From Sirio's diary
The new custody trial hit us like an avalanche, leaving everyone confused and upset.
Hotaru wasn't joking when he said he wanted to hire the most expensive lawyers in Sim City, it was very obvious since the first hearing. Our public defender did his best, but standing up to those opponents was a real feat...
Lily: It's my fault if you're always in tribunal now, mommy?
Maki: What? Of course not, honey, what makes you think that?
Lily: Well, you have to decide if I will stay with you or dad, right?
Maki: ...
Lily: ... is dad this bad? Is that why I can never see him?
Maki: Well... He took many years before showing his real self, and I would not call him a very loving person, no. He always demonstrated to only care about himself, he's been very selfish.
Lily: ...
Lily doesn't seem to remember well the period prior to her parents' divorce, after all she was only a few years old at the time. But now she's starting to understand the current situation all too well, asking questions about her father, the trial and all. Maki always does her best to answer, but it's not always easy to really explain the situation to her.
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The trial was over after just a couple of hearings, which isn't a good sign at all. Even less promising was the triumphant smile of Hotaru and Jessica when, shortly after, we met at the entrance to the court to comment on the outcomes.
Hotaru: Well, I can't blame the judge. Financial stability is important to children and, with us, Lily would have so many more opportunities.
Maki: ...
From both Hotaru and Jessica I distinctly felt a not-at-all-hidden sense of superiority. Maki was looked down upon, as if her choices following her divorce had been so unbecoming to make her undeserving of their company. I, on the other hand, was completely ignored, as if a sixamian didn't even deserve their attention. I admit that the temptation to telepathically shake their brains a little grew stronger with after every word they said, the only thing holding me back was the awareness that doing so would only have made the situation even worse.
Their attitude was evident even to Maki, who really seemed to be unable to hold back anymore. She was barely allowed to speak at the hearings, but she had plenty to say.
Maki: but how the heck is it possible that with each passing day you become more arrogant and snooty than before?
Jessica: ... Sorry?
Maki: You both work ten hours a day, and I remember too well how Hotaru at home only knows how to yell at everyone within his range, he did it even when Lily was just born! What are you going to do with her, leave her alone all day and then go on with your quarrels all night long? No way I'm allowing that!
Hotaru: You always try to make me look like a madman, that was also your plan with the psychological report in the first trial, but what's on your mind?
He played dumb, but I distinctly feel he was having a hard time holding back his anger even at that very moment. How does a person keep so much anger inside without exploding, I wonder?
Hotaru: And what are you going to do, anyway? The trial is almost over, you will lose! Within a month, at most, Lily will have to come and stay with us, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!
Maki: You say that!
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And so, willing or not, we ended up resorting to our Plan B.
Sim City's law doesn't apply to New Sixam, they'll have to start a new trial here too if they are really so confident about their position. But the outcome would be much less obvious right now.
We had to use almost all of my mom's inheritance money and what little savings we had, and Halley helped a lot too. Then we had to hurry to buy this house before the final verdict was made.
It's a miracle we managed to complete all the paperwork in time, however now we live up here, atop the cliff overlooking downtown New Sixam.
Lily: What a horrible weather! I thought it never rains in deserts!
Sirio: Sometimes the weather is a bit strange here, especially in autumn... Come on, let's go in!
The one who had the most to complain about seemed to be Lily, the idea of leaving Sim City and all her friends for a place like this didn't seem to appeal to her at all.
Lily: This place sucks, I want to go home!
Maki: I'm sorry, but at least for a while this will be our home.
Lily: But I don't want to stay here, we're in the middle of nowhere!
Maki: Com'on, it's just a matter of getting used to this, isn't it?
But Lily shook her head in exasperation before go hiding in her new room. At least here she doesn't have to share it with Alba anymore, but this little positive fact doesn't seem to counterbalance everything else at all.
I can totally see why she's so upset. Lily had many friends at school, she had so many after-school activities that changed every day, and she also loved just going around the city to browse every stall, shop or whatever. New Sixam must have looked like a bunch of sand in the middle of nowhere in comparison, and full of weird green, blue, and purple people to boot. It's not hard to understand the reason for her reaction.
But, if all this is true for Lily, it is even more so for Maki. She has always lived in a big city teeming with life, full of excitement, and all of this was mirrored in the colours that swirled around her at all times.
Maki was very similar to her apartment in Sim City, full of bright colours and creative ideas. Here, however, her aura looks much duller, just like the pale colours used to paint this house...
Sirio: Maki... are you sure you're fine?
Maki: Sure, why shouldn't I? This time we really managed to slow down Hotaru, I'm sure he won't bother us in here for quite a while.
Sirio: ... I know you really like living in the city, though. I'm sorry to think that it won't be the same here, besides rocks and sand we don't have much to offer...
Maki: It's not your fault! It's not quite the same as living next door to the art gallery in Sim City, that's true, but we'll come up with something, I'm sure about it!
Sirio: ...
Maki: And then this is much better than the alternative, isn't it?
I could clearly perceive that she was saying those words trying to convince me of their truthfulness, or maybe it was herself the one she was trying to convince. In any case, the colours surrounding her described doubt and uncertainty as never before.
Maki: And then there's a fantastic landscape here. I'm sure there are a lot of stars in the sky here at night, isn't it?
Sirio: Well, at least we don't lack those, that's true!
Maki and I have made many difficult decisions since we decided to establish this relationship, but this was without a doubt the most difficult... Was it really the right choice, or should I have wiped some of Hotaru's memories before he could start that trial instead?
The last few weeks have really been exhausting for us, at that moment all we were able to do was to stargaze for a bit longer, and then go to sleep in that new and silent house. We didn't know exactly what to expect yet, but our life was surely about to change a lot.
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§HermioneSims§ corner
What a sudden change, isn't it?
For the moment, I only want to underline that the happiest about the new move could be Nacho the ghost-cat, who can finally access the top of the fridge again.
Wow. I didn't expect a move, but the custody battle didn't look like it was going to have a good outcome at all. They did what they had to do to keep Lily safe. I just hope Maki and Sirio find a productive way to continue their art and exhibitions. The house is nice, though, and Nacho can be on the fridge! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the new comments!
DeleteI chose for this direction just before playing and writing this chapter as well, it was indeed a very difficult choice for Sirio and Maki. The next few chapters are going to be tough for them, that's for sure.