I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into. I only knew that this place existed because everyone talked about it. They talked about it as if it were something inevitable, almost a calling. No wonder they call it inevitable! Make this kind of suspense over some inevitable thing for someone that is both curious and bored and you'll have your inevitable thing to happen for sure!
Making justice to the suspense, the atmosphere was strange from the very beginning. The sky felt… wrong? The air was heavy, not in a literal way, but enough to me to say that even my lungs felt heavy. Probably I was just holding my breath in anxiety, since it felt as if the town itself was watching me, way before my feet even touched the ground. And it was very polite! I like being noticed, just as it's always supposed to be. I stepped off the taxi smiling, ready for something simple: for us to have fun together. Lots of…
I just didn’t know how yet.
But It took no long before it became clear that they were expecting me.
Not as a visitor…
…but as a leader.
Somehow, I ended up as a kind of mayor there. A central, responsible figure. Can it be any funnier? Responsibility always sounds bigger than it really is. The town name? It was called Annus. An ugly name, perfect for that hole of a place.
I had no attachment. None.
In my mind, everything there looked like it was made to be touched, bent, tested. Houses, streets, inhabitants. Like toys left on the floor. I just wanted to see how far I could go before someone complained. Or cried. Or learned.
I met a few residents. Honestly? I barely remember most of them.
Cute little creatures. Eyes too big. Voices too cheerful.
Haha. They seemed excited to spend some time with me.
Let’s have fun, I thought. :)
Still, something about Annus kept me curious.
I saw the house that would be “mine.” Tiny. Cramped. Like a badly given hug.
And as if that weren’t enough, a tanuki showed up demanding rent. He talked about debts with admirable ease. Greedy, but honest about it. I liked him a little less after that.
The town was smelly. Dirty. Disorganized.
I remember thinking that, at that rate, it might end up changing me before I managed to change it. That didn’t seem fair. I had just arrived…and became the mayor even before stepping inside my house!
The day ended with me wandering aimlessly through Annus, doing small activities no one seemed to take very seriously. Empty things. Repetitive things. Almost like rituals. But something… something was worth it.
I found a gyroid.
I didn’t know what it was. Or where it came from.
But it was beautiful. Strangely quiet. It seemed to observe without judging.
I liked it immediately. I felt comfortable.
I kept it with me.Maybe that was when Annus truly began to play with me.
Or maybe I just hadn’t understood the rules yet.
