"Why would the Town Chancellor want to see me?" Marie asked as Jane pressed a button on her key set and the trunk to her car popped open.
The afternoon sky was bright and warm, surprisingly warm given the time of year, and Jane's jacket wasn't zipped up. There were some things about her that looked a little bit different, but Marie hardly noticed. She wasn't really looking for a date in the moment and was mostly trying to get back on her feet after being thrown out of her home by her ridiculously conservative parents. She had thought she could trust them when with the truth, but they rejected her and tossed her out. It cost her nearly everything. Her parents kept anything and everything she couldn't pack into a few duffel bags, a backpack, and one suitcase, which meant that furniture she'd had in her old home was no longer hers. It meant that her personal computer was no longer hers, and while she had had a job, it wasn't a high paying job. As such, she couldn't have afforded anything in her old home town that wasn't in the slums on the poorer side of town.
In that, Jane's response to her Facebook post, done on her phone, was a major blessing. The two of them had been good friends in high school and Jane had responded with the offer to come up to Moon Lake almost immediately. Marie jumped at the chance and came to Moon Lake. She'd have to stay with Jane for awhile, but she'd do her best to not be under foot or making her friend's position tougher. Especially when she hadn't heard too much beyond updates on Jane's time at the local college, which raved about how friendly everyone was and then getting a job at the local bank. Marie wanted very much to make it up to Jane for her kindness to her and catch up with a few more details about her friend's life and what had been up with her.
However, she'd never known of any town or city government wanting to meet with new residents anywhere. Her father had been in the army for awhile, and that had lead to her moving around from time to time before he retired. No new town had ever wanted to contact them when her family came to a new posting that she knew of. That made Jane's comment on the Town Chancellor wanting to meet her being puzzling.
"It's actually something that relates to some things that come from the town's founding," Jane answered, her voice sounding a bit nervous, "as Moon Lake has some secrets that people outside of Moon Lake might not easily understand... but once you experience it... you never want to go back."
This only aroused more curiosity on Marie's part. The two of them began to place Marie's bags in the trunk of Jane's car, and Marie decided to inquire a bit more. She had to satisfy her curiosity.
"Moon Lake has secrets?" Marie asked.
"It's nothing bad," Jane answered with a nervous chuckle, "there's no sort of Skull and Crossbones or Illuminati Society here or anything like that..."
"So what is it?" Marie asked, sounding slightly eager.
"It's not something I can say," Jane said slowly as they finished packing the trunk and Jane slammed it shut. "It's why the Town Chancellor might wish to speak with you directly. That way you'd get the best possible understanding on Moon Lake and everything that relates to it... You'd understand everything about the town's rules and would feel safe here."
"Safe?" Marie asked as they moved around to the front of the car and climbed in. As she buckled herself into the front passenger seat, Marie wondered what could be dangerous about a small town like Moon Lake. "Are you saying things are dangerous here?"
"Not usually..." Jane said weakly, "and once you're here for awhile you'll question what could even be dangerous here... as the community is pretty tight knit and friendly. No one will shun you because you're a lesbian."
"Well... that's good," Marie said slowly, "but you're still leaving me with more questions than answers."
"I'm sorry," Jane again said weakly, "but that's really something that the Town Chancellor can really explain. If things come to it... I could give the explanation, but for the moment... that's still up to the Town Chancellor's office to do the job..."
"What if they can't do it?" Marie asked as they began to ride away from the parking space in the bus stop's parking lot.
"Then they'll call my phone and let me know that time or city issues are such that they can't directly meet and it would be my responsibility to inform you," Jane answered, her voice nervous, which only served to raise Marie's curiosity and even some level of nervousness on her own part, "So far they haven't made that call."
"And this secret isn't bad?" Marie asked.
"It isn't bad... and not something anyone would give up once they get it," Jane answered, "trust me... I didn't have to go through with it when I came here for college... but I fell in love with the town and decided to stay here. When that happened... I went through the same thing that will be with you... It isn't bad."
"So... the town's secret is YOUR secret as well?" Marie asked.
Jane nodded with an apologetic smile.
"Then could you call the Town Chancellor that I'd prefer you to tell and explain this secret to me?" Marie asked.
Jane stopped the car suddenly and Marie had to catch herself on the dashboard in front of her.
"What? We've been friends, forever, right?" Marie asked, "we've never had secrets before... or we kept each other's secrets. You were the first I told that I was a lesbian. I was the only one you told about your crush on Johnny Thompson."
"The town's secret is a bit different than that," Jane answered.
"All the same..." Marie said weakly, "I'd prefer to hear about it from you than from some stranger I don't know..."
Jane gave a weak smile as she looked to her high school friend and took her foot off of the brake. Marie felt the car begin to roll forward again as Jane drove out of the bus stop's parking lot. As they rode along, Jane spoke again.
"Well... I'll give them a call when we get home," Jane said weakly, "and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime... how about getting a look at Moon Lake?"
"The Town Chancellor won't mind?" Marie asked.
"If you stay with me... no," Jane answered, "and besides... if they agree to having only me tell you about Moon Lake's secret, the Town Chancellor's opinion won't matter so long as you are informed and come to an ultimate agreement..."
Marie didn't answer immediately and felt a bit nervous over some things. She was curious about Moon Lake's secret, but Jane was being so vague about things that she felt some degree of nervousness on the situation. It made her question as to whether not she had made the right decision in coming to Moon Lake. If Jane liked being in Moon Lake and could understand the city's secret after deciding to stay in Moon Lake after college, that was good for her. However, Marie couldn't figure how Jane's vague mentions were good or anything short of life shattering. That left Marie wondering as to whether or not it was worth staying in the town.
"Come on..." Jane said to Marie, "It'd be fun... and would let you get a look at what will likely be your new home town..."
"Okay," Marie said slowly, "so long as you tell me about what this secret is."
Jane nodded and they rode along. They were soon driving along Moon Lake's various streets and Jane was pointing out various local landmarks and showing the various residential areas for the town. As they rode along, Marie noticed several things that didn't quite sit right with how a town should be layed out. Most towns were layed out like perfect squares or circles with a checkerboard street pattern coming from a central point. Only geographic issues would change how cities looked, but even there, the layout of streets remained along a fairly typical checkerboard pattern. Moon Lake didn't really follow that.
Many of its streets did have that checkerboard formation, making the square blocks that were typical of so many towns, but the city's outline wasn't square or round. In fact, to a great extent the city seemed to be laid out like a wagon wheel. There was a modest sized downtown with City Hall, a few shops, a couple of theaters, and a post office. There was also a a library, a local town museum, a small diner, a couple of business offices including one Wells Fargo Bank, a more localized bank, and a small pizza place called Dimagios. Jane even pointed out that she worked at the local bank as they drove past it. But that was only the central part of the town. The rest of it went out from the central part of town like the spokes on a wagon wheel or bicycle wheel. One spoke had a Wendy's and a few apartments in it. One spoke had the Moon Lake's School District "Central" Office and a school museum. One spoke had a Target or a Kmart, Marie wasn't paying that close attention as Jane drove past it. One spoke had a high school and public library, another had a State Park Office with a road that lead off with a sign that read: "Moon Lake Recreation Area (N): 1.5 mi... Moon lake Recreation Area (W): 3 mi." One spoke ended in the Moon Lake College, while many of the rest of the spokes were simply residential areas and the elementary school.
"It's sort of an odd layout," Marie commented off hand.
"Oh...?" Jane asked.
"The town layout," Marie answered, "It's like a wagon wheel with the forest and mountains between each spoke."
"Heh, heh," Jane chuckled, "that's sort of related to Moon Lake's secret...the founders wanted to keep Moon Lake close to nature... not let civilization destroy it. That sort of thing."
"And you can't tell me this secret unless the Town Chancellor lets you?" Marie asked.
Jane nodded, "but what do you think of the town?"
"It does look good," Marie answered, "a very nice looking town... even with the odd layout. Especially with how so many of the old buildings have been upgraded. Though it only makes me wonder about this secret you've been so vague on... I mean... things look so nice... how could such a place have a secret that requires me meeting the Town Chancellor?"
"It's complicated," Jane answered, "but trust me... you'll understand and you'll be okay."