Never Too Late

Change

Sable could feel the soft sand beneath her feet as a salty breeze blew through her clothes. She watched silently, a grin on her face, as Timmy and Tommy sat near the shore building a sandcastle. It was a nice sunny day, and Sable had decided to take the Nooklings to the beach. She wanted to make sure that the two of them were happy, trying to occupy their thoughts with fun activities. She knew that they were constantly worried about Tom, especially Timmy. It was as though the young raccoon couldn't enjoy the simplest activity without thinking about his guardian.

Sable knew that she had to do something. But she wasn't sure as to what. She had never felt this concerned in a very long time. Not to mention that the Nooklings had also not been eating so well. Sable knew that all the stress was most likely messing with their appetite. She tried her best to cook the foods that they most enjoyed, hoping that this would make them eat more. But no matter what she made, it was always the same. They just sat there at the table poking at their food. 

But this, this was nice. The two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves. Talking and telling jokes amongst each other. So Sable decided to leave it at that. She had planned to stay there for as long as they pleased before finally going back to Tom's place and finding something else to do with their time. But of course, it did not last long. And the two raccoons wanted to go back home once again. This made Sable disappointed but she didn't say anything. She just complied and grabbed both their paws before walking back home. 

As the three of them made their way through the island, they soon passed by resident services. And standing in front of the building was a familiar face. Sable squinted, stopping in her tracks as she smiled when she noticed that it was her sister Label. 

"Label!" Sable said happily waving at her younger sister. Label looked up, confused as to who had called her name. But when she saw that it was her sister, a smile crept on the hedgehog's face. Sable walked over to her, Timmy and Tommy trailing behind. The two of them hugged until Label pulled away, getting a good look at her sister.

"I missed you," Label said quietly, "How have you been?" Sable looked at her sister and then at Timmy and Tommy.

"I-I've been better," Sable admitted. Timmy and Tommy frowned. They felt the same. They were all trying their best to act like everything was normal, but it was just so hard to go on with life as if nothing had happened. Especially since a very important person in their lives was no longer there with them. 

"I bet, I heard what had happened," Said Label. "You were friends with him, right?" Sable sighed. She remembered that Label never actually knew Tom. They had become friends when Label was off in the city. Tom was there for Sable when her sister was not. He helped with everything. Cleaning, food, money, he even helped Sable take care of Mabel who was so young at the time. Sable smiled at the thought. She missed those days, and she couldn't help but wonder if Tom missed them too. But by the time Label had come back from the city, Tom was no longer in the Able Sister's lives. 

"Yeah..." Sable could feel Tommy's paw in hers and she gave it a tight squeeze. Label could tell that her sister was upset. Though she didn't quite understand why. It wasn't like she and Tom had been spending much time together lately. In fact, Label was quite sure that her sister had some resentment towards the raccoon. So Label was quite shocked when she found out that Sable agreed to move to his island and help out with providing clothes to the residents. 

"Well, if you need anything, I'm here," Label said cutting Sable from her thoughts. She smiled.

"I know Label, thank you." There was so much more that Label wanted to talk about with her sister. She wanted to tell her about how her business was going, all the clients she has, and how exciting everything has been. But she knew that now wasn't the time. Right now her sister needed her. And since Label had never really been there for her before, she made a promise to herself that now she would be.