Lessons of Love and Life... On Animal Crossing

As a lonely, socially inept teenager who happens to also own a Wii, it's not a far stretch to understand what I enjoy about Animal Crossing. Merry little townsfolk who are always happy to see you; a quaint atmosphere where you can beautify your town and watch your trees and flowers grow; even expand your house and fortify your savings by doing little more than dig up dinosaur fossils and catch bugs. Yes, my joyful little burg of Le Couer is a wondrous little place, a non twist ending version of Willoughby, even. It has several perks, mostly involving just cheering me up, but even beyond that there was one that I never expected to encounter. And that is the gaining of a better understanding of love.

I was just a shy city boy, moving to my little house in the countryside town of Le Couer, taking what help I could get from kindly cats on the train and friendly, if monetarily concerned, raccoon merchants. I just wanted to find a place to settle down, and settle down I did. And that was when I met... her. That beautiful, almost ethereal sprite, luring me in with her sweet siren song. She had smooth, fair skin; big, round, irresistible eyes; tall ears that flopped with a decadence only allowed to that most lovely of creatures.

Screenshots cannot do justice to this fair maid

Time went by, as time is wont to do. Spring brings its rich blessings of love to fruitation, and I do believe that there was a subtle spark between me and Tiffany. That was a glorious summer. But

as summer turns to fall, and leaves darken and descend to the ground, so does the treacherous heart grow cold over time. I am sad to say it, but she broke my heart. One day I showed up to her house, with a freshly picked bouquet of black roses (man, are those hard to grow), but what should I find but her house filled with moving boxes. O bitter day, O bitter sorrow of departure. There was nary a soul to console me after our tearful, final farewell. Never again shall I see her who broke my heart so open.

It was soon that a new neighbor came to the neighborhood. At the behest of that mindless sheep who lives next door to me, I introduced myself. She was cute, I'll giver her that. She had a certain air of dignity as well as bubbliness to her, what with that little penguin waddle of hers. To say our relationship was doomed from the start would be true, but it was in no way her fault. Really, it was mine. My heart on the mend, I was merely on the rebound from Tiffany. Not ready was I to mend my heart and move on with my life, so it came as no surprise, and no particular heartache (at least not fresh heartache) when Aurora moved away but a month later.

But just as time marches steadily on, so does it heal all wounds. As the autumn leaves fell to the ground, so did I begin to come to terms with my loss, and soon felt ready to begin anew. The ebb and flow of neighbors coming and leaving this town soon brought Marina, a heavenly creature if I ever saw one, and as sweet as can be.

We're taking it slow, Marina and I; slow but steady. What the future holds, no one can say, not even that fortune telling cat downtown. No, I shall be content to live in the moment, and hold tightly my dearly beloved. For now, I am happy.