From Gaia's diary
Matt: Oh, so this is where you and Thomas are working.
Gaia: Yes! The new star core power plant is under construction just over there, and we are working with our parent company to redevelop this area! For now, we are mostly running the matter recomposer at full capacity to convert all this garbage into more useful materials, then we'll see!
Matt: (looking around) Looks like it will take forever...
Gaia: (shrugging) Probably, but I like my job!
???: Wof!
Only then did I notice that a very cute, all-black little dog had been wandering around us for a while. Having Matt around really distracts me, it's not like me to ignore such a cute little puppy for so long!
Matt: Yes. His name is Pixel, a friend gave it to me.
Gaia: He's so cute!
Matt: By the way... I'm rarely at home at the moment, and he gets sad if he's left alone for too long... Would you like to keep him, some now and then?
Gaia: Seriously? As far as I'm concerned, he can stay with me all the time!
Still with Pixel running around our ankles, I completed a few work tasks around Evergreen Harbour before reaching Tommy at the store.
Gaia: It's absurd, they threw it away just because of a few broken fuses! Why didn't they try to repair it, it's easy!
Matt: Thinking about it, I should change the stove at my place. Do you think this belongs to someone?
Gaia: This place is practically a landfill, surely no one will complain if you take some of this stuff away.
Matt: Perfect!
Gaia: There you go, like new!
So, we gathered our things and headed back to the store.
Thomas: Oh, so you haven't finished your internship yet?
Matt: I still have a few dozen hours to go, I think. Actually, I'm not that sure, I lost count a few weeks ago.
Thomas: I see...
Gaia: C'mon, you don't need to make that face, I assure you that everything is fine! And now, to work!
Thomas: Uh uh...
Tommy is always a bit pessimistic, he always imagines the worst in every situation. But I really have no intention of letting his bad mood affect me: I have so many plans for the next few days, I can't afford to stop even for a moment!
Let's see, what can I make by putting together the garbage I collected today in Evergreen Harbor? Um… I'd probably better focus on something easy, just to avoid that usual bug with the paint system.
Gaia: C'mon, seriously? I've been careful this time!
As usual, the matter recomposer didn't even bother to answer me, I'm starting to suspect it's doing it on purpose...
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Today I came home right after work, my parents and I had to talk about important things.
Juno: Are you sure you don't want to stay in this house? The location is good and all services are nearby, while Evergreen Harbor…
Gaia: Yes, I'm sure! I would live closer to where I work, and then those who live over there always take a lot of nice initiatives to help each other and to try to clean up that place, I'm sure that within a couple of years it will become beautiful!
Juno: I understand...
Gaia: Are you still convinced you want to move to Sulani instead?
Rowan: This is something we've been talking about for many years now, you know.
Juno: And now that we've reached retirement, I can't wait to really go there!
Gaia: It's a bit too hot for me down there... But I'll come and visit you anyway, don't worry!
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So my parents sold their house in Sim City, to buy one in Sulani for them and one in Evergreen Harbor for me. Yes, the difference in value between the city and the surrounding industrial areas is that big!
Mom and dad's new house is actually very nice. It's a traditional cabin at the top of one of the largest islands in the archipelago, if I remember correctly dad said it was called Ohan'ali. Dad also commented that the island is not the same one he grew up on as a child, but that it is so close that he can see it from up there anyway, and that he preferred to look for a house a bit more inland (I mean, as inland as Sulani permits) to avoid the storm surges during the monsoon season.
Gaia: (cheerfully) You already seem more relaxed, you know?
Juno: (laughing) The paperwork we signed to purchase this house will be the last we do, rest assured!
Dad, on the other hand, still had his usual serious expression, and said to me:
Rowan: I still struggle to believe that so much time passed already, and that you're now old enough to live on your own... But, whatever happens, remember that you can always count on us, even if we are in another Country. For anything, teleport here without thinking twice.
Gaia: I know, I know, there's no need to tell me...
My parents are always the same, they are so apprehensive, but I know they mean well.
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Gaia: Nacho, Pixel, here we are! The air quality isn't exactly the best, but you'll see that it will improve in no time!
Nacho: (unconvinced) Meh...
There is already a lot of furniture in here, for the most part it's made of old objects that we have modernized and re-dyed with the matter recomposer.
I'm really looking forward to living on my own, being independent, and doing everything I want!
And Matt seems to like the news too, he comes here very often to spend some time together.
Gaia: Hi!
Matt: Wow, what a big house!
Gaia: Houses are cheap in this area, you know how it is.
Matt: (jokingly) Having your house always free is also a nice novelty.
Gaia: Yes, getting caught by my parents wouldn't have been fun...
And this, my dead diary, is how my adventure in Evergreen Harbor began. I was euphoric as I had rarely felt before, but I still didn't know what awaited me in the following months...
I feel bad for Thomas and his concerns getting pushed to the side, but I know I have had concerns about other people's relationships before and they have not seen the issues, then you feel like you just have to be quiet about it... I'm glad Gaia is following in her dad's climate-focused footsteps. I'm glad the parents went back to Sulani to retire < 3
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks again for the comment!
DeleteTommy is being quite of a grumpy Jiminy Cricket here, we'll see who is right between him and Gaia in the end.
As for Rowan and Juno instead, I'm quite jealous of them in this moment, I want to retire on a tropical island too!