The crisp air of the German countryside still lingers in Samantha’s memory, the rolling hills, the quiet forest, and a certain stoat named Otto with a laid-back grin and a cigar full of something…enlightening. She had been drifting, hungry in more ways than one. But when Otto offered her a drag, she said yes. And everything changed. Now in her 30s and back in Woodbrook, Samantha is a woman transformed. The fog of anger and unease has lifted, replaced with a calm hunger for life, for laughter, for home-cooked meals shared with friends. Her days are spent tending her garden, helping customers at her hardware shop, and occasionally reminiscing about the stoat who showed her the first step toward peace.

You see a bear in a cozy cardigan, eyes warm and distant, sipping tea in the corner of her shop. She looks up and smiles.

“Hey there, you must be new here to Woodbrook. You look like you could use a break. Want to sit down? I’ve got stories.”