I am a Lost Boy from Neverland
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan
And when we're bored,
we play in the woods
Always on the run from Captain Hook
"Run, run, Lost Boy",
they say to me
"Away from all of reality"
Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me
And Lost Boys like me are free
Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me
And Lost Boys like me are free
It's a calm january morning on the hillside just below the New Town Area with the rain gently tapping on the window outside. Amena and George is still sleeping, dreaming sweet dreams of unicorns and books when something unexpectedly happens to Amena shortly before she is about to wake up..
Now, this could easily have been arranged by me using special Narrator codes, but I did not... I had just started the current session as the Watcher Sim Monitor System started beeping and a red alert was issued. Amenas dreams suddenly turned to a different shade and her sleep became much more restless as her social need rapidly dropped giving her the inconsolable (trøstesløs) moodlet (this may have a different name in english). What happened? To answer that question we need to go back in time a little bit..
Almoravid, Genaro Molokai, August 2020.
It was a beautiful, albeit a little foggy, august morning when Amena left her apartment to go to her first lecture for the semester. She had just completed her bachelors degree in art in june, and was now about to begin on her masters.
Amena never really wanted to go to university, it was something she did only because her parents had more or less commanded her to. If it was up to Amena, she would have taken a year off to just travel and explore the world, before getting a job at a restaurant, and perhaps somewhere down the line start her own.. She was quite the independent spirit, and what she hated most in the world was to be tied down and told what to do..
..but here she was, succumbing to her parents demands and studying at university instead. Her parents had wished for her to study something a little more prestigous, such as science, law, or medicine, but in a last minute of rebellion she had changed her application to art studies. She never told them, and had all this time pretended to study medicine. There were a few times where her secret almost got found out, because they would often inquire her about her studies and what she learnt. Luckily her parents, though well educated, didn't know much about medicine, so she was able to fake it by reading up on various simsipedia articles...
In another part of town Georges mom had just finished packing his lunch that she had prepared and sent him off for the school bus. George was excited to go back to school and meet all his friends again after the summer holiday was over.
The school that George went to was "The School for Creative Children", a small private school on the outskirts of town. "The School for Creative Children" was founded in 1919 by Walner Steindorf and followed a holistic style of teaching whose purpose was to develop the pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills. The school, as its name implied, had a strong focus on imagination and creativity. Georges parents were themselves of the creative kind, and they already had ideas that George would continue doing what Amena was doing right now... to go to university and study art, to become a painter or a sculptor..
Lecture room B, Akvalois State University, Almoravid.
Professor Theodere Lum: "(..) ...our teaching here focuses on close observation of specific works of art, and prolonged engagement with the collection of Floyd Pinkett and... (...)"
It's amazing she had lasted this long, because she found art to be a pretty boring topic, and the professors ramblings was duller than watching paint dry on a rainy day..
"(...)... a careful look at some of the most powerful and interesting works of art from the expressionist period starting in 1890, when paintings in its highest form served as vehicles for stories. An example of this is presented in Klaus Schopenheiers paper "The Art of Story Telling in the Expressionist Period.", which you will find in your handout on page 23, article fi..."
The professor was interrupted by a rumbling sound from the far end of the city. Everyone was confused at first, wondering if it was a thunderstorm, or perhaps an earthquake. Another rumbling sound was heard, this one a little closer and a plume of smoke and dust could be seen rising up from the ground. Then another rumble was heard and felt, followed by a flickering of the lights, and it became clear to everyone what was going on...
It had begun.
Sunset Valley, United Kingdom of Simbria, January 2023.
Even though Amena disliked going to university and dealing with her strict parents, it happened from time to time that she would wake up feeling empty.. Missing her old hometown, the skyline, the bright summer nights and the vibrant nightlife, or just. something as simple as a peaceful sunday afternoon stroll by the waterfront..
It's not that she had a problem with Sunset Valley, because she didn't. She thought it was a nice small town in its own way. The pace was slower, more leisurely, which had done her good for a while.. The climate was nice and warm all year round, compared to what she was used to. The summer nights weren't as bright, but the winter mornings weren't as dark either. The people were nice and she felt welcomed, though the average age of the population was a little higher than what she was used to. She had a new, interesting and very satisfying job at the police station, and most important of all right now.. She had her nephew George with her.
She had made a promise to George that their current home was only temporary, and that she would as soon as she filled the minimum requirements to get a loan, start the process of building a new and better home for them. George looked forward to this, mostly because he wanted his own room. The only thing he really like about their current home, was the small park and playground that was just nearby, and that it had a pretty good view of the town.
The empty lot that Amena had set her sights on, was found on Redwood Street 180. It was right next to the old Crumplebottom house by the main road into town from the airport. She liked this lot mostly because it was overlooking the beach, the ocean, and the lighthouse. She had wished for a lot a little closer to downtown, if one had been available, but this one was nice and quiet and looked like a good spot still.
Amena had good colleagues that backed her up at the office whenever she had a bad day, and she was already feeling better, and of course, her boss giving her a payrise of 8 simoleons wasn't excactly making things worse. All this gave her a good feeling that her goals were within reach, and a quick call to the real estate agent secured her the lot she wanted. She was feeling energized and wanted to do what she usually does after work, to head to the gym and get a good workout. If it was one thing she had learned from her parents, it was to always be ambitious, no matter what you do. She really enjoyed this, too, and she was really determined to do what she could to advance in her police career.
As she went to the gym, George was just finished with his school day and had biked past her to head to his favorite place in town; the library to do his homework before escaping into the magical realm of books...
George had already seen and experienced a lot in his life already for someone so young, but when he was a the library immersing himself in his favorite literature none of that mattered...
George meets up with Pia Holm-Fredriksen, the towns local psychiatrist and the mother of Margrethe, to tell a joke from the book he just read.
Amena hasn't forgotten about her interest in cooking, and makes sure to mention it loud and clear for everyone to hear, while being excited to also see Mortimer Goth working out on the treadmill..
Gasping in front of her is Jonathan, Kathrines husband. It would seem that Mortimer has obtained some celebrety status within the community, however I'll admit it is unknown to me excactly why as this is a part of the town life I haven't been paying attention to.
Earlier this morning, shortly after Amena woke up, I received a message that Kathrine was pregnant. It came as a surprise, but at the same time it didn't, because she had already been talking about this since last february when she for some reason went on a small shopping spree buying a treehouse for their garden.. Later in summer Jonathan also bought a seesaw... I can only assume that she and Jonathan must have tried several times since then to get pregnant, and now they finally succeeded. Coincidentally.. or not perhaps, this was something they started doing around the same time that Ingrid, their oldest child, was soon about out of their house to live on her own.
Kathrine cheering in front of the new treehouse she just bought (Picture from Chapter 10.4 - February 2022 part II: Future plans and past tense..).
It seems it must have taken them almost a year.. Ingrid moved out two months later, in April in Chapter 11.2 - April 2022 - Leaving the nest..
Amena had taken a break from her workout and after enjoying a glass of juice, she wanted to have some silly fun by making faces with Jonathan..
Jonathan found her very amusing, and gave her a flirtatious comment..
Amena was flattered, and responded positively to the comment, but she also knew that Jonathan was a married man (and also quite a bit older than her (Jonathan is an adult at 44, Amena is a young adult at 24. Amena is only 4 years older than Ingrid at 20.)
Amena: You know, that is really flattering, but I don't want to be responsible for breaking someones heart...
Jonathan doesn't seem to get the message and tries again..
Jonathan: Just a small date won't hurt, nothing more...
Amena: No, sorry, I'm not dating a married man...
Jonathan finally accepted defeat before they went back to working out. Amena was still full of energy as she jumped on the treadmill..
Unfortunately for Jonathan, his wife Kathrine was also there at the gym and had seen and heard everything he said.. Not unlikely that they would have an interesting conversation once they returned home...
At the library, George had just finished reading his second book for the evening and was now chatting with Kleopatra, where he managed to pick up that Kleopatra is single.. George is not of age to be interested in girls just yet, but he is mature for his age, so maybe Kleopatra (age 13) thought he was older than he actually is and thus chose to relay this information to George. Georges main interest so far is well, mostly just reading books...
..and when I say that George is into books, I mean, he is really into books, because he went on to read his third book for the night..
..and then his fourth, only interruped by a short trip to the kids bakers oven to make himself a muffin because he got hungry..
Books, books really is the life for George and he sat there reading way past his bedtime.. There's always a loomng threat that the police will come and haul in the kids if they stay up past their curfew, but I've never seen it happen for children, only teenagers, so George is allowed to sit there finishing the book in peace, before leaving the library and going home for the night..
Amena has already been home for a while to prepare and eat waffles when George gets home. She suspects that he forgot all about what time it was because he has been at the library again, so she doesn't reprimand him for being late. She only asks him if he wants something to eat before going to bed, but he just ate a muffin, so he replies that he's not hungry.
Before Amena goes to bed, she stops by the sink after the doing the dishes as she pictures the garden she can arrange once their new house is built..
Once they fall asleep George is dreaming about owning his own computer, so that he can practice writing his own books.. or maybe chat with girls that are older than him. ;) Good night. ;)
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Pictures and scenes that didn't make the cut:
Ingrid bought a new car. It seems she had gotten tired of her old Sloppy Jalopy and wanted something that would fit better to a person of her standing...
Amena dancing in her apartment in Almoravid.
Amena almost got burgled, but thanks to the strong sense of community of her old neighbourhood, the neighbours gathered and called the police to catch the thief before she managed to do anything.
Amena eventually woke up from the ruckus and went outside to see what was going on.
This neighbour was just ready to fight the thief after she had been arrested and handcuffed....
"Let me at her! I'll show her not to do a break-in in our neighbourhood! Let me at her!"
The following morning Amena was dancing in her apartment again. "Hooray! I didn't get burgled!" :P
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