Thomas' New Horizons

New Horizons

"Thomas? Are you there?" I woke up to the sound of Tom Nook's voice. I ran out of the tent and shouted: "WHAT YEAR IS IT?"

"Whoah there," he said, "You have only been asleep for a few hours. Maybe you need to switch to decaf, yes yes. Unless, of course, you were 'drinking coffee.' It's quite normal to be worn out from such a long trip — and a major life event! Speaking of which... I have a few more things that you might find useful as you adjust to life in our little paradise. First, you'll need one of these, yes?"

He handed me a plastic box.

"It's your own NookPhone!" he said proudly.

Is this box a 'phone'? "I had these made especially for island residents," he continued, "Ah, I want to make sure it's working right, so could you try turning it on for me, hm?"

I turned it on. It lit up and mildly vibrated. "Good, good," Tom Nook said, "Looks like you're getting good reception as well. Ok, feel free to put it away now. Say, Thomas, have you ever used a smartphone before?"

"Um," I said, "Yes, I have."

"Very good! Then this should be a breeze for you. In fact, I think you'll find it much more useful than the phone you already have."

"Hey!" I shouted at him, "I take pride in using this flip phone! I collect them!"

"Oh," he said, "My apologies. Anyway, I have one more thing for you..."

He handed me a piece of paper. "It's your itemized bill!" he said.

I looked it over. Thankfully, Tom Nook didn't charge me for talking, standing, chewing, lollygagging, breathing, and existing, like Sheldon said he would. "So," Tom Nook noted, "this includes everything — airfare, accommodations, labour, tax... and of course your own NookPhone, hm?"

So, he's charging me for the NookPhone that I didn't want and won't use. It's just like hotels charging you for the pool and the gym when you didn't use the pool and didn't even know that they had a gym. But, then again, he did give me an island for free. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Bringing your grand total to the modest sum of... 49,800 bells!" He continued.

49,800 bells? Why didn't I think to bring any extra?

"Ah," he started again, "But there's still the problem that you don't actually have any... Yes! Of course! Well, no need to worry! I was prepared for this type of tricky situation. For the getaway package, you can pay your fees with miles instead of the standard bells. I call this extremely helpful service... the Nook Mileage Program!"

"What?" I asked, "Is that some stupid illegal cryptocurrency?"

"Well, it's quite extraordinary, if I do say so myself. With the Nook Mileage Program, you can earn miles by simply living your life here on D'ni! I dare say, the more you enjoy your island life, the more Nook Miles you can earn. And you can use them to pay back your move-in fees... and much more! So, the bottom line is... you'd need 49,800 bells to pay your move-in fees, but with this new service... Would you believe it? It only comes to... 5,000 miles! I'll just... go ahead and register you so you can pay in miles. Yes, yes, but there are more details available within your NookPhone. Just open the Nook Miles app! And you'll see that you've earned some miles just for travelling to the island and joining the program! Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to a few other matters. But let me heartily congratulate you once again on your arrival. I'm so happy to have you as a resident of D'ni and a client of Nook Inc!"

He walked away. It was at that moment that I realized, for the first time: I was truly alone. No one gave me any instructions telling me what to do or where to go. I was free. Sometimes, I wonder if there's an end to it all. I cried; I was happy. People loved me. I wiped my tears, and I set out to start a new life; My New Horizons.