Chapter 2 Interlude 2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.14

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

Surprise!

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Life continues, day by day, to be a blessing. My children are healthy and happy, and Aleki has always been the partner I have needed him to be. Even my career has been a dream come true, and being the boss now means that I can direct others to keep the islands clean and beautiful.

However, even in what seems to be a perfect life – the unexpected can and will happen. I have noticed that breakfast has been making me queasy the last few days, and, with a sinking feeling, I took a pregnancy test.

The results were what I feared, and I retreated to Aleki and my’s bedroom, my mind reeling. I don’t know why we never sold the baby bassinet, but I guess I’m glad that we hadn’t yet, now. It would be one thing, however, if this baby had been planned for. But it hadn’t. And now I had children who were nearly grown with a new baby on the way. And- where were we going to put another baby in this house?! I couldn’t ask any of the kids to give up their bedrooms, and adding on to the house seemed like a poor idea. I knew Aleki would be supportive and excited about a new baby – but I’m not sure I was ready for this idea.

I headed out the back door, and decided to go for a swim. The cool salt water soothed my scales, and, ultimately, my soul. I watched the fish swimming in and amongst the corals, and I enjoyed watching the turtles peacefully swim past.

I noticed a pod of dolphins I had never seen in the distance, so I swam over to say hello.

To my surprise, the leader of the group was a unusual gem – an albino dolphin. Their name was Coral, and they seemed friendly. We chatted for a while, and I found a couple fish to feed them.

Then, they congratulated me on my upcoming baby, which is something I certainly hadn’t mentioned. I guess I was showing more than I had thought – or maybe Coral was just very perceptive. I thanked him for the congratulations, and, I don’t know why – but I confessed all my misgivings to him. He listened quietly, soberly, and agreed that maybe the timing could have been better. Then he reminded me what a huge blessing a new baby was – no matter when it happened.

I was still unsure how I was going to tell my family, but I felt more at peace about the whole idea now. I watched Coral’s pod cavorting in the waves, and giggled as several of them purposely splashed me.

On the way home, Squirt met up with me, and celebrated the new life with a dance. She, too, was expecting, and she was thrilled to find that there was a new mermaid expected in the isles.

I arrived home, and took the boat out to patrol the islands for work, my mind still very much occupied by the new baby.

I tried to make some grilled cheese for dinner, but the stove broke. So I fixed it… and then finished cooking dinner. By this time, everyone was home, and I decided I should call a family meeting.

I had no idea how to tell them, but I knew it needed to be done, so I just blurted it out.

“I’m pregnant.”

There were a range of emotions immediately evident on faces around the table. Mari looked confused, Jayce looked completely unfazed, and Aleki’s face lit up with a huge smile.

“MOM! How could you!?” Kali wailed. I could immediately see she was going to be the one I had to convince that this was a good thing.

“It wasn’t planned, Kali.”

“I thought you guys were done with kids! How am I going to tell all my friends that there’s a new baby at home. How embarrassing!”

“We thought we were done, too, Kali.” I replied. “Sometimes things just happen.”

“Ew, Mom. The things I don’t want to know…” she stood up and stalked out of the house.

“Let her go.” Aleki said quietly, “She will need to come to terms with it on her own.”

The other two children were easy to convince that this was the natural way of things, and I assured them that neither would lose their precious “private” rooms to the new baby.

Over the next few days, Kali proved to be very stubborn. She was sullen and withdrawn, and I couldn’t seem to get her to sit down to actually discuss this. Days slid by, and between keeping up with work and the housework and kids – it was “time” before I knew it.

Of course, it was the middle of the night, and I tried to not wake Aleki, because I wasn’t 100% sure it was true labor. He woke up anyway, and predictably – panicked. He tried to insist we go to the hospital, but I disagreed.

Within a couple of hours, our new little boy was born. We named him Reed, and got him settled.. and gratefully fell back into bed. The morning would be soon enough to introduce him to the rest of the family. I was too exhausted to even worry about Kali’s moodiness and getting her to be okay with this. I curled up under the covers and was almost instantly back to sleep.

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(A/N: Yes, this truly was an unplanned baby. I’ve recently caved and installed MCCC, and I turned on the story progression and risky woohoo in this particular save. The first time they woohoo’ed – and risky already struck!)

Chapter 2 Interlude 2 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.14

Chapter 10 | Chapter 12

The next day was mercifully cloudy, and it allowed me some time to actually work on my painting. While working on it, however, I noticed that my shower was pouring water out of the nozzle without even being turned on. Figures. More going wrong. I laid down my paintbrush, and rummaged through my toolbox in search of a wrench.

I was just coming out of my shower, with the faucet fixed when I realized I had another unexpected visitor.

“Mariko!” I cried, and hurried to her side. It seemed impossible that so much had happened since I had last seen her – nay, since I’d last even thought of her.

I folded her into my arms, and tried not to burst out crying with another rush of inexplicable emotion. I let her go, pushing the tears away, and noticed that she didn’t look the slightest bit happy with me.

…. “What?” …. Bewildered, I just looked at her, “What did I do wrong?”

“Wrong? What would make you think that? Why was I the last to know that you and Alex aren’t a thing anymore?! .. And where have you been!?” She burst out.

I cringed and looked away.

“I am truly sorry, Mari. So much has happened. I’ve hardly been myself these last few days. How did you hear about Alex and I?” I sighed deeply and tried to meet her eyes.

“The gossip is all over Windenburg. How you’re no longer human, you were seen drinking plasma.. and how you attacked Alex and wounded her gravely. It’s hard to even cross the street around town without hearing something else about it. People are afraid your art career is over, and, to be frank – they’re a bit afraid of you, too.” Her voice raised a little more with each statement, and I tried not to flinch away from her.

Her voice evened out, and she sighed. “All of Windenburg has always known about the vampires of Forgotten Hollow, and for the most part, those creatures of the night have always co-existed with us humans peacefully. People are now worried that you will change the balance.”

“I didn’t mean to – ” I began, only to have her interrupt me.

“- Dušan – I’m sure you didn’t. But it happened. And you should have come to me! How am I to help you – to be your friend – if you don’t even think of me in a crisis!” to my horror, her voice sounded near tears, and I reached out a hand to touch her shoulder.

“Did you ever think that maybe I was too far gone to even think of my friends?” I asked quietly, but then I thought of how I’d run to Sonia. I sighed deeply and looked away.

“I’m not very good at having friends.” I confessed miserably. “I’m not used to it. I’ve been a loner most of my life, and losing my mother didn’t help that. I’m not trying to excuse it.. but please, hear me out before you leave me to the wolves. Let me tell you what has happened since we last talked. Rumors hardly ever get the whole truth.”

I took her hand, and guided her over to the fire pit, motioning for her to take a seat. I lit the fire – mostly for it’s comforting presence, and started the story from the beginning.

She sat there quietly, sometimes watching me, sometimes watching the fire, but always listening carefully. Thankfully, she didn’t try to interrupt, or I’m not sure I would have gotten through the whole thing. After I finished, we both just sat there for what felt like forever.

She stood up abruptly a few minutes later, and started pacing in front of my little tent.

“Dušan. Oh, Dušan. I swear, this is not your fault. Don’t even think it. Damn that old vampire, anyway. How could you have known how dangerous he was….” she paused for a moment, then continued pensively, “I don’t think any of us truly knew – he’s always seemed to be harmless up in that old mansion, never bothering anyone. I had no way to know – to be able to warn you – that he had it in for your family. And as for Alex – she was only after your money, you know. Everyone knew it. Everyone – I guess, except for you. Perhaps it served her right for attacking you without knowing how hard you’ve worked to get where you now are. You losing control and feeding on her was probably inevitable.. and also completely forgivable, under the circumstances. How could you have known Vlad’s warning was so true? … You truly had no way to know.”

I watched her pace back and forth, wondering at her apparent unease.

“Mari – just so you know – it won’t happen again. I know I need to prevent hunger now. You’re safe.” I stood up, reaching towards her, but she stopped and pulled away.

“How could you think I was afraid of you?!” She burst out, clenching her fists.

Startled at her anger, I just looked at her speechlessly.

She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself.. and slowly continued, “Dušan – I have not been truthful with you. I should have been – but I think I was lying to myself, too. I have loved you from the moment I met you, but you couldn’t see me. You only saw Alex – so I took the part of you I could have. The friendship. And I held on to it in silence. There are so many things I should have told you about this town, about Alex, about everything.. But I said nothing. And that’s on me. I’m sorry. But it doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you. Never that. I don’t care that you’re not human. I don’t care that you still live in a tent. I never would have. I’m not like.. her.” Her words stumbled to a stop, and she turned away.

Blindly, I turned, and nearly fell into my chair. What was I supposed to say to that?? I felt off balance, out of breath, stunned. How could I have thought I was meant to be with Alex. How could I have ignored Mari so completely! She turned back and watched me warily, then, she too sat down.

We both sat there in silence, watching the fire burn itself out. Finally, I stood up and walked to my garden.

I picked a lone rose out of a tangled bush, and held it out to her.

“I’m sorry, Mari. Please. Please, forgive me. I never meant to hurt you.”

She looked from my face to the rose and back to me, then hesitantly took it. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.. and then left. Without another word. But – at least she had taken the rose. Maybe there was hope, yet….

I threw another log on the fire and sat there for the rest of the night. I don’t truly need sleep anymore, and I didn’t really feel like hiding away inside my tent, anyway. What was I to do now? If I’d thought I was confused before her visit, I’d been sorely mistaken. By morning, the fire had completely burned itself out, and I wandered off, walking mostly blindly about Forgotten Hollow.

I ended up at the “Point” – an area with a bench, and a dead tree that overlooked the bridge out of town. I sat down on the bench, deep in thought. The events of the last few days swirled in my head, and I let them fly. I thought of Alex’s form on the ground – of the feeling of slipping into a darker form of me. I thought of Mariko’s confession, and I wondered at the way her words had made my heart clench. How could I have been so wrong about Alex? About Mari? Would she forgive me, as her head nod seemed to have said… or was that wishful thinking on my part? I went back and forth in my head for a long while, then stood to leave.

To my astonishment, the cat from the other day was walking toward me purposefully.

“You’re an idiot.” I heard in my head. Blinking stupidly, I stopped and stared at the cat.

“… What?” I blurted out, and I would have continued, but the cat interrupted me.

“Yes, yes, I know you can hear me. And I know who you are. You are your mother’s son, after all. She was my friend at a hard time in my life, and I always swore if I could repay her, I would.”

Even more shocked.. I bent down towards the cat, letting it sniff my hand as if it were just any normal cat.

“You.. you knew my mother?”

“I said so, didn’t I?” the cat replied in my head, haughtily. “Now – enough of that. You are what you were meant to be. Now you have to do what your heart dictates. You must go after her, of course.”

“After who? .. My mother?”

The cat laughed in my head, and climbed up on the bench I had just been sitting on. I sat down next to it.

“No, of course not your mother. Your woman. Not the one you attacked, doofus. The other one. The one you are meant to love.”

“I’m meant to… what? Who ARE you? How do you know all this? And what’s this about what I’m meant to be?”

The cat merely stared at me for a long moment, then it left as suddenly as it had arrived.

Nonplussed, I stood up, noticing that sometime while … conversing?… with the cat, the rain had settled in, and now I was getting soaked. I headed home slowly, my thoughts whirling in my head, and my heart still in knots. I had some deciding to do.

Chapter 10 | Chapter 12

Chapter 2.12 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.13

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

Wrecked

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Dear Diary:

After all these years, I’m still not very good at writing in this thing. I try to do it every day, like Mom does, but there are days where I swear I have nothing to say.

Today… is not one of those days. It was supposed to be MY day today. It was meant to be perfect. And what did I get? An impromptu funeral. I mean, sure, it’s sad and all, but it wrecked my party. And I was sure everyone was going to hear about it at school from my cousins. I would never live this down.

I am SO Angry. I think I’m supposed to be sad. But I’m not. Writing out my feelings is supposed to help, but it’s not really doing that, either. Tomorrow is my first day of high school, and I will have to walk through those doors knowing that everyone knows about my ruined party. I guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t allowed to have a REAL party, with kids and not family. Something probably would have gone wrong there, too. I mean, the only good thing I could say about the party is that at least Mom’s cake never fell. I was sure it would, too. Guess I have to pay Jayce 10 simoleons for that stupid bet.

I changed out of my party outfit (which I’m sure I saw Mom cringe over earlier.. I was going to hear it about it, I’m sure…) and went to take a long, hot bath. Halfway through, my phone rang – and I thought I heard Mom and Dad’s phones ringing on the other side of the wall. Which could only mean one thing. More bad news. I ignored the call, and refused to check my messages. It could wait.

I wanted to sleep in the next morning when my alarm went off, but I was still feeling guilty about being so angry the night before. I mean, Kyler DIED. Right in front of me, too. I didn’t know him all that well because he lived in the city and was WAY older than me.. but he was still family. And he just died in our kitchen instead of eating cake.

… Thinking of the kitchen reminded me of what a horrible mess it probably was down there, so, with a deep sigh, I got dressed for school and went to clean up the dishes. I figured it was the least I could do to help Mom out after last night.

While drying off my hands, it occurred to me that I’d never checked my phone message from last night. I did that on my way out the door – and – to my horror, found out that Uncle Tevin and some other guy from the city had died last night in a big traffic accident. I considered just skipping school – I don’t think anyone would blame me under the circumstances – but I decided I’d just go. How bad could the day be?

Amazingly, nobody at school had said a thing to me. I could feel them watching me, though.. so I knew they weren’t going to stay quiet forever. I went about my business, did my classwork, tried to pay attention to my new teachers, and finally, the day ended. I decided I’d swim home from school instead of taking the boat – I mean, I do have fins now.

Feeling a big sad.. I stopped by the waterfall and played in it for a while, reveling in my newfound teenage freedom. There was no way I’d have gotten away with not going straight home when I was just a kid. I was pretty sure I’d get away with it today, though.

.. Okay. So I wasn’t sure at all. And I stopped to clean up the beaches so I could tell Mom I was doing that instead of my actual destination of the waterfall. As big as she was into island clean-up, I bet that would de-rail the lecture about being home late.

I’d been right. The talk of cleaning trash got me right out of trouble, and I grabbed some fruit salad out of the fridge and went upstairs to watch TV. Before I could even get into my show, my annoying kid brother had come up, grabbed the remote – and switched the channel to some damn kid’s cartoon. In disbelief, I snatched the remote back..

… And switched it back to Moonlight Massacre III. Which horrified him enough to make him leave the room. Good riddance. Turned out it wasn’t a half bad movie, either. Despite the fact that I’d missed the first fifteen minutes of it. I left my dishes on the coffee table, aware that I was close to simply passing out from exhaustion.

Back in my room, I changed out of my swimsuit, finished this diary entry.. and I’m going to take a nap. Homework .. can wait for another time. After last night – I need sleep more. And if Mom asked, I’d simply say they hadn’t assigned any homework on the first day of school. I think she’d believe it…

Chapter 2.12 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.13

Chapter 2.11 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2 Interlude 2

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

Bittersweet Teen

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After such a great weekend, getting back to work and school seemed harder than ever. We all soldiered on, though, and the days went by faster than you can imagine. Between chasing a toddler, and making sure I didn’t neglect either of the other two kids, I had my hands full. I was especially glad that I had been promoted to the top of my career, because it meant I didn’t have to work as many days, and I could spend more time with my children.

Kali has been diligently trying to raise her Mental skill so she can be a Whiz Kid, but it’s tough on her, and I often see her frowning while just staring at the chessboard.

Jayce has been spending a lot of time outside, and tries to pretend he’s already a mermaid – or maybe a dolphin.. but I’ve never seen anyone swim so very strangely. He does get around, though, so I guess there’s that.

Finally, the day came that little Maricela was ready to grow up… and I baked her a special pink strawberry cake just for her. She was shy about blowing out the candles, however, so that took some coaxing. Eventually, she agreed.. and her journey as a child began.

She grew up to be a Genius, and wants to be a Whiz Kid like her big sister. How she seems to have missed that Kali is more into Art than Logic, I don’t know, but she’s convinced she can do it better. I don’t doubt it.

To help Mari on her aspiration, Aleki took some time out from doing commissions to read to her and Jayce. They loved it, and started making it a bit of a daily tradition for a while. At least until they got through the Lord Of The Swings book.

The family stopped over to bring an island feast again, and the kids all vied for grandma Corina’s attention. She lapped up all the love, and I don’t think I saw her without a smile once all evening.

That night, Maricela woke us up out of a sound sleep. Apparently when I ordered the furniture for her upgraded room, I forgot to include an Anti-Monster light.

… Which was a problem. So I did the right thing, stumbled out of bed, sprayed the monster away, and tucked Mari back in bed. A new light was the first thing on the list for the next day, however!

Tomorrow was Kali’s birthday, and she was terribly worried she wasn’t going to have time to finish her Mental Skill. So I agreed that she could use one of her vacation days to work on it.

I also Mentored her as best I could. (Oh, and yes, the paintings on the wall are Aleki’s doing – he’s been keeping more of his work lately, and seems happier for having them on the walls.)

After several hours of work, we finished her aspiration, and I got a huge hug for my trouble. I told her I really didn’t mind, but she knew I’d taken off work to do it, and she was especially appreciative.

The next day was the big day. After her last day of Elementary School, Kali came home practically bouncing off the walls. I can’t blame her – I still remember my teen birthday, too. She planned to invite the whole family, and I was making a huge tiered cake for the occasion. She had to supervise the whole thing, though, which I thought was quite funny. She knew I hadn’t made a tiered cake before, and she was terrified it would turn out green or something.

She then took the time to clear and set the table while I frosted the cake.

I then started making a group meal – Kali’s favorite, Grilled Cheese, while Kali, again, helped out around the house. Despite the fact that the mop was too big for her.

Then, we all changed into our party wear, and waited for the guests. Kali had to keep running into the kitchen to check and see that the “cake hadn’t fallen” yet. I tried to tell her it wasn’t going to, but she was convinced some disaster was going to happen.

When everyone arrived, Kali made the rounds and made sure to say hello to everyone. She was so excited to be a teen soon like her two cousins, and was practically bubbling over with energy.

Everyone gathered round, while Kali snuck a big finger full of icing, then got ready to blow out her candles.

Everyone made sure she didn’t forget to make a wish… and cheered as she blew the candles out.

… Why wasn’t I surprised by the rebellious, artsy clothes she had picked out. I rolled my eyes, and vowed not to say anything – at least not while everyone else was around. Personally, I wasn’t sure they were all that appropriate.. but I guess that means I’m getting old.

There was plenty of cake to go around, and everyone was getting settled….

when I suddenly heard a thundercrack that sounded so close it must have been in the next room.

It took us all a moment to figure out what was wrong. Tevin’s son Kyler was on the floor, clutching his heart. There was nothing any of us could do – although we did try to plead with Grim.

The party was ruined. Absolutely ruined. I had hoped that Kali would have a memorable birthday party – but I certainly hadn’t wanted to to be remembered for THIS! Everyone cried and comforted each other, but it was clearly time for the party to be over, and people started collecting their belongings and leaving.

The last I saw of Kali before bed was her angrily writing in her journal. I wasn’t even sure she knew the words she was uttering.. but under the circumstances, I didn’t think it was the right time to correct her. I left her alone, and made sure Jayce and Mari got safely into bed before curling up under the covers myself.

However, it turned out the evening wasn’t quite over yet. Before I could get to sleep, my phone rang. Tevin apparently hadn’t made it home. There’d been an accident, and he died not an hour after his son had. Whether the accident was his fault, or something else was “under investigation” – but the fact that it had caused fatalities was obvious. The other car’s driver had died, too. I didn’t much care what the authorities found – Tevin was still going to be gone. But tomorrow was soon enough to deal with telling the kids, and I was exhausted. I curled miserably up into Aleki’s arms, and we both fell asleep.

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Bloopers:

“Oh, Mommy Dolphin will save you!!”

… That moment when you JUST HAVE TO HAVE microwaved nuggets. Even though you have Maxed your cooking skill. Way to go, Kimber.

.. Right before your sister’s birthday party? .. Sigh. There’s always one!

Chapter 2.11 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2 Interlude 2

Chapter 9 | Chapter 11

By the end of my day I had nowhere to go, and nothing else to do but to run to Sonia again. I relayed the rest of my day’s story to her through tears.

“She’s truly gone, Sonia!” I wailed. “I’ve looked everywhere for her. Even her cellphone is disconnected, and all her personal things are gone from her home. I don’t understand how a person can move so fast. I mean – she left all her furniture, but it’s clear from what her landlord said that she has no intention to come back for it.”

“And the worst part is – I just sat there on my cooler as she left, and I said nothing. I didn’t even TRY to apologize. She’s gone. And I did nothing.” Miserably, I broke into more tears, and Sonia quietly patted the couch next to her. I made my way over there and sat down, still bawling like a baby.

“Dušan…” she began haltingly – “I’m not sure what to say.”

She shook her head sadly, then continued, “I had a feeling she wasn’t right for you from the beginning, but I didn’t want to step on your happiness. Now I feel like I should have said something. Anything. Maybe you wouldn’t be hurting like this.”

“But she seemed so perfect! Why did I let myself fall so hard, so fast?” Once again, I buried my face in my hands, but the tears seemed to be drying up.

“Ah, that’s a question we all ask at least once in our lives, I think, Dušan.” Sonia said with a smile.

Then, the smile abruptly disappeared. “I think you have more to worry about in your life right now than a runaway fiance. Aren’t you forgetting a little something about your new diet? How are you going to deal with that?”

“I wish I knew, Sonia. Despite the temptation, I doubt I’ll be feeding off of humans. And I don’t need Vlad to show me how to make Plasma packs. I learned that in my research … I just wish I didn’t have to know. Moot point, I suppose, right?”

“Mroooowll.” I heard behind me, completely interrupting my train of thought. I turned around, expecting to see Prissy. I was shocked to see a black cat, wearing – of all things – a top hat and a neon green bow tie. I stared at him for a moment, wondering if I was just really hungry again and hallucinating.

“Sonia, do you see the cat with the hat and the bow tie??” I said softly, and heard her chuckling behind me.

“Of course I do, Dušan.” Sonia replied, “I’m not blind! He’s been hanging around since Prissy came to live with me. Him and a few of his friends.”

As if on cue, a dirty white cat jumped up onto the cat tree to join the black one. This one ignored me, though. “Mrrroooowllll” The black cat insisted, this time much louder. I got up and walked over by him, never losing eye contact. This was weird. I wasn’t really a cat person, but this cat clearly wanted something from me.

I put out my hand to let him smell it, and he jumped down off the climbing tree and approached me. After a brief sniff, he twitched his tail and ran out the cat door that I hadn’t even noticed until now. Blinking in confusion, I stood there for a long moment, then turned back to Sonia with a sigh.

“I don’t know what to do now, Sonia.” I said, miserably remembering the sight of Alex’s crumpled form at my feet. “I thought I had everything worked out. Now it’s all a big mess.”

Sonia stood up and came over to me, taking my shoulders in her hands. “Never fear, Dušan,” she said, “You will figure that out in time. You will, perhaps, even forget Alex. However – you should never forget the lesson that she taught you.”

I sighed, and looked away. “I don’t think I’ll be forgetting her. At least – not any time soon.”

Noticing that the sun had gone down, I suddenly realized the time. Sonia was probably exhausted. “I should go.” I said, and turned back to her. “It’s getting late for you.”

She smiled, and patted my shoulders one more time. “Yes, it is. But remember, you are welcome here at any time of day or night, my friend.”

After giving Sonia a quick hug, I headed home, thinking furiously to myself. My world had been turned upside down too many times in the past couple of days, and I felt disoriented, like the snowflakes in a snow globe after it’s been shaken violently. I was so befuddled that I apparently couldn’t even start a fire in my firepit without lighting my arm on fire. I quickly put it out, and tried again.

Something about sitting by a fire is comforting, and even though there was no real reason to have it lit – it’s not like I needed to cook dinner or anything – it made me feel better. I pulled out one of my limited supply of Plasma packs and drained it, then sat pensively looking into the fire. After a while, I realized how tired I was, and I extinguished the fire carefully and climbed into my tent.

The next morning, I tried to go back to my routine. Gardening, painting, saving money for my house. Because I truly didn’t want to live in a tent forever. However, I had forgotten one small detail.

As the sun rose in the sky, and the clouds moved away, my skin started smoking. It felt a little bit like the worst sunburn you’ve ever had. There was no way I could stand outside and paint all day like I had been doing. I retreated to my tent for a while, trying to figure out what to do – at least in the short term. My thoughts finally turned to the Windenburg library – and I made up my mind to go and expand my knowledge of vampires. I was going to need to know more now – a lot more.

By the time I got to Windenburg, a massive thunderstorm had rolled in. At least my skin isn’t burning, I thought wryly and headed inside.

After finding the section on vampires, I settled in to read… only to realize I had an audience.

“Are you Dušan Bratan – the artist??” the young boy asked.

Sighing, I put the book down. “Yes?”

“Can I have your autograph!?”

Inwardly, I sighed in relief. At least he hadn’t taken one look at me and noticed that I wasn’t human or something. I reached out and took the pen and autograph book he held in his hand. Smiling in the least threatening way I could, I quickly scribbled my name and handed back the autograph.

Thankfully, this seemed to mollify the boy, who ran to a woman I suspected was his mother, jumping about with excitement.

I turned back to my book, and lost a few hours in reading. I found out a little bit more about vampires, but nothing hugely exciting. I had a feeling that I was going to have to learn how to be one from an actual vampire…. and there was no way I was going to approach Vlad willingly again.

Sighing deeply, I put the books away and returned to the chair, wondering what to do next. The question of the ages, I suppose. The storm still raged outside, and the after school crowd seemed to have dissipated. It seemed that not many other people were out and about, braving the weather.

Looking around, I noticed that one of the library computers was available, and it occurred to me that I should check on the status of my house permits. Surely I had gotten some sort of answer by now?…

I sat down, typing in the password to my email, and scanned through the junk mail. Unfortunately, there was nothing from the city. And there was nothing from Alex, either. (I mean – I had to check. There could have been something…)

My stomach chose that exact moment to remind me that I needed to keep myself full, so I signed out of my email, returned to my chair by the window and pulled a plasma pack out of my pocket. As I started drinking, I heard a loud gasp beside me. A red-haired woman was sitting in the other window seat, staring at me in horror. In confusion, I stared back, then I glanced down. That was when it dawned on me that my snack didn’t look anything like something that was consumable by humans. Embarrassed, and, yes, a little afraid at being found out, I left the library as quickly as I could. I finished my snack on the way back to Forgotten Hollow, glad to see that my new enemy – the sun – was going down.

In the dark, I took care of my garden and my bees, and stared miserably at the half finished canvas on my easel. There was no way I could paint in the dark. How was I going to survive if I couldn’t paint. I needed that house. At least I had plenty in savings now, but I really didn’t want to have to spend it on everyday expenses.

At a complete loss, I finally crawled into my tent, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I checked my mail. … And yes! There it was. A note from the city.

I stared at the letter for a long moment, rereading it several times. Things just couldn’t get any better, could they?! My anger started bubbling up inside me slowly, and I don’t know what I might have done if Sonia hadn’t chosen that exact moment to walk by my campsite.

“Dušan! What’s wrong?” she asked, immediately concerned.

Wordlessly, I showed her the letter. She read over it, then frowned. I walked to my tent, and pulled out the copies I had of the house plans and the application. Everything was filled in, the plans were complete.. there was nothing wrong with them. Both of us were baffled. After a long conversation, the only thing we could figure out was to re-contact them, to try again… but to do that, I would need to go back to the library. And I wasn’t ready to do that yet.

I lit the fire again after Sonia went home, and sat there miserably. Poking at it with a long stick, I sat there most of the next night, lost in thoughts that kept going in circles. I couldn’t help thinking that I must have made the worst mistake of my life – moving here to Forgotten Hollow. At the same time, I still wasn’t ready to give up on rebuilding my mother’s legacy. There had to be something I could do….

---

Blooper:

Mid-conversation at Sonia’s house, one of the stray cats attacked her. And yes, the cat with the hat really did just show up out of nowhere and interrupt the conversation.

Chapter 9 | Chapter 11

Chapter 2 Interlude 1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.12

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

(A/N: This post marks my halfway point for posts goal for Simnano, and I’m way past halfway on words!)

A Great Weekend

---

The school week was over, the house (and the kids) were clean, and it was promising to be another gorgeous evening in Sulani. Unbeknownst to me, Aleki was making plans. You see, I had forgotten it was Love Day – but he hadn’t. In the solitude of his office, he made a quiet call for a nanny for the evening. He then snuck upstairs and got changed.

He then approached me in Maricela’s room – where I was playing with her at the dollhouse – and surprised me by asking me on a date. Of course I was immediately concerned about leaving the kids behind with Mari being so little still, but he had timed things perfectly. The doorbell rang and the nanny was here.

I hurried upstairs to get changed while Aleki squared away all the instructions with Ms. Ausage. Obviously, I had to double check that she had all of the details she might need to know, but she seemed to be on top of things. You can’t blame me for being over-protective and worried, though – it was the first time Aleki and I had left the kids with a nanny.

I hadn’t bothered to ask where we were going, because – quite frankly, my thoughts were still with the kids – so it was a pleasant surprise when we arrived at the local seafood restaurant. He presented me with a rose, and an obviously rehearsed little speech. Maybe even a little over-rehearsed, but it was still sweet. After all this time and all those kids – he still had a romantic side.

Aleki went inside and requested a table, while I said hello to my sister-in-law. Apparently Aleki hadn’t been the only one to have thought about Love Day for his sweetest.

We ordered some white wine and the Trout, which sounded delicious, and made small talk while we waited for the food. Most of the chat was about the kids, of course, but I certainly didn’t mind. Between the kids and the environment, I’m pretty well easy to please with favorite topics of conversation.

My nephew, Barry (in the pink) was also there, so I waved at him across the room. I didn’t notice who he was with, though, because just then our food arrived.

The trout was delicious, and the wine a rare treat, which I heartily enjoyed.

It was fully dark by the time we finished our meal, and even later before we finished our conversation and paid the bill. The night breezes were sweet with the scent of tropical flowers, and the restaurant was still crowded.

We made our way outside near the archway where we’d gotten married, and lit the bonfire. We cuddled by the fire as we watched the embers die out, and just enjoyed the quiet of the evening.

With one last kiss, we admitted it was time to head back home to relieve the sitter, and wrapped up the evening with a boat ride home. It was one of the few times I’d actually used the boat I’d been given as a promotion bonus, so both of us were a little rusty on the sails, but we made it home safely. I hurried inside like a worried mother duck while Aleki agreed to furl the sails and anchor the boat.

Of course everything had been fine, and the kids had seemed to hardly even notice we were gone. Jayce and Kali had finished their homework, Mari had had her bath and gone to bed early. By now, even Jayce and Kali were asleep, and I tiptoed in to give both a kiss before retiring for the night.

Saturday was a lazy day spent at home for everyone, and I had time to go do some more photography dives. Jayce played on the dollhouse, Aleki worked on a commission, and Mari was busy with her blocks.

Kali – of course – was busy drawing more pictures for an already full refrigerator door. She definitely got her love of art from her Dad, and despite wanting to work on her Mental skills, she almost always defaulted to drawing or making crafts on the activity table.

Sunday – my birthday – dawned clear and bright and I took some personal time off work. We packed up a picnic basket and headed for the local beach in Ohan’ali Town, something we should have done more of in the past.

After arriving, almost everyone scattered to do their own thing. The children played on the swings together, Aleki went for a dip in the sea, Mari found a sandcastle to stomp on – and I went to check on the local wildlife. I guess I can take a day off work, but still never forget who I was.

The reef was healthy and vibrant, and a pod of dolphins (not Squirt’s pod) were in the area hunting for lunch. The leader took some time out to chat, and allowed me to pet him, although his young ones kept their distance warily.

By the time I got back to the beach, Kali had corralled little Mari into actually building a sand castle, and Jayce was playing with a toy dinosaur he’d brought from home. My stomach reminded me that it was past time for mermaid lunches, too, so I headed to the picnic area and set about grilling the chicken we’d brought.

Meanwhile, Aleki had discovered a treasure trove of seashells around the beaches, and was refilling the basket we’d brought with the bounty. It would turn out to be worth a couple thousand dollars, not including the specimens we kept for our nick knack shelves at home.

Kali ate her lunch quickly, and excused herself to go take a swim. Somehow, despite the fact it was a weekend and a beautiful day, the beach was practically deserted, but I didn’t have to worry about Kali’s swimming skills. We are mermaids, after all.

Lunch turned out amazing, and I sat around chatting with some locals who were interested in Island Conservation. Or – rather – I got them interested in it.

The sun was setting by the time we packed up to head home, and I was officially an adult. I didn’t even mind the fact that I hadn’t gotten a cake and candles to blow out, because the day had been perfect just as it was.

The kids were practically asleep before little heads touched pillows, and they slept soundly through the night for a change – even little Mari. There’s nothing quite like a busy weekend to wear one out – but I don’t think any of us minded.

Chapter 2 Interlude 1 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.12

Chapter 2.10 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.11

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

Kali’s Dilemma

---

Dear Diary:

I don’t know how to write in one of these things. Mama said she uses hers to tell about her day and her feelings, but that just seems weird to me. I guess I’ll just have to try it, though.

So here goes nothing. Today, I went to school. Then I came home and played in the old dollhouse. It wasn’t much fun by myself, so I went outside.

I decided if nobody was around, I’d play in Daddy’s fish pond. I pretended I was a pirate.

I started to get a bad feeling.

Then, a big scary arm came out and tried to get me. I yelled to abandon ship and ran back inside.

Maybe taking a bath would be safer.

I wasn’t going to admit my fear about going back outside, so I played in the toy box for a while.

Then, Daddy helped me with my homework.

…..

Okay, this isn’t working. I’m not very good at this. I keep trying, hoping I’ll get better at it, but it’s hard. I just don’t know what to say. And I need to.. know what to say.

Because I have to grow up to be like Mama. She says I’m the heir to the family legacy. Which is hard to understand. All I know is: when I grow up, I’ll have to leave home.

I mean, I’ll still be in Sulani, but I’ll have to be on my own. Mama said it’ll be hard, but that I’ll do just fine. I’m not so sure. I don’t think I want to be… an heir.

I don’t want to be alone, and I really don’t want to grow up. I wish I had a choice, but Mama says since I’m the first girl, that’s what I was born to do. She did it, and so did Grandma. It’s what our family does. I don’t know why, but we have to. I snuck upstairs last night and looked at an old photo album of my Great-Grandma. The one who found out how to be a mermaid in a scary cave.

She had come from somewhere else, and was brave enough to start over when she was still just a teenager. I don’t know how she did it, and I really don’t know if I’m brave enough. I mean, if a pretend sea monster can make me afraid of Daddy’s fish pond… how can I be the heir??

Oops. Daddy says it’s bedtime, so I have to go, Diary. I guess I’ll write more tomorrow. Mama says that practice will help, like it does with my violin. But I’m not sure I believe her.

Chapter 2.10 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.11

Chapter 8 | Chapter 10

Author’s Note: This chapter takes a dark turn, and is not recommended family friendly reading. Be aware – and enjoy!

In terror, the first and only thing I could think of to do was to run to Sonia. Which I did. She immediately embraced me and asked for the whole story. What I remembered of it, that is. Her eyes grew bigger with each sentence I spoke, and by the end she was nearly in tears.

“I should have known something like this would happen.” Sonia said when I finally finished the story and waited for her response.

“What do you mean?” I said. I was afraid I knew the answer, but part of me wanted to hear it out loud.

“Dušan… you are no longer human. I’m afraid Vlad did not just feed on you as you had originally feared, but he also must have forced you to feed on him.” Her eyes were serious, and she spoke haltingly, as if she was afraid to actually say the words.

I felt my knees try to buckle underneath me, and the world started spinning.

“What??” It came out in a harsh whisper. “What do you mean?” I asked, even though the answer was clear.

“I’m sorry, Dušan. There is nothing that can be done.” She dropped her hands to her side, and sighed deeply.

The silence stretched between us seemingly interminably.

Finally, she spoke again. “I don’t know what else to tell you, Dušan.”

“The only thing I can say – is that this should not change who you are. You are a good person at heart. And you are still my friend.” She held her arms out to me, and I could see no censure or fear in her eyes.

I folded her frail form into my arms. “Thank you, Sonia.” I whispered, and then, without another word, I left. I had business with the vampire on the top of the hill.

I burst through Vlad’s door without even bothering to knock, full of righteous anger.

“How DARE you!” I intoned.

“How DARE you say there are no hard feelings against my family – and then do THIS to me!”

“You welcomed me into your house with what I thought were good intentions! I should have known that was impossible for you.”

He even had the depravity to act like my anger made him afraid.

“WHAT were you thinking?!” I demanded, trying to force an answer from him.

“I… It was for your own good, my son.” He began, haltingly.

“How could … THIS… ” I motioned to myself and continued, “Be for my own good. I’m now DEAD!”

“No, you’re undead.” Vlad corrected. “And now you’ll live forever. You’ll have time to build your mansion and your legacy to rival even mine. After all that has been done to your family, I felt I owed you this honor.”

I was completely dumbfounded.

Before I could come up with anything to say, he reached behind himself to a package on the pipe organ.

“Here, childe.” he said and handed it to me.

I slowly ripped open the paper – only to find some plasma packs inside. Nearly shaking with anger, now, I looked up at him and began to speak, only to have him cut me off.

“You will not have to feed on humans, as many of us do. I can teach you to make these for yourself.. but you will have to eat. I can tell you haven’t fed yet – and not feeding can lead to dire consequences. Both for you and for those around you.”

“This. Is. Not. An. Honor.” I bit out, barely coherent enough to even talk.

“How could you even think something like this would be for my own good. You have taken EVERYTHING from me!”

In a white-hot rage, I flew at him, and, to my surprise, he fled from me.

I chased him out the door, feeling myself slide into … what I can only describe as… another form of myself. An angrier, more terrible form. One I hoped I never had to experience again.

Before he could leave his yard, he suddenly turned around, his eyes clearly showing his inhumanity.

Howling in rage, we met in the middle – a mess of arms, legs, and fangs.

I couldn’t tell you how long the fight lasted, or even what exactly transpired during it.

All I really know – is that I lost. And when I came back to myself, I was alone on the ground outside Vlad’s mansion. Shakily, I got to all fours and tried to push myself upright.

Well, that had gone well I thought to myself sarcastically. I dropped my head into my hands, at a loss of what to do now. Fighting with Vlad solved nothing, but I knew I would never forgive him for what he had done. Nothing could ever be the same again, obviously.

After long moments crying and feeling sorry for myself, I pushed myself to my feet and dusted myself off as best I could.

With nothing else to do, I headed home dejectedly. Things could not get any worse at this point, right?

I was standing at my campsite, feeling very sorry for myself when I heard someone stomping up behind me. To my utter horror, I turned around to find Alex there. How had she found my home? What was she doing here?! I glanced around, suddenly seeing my.. hovel.. for what she must see.

“I can explain…” I began.

“You’d BETTER explain!” She yelled. “You LIED to me! You’re not a successful artist – you’re a CON artist!”

“I am not!” I yelled back. “I already applied for the permits to build a home, and I have plenty of money to do just that! I never lied to you – I just didn’t tell you I was living in a tent!” Weak at the knees from hunger and everything that had happened, I sat down on my pitiful little cooler to continue.

“Alex, I adore you. I couldn’t risk losing you by telling you the truth. I AM successful as an artist, and I can afford to care for you. It just doesn’t look like it right now. Things will change – I promise you!”

“You LIE! I can’t believe a word you say! Imagine my embarrassment when I had to hear all about you from FRIENDS of mine who knew you better than I knew you! You’ve made me the laughingstock of everyone in Windenburg. Everyone knew about you except for ME!”

I started to reply.. I stood up, looking at her beseechingly.. and then I felt something slide in me. The world went a bit dim, and everything was spinning.

Or maybe that was just me spinning. Before I knew it, I was in that.. other.. form of me. And not out of anger this time. I couldn’t excuse it on that.

I saw myself begin to attack Alex as if through a fog. And I couldn’t stop myself.

The sweet, metallic taste of blood slid down my throat as I fed, but, still, I couldn’t stop. This had been what Vlad meant when he said not feeding was dangerous.

My own body had taken the choice from me. Sadly, I set myself back down on my cooler, and looked down at Alex’s crumpled form. She was never going to forgive me now. Whether or not I lied by omission was no longer an issue. I had attacked her.

I was completely “myself” again by the time Alex stood groggily up – so I was totally aware when she threw my ring into my garden and stumbled away. She didn’t even say a word.

I’d been wrong. Things could definitely get worse. Desolate, I fell to the ground by my tent and gave into the rush of tears. What would I do NOW?!

Chapter 8 | Chapter 10

Chapter 2.9 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2 Interlude 1

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

Days Gone By

---

It’s another beautiful day in Sulani, and with Kali big enough to watch her brother and sister, Aleki and I are once again able to have a leisurely morning swim out by our dock. Kali has her breakfast, and is all ready to go to school when we get back. We give her a hug goodbye and head inside to get back to being parents of two little ones.

After Kali gets home from school, she does her homework and then plops down at her beloved activity table. Since I’m working on my last point of Logic for work, I’m close enough to her that we can sit and chat.

While I’m studying, though, my phone rings. It’s Austen, and he has more bad news. Meilani miscarried again, and this time the doctors said they should simply stop trying. Austen agrees, I mean, they’re not getting any younger – but it doesn’t lessen the blow of losing yet another baby. I decide Kali has enough to worry about, so I don’t tell her the news, but I save it to tell Alexi later.

After what must be one of the fastest aspiration finishes ever, Kali decides she now wants to be a Whiz kid, so I spend what’s left of the evening reading to her and teaching her to play chess.

Unbeknownst to either Aleki or I, Maricela ages up all by herself upstairs and wanders around, checking out her new territory. Not finding anyone to play with up there, though, she quickly gets bored of it, and ends up alerting us to her presence with a temper tantrum that would wake the Kraken.

The week goes on, with Aleki taking his “Zen” moments at his water garden as often as he can, and both of us playing tag-team on the parenting. I tell you what, things can get pretty crazy with three kids around a house.

With Aleki’s aspiration being Mansion Baron, he’s up to the part where he’s supposed to own more Art. So he spends a few days working on actual paintings instead of commissions for other people. He turns out some pretty good stuff, but nothing worth even close to what he can make with commissions. They do add a nice “feel” to the house, though, as we hang them up here and there.

Maricela is quite a troublemaker, and got into the flour while I was making Jayce’s birthday cake. We planned to invite the family over for his party, but it ended up that a good portion of the family couldn’t make it.

…. Which made Jayce very sad.

Dinner at the party was a little subdued, and I quickly shuffled everyone off home and told Jayce he should check upstairs… It didn’t take him long to discover that we’d made some purchases.

One of the rooms was now decked out just for him – and it even had room for some pets. Kali grudgingly agreed to share her art bench with her brother, because apparently he grew up with the Art Lover trait as well, and seemed to want to be just like his big sister.

The other nice thing is that we’d finally been able to afford fixtures in the upstairs bathroom – so there was no racing down the stairs in the early morning hours for anyone in the family. (Which, in my opinion, is a good thing – we don’t need anyone falling down the stairs!)

However, those furniture upgrades weren’t cheap, and Aleki has been working day and night on commissions to pay for them. Pair that with trying to keep up with a constantly naughty toddler, and neither Aleki or the toddler seemed to be getting enough rest.

I quickly stepped in and put Mari to bed, and sent Aleki to bed, too. The paintings could wait for tomorrow.

I still visit with Squirt as much as I possibly can, and she’s always glad to hear little tidbits about my family life. As she says, the life of the “two legs” (us) is particularly interesting, because she couldn’t imagine not being in the ocean all the time. She was also happy to hear of my major promotion to the top of my career… now I’m the boss around work, and I can dictate even more conservation efforts around the islands.

Mom stopped over to see the kids the day after the birthday party, and our little Charmer Mari was more than happy to try to monopolize all of her visiting time.

We didn’t much mind, though, because it’s so cute watching them play together.

Mom helped me tuck in our littlest monster, and then we were able to have a real talk about Dad. We both missed him terribly, but life goes on – and I expressed just how glad I was that she was still around. At least my kids would get to know one grandparent!

“Hammy” – as Jayce has named his new pet – has turned out to be a really cute family addition, and we practically fight over who’s going to take care of him next. He certainly isn’t lacking for attention, and his cage is always pristine.

Mari is slowly learning to talk, even if she’d much rather be making messes. I don’t remember either of my other kids being quite as rowdy as she is.

Every time we turn around, there’s another mess in the making. I swear, I might as well just leave the mop and bucket out – but then, they’d probably turn into her playthings, too. I even caught her playing in the toilet, of all things, the other day. What a mess that was!

Now that work is so much less stressful, I’ve taken up a new hobby. I bought myself a Diving Camera, and have started taking pictures of the deep ecosystems in our islands. It takes time to get good photos, but I’ve found my photography has definitely been improving with the practice.

The pictures that I don’t sell to the local galleries have gone up in our bedroom, giving us a daily (well, nightly) reminder of just how precious the life around us is.

Chapter 2.9 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2 Interlude 1

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.

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(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