From Sirio's diary
Alba: Ugh, I really can't take that note!
Sirio: That one is very hard also for me, but you're very close already!
Alba: Uhm…
Sirio: And then it's practice that makes perfect, isn't it?
Alba: If you say so...
Summer is about to end, and we all have to focus again on our job, school and everything. But we'll start worrying about that starting tomorrow, today we have other matters to focus on.
Lily: (exasperated) That idiot really should stop clogging my voicemail with his messages… Hasn't he figured out yet that I don't want to talk to him?
Lily is now about to turn 18, and starting from that point her fate won't depend anymore on any verdict, now it will be up to her to decide whether to meet again her father again or not. Even Hotaru knows this well and, in fact, the storm of e-mails and phone calls has been going on for months. So far Lily has always ignored them, and she doesn't seem at all willing to change her mind. Rather, she seems to have focused on her birthday party, her recent admission to Sim City University's videogames scripting course, and her new adult life. I sense a ton of determination from her, even more so than I ever did from Maki.
Lily: Hey mom, is the cake ready? People are starting to arrive!
Maki: It's almost done, don't worry!
Lily: What wish could I choose? Uhm...
It was a funny birthday party, Lily really invited a lot of friends of hers. We weren't at all surprised when we noticed that, among them, also "he's just a friend" Mirko showed up. They really seem to be spending a lot of time together, that's for sure.
They talked quite a lot, but Lily continues to maintain absolute confidentiality about what they said. And this can only make our curiosity grow, especially Maki is finding it impossible to hold in her questions any longer.
Maki: I can't believe he's not her boyfriend, they're always together! Are you still sure they're telling the truth?
Sirio: (thoughtful) Well… They surely seem very close. Yet, around them I don't see the same colours I usually see around couples. It mostly looks like, how could I call it... a very deep trust. But it is also true that these issues are not just black and white, there are a lot of other nuances in relationships as well, and I have never seen before many of those shades of colour before.
Maki: Uhm, you're probably right… Guess I'll have to try to talk to her again, before she goes back to Sim City to attend university and all…
And so she did the following morning.
Lily: Can't you wait a bit longer with your questions? This is a tricky level, I need to focus!
Maki: Please, it's really important to me.
Lily: (slightly annoyed) Okay, okay… So, what's going on?
Maki: Well, that's exactly what I wanted to ask you, "What's going on". Yesterday you and that friend of yours talked a lot, and you looked so serious, did something happen?
Lily: You just can't mind your own business, huh?
Maki: No, did you have any doubts?
Lily: Not really… Well we talked quite a bit about university. He decided to study in Sim City too, he wants to study to become a teacher. He struggled quite a bit to get a visa to study there, but he really wanted to leave.
Maki: Oh, so you will attend the same university?
Lily: Not exactly, one university is downtown and the other is in the spice district.
Lily: So, as you can see, we didn't talk about worrisome. Have you calmed down now?
Maki: Yes, quite a lot.
Lily: Is there anything else you want to talk about?
Maki: Well… it's still a little weird to think that you've grown up so much already, and you're off to live on your own in Sim City and all!
Lily: …
Maki: I understand that you want to be independent and make your own choices, but if something happens, or if your father decides to do something strange, don't hesitate to phone me or Sirio, okay? Whatever happens, we'll teleport there in the blink of an eye. Yes, also Sirio, forget about his restraining order, and…
Lily: I know, I know, you don't need to tell me…
After these final reassurances, Lily finished packing her stuff, used the teleporting machine and left for the dorm room assigned to her. Maki and her siblings hugged her so many times before letting her go, and I have to admit I could have cried a bit as well.
I really wish her all the best, Sim City is such a big city after all... Yet, I also know we taught her well, for sure she will be able to take care of herself.
And about us... Well, we'll surely miss her, I can already see it around us. Yet, this is the cycle of life, thinking about it I did just the same when I was about her age. We'll manage, somehow. And, when we really miss her too much, we can still phone her...
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The days went by, Maki's exhibition has been open for a few weeks now. We didn't expect to see the museum full of visitors right away, but for now it seems that only a few Sixamians have timidly decided to show up. We need some advertising, Maki has already been working on it for days. She hasn't wanted to give us anything away yet, she just told us all to go to her show tonight.
I haven't figured out what she has in mind either, I can only say that she just seems to be unable to way any longer before show to us her idea. And, needless to say, we too can only be curious to find out what will happen tonight.
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From Alba's diary
I had a couple of free hours before mom's surprise at the museum for her exhibition, so I stopped by the karaoke downtown with Erika.
There were also a couple of our schoolmates at the pub tonight, it always makes me a bit embarrassed to sing in front of them. What if I'm out of tune, or if I read the wrong line? They would tease me for weeks!
Without Erika probably I would have been just too scared of singing in front of so many people, let's say she practically put the microphone in my hand after starting the track of my favourite song. Someone chuckled a little hearing us singing, but I also had fun like I haven't had since that vacation in Sulani!
Erika: Hey, didn't you have to go to the museum to do that I "don't-get-what" your mom is organising?
Alba: Yes, that's right! I'm late already, bye everyone!
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From Sirio's diary
Alba: So did dad paint this?
Maki: That's right. He painted it when we just met, it actually represents me.
Alba: What, seriously? But it doesn't look like you at all, it's so… blue!
Maki: Your dad has his own way of seeing people… And this will be exactly what I will try to bring out tonight.
Helios: Why are the lights off?
Maki: (vague) I needed the right atmosphere… Just remember to close your eyes when I will switch it back on, okay?
Helios: Why?
Maki: It's part of the show, trust me!
Alba: Talking about it, has Lily arrived from Sim City yet?
Maki: She's upstairs, can you call her?
Maki: She's upstairs, can you call her?
Helios: Yes, leave it to me!
Maki has decided to give a speech here at the museum, to make it a live stream and share it on social networks. It's a risky plan, deep down we all know how difficult it is to end up in the trending content without talking about an attention-grabbing topic and, why not, lots of luck. But she seems confident, who knows what she has in mind…
Maki: Many artistic currents have followed one another in history. Realism, impressionism, expressionism… Such different genres, but which collided with the same obstacle: representing on a canvas the unrepresentable, the abstract, sensations and feelings… After all, how can one draw what cannot be seen?
Maki: But what if there was a way to see all of this, a way that has been sourrounding us for generations and generations and remained invisible until now?
With a theatrical gesture, Maki then pressed a switch and we, as she had told us, immediately closed our eyes. We felt a thin powder falling on us and we heard the hum of the neon lights turning back on. Before we could understand the meaning of all this, we ended up opening timidly our eyes, to see this scene:
Maki: Look at yourself now! That's it, the answer is colours! And so are the people for whom the connection between colours and emotions is as natural as it can be: the sixamians in New Sixam!
This said, Maki made a gesture to tell me: "Come here on camera, trust me!"
I was a bit intimidated by the idea, but for sure I wasn't the one who would have ruined her show.
Maki: Sixamian people are used to seeing each other glowing whenever they feel an emotion, with a different colour for each one: green for happiness, blue for sadness, red for anger... This makes them extremely empathic and sensitive people towards those around them, it only takes a few days here in New Sixam to realize this. And their unique point of view could only lead to new forms of art and expression.
As she continued to speak, I looked at the splashes of colour on my hands, as well as those on Maki, the kids and everyone else in the room. I was incredulous, she had really managed to…
Maki: … and this is precisely the fulcrum of this exhibition. Sometimes the solution is to change your point of view, and reaching New Sixam and admiring their art can only broaden your horizons!
At that point, the person behind the camera made an "Okay" sign with her hands, and stopped the recording.
Alba: So is this really like you see us, all coloured?
Sirio: Yes, that's right!
Alba: Before I didn't understand it very well when you tried to explain this to us, but now that I see it like this it really seems so… wow!
Maki: So, did you like the show?
Lily: I'm sure everyone was expecting a boring monologue on the theory of this new art trend, surely this will attract a lot of attention!
Maki: And what do you think about it, Sirio?
Sirio: It was so, so…
After years spent in vain trying to explain my way of seeing others, and therefore my paintings, finally someone was able to do it for me. How could I say anything other than:
Sirio: Thank you, you're a genius!
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§HermioneSims§
Disclaimer: I'm probably the worst person to write something interesting about art and painting, I'm one of the least artistically-inclined people you could ever meet. Modern art in particular is just beyond me.
I found this development nice for this generation (I come up with it after my home city hosted for a few times the color run), but I don't really think it would sound so revolutionary in real life.
To close on a funny note, I want to briefly change the topic to pass to this screenshot:
C'mon Techna, I'm quite confident you already know quite a lot about this topic XD
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