Chapter 1.24: Peace and serenity

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From Stuart's Diary

Finally the aliens are no longer a threat, now we can live in peace and forget about that constant worry that accompanied us for most of our lives. A few weeks ago I've retired from my job in the lab, I don't have any reason to continue to overwork myself in such a place when I can focus on my family and passions instead.

Today Sylvia and I have decided to spend a day together. We haven't done it for years, and we finally have a lot of spare time to spend as we prefer to.


Perhaps we are not as strong as in the past anymore, but it is nice to have so many memories to share with one person.

Stuart: It's strange to think that the aliens are our allies now, and that they will live with us as if nothing had happened.
Sylvia: I really hope the newcomers will settle down quickly.
Stuart: Luna and the others have spent days teaching them how to live as earthlings and sharing their experiences with them, I'm sure they'll be fine.

Sylvia: Thinking about it, a lot of things have happened at home too, lately. Daisy has also become a beautiful furry cat...


Stuart: And also she is identical to the rest of her family... Have you bought a collar for her too?
Sylvia: Yes, a light green one.
Stuart: Then Milo graduated from high school, and we celebrated his birthday too.


Sylvia: and shortly after it was Luna's turn.




Stuart: And now they are both adults, soon they may want to leave the nest and start a life on their own...
Sylvia: We have taught them well, they would be doing great!

Sylvia is still as determined, strong and curious as when I met her. For sure, by deciding to live by my side she didn't have an easy or normal life, but she never showed hesitation or doubts about her choices. A couple of times I even asked her if she was really okay with the situation, but her answer always was that she'd rather know the truth about aliens and everything else than live a perfect life ignoring it.
Before meeting her I'd never believed to be able to think these things, and not for so many years, but I'm still really in love with her.


By now I don't have many interesting events to write down in this diary anymore, my days are calm, peaceful and predictable at this point. But I saw that Luna also started writing her own diary: for sure I won't read it, but I'm quite sure that it could be a more interesting read than these last few notes of mine...

From Luna's diary

Today I went out with a couple of friends, we went together to a bar nearby to chat a bit. Of course they are Hermes and Ivy, the aliens I met on Sixam in much less happy times than this. At the time we were obliged to attend those lectures about the Earth's colonization and nobody felt like having fun, but now the situation is very different, that's for sure.

Like it or not we have been through a lot together, and so they are among the few people I can talk about anything crossing my mind.


Luna: The Elders' Council took some time to find a way to hide so many aliens, but it seems to me that everything is working fine, isn't it?
Ivy: Yes, I'm enjoying this new situation so much! Nobody suspects anything, we can do whatever we want now!
Hermes(Thoughtful) Sometimes it seems even too easy, I sort of have the impression that we are neglecting some important detail...
Ivy: C'mon, why do you always have to be this pessimist?
Luna: ...

I didn't say anything, but those words made me think. Hermes never says such things just for the sake of talking, and he usually notices problems well ahead of others. Next time, I will have to remember to ask him what he meant. 


Ivy: (cheerful) It's just me, or the guy over there is very cute?
Luna: He's a human, to me it sounds like a very bad idea.
Hermes: Yeah, I agree. You know, you can't keep an effective disguise when doing, uh... certain things.
Luna: And then I have never heard of aliens having a relationship with humans, there must be a reason for it, isn't it?


Ivy: As usual, you two always agree on everything... But c'mon, I really don't understand how it is possible that no one has ever fallen in love with a human. The heart can not be controlled, you know?

That said she left our table defiantly, and she rushed to introduce herself to the guy she'd been looking at since when she walked into that bar.


Hermes: (whispering) For sure she's stubborn...
Luna: (whispering) To say the least, does she realize how risky it is? She could blow up everyone's disguise behaving this way!

Hermes hasn't answered for a while, as he often does when he's reasoning about something.

Luna: What are you thinking about?
Hermes: Despite everything, I believe she has a point. The hearth can't be commanded, that's undeniable, and I don't think everyone would be keen to give up a possible relationship just for the sake of the alien community.
Luna: (Thoughtful) At least aliens and humans can't have natural children, that's what the studies from Sixam say. Can you imagine how hard it would be to hide from humans in such a situation?
Hermes: Yes, that's also a good point...


Hermes: (a bit embarrassed) For sure she wasn't kidding, she went straight to the point...


Luna: Definitely... Well, in any case, I think I'll go home, I want to talk a bit with my brother.
Hermes: Okay, see you soon, then.

I would also have tried to say goodbye to Ivy, but it really didn't seem the right moment and so I just left. I'm really curious to understand what is going through my brother's head, he is behaving funnily recently.



Milo is always busy in these weeks, he is working on his college admission and he's going to move out soon. He decided to study Botanics, and knowing him I think he will have fun in that major.
However, I also have the impression that he's hiding something else from me...


Luna: Is any of your friends also applying for that college?
Milo: Ehm, maybe. A classmate of mine said she want to apply to the same university. She also asked me to study together for the admission test, but I'm not sure it's a good idea...
Luna: Why not? Group studying is more effective, usually.
Milo: (vague) Well, I'm...

His uncertainty was just making me even more suspicious, at that point I was sure he was hiding something from me. But I also knew him enough to be sure that I wouldn't be able to have an admission just by talking to him, and also that I had just one other way to get that information...



Luna: Ha ha, so that's it!
Milo: You know I hate it when you read my mind! And what have you seen, by the way?
Luna: I saw that you like her, and you're afraid of ruining your relationship! Don't try to deny it!
Milo: (embarrassed) Well, so far I've barely spoken to her, I don't think that's...
Luna: I think you should try to get to know her better instead! How do you know if you could get along, if you don't even try to talk to her?

In the end, I managed to convince Milo at inviting his friend at hour place for studying together, she came the following day. Probably I saw her a couple of times at school already, everyone considered her a bit weird but I think she's okay. Her name is Noemi.



I didn't listen to what they were saying, but I heard from my room that they talked a lot. That's usually a good sign, isn't it?


They kept studying until late in the evening. Noemi greeted us and then returned to her place, and shortly after Milo went out to investigate a strange noise in the garden. Probably it was just one of the cats, we thought. Instead...



This shouldn't be happening, the Elder's Council forbade it! 
But then why there are still aliens abducting people? We have to report this to the authorities, this is a very serious fact and for sure we won't ignore it!

But, above all, I couldn't avoid thinking about Hermes and his last comments: what if this meant that convincing the elder aliens to live as normal earthlings was indeed more complex than we anticipated?

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