"Do you have any idea where you're going?"

Rover wears a concerned face. His tail twitches.

I shift in my seat uncomfortably. "I know the name of the town, but I have no idea what's in store for me." I say.

"And you're moving there?" he asks.

"Yep."

"When's the last time you and I had this talk? 2013?"

"We were much younger then, Ro." I say.

"Nonsense," he laughs. "We were only 16."

"Feels like ages ago."

"It still surprises me that you'll up and move to places you know nothing about, Don." he says, rolling his eyes. "I thought you'd finally find a place to settle down for good."

"That won't happen soon," I say, with a smile.

Rover stares at me. I feel as if he's studying my face. His bright red eyes seem to pierce through me.

"I guess that is one of your most likable traits," he says with a small laugh. "You're adventurous."

"Thanks," I say. "You spend more time riding the rails than I do, though. Maybe you could come stay with me sometime?"

"I'd like that," he says, furrowing his brow, "but you need to tell me the name of this damn town, first!"

"Oraton," I say.

The blue cat's ear twitches. He smiles and closes his eyes. "I've been there a few times," he says.

"Oh?"

"Yep. My family used to take vacations there. It's pretty much a resort town. Beaches, campsites, hotels, the lot of it. Endless things to do. Most people are tourists. They don't really settle down there."

"I'll be one of the few," I say. "At least for a little bit."

"Geez, do you plan on living everywhere in the world?" Rover teases with a grin.

Rover pulls his phone from his pocket and begins texting. I turn and stare out the window on my right. Our train is gliding across the tracks. Green hills roll beside us, grass and tree branches flowing in the breeze. Cars on the road zoom by, packed so closely together that one would think they were travelling together like wolves. In the distance, around a small bend over the freeway, an enormous red drawbridge towers over everything. It stretches across the sound. I can see vehicles making their way across the mighty structure.

"Take a look at that," I say, tapping Rover's thigh. He looks out the window and a grin stretches across his face.

"I haven't seen that thing in ages," he says, beaming. "That's the Mallard's Stretch. Tallest and longest bridge in Lower Derure."

"It's beautiful..."

I can feel excitement burning in my chest as we get closer to the bridge. We round the bend and eventually the tracks lead us onto the Mallard's Stretch. I stare out the window, tightly gripping Rover's arm. The ocean stretches endlessly into the horizon. The evening sun casts ivory diamonds across the blue water. The sparkles dance and shimmer on the surface. Now that the railroad has led us to join the other vehicles on the bridge, I feel as if we're all rushing toward whatever awaits us together.

"You are squeezing me so tightly..."

I let go of Rover and chuckle. "Sorry, buddy," I say. "I'm just excited as hell right now."

"I can definitely tell."

Rover smiles and throws his arm over the back of his seat. "You never did get to see the ocean that often, did you?" he asks.

"Nope. Mom and I never really had the chance. I've only been twice, and both times were when I joined you and your dad at Bolson's Cove."

He nods. "Yeah, sounds about right. I think you'll love Oraton, though. It'll be a big change for you."

Rover spends the remainder of his time on the train telling me what I should do when I first get to Oraton. He tells me to look for a man named Nook. Apparently he's the guy who knows how to get people settled there. Rover says he's an old friend. Rover and I are the same age, though. I certainly haven't heard of this Nook guy before. Perhaps I have, though. I wasn't the greatest listener when I was a child. That was Rover's biggest pet peeve about me. I heard what he was saying, but nothing ever registered. Thankfully, I've grown. Eventually the landscape melts into darkness as we enter a tunnel and begin to pull into Oraton Station. People, both humans and animals, begin to shuffle and make their way off the locomotive.

"Like I said," starts Rover, "look for Nook. He'll know exactly what you need. I already let him know you're on the way."

"Thanks a lot," I say. "Hopefully this town does me some good."

"I sure hope so. You need it."

I pull my bag tight on my back and pick up my suitcase. I shuffle out of the aisle and to the closest door. Rover and I exchange a hug and wave goodbye.

"Take care, Donovan. Call me when you get things worked out."

"Will do, buddy. Thanks again."

I wander out into the station with countless other passengers. The smell of fast food permeates the air. I can hear the bustle of voices, footsteps, and the sizzling of concession stand grills. I make my way through the crowds and exit the station, grabbing a town map from a vendor on my way out. On the map, a place called Nook's Homes is located in the shopping district, specifically on the west strip mall. The shopping district is on the other side of the tracks, behind the train station. I pocket the map and head on my way.

As I ascend the stairs to the upper level of town, Rover crosses my mind, despite the fact I just left him. Rover and I have been close friends for a very long time. I first met him when we were children on a train. We were five years old when we first met in 2002. I was heading to work with my mother, and Rover was on his way home from a shopping trip with his father. The image pops into my head quite often. My mother struck up conversation with Rover's father when she saw Rover and I making faces at each other. Mom laughed and moved over to join Rover's dad. Most things are blurry after that, but it turned out Rover lived in the same city as me. He just attended a different school. A school that was more tolerant of animals. My mother and Rover's father struck a friendship that day, and we saw a lot of each other. Rover's been my best friend ever since. He's done a ton for me. I feel sort of indebted, in a way...

"Watch where you're going, please."

I snap out of it and look up from the ground. A short, yellow Shih Tzu stands in front of me, brochure in hand. She's wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, and casual sandals. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun. I look around and notice that I've bumped into a group of tourists.

"Oops...Sorry about that." I say, with an awkward laugh. "I was sorta lost in thought."

"You're not part of this group, are you?" asks the girl. She has a bit of a low, tomboyish voice.

"No." I say. "I'm supposed to be moving here today."

The girl's expression changes. She smiles and nods at me. "Then that means you're probably heading to see Tom, hm?" she asks, looking me up and down.

"Tom?" I ask.

"Tom Nook."

"Ah, that'd be him."

"Then I'll be seeing you in the town hall soon enough. I'm the mayor's secretary."

"And a tour guide, apparently...?" I ask, glancing at the people behind her. They're focused on their phones or vendors' tents on the front plaza of the town clock tower.

The girl shrugs. "Our mayor thought it would be good for a town representative to interact with the people more," she says, rolling her eyes.

We share a laugh.

"Anyway," she starts, "what's your name?"

"I'm Don," I say. "You?"

"Isabelle."

She extends her hand. I shake it. She has a firm grip. She leaves me with a smile and returns to her group. The bell on her hair tie jingles as she saunters away. I reach the shopping center as my bags begins to strain my shoulders. The shopping center is quite vast, with plenty of stores and businesses crammed together down alleyways. It's very lively. Many humans and animals out and about. There are a plethora of cherry blossoms and fruit trees in the pots and small gardens lining the sidewalks of the shopping district. There are plenty of buildings, one standing much taller than the rest. It's the clock tower from before. It must be at least fifty feet taller than the surrounding buildings.

I reach the end of the shopping district. There's a single yellow bench situated at the edge of the cliff, right in front of the guardrail. I take a peek over the edge. To my left, down the few hundred steps I climbed, the lower level of town stretches for a few miles or so. To the northeast, the Mallard's Stretch looms like giant in the distance. It rises from the water and towers menacingly. From up on this ledge, I can see a river running through the far east side of town through a campsite. It runs over a small waterfall into another stream that leads straight into the ocean. I can see countless umbrellas and figures on the beach.

I guess quiet won't be part of this lifestyle. This town is insanely beautiful, and I can definitely see why people come here.

After a few moments longer of my gawking, I back away from the bench and head back toward the main shopping district. I walk toward a small blue building with a large yellow sign.

NOOK'S HOMES

I take a deep breath and head inside. The small store gives me a break from the bustle outside. The store has various models of houses and patios atop desks, as well as siding, shingles, and other materials. An otter with thick black glasses sits at the front desk. He beckons me over.

"Name's Lyle," he says. "Nook's partner."

"Don," I say.

He turns around and scoots a few feet away from his desk in his rolling chair.

"TOM!" he shouts, cupping his paws around his mouth. "KID'S HERE!"

I jump a bit.

Another animal emerges from a back room. He's an older raccoon, with tired blue eyes and a few grey hairs in his brown fur. He has bags under his eyes. He's dressed nicely. Vest over a button-up with dress pants and shoes. He hurries over and greets me with a smile.

"You must be Don," he says, politely.

"That's me," I say.

"My name is Tom Nook," he says, shaking my hand. "Rover told me a bit about you."

"I trust it was good information...?"

"Ohoho, of course!"

Nook leads me to his office. "Right, right," he says, sitting at his desk. "Let's get to business, hm?"

He lays out several documents across a large town map.

"I have four vacant homes ready for move-in," he says. There are four thumbtacks stuck in the map, pinpointing the location of the homes. One is near the river, one is near the train station, one is near the shopping district, and one is right beside the campsite. "These are the only four standalone homes I have available," he says. "I also own an apartment complex in the lower level of town, near the beach. Rent is cheaper, but you'd have to deal with noisy neighbors. It's also a bit far from here." I zone out as Nook details the four vacant houses and compares them to his apartments. I'm more than used to noisy neighbors and bustle of streets. Besides, he said rent is cheaper.

"What do you think?" he asks.

"Personally, I've got my eye on those apartments." I say.

Nook smiles and places his hands on the desk. "Perhaps you'd like to head out there, tomorrow?"

"I'd love to."

Nook arranges a time for us to meet at his apartment complex tomorrow afternoon. After half an hour of more discussion, we say goodnight and part ways. It would make sense to go tomorrow. I showed up right before Nook was supposed to close up shop. I pushed him twenty minutes over. Regardless, Nook bids me farewell and suggest that I head to town hall to get a head-start on citizen registration. I check my map see that the town hall is away from the shopping center and closer to the train station. I make my way over there and see that the town hall is the building I saw earlier-the clock tower. Turns out the entire building is used for different reasons. Oddly, the town hall is on the top floor... I head up the elevator and step out into the town hall. I can't quite wrap my head around the layout of this building. Inside the office, a single animal sits at the front desk. She sits up and stares at me as I walk toward the desk.

"Hi, Isabelle," I say.

"Hi there," she says, giving me a sleepy look. "Had a feeling I'd be seeing you soon."

"This office is really quiet." I say, looking out the window and down at the busy streets. The sun has set. The plaza is illuminated by yellow fairy lights suspended from poles.

"It's peaceful." says Isabelle. "Lonely, but peaceful. The only people that really come in here are business owners and new residents."

I glance past her at the empty desk in the back.

"Where's the mayor?"

"She's been out of town for a week. Said she had urgent business with family."

I exaggerate a nod and my gaze drifts to the side. There's a dry, old piece of coral on the edge of Isabelle's desk. She notices that I'm staring at it. She pushes it toward me. I pick it up and examine it. It's blue and covered in tiny pores. I hand it to Isabelle. She stares at it blankly before smiling faintly.

"It's a gift," she says. "The mayor found out I liked seashells and brought me this a few days after she arrived."

She sets it back on the corner of her desk and sighs. "It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but the fact that she thought of me was good enough."

Isabelle smiles again and turns to her computer. "We should get started on your registration. Can I get your full name?"

"Donovan Iniman."

After an hour of paperwork, I'm officially registered as a citizen of Oraton. I take my papers and stuff them into a folder in my bag. Isabelle puts her copies in a desk drawer.

"Don, I have a question," she says.

I slightly cock my head to the side. "Hm?"

"Do you even have a place to stay yet?"

My heart sinks a bit. "N-No," I say. "I'm supposed to go to Nook's apartments down in Lower Town tomorrow. I suppose I'll have to stay in a motel tonight."

Isabelle yawns and nods. "Most likely," she says. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Not like it's your fault."

"Funny story-I gave the mayor a pity tent to stay in the night she moved here. She was in the same situation as you."

I laugh as a grin stretches across my face. "I don't suppose you've any more tents?"

Isabelle giggles and shakes her head. "Unfortunately, no."

We finish our laugh and have a moment of silence.

"It's sort of customary for me to show new residents around town," Isabelle says, rolling away from her desk. "I was doing something like that earlier with those tourists. Do you need me to do that?"

"I'll be fine." I say. "Thank you for the offer."

Isabelle stretches and heads over to a coffee maker next to the window. "Well, I've got plenty more to do tonight. You should probably find some place to stay."

I stand up and pull my bags close. "You're probably right," I say.

Isabelle yawns again and loosens her hair tie, letting her hair fall out of the bun and curl around her shoulders. "It was nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy living here."

"I hope I do too," I say as I head to the elevator.

"Have a good night!" she calls.

"You too! Thanks for all your help!"

She gives me a thumbs-up as the elevator doors close, blocking her from my view. I stand alone in the trembling metal box as it descends to the ground floor. I head outside to the plaza and call Rover.

"Hello?" he says.

"Hey," I say. "I'm a citizen now. I'm supposed to go see apartments with Nook tomorrow."

"Ah, good work."

"He seems like a nice guy."

"Oh, he is. That old tanuki has a big heart."

Not a raccoon. Oops.

"Anyway," I start, "I'm probably gonna book a room somewhere. I'll need to start looking for a job soon."

"That's right," Rover says. "Can't live on savings forever."

"I hope the trip to Lower Town works out. It'd make moving in much quicker."

"You'll do just fine. Want me to help move your stuff?"

"That'd be a great help. I'll call Mom tomorrow after Nook and I meet, though."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks, Rover."

I put my phone away and take a look at the people scurrying to and fro. A man beside me taps my shoulder. He's a human man with medium-length black hair and a goatee. "Excuse me," he says. "I overheard you were looking for work?"

"...I am, yes." I say.

"There's a small cafe in town that's looking to hire. It's pretty popular."

"Is it close by?"

He points toward the shopping district. "It's situated on one of the side-streets around the restaurants," he says. "It's called The Roost."

I thank the man and fish my phone from my pocket. It's time to find a place to lay my head tonight. My first evening in Oraton has been productive. I can only hope it's smooth sailing from here.