Chapter 2.8 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.10

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

Highs and Lows

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Sulani? Every day I notice something else that I hadn’t noticed before, and the sheer beauty of nature around me takes my breath away. I mean, I’m glad I no longer live right under the volcano – like I did growing up – but I’m still close enough to my parents that it’s a short swim across the water.

Today was Kali’s first day of school, and she ran off past the new windows with as much glee as I’ve ever seen for someone who was going to school for the day.

Oh, did I mention the new windows? Yeah, I found some windows on sale at the local hardware store that really open up the house, and with Alexi’s newest big commission, we decided to splurge. Again. I know, it’s hard to save when I’m constantly spending more money, but lately it seems so easy to make that money back that upgrading the house for our growing family was an easy option.

Alexi is still such a big help around the house – even in the face of the fact that he manages to find the time to do at least one commission every other day or so. And those commissions aren’t just asking for a simple logo anymore. They want the “real” stuff. Luckily, Alexi is talented enough to do just that.

Kali arrived home from school humming to herself, and immediately sat down to do her homework. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I went over to help her on her math, but she insisted the rest she could do on her own. Which left me some down time to recover after working all day. With the baby due soon, I knew we were going to need my paycheck, and my boss was nice enough to give me easy tasks, so it was okay.

After her homework was done, Kali spent the rest of the evening playing with her toys for her aspiration – which reminded me that I needed to get back to work on mine. Maybe I could find time this weekend. If the baby came first, that is.

Speaking of commissions, Alexi got another big one today, and he’s had his head in that Sketchpad of his whether he’s actually working on it or not. By bedtime he’d still only gotten one of the Environmental Sketches done, and the client had furiously sent it back. I had a feeling it was going to be a long couple of days for him.

I went to bed early – but I wasn’t asleep long. I knew what was wrong immediately, and Alexi dropped everything to come support me. Granted, his version of support was dancing around in the corner panicking, but at least he tried.

Before long, our third baby, Maricela arrived. Kali seemed determined to be the best big sister she possibly could be, and continued to do her homework without complaint, and even helped out around the house. Alexi said she even begged to have him show her how to start the washer to do her laundry so I wouldn’t have to!

I do have to wonder what Kali’s been writing about in her journal, though, because she always looks so serious when she’s doing it. I’m careful to give her her “space”, though, and despite the temptation, I haven’t pulled the journal out from under the mattress I know she stashes it under.

Poor Alexi has been trying to do everything lately. He’s up late with our newest daughter, and still one of the first ones up in the morning to work on his commissions. He did finally get that last big one completed, although I could have sworn I heard him cursing about difficult clients under his breath.

Mom.. I love you dearly, but you sure can pick a doozey of a time to stop by. The kitchen sink had broken, as well as the toilet, so I was far too busy to do anything more than say hello.

Kali stepped in, however, and spent some time with an adoring grandmother while eating her dinner. I’d made veggie chili that night, and Mom swore that’s why she had swum all the way across the water to come visit. I laughed and made sure she had a bowl of her own before she left for the evening.

Before bed, Kali did some more to hang on the fridge – I swear, we’ve nearly run out of room! She’s turning out to have her father’s talent, it seems. We’ll see what she does with it as she grows up.

Since Maricela came right on time, and I said I’d work on my aspiration over the weekend – I did just that. I had to explore the cave that I’ve heard so many stories about from my mother. Apparently my grandmother found the gift of our tails there, and I have to admit, I’d been curious to really have a look around. I was also supposed to find some buried treasure, so I had plans to go buy some dive equipment to look for it later.

Kali had her first violin lesson this weekend, too… and it may not sound great now, but she sure is determined. She’s also smart enough to only practice when the babies aren’t sleeping, which I heartily approve of.

The house had another major upgrade, too. The balcony over the fish pond got turned into a media room. I have plenty of space now to store any shells or treasure I find. Granted, I found that one treasure in the cave, not by diving, but I was sure I could find more. Now that we were comfortable financially, I would definitely be able to keep the shells and stuff I found instead of selling it instantly.

Everyone had to admit, though, that the new “media room” and the windows really helped put the house together. Plus, I had another reason for actually buying a TV.

Sunday dawned with huge rainclouds in the sky, and there was trouble in the breeze. Jayce was getting into mischief while Alexi was trying to work, and I was so busy with Maricela I couldn’t really step in and help.

Then Dad called, right when I was finally free to doze off on the deck for the final step of my aspiration. I smiled and had to take some time to chat, despite the fact that it would eat into my naptime. He gabbed about all sorts of things, and I tried to keep up with him – but as usual, I was thoroughly left behind by the time the conversation was over. I laughed, then sat down for my nap – no matter how short it would be.

My nap was just long enough to count for finishing my aspiration, and then I was back to work, being a super mom. Alexi had been working all morning on another tough commission, so he had passed out on the couch, and someone had to watch the babies.

Kali and I had a quiet dinner while he rested.. and then cleaned up the dishes. .. Then we all ran upstairs, because it was time for the countdown.

We had all made our resolutions, and to my surprise, the babies slept through the entire countdown.. but it was not to be as happy an end to the year as we all expected. Just as the ball dropped in San Myshuno, all of our phones started ringing at the same time. We all shared a sober look, because that was never a good thing.

To my horror, despite the fact I had just talked to him and he had been his typical high energy self, my father had passed away. My brother had had to make the phone call, because Mom was beside herself with grief.

I threw myself into Alexi’s arms with the confetti from the holiday still raining down on our heads. He caught me, and held me tight for a long moment before something occurred to me.

Poor Kali was standing there all alone, as devastated as the rest of us. I quickly scooped her up in my arms and held her tight. It was going to be a long week – but at least Jayce was too young to feel much of the pain. Granted, he was going to pick up on the emotion from the rest of us, but he wasn’t going to understand or remember it. I couldn’t say the same for Kali. This was a day none of us would soon forget.

It was terribly late by the time I’d gotten Kali calmed down enough to go to bed, and she was mostly asleep by the time I even got the blankets pulled up. I gave her a kiss, then checked in on Jayce downstairs before curling up next to Alexi and listened to the crickets outside. I’m not sure I ever actually fell asleep that night – but I do know I watched the sun rise over Mari’s crib and remembered my Dad.

(A/N: This is the second time this legacy I’ve been moved close to tears by my little pixel mermaids. You will be missed, Rangi.. you will be missed. I had taken this screenshot of Corina swimming earlier in the evening’s play session, but I felt it was more appropriate to use it to close the post. Enjoy, and see you next time!)

Chapter 2.8 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.10