes, including a pink parka, which I stuff in my pockets. It all costs 1350 together and I'm left with 1450 bells.
Mabel suggests I check out the accessories shop next door, so I do, not wanting to be rude. I meet Labelle, who seems a little uptight, but there doesn't seem to be anything interesting, (some round looking glasses and steampunk goggles being the highlights) so I leave without getting anything else.
After checking out the Able Sisters' shop, I don't find much else to look at. I notice some other shops, and a museum which catches my interest;
But after reading the bulletin board with a list of donations, (all from Piggy) and finding out they display bugs, I decide not to go in there either due to my newly recognized crippling fear of them.
That leaves me with nothing else to do, so I do what I've been dreading. I head home.
I'm not looking forward to talking to Wisp, but I guess I can't avoid him forever.
As I'm nearing my house however, I notice -through the cover of the trees, I was too much of a coward to take the path again- a small crowd of villagers standing in front of my house. I move to fully hide behind the tree in front of me, not sure what I should do.
This situation seems familiar, I think to myself sarcastically.
I'm so close, I can overhear their conversation. A white wolf who I've never seen before is complaining to the other two in the "crowd" which wasn't as big as it seemed. The two others are the bunny with the top hat and the pink bear...again.
"What could possibly be taking her so long? Filbert said he saw her at the Emporium, and she couldn't possibly still be shopping! Of course, I understand that she's new in town and a lady needs to look her best, but if she's in debt to Tom Nook, she shouldn't have many bells at her disposal!" The snooty wolf complains.
That squirrel at the Emporium must've told her they saw me, among other things, most likely. She definitely doesn't sound very happy, anyway. I know I haven't made a good first impression on the villagers...or anyone for that matter. Should I just wait for them to go away?..
Maybe I'm feeling braver than usual, but for whatever reason, that doesn't seem like a very appealing option.
They can think I'm weird. I decide. But this is where I draw a line. I refuse to be forced away from my own home.
I take a deep breath. I'm going to move from behind this tree in 1...2...3!
I walk onto the path leading to my house. I'm in plain sight of the villagers now. No more hiding.
I feel sick and anxious just standing there and oh so compelled to run away again, but I try to stay still.
I glare at the ground, only glancing up when I see the villagers walking towards me.
I instinctively back up a bit and end up bumping into a tree. I flinch away when I come into contact with it.
I must look like a total idiot right now.
There's silence for a moment until the bunny awkwardly coughs and speaks up, "You must be the new girl in town. Reina, is it?"
I nod. I feel like saying something, at the very least, but I can feel myself shaking now and my voice just won't come out.
So I just continue to glare at the brick patterned pavement.
"What's with her? She's being so rude. You'd think she'd be glad that we've waited here for at least an hour so we could welcome-" The white wolf starts, but she cuts off. I don't why she did or if she decided to without prompting, but I'm grateful for that small mercy.
"Right, well, we came here to welcome you to our town, but- I think Whitney owes you an apology."
The wolf, "Whitney" scoffs.
"Oh please, you want to make me look like the bad guy? Fine! I only came along because I wanted to hear all the juicy gossip firsthand! So, how did you get banned from Re-tail then?"
What she says really hits home. And just like that, my resolve to be there shatters.
I run past the three villagers in shame and unlock the door without so much as a thought, pulling it shut behind me.
As soon as I know I'm "safe", I collapse against the door, falling to the floor.
Instantly, the self-deprecating thoughts come rushing back.
Why couldn't I say anything? Anything at all!
If I'd just said that I was busy! I could have at least seemed like a halfway decent person... But instead I just ran away. Again.
I quietly laugh to myself. I laugh at the irony of it all. I ran away from my problems again. And I ended up exactly the same way as last time too. Crying and alone.
I never learn, do I?
'That's some heavy stuff you're thinking about there, Reina,' a voice says in my head.
I feel a jolt of surprise, which quickly changes to annoyance.
Can you not spy on my thoughts? I think back agitatedly.
'Fine. Can you rub my lamp then?'
I get up and do just that, feeling I don't have much of an alternative.
I back away as the blob of a ghost emerges from the lamp. I glare at the floor.
Wisp doesn't say anything. I don't either. I try not to think anything as well, but after a good 30 seconds, that proves to have been futile; As I think to myself,
Does he expect me to say something?
"Well how about: 'Good day to you Wisp' or 'How are you?' or 'Are you still mad about our fight, Wisp? Can we make up and be friends again? Pretty please?'"
A pang of annoyance hits me, but I still don't say anything and continue to look away.
"You could've said anything, but instead you just stood there, trying not to."
I still feel annoyed at first, but I feel my anger melt away at the truth of his words. I just feel sad now.
I couldn't say anything back there either, I realise.
You're right. I think back deliberately, not trusting myself to say it out loud.
"I'm not reading your thoughts. You wanted to speak, so why don't you?"
"Y-you're..." I start weakly, trailing off.
You're right, but if I say that, it still won't be enough.
"I'm sorry," I say clearly.
"Wait. What?" Wisp sounds surprised. "But you weren't thinking that a second ago."
Well... I think deliberately to Wisp.
After I left, I took some time to think. You really didn't deserve to be treated...the way I treated you. First of all, I should've given you a proper chance to explain what you meant... And then... I guess I was worried about offending you with my thoughts, so I pushed you out. I always knew I'm not the nicest person. But when you pointed it out, I...acted incredibly rudely. And now, -it took me a while to get this through my thick head- I finally realised...you're right. Honestly, it's better if we communicate telepathically. I find it difficult to talk to anyone! J-just tell me if you want me to- I'll take you back to where i found you-
"You really have no self esteem, do you? You really hate yourself that much?" Wisp says out loud.
The question catches me off guard and I don't answer. Wisp seems to gather something from my jumbled thoughts, however.
"Woah, here I thought you were faking being naive, but you really do lack-" Wisp stops suddenly.
What do I lack?
"To put it simply, you lack any sort of experience. Your mind is like an open book...with only a few pages.
I thought it was because you kept your innermost thoughts and memories well guarded, but that's not the case, is it?"
'Leave me alone!' I think back in panic. 'That's not important!"
Wisp doesn't reply for a moment, but when he does, what he says catches me off guard again.
"Okay then. I'll leave you alone for now. I've stayed out of my lamp for too long anyway." I blink in surprise. "And you're entitled to your privacy, you know. It's your house. I apologise for not making that clearer to you sooner."
And with that, he goes back into his lamp, leaving me with one last parting message.
'Consider your apology accepted by the way. And we're roommates now, feel free to talk to me if you want.'