From Sirio's diary
It was very late when I eventually returned home, but Maki had stayed up waiting for me anyway.
Sirio: Ehm, well…
I didn't know where to start from, but then I ended up flooding her with the story of my meeting with Hotaru at the end of the trial, and what I had done to him. I was talking too much, but I've never been able to keep things to myself.
Sirio: (worried) I don't know if he'll decide to sue us another time or what else, maybe I screwed everything up again. I haven't thought enough about it, that's what.
Maki: Uhm, actually I don't know how he would react to something like this… But I haven't received any calls from his lawyers yet, which is a good sign, I guess?
Sirio: Uhm.
Maki: Is there anything else?
Sirio: (hesitant) I'm really sorry, I didn't want them to find out that I used a disguise when I was in Sim City, or what Techna did. It's very probable that now I won't be allowed to leave New Sixam anymore, and I feel so guilty, I'm not...
Maki: Come on, there is no point in wrapping your head up already!
Sirio: …
Maki: The most important thing was to finish that trial with Hotaru, for everything else we'll come up with something, right?
I can perceive she's happier than I've ever seen her before, she really wanted to win this case. She can finally stop fearing that Lily will be taken away, not a trivial matter. But underneath I also feel a tinge of disappointment coming from her, after all she wanted even more than I did to return to Sim City as soon as possible. I ruined everything.
Maybe at least she and the kids could go back to Sim City, for them it could be the best thing… But I have to admit I feel bad just thinking about such an eventuality. I may be selfish, but I just can't propose something like that out loud. But what could we do now?
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Meanwhile, life at home continues hectic, leaving us little time to worry about anything else.
Above all Helios is a real volcano, he never stands still for a moment. Like all children, he grows up so quickly, and becomes more and more curious to learn new things every day.
Helios: I play that too!
Sirio: Um, maybe the violin is a bit too difficult to start…
Maki: Why don't we play instead?
Maki: Ha ha, so you want to fly?
Helios: Higher!
Helios: Heeeeeeeee!
He has grown so much that now it's time for his birthday. Since we are in the middle of summer we preferred to organize an evening party for him in the garden of the house, inviting those who are now my lifelong friends.
Maki: On Elios, don't you want to learn how to blow out the candles on a cake?
Helios: Yes!
Even now that he is now a "big boy", he has remained cheerful and curious as before.
He spends a lot of time with Techna, asking them why and how things work. The two also spend quite a lot of time playing Lily's SimStation together, even if they know she gets mad every time.
Lily: (from the other room) Hey, you're playing my games again, aren't you?
Helios: We're almost at the end of the level, I swear!
He also really likes listening to fairy tales, usually with his sister Alba. They would easily listen to whole books if they were given the chance to.
The children also often play with their friends, by now they know so many other kids here in New Sixam.
They also continue to spend a lot of time with their cousin Erika, who is now old enough to go to high school. She has grown up so much lately, I barely recognized her with that red hair.
Also Matt and Drew, the children of Florian and Trix, are often here to play. And yes, by now even Florian decided to start a family and all. He was always very reserved about his plans in this regard, I was actually quite surprised when I met them the first time.
(^ I always mix them up as well. Anyway, Matt is the green kid and Drew the purple one)
Especially now, during the summer holidays, all the kids tend to spend their afternoons here playing in our backyard, the situation is certainly very lively.
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In the meantime, Maki and I are continuing to work on the project we've been thinking about since we arrived here in New Sixam: revamping the local museum.
I'm painting a lot, working as hard as I can to make paintings that really deserve to be exhibited in such a large exhibition.
Um, who knows what I should paint…
Maki: This looks a bit like the first paintings you used to paint, you know Sirio?
Sirio: Uhm, maybe a little.
Maki: Here in New Sixam the artists' viewpoint is decidedly… different. I like it!
Alba: Wow, these are beautiful!
Maki: These are by an up-and-coming artist who lives just south of here. Quite impressive, indeed.
We are working really hard to put together a world-class exhibition that will give light to this museum, working exclusively with artists from New Sixam. Maki managed to find some really good painters, it will be an interesting exhibition. Often the kids drop by in the afternoon to have a look around, but most times they leave for dinner because we are taking too long before calling it a day.
Maki: We're almost there now, the exhibition is almost ready. Thank you!
Sirio: Well, I didn't do much, after all. You practically found all the paintings and the artists yourself, all I did was…
Maki: You always underestimate yourself too much, you know?
Maki: You have a unique way of seeing others, a way that inspires others to bring the best out of them. All it takes is to look at what you paint to realise it, and I'm not the only one saying this. I mean, you've seen the other paintings around here too, haven't you? They are from people who have been struck by what your paintings show, and who have decided to paint those same things.
Sirio: Maki…
Maki: And you inspired me too, you don't even know how much you've helped me since we've known each other. I have a lot of reasons to say thank you.
Maki and I always talk a lot, but this time there's something different. When we're here in the museum the colours around her always swirl so fast, but today she seems full of emotions, it's hard for me to focus. I'm really confused, what was she going to do?
Maki: And this brings me to the next thing I want to ask you…
Maki: Will you like to marry me, Sirio?
I don't know how for how long I just stared at her, unable to say anything. There were so many important choices we had to take now, but that was the last question I expected to hear.
After all, she'd always said she wasn't ready to get married again, so I didn't even dare hope she was the one asking me, even more so here in New Sixam.
Sirio: (stammering) B-but are you sure? I mean, I don't think I could go back to Sim City, I...
Maki: Were you really worrying about that? Come on, we've lived here for a long time, this place became our home too!
Sirio: ...
Maki: So, do you want to marry me or not?
The colours around her were so sincere and vivid that it was impossible for me not to feel reassured. At that point I hurried to answer, before letting my emotions take over, saying to her:
Sirio: Of course yes, even tomorrow!
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We really organized our wedding in record time but, on the other hand, we also agreed in saying that by now we had waited for long enough already.
Florian: Congrats, bro!
I had been overthinking it for so long, convincing myself that the rest of my family could have been salty at me for the precautionary measure preventing me from leaving New Sixam. But my mistake in judgment couldn't have been clearer to me than that day.
Maki, the kids, our friends, even Lily, I perceive so much happiness from them all today. After all, we have lived here in New Sixam for years, this really became our home too. Why was I worrying so much?
Halley: Hey Helios, if you keep eating all that cake you'll get an indigestion!
Helios: But it's so good!
Maybe you haven't noticed it yet, dear diary, but Maki has also decided to erase the tattoo she had on her left arm, that of the raven among roses and thorns. "I didn't recognize myself in it anymore," she said.
A lot has changed since we first met, it seems like a lifetime ago… In all these years we have had many ups and downs, successes and defeats. But I don't think I've ever been surrounded by happiness as much as today, it's a feeling I will never forget!
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Surprised? I actually am, I can really jump from one topic to something completely different in half a chapter :P
To close, I would like again to add some extra pictures. I don't think I put enough pictures of Maki in her wedding dress in the chapter, so here you go:
She was very pretty here, isn't it?
