Chapter 11

The phone started to ring by the side of Tom Nook's bed. He was lying in the exact same position for hours: on his back, staring towards the ceiling. No matter how tired he felt, he was unable to drift away into sleep. There were so many questions on his mind, so much that he wanted to ask Sable. It had been a very hard time for everyone; Tom Nook sincerely hoped that this truly was the end of it. His thoughts interrupted by the phone call, he gazed to the clock. It was quarter to five in the morning.

Slowly becoming more and more annoyed by the shrill ring of the phone, he rolled around in his bed, trying to get closer. He reached his arm out for the receiver; it didn't reach. The phone chimed for a fifth time. With all his effort, Tom Nook surged forward, grabbing the receiver. Now lying on his belly, he brought the receiver to his ear.

"…Hello?" he groaned. There was a panicked gasp on the other side of the call.

"Tom, is that you?" the terrified voice cried. The voice was Mabel's. Instantly sensing that something was wrong, Tom Nook quickly got up off of his belly and sat on the side of the bed.

"Mabel, what's wrong?" Tom Nook asked with concern, all previous thoughts suddenly vanishing from his mind.

"T-Tom…Sable's gone" Mabel whimpered.

"Gone?" Tom asked. "Where?" He could hear Mabel crying on the other side of the line; something terrible had happened.

"Tom, she's not in the store or anywhere nearby…" Mabel sobbed. "I found a note by her bed…i-it's…" She couldn't finish the sentence and started to cry profusely again. Tom Nook listened on in fear. Eventually, he heard her continue.

"Her bed's still warm…" Mabel uttered. "T-Tom…she's…I-I think she's in big danger! Please, you have to find her!"

It suddenly clicked in Tom's mind. He didn't even have to know what the note said. It was clear enough to Tom Nook what Sable was trying to do.

Slamming the receiver down on the phone, he shot out of bed, quickly throwing his dressing gown on. He sprinted downstairs, grabbing his keys and coat. Not even bothering to turn on the house electrics, he ran out to the porch and quickly locked the door. Stuffing the keys in his pocket, he started to sprint as quickly as he could, not paying any attention to the heaving rain that threw itself down. Running down the path, his mind quickly filled with the terrible thoughts that had plagued him so badly the past few days. The sky was dark and cloudy; the calm winds did not stop the relentlessness of the rain. Not used to such strenuous exercise, Tom Nook started to feel his legs buckling slightly in pain, but he knew he couldn't fall. Sable needed him now. He dreaded to think what would happen if he were a second too late.

Eventually, he reached town. At once, he ran towards the direction of the Able Sisters store. His heart racing; Tom Nook took the path by the beach in order to reach the store. The store appeared in sight, Tom Nook was tempted to yell out Sable's name in the vain hope that she would answer.

He got to the door, his legs throbbing, and knocked it violently. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the door handle and threw the door open. As soon as he entered, he saw Mable, who was in her pajamas, crying. Upon catching sight of her, Tom Nook gave her a quick, assuring embrace. Nothing in the past seemed to matter to him then, he was there to help. Separating from Mabel, he kept his hands on her shoulders.

"Mabel, calm down" he said steadfastly. "I'm here now, compose yourself" His words seemed to have little effect, so her moved onto the important matters. "Mabel, I want you to give me the letter Sable left"

He feared the worst. Watching as Mable pulled out a neatly folded piece of lined A4 paper, scrunched slightly due to Mabel's pocket, he saw the writing through the material. His stomach sunk; was this truly happening to him? Had Sable really gone this far?

"This is it" Mabel sobbed, rubbing her moist, reddened eyes. Tom Nook took the paper with his nerve-ridden hand, shaking like a leaf. He couldn't bear to open it with his normal wits; steeling himself, he started to unfold the paper.

The amount of writing was surprisingly short, and as soon as Tom Nook started to read it aloud, a different scenario was coming to mind. It read:

"5:15, The angels have gone. I'm out of here, forever"

His hand started to lower as he looked back towards Mabel. As he was reading, Mabel had started to talk to herself in desperation. His ears automatically tuned in to what she was saying as his eyes blurred:

"Oh, I can't believe she's just gone, where is she? All her stuff, her pictures and her sewing machine, they're all gone too…"

It was puzzling, but Tom Nook started to make sense of what was happening. He shot a gaze to Sable's work-desk; the sewing machine had indeed vanished, along with the many rolls of material that she had. Tom Nook's initial thought, that Sable had perhaps had enough of her life, started to fade as a new hypothesis came to mind. It made more sense; Tom Nook looked back at the note. He couldn't take his eyes off the digits. 5:15. 5:15, he thought. Was it really as simple as that?

Slowly, he moved his head to look at the clock inside of the store. It read 5 o clock exactly. His thoughts started to frantically form together; he even found his feet moving a little to try and cope with it. It was on the tip of his tongue, and with one last look at the paper, he gasped.

"She's at the station!" he gasped, quickly dropping the note and barging out of the door. Mabel quickly tried to follow him, but was unwilling to step out into the monsoon-like rain. Watching as Tom Nook vanished into the darkness of the storm, she yelled and cried out for him. It hurt Tom Nook not to tell Mable of her sister's fate, but time was of the essence. He knew exactly what Sable was trying to do now. She was trying to leave town. I'm out of here, forever. The digits 5:15 must have been the time of the train's arrival, and if Tom Nook didn't reach the station by that time, then Sable would be forever lost. Despite the now excruciating pain in his legs, he ran on regardless, determined not to let Sable leave his life.

Within time, he caught sight of the station, perched up on a hill. Shielding his eyes from the rain, he peered towards the lamp lit, sheltered platform; the very same one that he himself had stood on when he left for the city. Was that where she was planning to leave?

His heart jumped as he spotted her silhouette standing beneath one of the lamps, wearing a large tartan coat with a big suitcase standing beside her. She was completely alone; she intended to vanish into the night, never to return. Erratically, Tom Nook clambered up the stairs to the platform, resorting to using his hands to help him up, before stumbling back onto his feet. His sounds were drowned out by the rain and Sable didn't notice him at all.

"Sable!" Tom Nook called suddenly, caching her attention. She turned around, surprised to see him. Anguish then started to creep upon her face, she had been caught red handed. Tom Nook limped up to her, a glance at the clock confirmed the time, thirteen past five.

"T-Tom, how did you find me so quickly?" she asked in shock.

"Sable, you can't do this" Tom Nook reasoned, trying to be calm. Sable sighed, hiding her face a little. Tom Nook noticed how dazzlingly beautiful she was to him, which hurt him even more to think of the prospect of her leaving.

"Tom…if I don't do this, then…I'll always be haunted by the past" Sable breathed, her voice already choking up. "These past few days have ended up hurting so many people…myself, my dear sister…you"

"I don't care how much you've hurt me" Tom Nook blurted defiantly. "You can't do this to me! I mean, whose going to take care of the Able Sisters store?"

"Mabel's a big girl now" Sable explained. "She can take care of the store for her own, now. I've left a large sum of money for her to buy a new machine and materials. She'll be fine"

"But she doesn't want you to leave!" Tom Nook pleaded. "I don't want you to leave!"

From the distance, the sound of a train could be heard approaching. Tom Nook started to panic as he saw Sable taking her bag closer to the platform. He took a few steps forward; he started to hunch in desperation. His expensive clothes were dirty, his face was stained with tears and rain and his voice was breaking up again.

"Please, don't go!" Tom Nook begged as the train reached the platform, beginning to slow down to a halt. Sable grabbed the handle of her bag, trying not to cry herself.

"Goodbye, Tom" she sobbed. "I-I always loved you…"

Feeling his heart ripping inside of him, he burst into tears and fell onto his knees.

"Sable" he cried weakly as the doors to the train opened. "I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here with me. I…I love you, Sable"

Sable stood still in front of the doors to the train, her hand still clenched determinedly on her bag. Tom Nook continued to sob, putting his head in his hands and his hands to the floor, truly begging for her to stay.

Sable looked down at him slowly, a look of surprise on her face.

"…S-Say that again…" she uttered. "D-did you just say…that you loved me?" Tom Nook struggled to his feet, still sobbing.

"Please…" he wept. "I love you, Sable, I-I don't want you to go! What am I ever going to do without you?"

Sable's tears started to flow from her eyes, trickling down her face as she walked around her bag and in front of Tom Nook.

"You've…" she whispered, her throat all clogged from the emotion. "You've never said that to me before…"

Tom Nook shook his head, putting his hands out. Sable took them into her own, holding them tightly as she watched her one true love cry in front of her.

"I'm s-sorry" Tom Nook stuttered, his words still tripping up from the overwhelming emotion he was feeling. "I'm sorry I never said it before…I can't imagine a life without you. Why did you think I became so miserable in the city?"

Unable to battle her own tears anymore, she quickly embraced Tom Nook, crying as profusely as she could. Tom Nook also continued to weep, but now his tears were full of joy. His relief was immense, he truly missed being in Sable's arms. He held onto her as tightly as she could, fearing that the train could swallow her up. Sable reacted likewise, holding him tighter. They cried into each other's shoulders, unable to bear the thought of even letting go. Tom Nook couldn't believe that he almost lost Sable. Sable couldn't believe she almost left altogether.

Mabel had managed to find a coat and fought through the early morning rain. As she approached the station platform, she saw the figures of Tom Nook and Sable embracing beneath the lamp light as the train started to move away. She remained out of sight, giving them the privacy they needed, but shed a single tear of happiness for them. Against all odds, it worked out.

After a few minutes, both Tom Nook and Sable had no more tears to cry. They separated slightly, just enough to look at each other's faces.

"Oh, Tom…" Sable sniffed. "I'm so sorry. I've been a real pain, haven't I?" Tom Nook, too relieved to feel anything but happiness, took a soft hold of Sable's cheeks, caressing them with his rain soaked palms.

"I wouldn't have you any other way…" he said, beaming amidst his tears. He then kissed her; the taste of her lips was like honey to him. His heart skipped a beat, the past few days had caused him to forget how being madly in love felt like. Sable's disbelief was clear on her face; it appeared she had forgotten as well.

"But, what about Mark?" Sable asked. Tom Nook started to chuckle a little.

"Forget him" he said quickly, his smile proud upon his face. "There isn't anything he could say that would make me love you any less…" As he talked, his throat choked up with emotion once again. Sable continued to tear up as they kissed again, before returning back into their embrace.

Tom Nook happened to notice something as they cuddled again. He had caught sight of something on Sable's arm, beneath her fur. A thin white line, slightly jagged, on the inside of her forearm. A scar. He remembered Tortimer's words and remembered the history of that scar. Closing his eyes, he made a silent promise that day: to make sure that something like that never happened again.