My eyes flutter open to the dim light inside the train. I was having a strange dream about a white dog girl with a guitar. Looking out the window with my sleepy eyes all I see is darkness. We must be going through the mountains right now so the train is in a tunnel. That means I must be close to my destination now. My name is Bill Alger. I'm a human rookie architect from the big city, but I've been invited by the mayor of a new small town that was impressed by my work to help him plan the town's development. The town is named Palm Leaf and is located between two mountains and close to the beach.
I'm really excited about arriving. I was happy to hear someone was interested in my work, I was starting to have trouble getting a job. Plus city life in the city has become repetitive and unfulfilling. Spending some time on a nearly private beach for a few months will be the perfect break. Then the light started to peer out of the darkness and the train had finally passed through the tunnel. Looking out the window again I saw the beautiful stretch of nature leading out towards the beach. From atop the hill, I can see a river flowing from the forest through the plains and out into the ocean. In the open area, there are a few buildings along a small road that must be the town. The train starts to slow as it approaches and I see the small platform that is the town's train station.
I gather my belongings and disembark. There doesn't appear to be anyone else who got off with me, this town must really just be starting off. To my surprise, someone is waiting for me at the station. She is a young raccoon girl with gray fur and big fluffy tails with black rings around it. She is dressed in a tank top and athletic shorts. She looks at me with bewilderment and a slight blush when I lock eyes with her. After realizing she has been staring at me she finally speaks up.
"Yo, you must be Mr. Alger. I'm Tammy, I'm the mayor's daughter. He asked me to pick you up when the train arrived." The young raccoon girl says to me.
I nod at her and extend my hand. "Nice to meet you, Tammy. You can call me Bill, Mr. Alger sounds too formal." I say to her with a smile.
"Sure thing Bill!" She replies as she pulls at my arm and leads me into town.
Tammy decides to give me a tour before taking me to her father. There isn't too much to show off anyway. The town only has a few buildings. The is the town hall which also is the post office, a fire department that looks like it shares a building with the police department, a general store, a few houses, a hotel, and another building that is under construction. It looks like I'll have a lot of work ahead of me. Tammy finally takes me into the town hall to meet her father.
"Ah, Bill. You're finally here. Welcome sir, I'm glad to finally meet you in person." Mayor Nook says to me. The mayor was also a raccoon man with gray fur wearing a green suit and glasses.
"It's good to see you too sir. Tammy here was an excellent tour guide." I tell him as I gesture towards Tammy.
"I'm happy to hear that." The mayor says. "Well, as you can see we are just getting started with the town, but I've got big plans to make this into a tourist destination. I've seen your work and I think together we can make this place something special." Nook adds with enthusiasm. "And on a nice budget too." He adds with a whispered tone.
I nod excited at the prospect. "Great, there is a lot to get done, but before we can start bringing more folks in we need to make sure all the basic amenities are taken care of. Right now the Police and Fire departments have to share a building, but thankfully our only firefighter and our sheriff are sisters so they must be used to sharing. Also, all mail is currently delivered to the Townhall, but as we get bigger we will need a proper postman. There is a girl who came to town a few days ago to apply for the job. The building being built across the street will be a grocery store, but after the main building was built we ran into some... money issues. Right now we can only afford a single contractor and she is putting the last touches upon the building. The general store is run by the elderly couple that sold us all this land. They gave us a good deal on it so I want to help their little store if I can. Right now one of their granddaughters is helping them take care of it. The hotel is fully functioning right now. The townsfolk that don't have homes yet are living there and the lady who runs it is a family friend. We've already got you the best room in the hotel so why don't you rest for tonight and we can start tackling some of these problems in the morning." Mayor Nook tells me.
Well, it seems like I'm going to be doing more than just city planning. Nook might be taking advantage of me a little, but I think I can still make the best of it. Nook tells Tammy to introduce me to the hotel matron. I follow Tammy outside and she turns to me. She is looking me over again with her face blushing again. She shakes her head for a moment before clearing her voice and saying, "The hotel is right there, look for the happy dog lady and that's the owner. I'm going to go explore near the river so, bye." Tammy gives me a wave and a smile and then quickly runs off to play in the woods. It seems like she was nervous and was trying to get away from me. I'm sure I'll see her around.
As I enter the hotel I am greeted, fluffy yellow dog girl. Much like Tammy said when she notices me a big warm smile washes over her face. "Ah, a customer. Are you mister Alger perhaps?" The dog girl asks with enthusiasm.
"Yes, but please call me Bill," I say returning her smile
"I'm Izzy, I'm the one that runs this hotel. It's been a while since I've seen a human. The only visitors so far have been animal people like me." Izzy says looking me up and down. I swear she is also blushing to herself a little as looks at me. "Well anyway, I'm sure you are tired. Your room is number 201. We serve breakfast in the morning at 7 am and dinner at 6 pm. I'll see you in the morning..." The dog girl trails off while looking at me again.
I smile and take my room key. Izzy jumps slightly as my finger rubs against her paw. I take then head upstairs and unpack my belongings. As I get settled in I ponder about all the tasks before me and I wonder which I should tackle first. I quickly fall asleep after I take a shower.
The next morning I get dressed and decide what I'll do for the day.