From Rowan's diary
Nacho: (doubtful) Meow…
Juno: Thanks for the popcorn!
Gaia: Yum!
Juno: What do you want to do this weekend?
Gaia: So you're not working this time, mom?
Juno: Yup, I really need a break!
Rowan: The monsoon season hasn't started yet, we could teleport to Sulani.
Juno: Oh, I like the idea, we didn't go there in ages!
Gaia: Bah...
We recently added a few more solar panels on the house roof, we now generate enough energy to afford a couple of long-distance teleport trips every week. So, from now on, we will be able to travel more often to New Sixam, Sulani and any other location with little concerns.
Gaia: So did you really live here when you were little, dad?
Rowan: Yes, until I enrolled in college.
Gaia: But what were you doing all day?
Rowan: Well, in the dry half of the year we were always at the beach, or swimming in the sea. Sometimes we did it also in winter, or at least when it wasn't raining. Then I was part of the scout group, we used to explore the beaches and palm forests to keep them clean and stuff like that.
Gaia: It sounds really boring though.
Rowan: …
I sincerely believe that Gaia is the first person I know who can't find anything positive about a trip to Sulani. Maybe she's simply too used to life in the city and she's bored here, but I can't avoid being a bit disappointed. Years may have passed, but I still feel very attached to these islands and their traditions, and I would like to pass on at least a little bit of this to her too.
Juno: Why don't we go swimming a bit, I'm sure you'll have fun!
Gaia: What if I didn't want to swim, though?
Juno: But the water here is very shallow, more than swimming it's actually like walking in the water.
Gaia: I don't want to anyway!
Thinking about it, Gaia seemed to hate the water also the last time we brought her here. Back then she was just a toddler, though, and I told myself that it was probably just a phase I shouldn't worry about.
Usually she likes being outdoors and doing sporty stuff, why should this be different? I don't get it...
Gaia: Well, are you happy now?
Rowan: (resigned) At the very least, it's important to learn how to stay afloat on water. It's just like learning to ride a bike, it can always come in handy, you know?
Gaia: If you say so...
Also this time, she eventually ended up building sand castles with Juno. At certain moments Gaia seemed almost annoyed by the difficulty she encountered in shaping the sand to exactly match the idea she had in mind, but in the end she seemed quite satisfied with the result.
Rowan: Is there really nothing you'd like to try before we return back home?
Gaia: Uhm...
Gaia took the question seriously, and she looked around her for a while before fixing her gaze upwards and telling us:
Gaia: Is it possible to climb palm trees?
In response, Juno burst out laughing, and I struggled to hold back too. In hindsight, however, I guess we could have foreseen such a comment. At the playground she always wants to climb on anything that comes her way, after all.
Rowan: Actually it's possible, yes, at least on the most stable ones, and up to a certain height.
Gaia: And you can do it?
Rowan: Well, sort of, uncle River taught me that when I was about your age. Even though I haven't done it for a long time.
Gaia: Then teach me, pleeeease!
Rowan: It's too late and dark now, it would be dangerous with so little light.
Gaia: But that's unfair!
Rowan: What about trying it the next time we come here, instead?
That was probably the first time I saw her genuinely happy about the idea of returning back to Sulani, I guess that this time we'll be back way sooner.
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The following Monday...
Gaia: ... and so the little witch stirred her potion even faster, until...
Recently Gaia has also started reading some literary saga which now is very popular among kids her age. I didn't really understand what it was about, from the few lines I heard Juno reading out loud I grasped it was a story with castles, witches and wizards. More and more often we find her reading alone, and when she finishes one of the books she immediately starts asking us when we can buy her the following one.
I never liked reading fiction, but both I and Juno are feeling relieved knowing that she's a new hobby to keep her busy during the Sim City rainy winter season.
Gaia: And then what happens?
Juno: I'm sorry, but now it's time to go to school. We don't have time for another chapter.
Gaia: Ugh! Then can I bring the book to school? It's to read it during the breaks!
Juno: I won't fall for it again, the teacher said that when you bring a book with you then you spend the whole day reading it. I'll give it back to you when your homework is finished!
Gaia: How boring...
Gaia: Hi dad! Is it today that you have that stuff in college?
Rowan: Not yet, I just took a day off to go to the campus library to do some bibliographic search and prepare for the talk.
Gaia: (perplexed) But aren't you bored? This sounds worse than homework!
Rowan: I'm reading up on a topic I'm interested in, to me it's actually quite fun.
Gaia: If you say so...
Maybe it's because the buildings were old already, but this place doesn't seem to have aged a day since when we graduated.
I feel so much nostalgia, but also the desire to roll up my sleeves and get busy with something I haven't dedicated myself to for such a long time.
They asked me to hold a seminar on environmental legislation. This was also the topic of the thesis I presented for my graduation, but so many years have passed and certainly my knowledge wasn't up to date anymore.
So I started putting together material, taking notes and writing a draft for my incoming seminar. Modesty aside, I really felt like I was going in the right direction, and—
Juno: Hey, hello! Are you still working? How many pages have you already written?
Rowan: (taken aback) … Juno?
Juno: We decided that Gaia and I would join you at the end of the day, don't you remember?
Rowan: Do you mean it's already past 5 PM?
Juno: (amused) I'm quite sure I've already seen this scene, you know?
I had completely lost the sense of time, but it wasn't a big deal. I was just a few lines away from completing the speech, I could have picked it up later.
Juno: I didn't realise how much I missed this place until I stepped back in, we spent ages in this library!
Rowan: Same.
Juno: Shall we go and show Gaia the place a bit too? I think she would enjoy it.
Rowan: Sure, just give me the time to save this file...
Juno: What about having a picnic along the river for dinner? The weather is so nice this evening!
Rowan: ... while over there is the central law library, and at the end of the street…
Gaia: You really know this place very well!
Juno: Well, all things considered, we lived here for four whole years.
Rowan: Maybe when you're older you'll come too, isn't it?
Gaia: Bah, I'm not if I want to do four more years of school and homework, you know?
Rowan: The way you study for college is quite different from the homework you're used to. But there is definitively a lot to study, that's undeniable.
Gaia: Uhm...
Juno: Well, it's not like you have to decide now if you want to come to college or not, there's still a lot of time left! And in any case by then you will be old enough to decide for yourself what you prefer to do, don't worry.
Gaia: (reassured) Well, that's good to hear.
After that we walked around the campus some more, we had a few anecdotes to tell at practically every corner we turned. However, we tried not to return home too late, I still had a few lines of the speech to write before going to sleep.
The seminar was now just a few days away, and I can't wait for it.
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