78

The sky is bright and clear as you step out through your front door, and the smell of summer flowers lightens the air all the way along the road into Silvertree. And as you come closer to the town, you start to see more and more people out in the sun, making the most of the beautiful Saturday by walking to the park or getting some ice cream or just being outside.

But although most of what you see might be the same on almost any other summer day in Silvertree, as you pass through the edge of town, you start to see more and more little details that remind you it isn't just any other day. Even though it's only been a little over the week since the vote, things have already started to change—and most eye-catching of all the large banner stretched across the front of the first store you pass, which reads: "Alberobello Guest Center Coming Soon". A few doors along, what had been an empty building is gradually being turned into a pile of rubble which you assume will eventually turn into something entirely new. And next door, each of the boarded-up windows has been covered in posters that are lush with trees, all bearing the words: "Experience Beauty at the Alberobello Forest Resort".

You're certain you'll be seeing a lot more of those posters in the near future.

Soon the quiet road opens up into Silvertree's main street, and on a day like this it's full of life wherever you look. But you don't carry on towards the town's center just yet; instead, you make your way straight to Ambrose Park. As soon as you step through the gates you're met with the smell of mown grass and the sound of running water faintly in the distance, and it's hard to imagine a more perfect day to come here.

But as you walk along the path towards the very middle of the park, what really makes you smile is the sight of Tobias standing in front of the fountain. When he looks up and see you coming, he grin, and wave a hand high in the air. After reaching him and saying hello, the two of you start to walk hand in hand over the grass.

"I'm actually visiting my college again next weekend," Tobias tells you as you leave the sound of the fountain further behind. "And they sent me my reading list for my first semester, too. Honestly I don't really know the last time I read that much, but some of it looks really interesting. I kind of can't believe it's actually happening—like, I'm actually going to be studying psychology and all this other stuff. I just hope I can understand any of it. I wasn't, like, the smartest in school or anything; but I guess I didn't always try as much as I could have. I do want to try more now, though."