From Alba's diary
Nacho: Mh....
Alba: What? Nacho just hisses at random people, even at me sometimes, but I wouldn't say this means he dislikes you!
Scarecrow: But—
Alba: You see? He calmed down already.
Nacho: Mh...
Alba: Are you hungry, Nacho?
Nacho: Mew!
I would say our life is a bit peculiar sometimes. I mean, this morning I had to stop an argument between Nacho and the scarecrow. Nothing serious, luckily, so I could move on and focus on some more relevant matters.
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Knock knock!
Olivier: Good morning, Kate. You're never late when it comes to telepathic therapy, isn't it?
Olivier: Oh, sorry, I confused you with another person!
???: Don't worry, you were pretty close. I'm Kate's replacement, today I will be the one performing your telepathic tests.
Olivier: Oh.
So Olivier invited the new therapist to come in, while I hurried to join them.
Alba: Did something happen to Kate? It's a bit strange that you didn't tell us anything, right?
Olivier: Yes, I didn't expect it either.
???: I don't know the details, other than that Kate asked for a new task. She said something like: "I no longer want to see a single file with the surname Miller on my desk."
Alba: (perplexed) I see...
???: Anyway, this was a lovely chat, but I'm afraid we have a lot to do today!
Olivier: Seriously, you too?
???: I'm afraid this is standard procedure, sorry.
That was undoubtedly a big surprise to us. To say the least. May this be what Kate meant when she told me "I already know what I have to do"?
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Sulani is an island famous for its nature and its beaches, in some ways I think it's normal that we never spend much time at home. Needless to say, we only have one television, small and half-broken, which we very rarely watch. And when we actually decide to watch it, there are usually quite serious reasons behind it.
TV: ... cases of citizens deceived to participate in unethical telepathic experiments are multiplying across the Country. A single, but very evasive, organization seems to be the culprit behind it. The investigations continue, but the few arrests are proving to be mostly useless given the habit of the members of this group to self-erase their memories at the moment of the arrest. This mysterious organization can only cause concern on an international level, given…
The more time passes, the more people like us are found. It's not just Drew, it's something much larger. And the fact that no one knows who they are, nor their true intentions, can only bring back an aura of fear and suspicion towards sixamians, in particular those living abroad like we are.
Olivier: My bosses at work are scared like I've never seen them before because of this story, they are finding any excuse to keep me away from the office.
Alba: Didn't they say they just wanted to make some checks?
Olivier: Yes, or at least that's what they were saying about one month ago... To be honest, however, I'm seriously starting to think that they're just looking for the best excuse to fire me and avoid any risk.
Alba: What? But are you serious?
Olivier: (nods resignedly)
Olivier: (cynical) Maybe I should start looking for another job already, just to be safe. Your salary is quite good, but I don't think the three of us could live just on it for long...
Alba: I'm really sorry... But you'll see that somehow we'll find a solution for this too.
Olivier: I really hope so...
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Meanwhile, Rowan, unaware of our worries, was having the time of his life playing outdoors. It was the end of summer, he was on vacation from school for another three weeks, and he was just spending every moment swimming, playing with the sand and learning how to climb palm trees with his cousin Riven. Because, of course, also River and Iris are spending as much time as they can here during the school breaks. Iris would never admit it, but River once confided to me that he still has some nostalgia for these islands.
I think that I too would have done the same as a child, how could anyone be bored of such a place?
Iris: Are you preparing again that weird barbeque with the leaves, aunt Alba? It will take hours before it's ready!
River: Everything just remained as it used to be...
Rowan: Why don't you two join our scout group too then? It would be a good excuse to come to Sulani every day, right?
Iris: C'mon, everyone knows that scouts are for losers!
Rowan: (a little offended) That's not true!
Roasting that meat really took forever, but to me it was always worth the wait.
At the end of the evening we also took the opportunity to go to the pub behind the corner. We heard that they recently got a karaoke machine and we can't ignore news like that, isn't it, my dear diary?
Rowan: Wow, you're great! But I can try too, can I, can I?
Rowan seemed to be having a lot of fun listening to us, and he couldn't wait to give it a try too. So I didn't think twice and gave him my microphone just before the beginning of the second song.
Olivier chose a simple song on purpose, and Rowan really tried his best. However even I, as his mother, have to admit that perhaps singing may not be his main talent. But the three of us still had a lot of fun, and isn't it what really matters, after all?
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So the days passed. We tried our best to keep away the bad thoughts, but for Olivier it was just impossible not to think about the ongoing investigations at his workplace, where his bosses were still trying to understand if he did anything wrong or suspicious during the months he was under Drew's telepathic control.
Olivier has always put a lot of effort in his job, after years he became office manager and he had to fight for every single one of his promotions, with the calculation of a budget at a time. And now this waiting was slowly wearing him down, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to receive an answer, which unexpectedly came in the form of an early morning phone call.
Olivier: ... I see.
Olivier just listened to that phone call for a long time without saying almost anything. I had no idea what they had said to him, but his expression didn't bode well.
Alba: (cautiously) Was it someone from your office? What did they decide to do?
Olivier: They say that in the last six months a lot of summary documents about the commercial exchanges between New Sixam and Sulani disappeared. All documents under my direct responsibility, to be precise.
Olivier: Which means they decided to fire me, that's their last word.
