Animal Crossing Tales: When It's Time

Chapter 3: Smile, and the World Smiles With You

"Kosumo! Wake up! It's starting!"

The Heaven's light evaporated before her and left her gently on smooth faux leather. The air smelled faintly of cleaning chemicals, and it came to life with the sound of a whirring engine and the crunch of strong tires on a dirt road. The girl went to take a deep breath, but her body, made of glass and stardust, consumed the world around her without any physical effort.

"Phew, we barely made it, Kosumo!"

The girl turned to her left to find Rover sitting on a booth with a dark green seat and sky blue back—just like hers—across the aisle from her. There a window past his pointy ears, but it was too dark outside to make anything out.

Rover flashed a grin. "The first step of starting a new life is getting on the bus! Riveting, isn't it?"

The girl nodded, unable to laugh. She took the time to glance around the bus and discovered that it was completely empty except for the two of them and, presumably, the driver. This moment of quiet is what caused his words to fall into place: Wait... what did you call me?

The cat raised a brow and gave her a questioning look. "Kosumo. That's what you told me your name was, right?"

She drew back, surprised. She pressed a fingerless hand to her head; it felt delightfully light and airy after traversing the spotlight: she was almost giddy. The girl figured that Rover must've taken the name from her mind at some point since their first meeting in the void. It brought her a sense of comfortable familiarity, of confident ownership. It felt wonderful to not have to strain her mind to communicate. Yes, Kosumo. That's right.

Rover made the exaggerated gesture of wiping his brow. "Well, thank goodness! I would think I'm pretty good at remembering names-- especially those belonging to faceless girls such as yourself." He winked.

I promise that I'm rolling my eyes at you right now, but she covered the place where her mouth would be, as if she had a smile to hide.

"Ah, well, that's nothing new to me." Rover chuckled, and then he pulled up the sleeve of his undershirt, revealing a simple watch with a round face and brown belt. "Oh, shoot!" His eyes widened. "It's 9:51 P.M. right now, isn't it? The 26th of June?" He began to fiddle with the little knobs on his watch.

Um... yes? She knew that date was right, but the time...? Kosumo turned to her right and found a window identical to the one on Rover's side. There was a deep, starry night beyond the glass; it was utterly stunning. For the sun to have already set at this point in the summer, she deduced, it must be at least past eight o'clock. I think so; that makes sense to me. I don't really have a watch on me, though. Or... anything.

Rover rolled his eyes as he pulled down his sleeve. "Mya, that's about as good as what I've got. My watch gets... confused, sometimes, and I'm no good at keeping up with time. Thanks for the help, anyway." A smile came over his face, as if that was just the way his mouth rested.

You're welcome, Rover. Kosumo shrugged. But, may I ask you something? Will I... stay like this? In this body?

His giant eyes grew further. "Oh, goodness, no! Don't you worry about that, though; I'll take care of it before we arrive!"

Thank you, she told him simply, but where are we going, exactly?

"Ah! I'm glad you asked!" Rover beamed and reached into his pockets, taking out a neatly folded sheet of beige paper. "I know the perfect animal village for you, buddy." He leaned across the aisle and handed her the square. "It's called Keyris, and that right there is a map that you can keep until you know your new home like the back of your hand."