Chapter 3.1: Generational changes

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From Leo's diary

Aster and Roberta called us a few hours ago to tell us that their first child has just been born.


Indeed, to be more precise, they had twins: Peter and Samuel. I bet they'll be pretty busy for a while...


At first glance they look a lot like Aster, but he swears they are a lot like their mom instead.

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The colder it gets outside, the more the cats in the house claim ownership over the sofa. In the last weeks, sitting there without any of them jumping on my lap has been impossible. 


In the meantime, the general elections have just passed, apparently a strange guy who always wears a llama costume has been elected. He seems to have no particularly extreme position, but he doesn't even seem the kind of incisive person capable of changing anything either.

I admit I didn't follow much of the chaotic evolution our political scene is passing through, Claire had so much to tell me. In particular, I finally managed to hear from her about the story of her detention.


Claire: After verifying I really was his daughter, they sent me back home waiting for a definitive verdict. And the old idiot, in revenge, took away my phone, computer and everything else. That's why you couldn't contact me.
Leo: I was afraid something similar had happened...

And I also thought that she probably would rather end up in prison for a few months than be locked up in her father's house, like a grounded little girl.

Claire: In the end, the judges had decided that I would have had to pay an exorbitant fine, for unauthorized disguising and for public disturbance. My father paid without blinking an eye, then he threw me out of the house telling me not to show up ever again. Which is exactly what I wanted to do, anyway...

In response I limited myself to shake my head: Mr S. blamed his political debacle on Claire's video, but didn't he realise that if Claire hated him up to that point only for his own fault?

Leo: Anyway... Do you really only want that salad for dinner? We have other stuff in the fridge, like...
Claire: Well, I'm not very hungry. That's fine.

But even in the following days she continued not to feel in full strength. She was making me worry, did she get sick?


Her discomfort no longer seemed like something justifiable by the stress caused by everything that had happened to her in the last year, so we decided to ask my mom for an opinion. After all, she's a doctor who specializes in aliens, isn't she?


Claire explained to my mother how she felt in no time, and then answered a few questions. At one point my mother nodded, with that expression of someone who has just understood what the right solution is, and with a smile she said to us:

Luna: Well, I really suspect you could be expecting a child. You should get a test, you know?

Of course, she was right, but neither I nor Claire were expecting such an answer. 


Leo: Well, just because we didn’t expect it doesn’t mean we can’t get away with it, does it?
Claire: ... Most of all, right now I mostly think this nausea is really terrible.

She doesn't say it out loud, she's too proud to do it, but I know she is quite scared by the idea of having a child this early, without even being able to settle down a bit about the chaotic situation we had just passed through before. We had never talked about babies before, but since she found out she was pregnant she has never even mentioned the option of an interruption either. She seems to have accepted the challenge, so to speak.

And that was not even enough to convince her to stop with her manifestations.


By now Mr S. has retired, but all his laws have remained and Claire intends to continue until complete equality between humans and aliens is ensured. She also starts to be recognised and have some supporters, the video that led to her father's arrest had quickly become viral and many people started following her, both in person and on social networks.

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A few months later, from Luna's diary


Luna:  they say that starting to see and hear ghosts is not a good sign, do you know, Hermes? 
Hermes: so they say, it's true. 
Luna: Well, probably I'm just starting to get a bit of dementia. Ah, the old age...


Luna: This means it won't take much longer, isn't it? 
Hermes: (vague) maybe. But, in any case, there is nothing to be afraid of. 


Luna: I'm not afraid, actually. I've always done what felt right to me, so I won't leave too many regrets behind. And now the kids are old enough to fend for themselves. We taught them everything they could, didn't we?
Hermes: Yes, this is true.

Luna: Also, it was also nice to see you again.
Hermes: My pleasure.
Luna: See you soon, then.

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From Leo's diary

We woke up in the middle of the night, mom was coming home after having been who knows where. Strange, we hadn't even noticed she'd left and for sure we weren't expecting her to, considering her house arrest sentence. Whatever had happened, it should have been something important to her.

Shortly after, mom just collapsed on the floor, and neither Claire nor I could do anything to wake her up.



We had remained alone... this is the first thing I could think of.

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