From Sirio's diary
Time passes, and we all feel quite exhausted following the long months spent working and studying hard.
I've been working part-time at that DIY store downtown for years now to ensure something resembling a stable income, but standing behind a cash register all day isn't really my thing… And Techna doesn't seem to be doing any better than I do. I can't use telepathy with robots, but anyone would notice that their energy and stress levels are declining significantly lately.
Sirio: How's it going with your studies? Aren't you exaggerating a bit?
Techna: It's not easy, but I've completed the 51.368% of the degree already. So far I've mainly studied basic topics, but the new notions are coming now.
Sirio: No one is running after you, just don't forget that you can take all the time you need to finish it.
Techna: Don't worry, I am fully capable of evaluating the limit of my work capacity. But I have to go back to studying, excuse me…
We really all need a vacation, don't you agree, my dear diary?
The next day, New Sixam's municipal swimming pool
Helios: CANNONBALL DIVE!
Florian: Well, maybe you weren't totally wrong, with this heat the swimming pool is probably better than remaining at home.
Sirio: Yes, it's perfect here.
Florian: Yet, it's not at all the same as the girls got! That's unfair!
Florian: Why did the girls leave us to this looser's swimming pool and got a real vacation in Sulani, huh? I wanted to go too!
Matt and Drew: (in chorus) And so do we did!
Sirio: C'mon, we promised to pay a nice vacation to Halley after all she did during the trial. And then now I was forbidden to leave New Sixam because of that little mess with the disguise, so…
Florian: We know you can't leave, but why did we have to get involved too?
Sirio: The girls have been planning this travel since mid-August, it seems a bit late to complain!
Florian has been complaining about it for days, he never left New Sixam and he couldn't wait to see an exotic country like Sulani in person. But we did the math in our pockets, we didn't really have the money to go all together. And so we decided to leave it to the girls for this time, hoping that this vacation can be memorable for them.
In the end, this swimming pool in the middle of the New Sixam desert isn't so bad, it can't be so different from a sandy beach...
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From Alba's diary
Our vacation started this morning, with the teleportation we arrived here literally in an instant.
And here everything is just so… wow! It couldn't be more different from home!
Halley: We really needed it, I couldn't wait anymore to come!
While aunt Halley immediately jumped into the water, Erika, Trix and I started making sand castles, and mom and Lily preferred to sunbathe. I don't understand what's so funny about lying there dozing in the sun, but it's also true that we sixamians never get a tan, while they do.
But, thinking about it, I get the impression that they just wanted to stay on their own a bit to talk to each other. I couldn't hear everything of what they said, but from the fragments I caught it seemed like a rather serious conversation…
(^Maki tied her hair and immediately tanned, even I found her hard to recognize here. She's the one sitting on the left)
Maki: Hey Lily, are you sleeping?
Lily: Uhm… not anymore. What do you want?
Maki: We haven't talked for a while, I wanted to ask how you are, and then about that boy you're always hanging around with, and…
Lily: I already told you, he's a friend of mine from school. Really.
Maki: Okay, but looking at you…
Lily: (starting to get impatient) I assure you he's not my boyfriend, okay? Indeed, to be more precise, I really have no intention of finding any boyfriend anytime soon, I'm perfectly fine also by myself!
Maki: …
I'm sure Lily wasn't lying, she said it because she really believed it. And mom also seemed to understand it, but this wasn't enough to make her stop to worry.
Maki: …Did something else happen, by any chance?
Lily: …
Maki: Didn't your father try to contact you, did he?
Lily: Well, actually, he tried to write me an email a few weeks ago, it looks like he really wants to talk to me. Probably he remembered that soon I will turn eighteen, so in any case I'll be soon able to decide by myself whether to meet him or not.
Maki: (worried) Did you answer?
Lily: What do you think I did? I didn't even read the whole message, I have no intention of talking to him ever again!
Maki: Okay… I understand.
I'm actually quite happy they decided to talk about this when I was not around, I never know what to do when Lily's dad is mentioned.
I thus decided to use what remained of the afternoon to explore a bit the place. This island makes me think about many things, and when I'm on my own those ideas stay with me much longer before slipping away.
Sulani is now a very popular vacation destination among sixamians. This small country in the middle of the ocean has an economy centred around tourism, and they thought that making the procedures for obtaining a visa easier for us sixamians was a great way for attracting more people. Judging by how many of our fellow citizens we've met in recent days, their plan was probably quite successful in the end.
Even the sand is very different from that of the desert around our city, with all these shells and crabs it seems much more alive. Nature is spectacular here, and it's enough to walk a bit further from these tourist beaches to realize that these islands are also full of history.
And the water is so warm too, I'd lie around here all day if I could…
But the night came early, and we all decided to go and have dinner together at a restaurant nearby, obviously with a table facing the sea.
Halley: Sulani is even better than I thought! How about moving here?
Sophia: This sounds a bit too extreme... But for sure I have every intention of enjoying this vacation as much as I can!
Halley: So, what's the plan for tomorrow?
Trix: I think I'll take a look at the beach in the city centre, they say it's full of rubbish.
Sophia: You're already working with trash everyday at work, you should chill out a bit in here instead!
Trix: I know, I know, but I'm also curious to see how they handle the problem in here!
Come to think of it, Trix works at the New Sixam largest recycling centre, she is an expert on waste and pollution. She also seems to enjoy her job quite a lot, I think she was honest when saying she's curious to see how they handle garbage in here.
Trix: (joking) By any chance, does anyone want to help me?
Alba: I'll come if you want, I haven't seen that beach yet!
Trix: And here we are! I was told there is a lot of abandoned plastic around here, shall we start looking for it?
Alba: Okay!
We woke up early, well before the others, to come here this morning, but it was worth it. At this time there are much fewer people around, it's so peaceful...
Bottles, fishing nets, unidentified pieces of plastic… we really found a lot of stuff. Who would ever abandon them on such a beautiful beach? Or are they carried by the sea waves? Who knows… What I'm sure about is just that seeing so much garbage around really makes me sad.
A few hours later, lunchtime
Lily: So, how was the hunt for plastic bottles?
My sister wants to appear cheerful, but I have the impression that deep down she is pretending. I think she's trying to distract herself a bit, as is mom.
Alba: There's much more plastic at the central island than in here, it would take a lifetime to collect it all!
Maki: (changing the subject) Did you hear that there will be a big bonfire on the beach tonight? Do you want to go there?
Lily: Why not, it could be fun.
Halley: You really remind me of Sirio as a kid, you know?
Alba: What… why?
Halley: He was always in the corner strumming something too. Although in his case it usually was his violin.
Alba: Ah.
Halley: But c'mon, let's reach the others next to the bonfire!
Lily: I didn't expect the nights to be so cool in here...
Maki: Why don't you play something for us, Alba? We saw that you brought your guitar!
Alba: But… it's not like I'm that good yet…
Lily: We don't understand anything about music anyway, what are you worrying about?
Trix: That's right, we want to sing!
Alba: Well, okay then…
I played a lot that night, both around the bonfire and on my own, on the pier.
With the sound of the waves, the music that can be made here is truly unique, I don't want to waste even a minute of it…
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Our last day of vacation started with a light drizzle, we couldn't go to the beach anymore. So we preferred to gather a small bar near the beach, and then decide what to do.
Sophia: Aren't you cold just wearing a swimming suit?
Maki: Yes, actually a little yes.
Bartender: A monsoon will soon reach us, it's better not to mess with those. Be careful!
Halley: What bad luck though, a monsoon? Is it the right season for it?
Bartender: It's a bit earlier than usual, maybe... But in recent years the weather was a bit funny, you know how it is, don't you?
Trix: Um…
The weather kept getting worse, so we (reluctantly) decided to return to New Sixam a little earlier than planned. On the one hand this place is beautiful when it's sunny, but when it rains like this it's almost scary.
And so ended our holiday in Sulani. We didn't stay more than a few days, but we saw so many things… I really don't think I'll forget about them for quite a while, that's for sure!
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Ah, a vacation in Sulani... Today is also my first day of summer vacation, I'm not travelling anywhere in particular yet this chapter feels quite fitting for today.
Also, I want to point out that the graphics in the beautiful Sulani scenery is quite low because when I played this part I was still using my old laptop, which could only function with low-medium settings.
I changed my laptop a few generations later, and Sulani is definitively the neighbourhood where I notice the improvement the most.
To close, I want to add my usual funny pictures.
The monsoon was actually quite dangerous, Lily even got stuck by a lighting. She didn't suffer any permanent effect, yet it was definitively better to leave.
Back to the fun part of the vacation instead, it looks like everyone likes the same sand castle in here...
And also that walking on water is less impossible than I though XD
