Simming in Paradise

  Greetings dedicated reader(s), I started this blog five years ago because I got into the habit of painstakingly documenting my Sims' lives way back in my TS2 days and simply had to continue the tradition with TS4. I hardly know how to play without taking copious amounts of screenshots at this point! I've abandoned and returned to this blog more times than I can count, but it's always felt like more of an insular thing than something where I've actively sought out engagement, and after a certain point it gets lonely telling stories to yourself. That's why I'm finally bidding this platform farewell - for real this time. I'm grateful to the more story-minded approach I've adopted in the past couple years for keeping my creative juices flowing, but it also takes a lot out of me, which is why I've disappeared so many times. I also don't think it's super approachable for others in today's bite-sized world. It was important for me to finish Es

It seemed that, despite the confusion almost certainly swirling around madly in both of our brains, my mother was taking her sudden resurrection ridiculously well so far. "I'm dying to hear the whole story," she proclaimed in a chipper tone before pausing a beat to reflect on what she'd just said. "Oh, is it too soon for that unintentional pun?" She waved her hand dismissively and continued on unperturbed. "And of course I want to know everything else that happened while I was gone. But, sweetheart, I have to admit I'm famished . And I'm absolutely craving a steaming hot shower right now." It was understandable that her immediate concerns were more bodily than intellectual. Such simple acts as eating or bathing had gained more gravity for me, too, when I'd suddenly found myself in a situation that made it difficult to do either consistently. Now, though for different reasons, neither of us would likely take the little things for granted

Having survived the last several days on a wilderness diet of whatever we could catch or forage, we were all ravenous by the time we got back to Evergreen Harbor. As if she'd anticipated our arrival down to the exact second, Rav was already in the kitchen whipping up a batch of brownies to satisfy her own sweet tooth. It was all I could do not to drool all over the countertop as I peeked over her shoulder at the bowl of brownie batter, which was suddenly the most appetizing thing I had ever seen.

Our journey that night felt endless as we followed the winding river out of Granite Falls and into the wilderness proper, like somehow we crossed hundreds of miles and spent days running without rest while, around us, the rest of the world moved at a much slower pace. Who knows? Maybe there was some magic afoot, surreptitiously nudging us along, slowing the movement of time down to a trickle so that we could reach our destination before the sky started to lighten. Despite several road bumps, I'd managed to get this far, so I had to believe that the universe was on my side, conspiring in the shadows to get me where I needed to be.

It wasn't until we were actually in the thick of the forest that Alejandro and I realized just how difficult it was going to be to feign an enthusiasm for the great outdoors long enough to avoid arousing Enji's suspicions. Our faux yoga practices earlier in the spring had been lax at best, which meant we were in miserable shape for hiking two miles to our intended campsite in Granite Falls National Park. By the time we arrived, we were both ready to collapse into a sore and sweaty heap, but Rahul and Enji seemed even more energized than they'd been at the start.

Naturally, when we returned home, the others were curious about where we had been all weekend, especially Rahul. I could see that it was eating him up inside to hear so many inside jokes and references flying between us that he wasn't in on.

If things started out innocent and even adorable with the unexpected appearance of the ghost blobs, they quickly took a more sinister turn, as you might expect from any good horror movie (even when it's one you're living out in real life). Hour after hour, the unexplainable occurrences in the house seemed to multiply. Rav stayed busy kicking at and stomping on the strange twisted roots that kept cropping up everywhere, a job that proved a good fit for her more volatile tendencies.

In the days leading up to the weekend, Alejandro and I feigned an abrupt interest in adhering to a schedule of early morning rooftop yoga routines as an excuse to steal thirty minutes together without arousing suspicion. As we strained stiffly into the few actual poses we knew, we hashed out our plans in hushed voices. Both of us had been brushing up on our reading, attempting to cram years' worth of paranormal training into a single week. I didn't know about Alejandro, but I seriously doubted we would succeed in conjuring up any specters. Despite our best efforts, we were still amateurs. The odds were decidedly not in our favor.

I awoke the next morning shorn and renewed. "Oh, Sid, aren't you glad our magic is finally back? I'm so happy I could shout it from the rooftops!" Instead, I settled for nuzzling and kissing and squeezing him until he finally wriggled out of my grip, irritated but with the slightest bit more swing in his tail.

I half-hoped Alejandro would forget I ever brought up magic - part of me regretted doing so, especially at a moment when my connection to it was so tenuous I could barely say it existed at all - but, of course, he didn't, and I could only come up with excuses to dodge his unrelenting questions for so long. Besides, maybe he could help me. Although he didn't seem to possess a drop of magical blood, his interest in the paranormal made him my best bet so far.