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I wasn’t expecting to find Digby standing outside of the Happy Home Showcase-thingy this late at night. Then again, he wasn’t expecting to see me out and about at this hour either. Truth is, I was running a little behind schedule and by the time I had come to the post office to deposit some bells, the sun had long since set. That’s when I saw Isabelle’s stuffy brother at his usual post.

“Oh, that new guy, he wanted to ask about model homes and such” he politely explained. “It was that little pink bear. You know who I mean, don’t you?”

“Polka-dot shirt? Cool accent?” I asked, to which Digby nodded. “Yeah, that’s Vladimir all right. What was he asking about exactly?”

“Well, after I explained what goes on over there at the showcase, he was very keen on seeing your house go up on display at some point. He said that, with yours being the biggest home in the village, it would be the ideal building to represent Place with.”

“Hmm…” I thought, flattered, but confused. “I’m not sure if proudly displaying how much richer the mayor is to his people is a good idea, but if anything, that makes me wanna tidy up the place a bit. The place being my house, not the town.”

“I assumed as much” Digby replied, not even bothering to fake a chuckle. “Say, shouldn’t you be at town hall by now? I don’t want you leaving my sister to do all the work…”

“Oh, chillax Diggers” I said, making a mental note to never call him that again in case of any unfortunate slip-ups. “I was just on my way over there right now. You see, Charlise bet that I couldn’t catch this one little fish, and even though I’m definitely the best fisher in town, I thought it wouldn’t take me long to humiliate her, but as it turns out… hey, what’s the matter with you?”

Digby had gone pale.
Well, as pale as a furry creature can appear to be, anyway. His lip quivered and his eyes shrunk, staring past me as if he had just seen a ghost.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” I laughed.

With one frail and shaky hand, Digby pointed past me. He never struck me as one to pull pranks, but I was a little cautious when I turned to see what was spooking him so much and, well, to say that my heart stopped beating for a second would be no exaggeration.

There, stood before me on a pair of ephemeral hooves with a piercing, empty glare… was the ghost of GRUFF!!

“Been looking for yoooouuuu…” he moaned.

The sound of his ghastly voice was enough to send Digby and I a couple inches off the ground - the traumatised dog leaped into my arms for protection as if I were some sort of superhero. Forget that, we need an exorcist here!

“Pipe down! Shaddap!!” the apparition exclaimed. “What? ‘Ya tryin’ to wake the whole village with ya screamin’?”

“M-m-mayor…” Digby shook in my arms “Are you seeing this g-g-g-ghost too?”

“That’s not just any g-g-g-ghost, bro… that’s g-g-g-gruff!”

“Aye” he grunted, “And I’ve been meaning to get a hold of you for weeks now! Is it that difficult to wander around Main Street at night more often? I tell ya…”

“S-sorry, gramps,” I stuttered “I’ve only just learned that ghosts exist. That and, you know, I wasn’t expecting to see you again any time soon.” I suppose after the gyroids and the lucid dreams on steroids that Luna provided, this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.

“Believe me,” Gruff complained “I would have loved to have moved on ages ago, but my soul is not at rest… or somethin’ like that.”

“Should I-I be h-here for this c-conversation?” asked Digby.

“Up to you, I suppose” I replied, “but when’s the next time you’re ever gonna see a ghost this close?”

He decided to stick around.
I asked Gruff, meanwhile, what was bothering him.

“First off,” he croaked “I know about what you did after I kicked the bucket…”

“Y-you do?”

“It takes a lot of gumption to dress up like Father Christmas like that, just to make everybody like ya again. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen in all my years! But in all seriousness, good on ya, Mayor. You’ve been doing an alright job with Place recently as well.”

I wiped my brow.
“Phew, that’s a relief. I thought you were mad or something!”

“But I am not happy with where you put that bridge!”

“Aw come on!!”

“It really aught to be a little further south from my garden. It’s too close!”

“Simon and I have been tending to your flowers, though!” I reminded him. “Surely, you’ve noticed that, right?”

“Hmm… I suppose you have been keeping them nice and healthy. Simon was always a good’n. And I shouldn’t complain about the bridge being built in the first place. ‘Tis a hell of a lot more than that Tortimer ever did for me…”

“You’re welcome!” I smiled “Got anything else you need to get off your chest?”

“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head “I do believe I’m done ‘ere. I might pop by later on, though, ‘see how things are doing.”

“Feel free to do so! I’m sure Digby could use the company!” I joked. Digby didn’t seem to find it as funny as I did and just squirmed on the spot.

“So long as he stops singing all ‘them Kay Jay Glider songs out of tune all day, then sure.”

With that, he vanished into the air without so much of a goodbye.
Digby and I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. We had just received a visit from beyond the grave. Actually, I’m surprised that he didn’t complain about the tombstone we made for him while he was here.

“…I better, like, go to town hall then” I eventually said.

“Yeah, yeah…” Digby nodded “I… think I’ll go home… and sleep… for a week… or two.”

~Author’s Notes~
A very silly episode that may or may not lessen the emotional impact of season one’s most pivotal moments!! Truth be told, I was always planning on doing this, because since Gruff was the first of my villagers to leave in New Leaf, seeing him walking around in Main Street later initially surprised me way back when because I had pretended that he had died and all that.

I suppose you could say that I’ve always had a very wild and a very, very stupid imagination.

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Description

I wasn’t expecting to find Digby standing outside of the Happy Home Showcase-thingy this late at night. Then again, he wasn’t expecting to see me out and about at this hour either. Truth is, I was running a little behind schedule and by the time I had come to the post office to deposit some bells, the sun had long since set. That’s when I saw Isabelle’s stuffy brother at his usual post.

“Oh, that new guy, he wanted to ask about model homes and such” he politely explained. “It was that little pink bear. You know who I mean, don’t you?”

“Polka-dot shirt? Cool accent?” I asked, to which Digby nodded. “Yeah, that’s Vladimir all right. What was he asking about exactly?”

“Well, after I explained what goes on over there at the showcase, he was very keen on seeing your house go up on display at some point. He said that, with yours being the biggest home in the village, it would be the ideal building to represent Place with.”

“Hmm…” I thought, flattered, but confused. “I’m not sure if proudly displaying how much richer the mayor is to his people is a good idea, but if anything, that makes me wanna tidy up the place a bit. The place being my house, not the town.”

“I assumed as much” Digby replied, not even bothering to fake a chuckle. “Say, shouldn’t you be at town hall by now? I don’t want you leaving my sister to do all the work…”

“Oh, chillax Diggers” I said, making a mental note to never call him that again in case of any unfortunate slip-ups. “I was just on my way over there right now. You see, Charlise bet that I couldn’t catch this one little fish, and even though I’m definitely the best fisher in town, I thought it wouldn’t take me long to humiliate her, but as it turns out… hey, what’s the matter with you?”

Digby had gone pale.
Well, as pale as a furry creature can appear to be, anyway. His lip quivered and his eyes shrunk, staring past me as if he had just seen a ghost.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” I laughed.

With one frail and shaky hand, Digby pointed past me. He never struck me as one to pull pranks, but I was a little cautious when I turned to see what was spooking him so much and, well, to say that my heart stopped beating for a second would be no exaggeration.

There, stood before me on a pair of ephemeral hooves with a piercing, empty glare… was the ghost of GRUFF!!

“Been looking for yoooouuuu…” he moaned.

The sound of his ghastly voice was enough to send Digby and I a couple inches off the ground - the traumatised dog leaped into my arms for protection as if I were some sort of superhero. Forget that, we need an exorcist here!

“Pipe down! Shaddap!!” the apparition exclaimed. “What? ‘Ya tryin’ to wake the whole village with ya screamin’?”

“M-m-mayor…” Digby shook in my arms “Are you seeing this g-g-g-ghost too?”

“That’s not just any g-g-g-ghost, bro… that’s g-g-g-gruff!”

“Aye” he grunted, “And I’ve been meaning to get a hold of you for weeks now! Is it that difficult to wander around Main Street at night more often? I tell ya…”

“S-sorry, gramps,” I stuttered “I’ve only just learned that ghosts exist. That and, you know, I wasn’t expecting to see you again any time soon.” I suppose after the gyroids and the lucid dreams on steroids that Luna provided, this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.

“Believe me,” Gruff complained “I would have loved to have moved on ages ago, but my soul is not at rest… or somethin’ like that.”

“Should I-I be h-here for this c-conversation?” asked Digby.

“Up to you, I suppose” I replied, “but when’s the next time you’re ever gonna see a ghost this close?”

He decided to stick around.
I asked Gruff, meanwhile, what was bothering him.

“First off,” he croaked “I know about what you did after I kicked the bucket…”

“Y-you do?”

“It takes a lot of gumption to dress up like Father Christmas like that, just to make everybody like ya again. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen in all my years! But in all seriousness, good on ya, Mayor. You’ve been doing an alright job with Place recently as well.”

I wiped my brow.
“Phew, that’s a relief. I thought you were mad or something!”

“But I am not happy with where you put that bridge!”

“Aw come on!!”

“It really aught to be a little further south from my garden. It’s too close!”

“Simon and I have been tending to your flowers, though!” I reminded him. “Surely, you’ve noticed that, right?”

“Hmm… I suppose you have been keeping them nice and healthy. Simon was always a good’n. And I shouldn’t complain about the bridge being built in the first place. ‘Tis a hell of a lot more than that Tortimer ever did for me…”

“You’re welcome!” I smiled “Got anything else you need to get off your chest?”

“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head “I do believe I’m done ‘ere. I might pop by later on, though, ‘see how things are doing.”

“Feel free to do so! I’m sure Digby could use the company!” I joked. Digby didn’t seem to find it as funny as I did and just squirmed on the spot.

“So long as he stops singing all ‘them Kay Jay Glider songs out of tune all day, then sure.”

With that, he vanished into the air without so much of a goodbye.
Digby and I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. We had just received a visit from beyond the grave. Actually, I’m surprised that he didn’t complain about the tombstone we made for him while he was here.

“…I better, like, go to town hall then” I eventually said.

“Yeah, yeah…” Digby nodded “I… think I’ll go home… and sleep… for a week… or two.”

~Author’s Notes~
A very silly episode that may or may not lessen the emotional impact of season one’s most pivotal moments!! Truth be told, I was always planning on doing this, because since Gruff was the first of my villagers to leave in New Leaf, seeing him walking around in Main Street later initially surprised me way back when because I had pretended that he had died and all that.

I suppose you could say that I’ve always had a very wild and a very, very stupid imagination.

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