The Legendary Legacy of the Fairfoot Family 2.0
[ 1.0] | [ 1.1] | [ 1.2] | [ 1.3]
[2.0]
Last time, in the third chapter... Daddy and his son read the last words of their ancestor Pippin Fairfoot, who had fallen ill in winter. Most Sims generally aren't affected much by the snow and the freezing temperatures, but Pippin had a hard time. It kept him from enjoying his family life, which he had been so lucky as to establish around him. Pippin wrote that they weren't a normal family anymore. And on that unhappy note, Pippin's diary had come to an end. What happened next?
Warning: a floating, bony figure with a hood, no face and a scythe.
"It gets a bit blurry from here," Daddy said. "The following heirs didn't always keep a diary, and especially in the earlier generations it's hard to track down what happened exactly. What we do have is the family tree.. the wedding, housing, birth and death records.. there are many pay checks and official documents and letters.. and, in some cases, even photographs."
"But then what's in the rest of this book?"
"Something really special as well," Daddy beamed. "These are the notes from Othello, that he added to his father's diary. I think he intended to publish it.. but he never came around to that, although he did write many novels in his good days."
His son took the old book and started looking for the page where they had left off.
"Here it is... 'Notes from O. Fairfoot'."
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Notes from O. Fairfoot
These are the words and thoughts of Othello Fairfoot, who is and always will be Pippin's son and youngest child. As such, this account of the events can never be more non-objective, but also never more true.
Our father, Pippin, wrote this journal about the first days of his life in New Ambleside. At the time he wrote the previous pages, my sister Teranika was the unborn foetus he addressed. I came later but wasn't less welcomed.
My father has lived in New Ambleside for exactly one cycle of the seasons. The winter overcame him in the end. I was just a child, had barely seen two seasons.
The look on my father's face I will always remember. He knew that his end was near, but he wasn't afraid of it.
When the lights in his eyes went out and he began to choke, all of us knew...
My sister insists that she felt an otherworldly entity with us at that moment, in the room and touching her arm.
I wouldn't know whether that is the truth.
Just as I don't know what happens when we die. For my father's sake, I hope that it is a happy place.
I remember looking up at my mother at that moment and thinking, 'You are always going to stay with us.'
I used to have complete faith in my mother as a child.
Granted, I did catch her sniffling a couple times. I know she suffered.
Just as much as we did.
Father's diary cheered her up a lot. She perused it several times before handing it over to Teranika as promised.
But Teranika... Mostly, she didn't want to talk about it. She was the heir of Pippin's possessions and legacy, but she didn't want to have to do anything with it.
At the time I was so often annoyed by her silly teenage behaviour. Now I think she wanted to get on with her life and tried to act maturely.
And I know she has been very sad. In her own way.
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Very shortly after the devastating event, spring returned. Although the snow, slowly melting, still covered the ground, many trees had gone green overnight.
For us, it was a bitter spring. If the reason for father's illness had been the cold and the snow, would he have survived if he'd made it until the next day?
We were very glad about the weather getting warmer, however. All of us were desperate for rain, to wash the evil snow away. Not in the least because Teranika and I were feeling a little queasy ourselves.
Adrienne treated herself to a new look and quit her job. She wanted to spend more time with us. And also with her many friends, but she didn't tell us that.
Although I was only a child and Teranika a teenager, my sister was in charge now. But even though I wasn't entitled to the house, I made up my mind to stay for a while. For as long as it would take to make sure that everything would be fine. I needed to look after my mother and sister.
A new cycle had begun, a new season, a new generation.
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*** I'm sorry for the drama! Next update will be a lot lighter, as will hopefully most of the upcoming ones. :) ***