Nothing would ever be the same again. The Macaron children felt torn to pieces and the loss was overwhelming. They knew, of course, that one day they would function again but they would never be the same. Nothing would.

Daisy’s death came sudden. In contrast to when Alabaster died no one had been prepared for losing Daisy. There had been so many more things they wished to share with her, so many more memories to capture.

The water in the fountain behind Artichoke rippled soothingly as he sat waiting for his siblings. He felt so many things thinking of his mother, most of all he felt sad that she never got the chance to become a grandmother and that his coming child would never meet his mother. At the same time he felt grateful for all the memories they had, all the things she had done for him.

“I can’t believe she’s gone” Aster sobbed. Unlike the rest of his siblings, he had no idea what the future would bring but like his siblings he grieved not getting to share it with his mother.

“It was too soon” said Snowdrop tearfully. “She was still so young!”

Snowdrop thought about how her wedding would have to be celebrated without her mother, even though her mother actually was the one to arrange it after all. Not that Daisy would have cared, but Snowdrop thought it was unfair that her mother wouldn’t get to see how she kept the bloodline raw. Besides, now that Daisy was gone Snowdrop forgave her for the things she did wrong. She remembered so many other things now, things that were full of love.

It felt good to be around family, remembering together and helping each other cope with the tremendous loss of losing their last parent. They were all in or at least close to young adulthood, but they still felt rootless and lonely without the guidance of their mother. Sure, they had all blamed her for bad choices throughout their lives, but she was their mother and in the end, they knew she had done everything for them even when she struggled.

“Do you remember how she practically forced the fishing rods upon us whenever the ice melted in spring?” Aster said and all his siblings nodded. Yes, they remembered how their mother had held their scouting careers high and how proud she was to have been with them in so many of their scouting activities. There had been many things she had done for just them, without thinking of herself. So many things she had given up for them.

In all sadness, it was nice to remember the good things. How progressive she had been despite being raw. How she had searched for her dreams even though it meant giving up a stable future. They had learned a lot from her, and they all knew her way of life would live on in them. Her children.

—

Months passed after Daisy’s death and Heaven grew bigger and bigger. During the months that had passed by, Heaven had created end tables for their bedroom area and they had bought some beeswax candles to give them some light. It was actually starting to look a bit like a home if you looked only at that little corner.

Heaven spent more and more time thinking about the actual labor the more time passed. It was a slow transition – going from imagining the time after birth when they had their baby to actually start thinking about delivering the baby too.

“I can’t believe it’ll be here soon” said Artichoke and placed his hands on Heaven’s belly. The little baby inside recognized his voice by now and usually kicked or twisted when it heard him. Artichoke felt deeply connected to whoever was in there.

“I know, how fast did these nine months go?” Heaven smiled. Honestly, it hadn’t felt that fast. Especially not now in the end, when she was getting bigger and when she was getting more and more ready to welcome their baby in to their world.

“I think I want a home birth” Heaven said one evening and took a bite of the burger Artichoke had served her. They still ate their meals sitting on the bed because it was the only part of the house that was actually starting to be done.

“A home birth?” Artichoke asked, not knowing exactly what it meant.

“Yea, I don’t feel like going to a hospital and having doctors and nurses around will be very helpful. Rather quite stressful. I don’t like hospitals. I like being here” Heaven explained.

“But… Is that even possible? Giving birth without doctors?”

Heaven chuckled: “Of course it is, how do you think people did before there even were hospitals?”

“But people died while giving birth back then also” Artichoke complained.

“Most women survived. And most babies too.”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right” Artichoke said.

“If we can do everything else by ourselves, why couldn’t we do this? I promise I’ll feel a hundred times safer here, with you, at our home.”

—

*three days later*

“Do you still think you want to stay here?” Artichoke asked when giving Heaven one of the many massages she got daily.

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“But what if something happens?”

“If something happens, you’re allowed to take me to a doctor. But it’ll be fine.” Heaven said comforting.

“Okay, if that’s what you want then that’s what we’ll do” Artichoke said, even though he felt weird about it. But the choice wasn’t his to make, he was merely standing on the side. He was the support. Heaven had to get to decide of her own delivery, if she thought this was best then it would be.

Seahorse continued to come visit weekly during the whole pregnancy and by the time it was getting close to delivery she was about as ready for the baby to come as Heaven and Arti were.

—

When Heaven felt the first contractions Artichoke were at work. Heaven felt calm and ready and filled the pool that Artichoke had brought home with warm water while she changed in to her swimsuit. She took the contractions by breathing focused and when she sank down in to the water the warmth eased the pain of the contractions and she smiled. She was ready.

Artichoke came home shortly afterwards and by the sight of Heaven lying in the pool breathing through the contractions he started panicking. He was about to be a father. Any time now!

“Relax honey” Heaven said from the pool between the contractions.

“Right right, keep breathing like that honey. You’re doing great!”

Heaven trusted her body to know what to do and she just followed. Breathing. Breathing. Breathing. She found herself thinking that it was fascinating that her body took control and when it was time to push her body showed her how. And she followed.

It was of course painful, but Heaven found rest and peace in the fact that she got to do this on her terms. It was everything she had dreamed of.

When she delivered the baby in to her own hands, in the water tears fell from her eyes. This had been a dream and she was so incredibly thankful for everything. Especially for the baby in her arms. Her newborn son – Astral Macaron. Life would never be the same again.

—

“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you!” Sweet Pea beamed with joy when she came to visit just a few days after Astral was born.

“Thanks” Heaven smiled.

“Can I see him?”

Artichoke was proud as a peacock when he showed his sister their new addition. It had been overwhelming to welcome the little boy and Artichoke hadn’t been ready for the massive amount of emotions that flooded his body. How could that perfect little creature be something he made?

“Here he is, little Astral” he said and Sweet Pea looked down in to the cradle.

“He’s really beautiful Arti” she said and a sting of jealosy struck her. She was an adult already and she and Hibiscus had tried getting a baby for a long time now, without any success. Seeing her little nephew made her baby longing worse. Still, she was happy for her brother and Heaven.

“Are you okay?” Heaven asked, noticing the sadness in Sweet Pea’s face.

“Yeah, I’m fine” Sweet Pea said and smiled. Her own longing was not allowed to take over the joy in this family. Not now.

—

Astral looked exactly like his father and he was the most adorable little baby that anyone had ever seen.

Author’s Note: It’s always so sad when a founder dies I think. I wasn’t quite ready for it either, I had more planned where I wanted Daisy to play a part but I’m a slow gamer, things don’t typically progress quickly in my game so the sims are always quite old when they’ve had their kids. Anyways, I’ll miss her. 😦

I’ve also realized that playing Off the Grid makes the game rather dark. Sulani usually gives really vibrant and pretty pictures but Artichoke and Heaven’s house is a bit too dark really. I hope they soon have enough money to place some more candles.

Heaven growns on me as more and more down-to-earth and striving for a natural living in general. Going for the homebirth felt obvious and I think the animations in the kiddy pool work quite well, though I know it’s a bit strange that she’s giving birth in her swimming suit. First child of Gen 3 is here: Astral!

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you” Artichoke said and took Heaven’s hands. His palms were sweaty but he hoped Heaven would think it was due to the heat and humidity and not his nerves. It had been important for him to wait until after Heaven aged into a young adult, and even when she did it had took him a few more days to gather enough courage. Now she looked at him and smiled faintly and he cleared his throat before he continued. “I wonder if… Or I mean I… I think I like-like you. And I wonder if maybe you thought anything like that for me too?”

“I thought that was obvious?” said Heaven and let go of his hands. “Why else would I come here with you?”

“But I mean like… I think I’m in love with you” Artichoke said, not daring to trust that he had understood her correctly.

“Just come here already” Heaven said and leaned towards him. Artichoke watched as her face came closer and wondered if what was coming would forever change how he saw the world. He noticed how her upper lip curved ever so slightly and how her left nostril was slightly bigger than her right. Her breath against his lips. And at last, their lips pressed against each other.

The world stopped around Artichoke, or at least he wanted it to stop. There was no sound around them other than the beating of his own rushing heart. Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum.

This would indeed change everything of what he thought about the world, Artichoke thought when their lips parted again. He smiled.

—

Snowdrop looked around from where she was sitting outside of her brother’s house. The house itself sure wasn’t much, but they did have a whole island to themselves, she thought. It wasn’t too bad.

After their family had lost their money she, Aster and their mother had been forced to move out of their house and in to a small and crammed trailer far from the waters of Brindleton Bay. Snowdrop has wondered if they were possibly the only raw family ever to live that sparse.

“It suits you to live here” she said eventually.

“It’s pretty but hard” he replied, not knowing exactly what she meant.

“We’ve got nothing left” Snowdrop continued. “This little trailer we live in. Jeez, it’s smaller than this and we’re three! We all sleep in the same room, can you imagine?”

“Is it really that bad?” Artichoke asked.

“It is. We have nothing. It’s like here, but without the charm.”

“This isn’t nothing” Arti complained.

“You know what I mean. I’ve been trying to tell mom she needs to arrange our marriages. I need a way out of the horrible life we’re in.”

“Arranged marriage? Are you sure?”

“I think she should do something for us. So far she’s done nothing but bring us to a lousy life.”

Even after the conversation was over Artichoke couldn’t get over what she had asked for. An arranged marriage? How could she want that? An easy way out. Taking advantage of the only real asset they had left? He tried to decide if it was the right thing to do. Would he have wanted that for himself, had he not been mixed? He doubted it.

“Arti said you’re asking for an arranged marriage” Heaven said later the same day and scratched her head. She couldn’t for her life figure out how anyone could want to marry someone they didn’t choose for themselves, no matter what color they were. To her, the whole preserve color-thing was ridicolous. Who cared about purity anyways?

“My raw bloodline is everything I’ve got” Snowdrop said sadly. She was clearly affected hard by the downfall of their family and didn’t know what to do.

“You’re wrong” said Heaven. “I mean, sure, you’re raw and for some reason that matters to some. But it’s not all you’ve got. You’ve got you! There’s a personality and dreams and hopes within you that don’t care about purity. Your color is not everything.”

“Easy for you to say, you met someone you liked…”

“Because I didn’t want an arranged marriage. I could have had one, of course. I’m pure as well, remember? But I’d rather have mixed children with someone I actually love than live with someone just based on their color. See?”

“It’s not the same” Snowdrop said. “You have a nice home, a nice family and a nice reputation. We have nothing. Barely even a home.”

Heaven laughed and swirled around. “You call this a nice home? It’s far from nice, but it’s enough.”

“I swear it’s better than ours. A fudging trailer together with a a depressed family. Fixing a spouse for me is the least she could do after throwing my future away for fudging pro-mix-policitics!”

Heaven decided against lecturing Snowdrop for basically insulting her older siblings. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. She was way too determined.

—

The trailer in which Daisy and her two youngest kids lived was nestled in the hills in Brindleton Bay. None of the bigger roads lead to the lot, instead you needed to walk up a small forest path to find it. It was small, but Artichoke thought it looked quite cozy. It sure wasn’t as bad as Snowdrop had made it sound.

Like the outside, the inside was small but cozy and even though Artichoke could sense the despair and sadness inside the trailer he found it quite appealing. It wasn’t too far from his own house – just more complete.

“How’s things in Sulani?” Daisy asked.

“It’s warm and sunny” said Artichoke and smiled. “We’re not quite settled in yet, and we still need to do lots of things to the house but we’re managing quite alright anyways.”

“Snowdrop said you don’t have any running water?” Daisy said, sounding a bit questioning.

“Right, and no electricity. But we’re gathering water from the waters around the islands so we’re not completely out of water. Heaven has this idea that she’ll attach a toilet and a shower eventually to our water barrels eventually. You should see all the things she can do by herself! She’s quite amazing actually.”

Daisy smiled towards him. She was so incredibly glad that he was happy despite the rough start he had got in his adult life. And so in love, too.

“But actually mom, I came to talk to you about something else” Artichoke said and took a breath. “Now that you have two raw children, have you considered arranging their marriages?”

“I’d never do that, you know that. I don’t believe it’s right.”

Artichoke sighed, he agreed with his mother but he had promised Snowdrop to do what he could to help her find a way out of the sudden poverty. “But have you asked what they want?”

Daisy turned to Aster: “Do you want me to set you up with a girl you’ve never met just because she happens to come from a raw bloodline?”

Aster shook his head. No, he did not want an arranged marriage. When he came of age, he wanted to choose his own partner and he was quite sure he would be looking for a man.

“But I do” Snowdrop said and they all turned to look at her. She paused for a moment before continuing: “You’ve lost everything mom. Everything! Just because you thought purity was something shameful and outdated. The world isn’t as progressive as you hope, and I’m not either. I don’t care who Hunter, Sweet Pea, Arti or Aster dates or marries, but I’m not going to mix. I’m proud to be raw! Besides, I need a better start than what you could give me. Any raw partner would give me a better life. I want a good life. A good raw life.”

Daisy could barely believe what she heard. How was is possible that she had raised a purist?

“You’re not going to mix? You think your genes are more important than love?” Daisy’s voice trembled.

“Yes. I do, actually.”

Later that night Daisy did something she never thought she’d do:

Ward Park. Tomorrow. 14. Daisy couldn’t believe she was going to crawl on her knees to fix something she thought was wrong, but she would. She would do pretty much anything for her children. She at least owed them that.

—

Back in Sulani the sun shone on the black metal roof of the teal house. Heaven stood as always by the workbench crafting something new, either for them to use in the house or to sell. She never knew beforehand.

Her sister Seahorse had come to visit. She came to see them at least once a week and Heaven was always glad to see her. They were not just sisters, they were also best friends.

“What are you building?” Seahorse asked while watching her younger sister work.

“An end table.”

“What’s the plan here, are you going to build everything in your house?”

“That would be cool. But no, we’ll probably go thrifting for some of things as well.”

“Thrifting?” Seahorse raised her eyebrow. “When did you become such a hippie, sis?”

“I’m not a hippie” Heaven laughed. “But I like it. We should all be more careful and try to be sustainable. There are a lot of good options actually!”

“Like showering in a water fall. Come on! You have to admit that you miss taking a real shower!”

“It’s not that bad. A bit cold sometimes… We’re going to get a shower, I thought I could connect the pipes to the rain barrels outside and we could use that water in our own shower. Our real shower.” Heaven winked

“Seriously though, Heaven, I miss you. Are you ever coming back home?” Seahorse asked.

“I… I think this is home now. I am home.”

“It’s not the same without you back at home.”

“I’m sorry. I’m staying. But maybe Aunt Seahorse could move to Sulani?”

“WHAT?!” Seahorse smiled and threw herself around Heaven’s shoulders. Aunt? She’d become an aunt?! “Oh my berry! I’m so happy for you! Wow it’s great news. And bad news, of course since I’d like you to come back home. But mostly good. I’m going to be the best aunt ever!”

“Yes, you will be.”

Author’s Note: The lore is that most raw families are really powerful and rich. Since the white color is the most rare pure color, it’s common with arranged marriages between raw children. As we know, Daisy was opposed arranged marriages, but I thought it would be interesting to have one of her children seeing it as a way out of the hardships they’re in with almost no money left. To Snowdrop, marrying someone raw is a way to go directly to a better life. 

Glacier was the man who Daisy’s parents had planned for her marriage, which Daisy ran from. He later married another raw woman and they had a son. 

And yay, Heaven and Artichoke are expecting! 

A slight breeze caused the palm leaves to rustle in the warm morning. Sulani was considered a paradise island because of a reason and while the main beaches were usually crowded with tourists there were few sims who came all the way out to the islands around the volcano.

Living in Sulani was a lot different compared to living in Brindleton Bay. The days were longer and warmer but demanded less of you. Especially when you lived like Artichoke and Heaven, off the grid. There were few musts for them, other than making sure they got through their days.

Much of the time they found themselves just hanging around, letting time pass. Artichoke liked the beach life, but sometimes it felt like life just passed by while he did nothing to cease it. But what should he do? No one expected anything of him.

Except Seahorse, Heaven’s sister, who expected him to give Heaven a decent life. He knew she was right, they needed someplace to prepare their food and furniture in their house. Living out of literally nothing would only be enough for so long. But how could he get started?

Artichoke decided to visit his older brother who had lived in Sulani for a few years now. Perhaps he would have some ideas, or at least be able to clear his mind for a short time.

Hunter and Hibiscus lived in a green house on one of the main islands of Island Paradiso. It was a small but beautiful house and Artichoke felt a small sting of jealousy when he saw how well his brother had been doing since he moved a few years ago.

“I’m so glad to see you little one!” Hunter said and hugged Artichoke.

“Me too” said Artichoke.

“That island you’re staying at, is it the one close to the volcano?” Hunter asked.

“Yup!”

“It’s quite far out, isn’t it? Like off the grid-far away?”

“Right. There’s neither running water or elictricity. But that’s cool, I like it.”

Hunter shook his head, he couldn’t understand how anyone would want to live without the modern standards, even if he was way more down-to-earth than his twin sister. Tit-tat-toe.

“Did you bring your athletic wear? Wanna play?” Hunter nodded towards the basket ball on the ground.

“Okay!”

“21?” Hunter suggested and tossed the ball to Artichoke.

“Right. Not that it will be much of a match, I suck at this” Artichoke said and bounced the ball once.

While they played Arti took the opportunity to tell his brother about the hardship he was going through with trying to start off his new life and the stress he felt after Seahorse’s threat of pulling Heaven back to Brindleton unless they got something more sustainable going.

“But if you’re so into this whole eco and sustainable-thing, then why don’t you contact the Conservationists? They always seem to look for employees.”

“Conservationists?” Artichoke asked.

“They’re trying to restore the island to its former palmy days. They claim species are dying out because of littering and pollution and want to fix it.” Hunter explained.

“You can work with fixing nature?” Artichoke asked excitedly. By the initial sound of it, it surely sounded like a job perfect for him. How about taking the rough start forced upon him and turning it into a way of life? Heaven would love it, honoring her father like that.

“Not that I know why anyone would want to spend their days cleaning litter…” Hunter said. He, himself, worked as a lifeguard down at the beach and that was definitely the perfect job. He got to hang out in the sun and most of the time he just sat there working on his tan and nothing else. Beach life at its peak!

The Conservationists were happy that Artichoke wanted to work for them and he was hired instantly. When he went towards his first day at work he felt excited and thankful. He had secured a purposeful job and the income would make sure he secured Heaven’s company at the island. Soon enough they would be able to get themselves a bed and someplace to cook their food. This was the start!

The first few days he got to clean litter from the beaches and waters around the islands where his house was located. It was perfect, he got paid and their surroundings got even prettier.

That being said, it was far from easy. The littering was slimy and disgusting most of the time and Arti had to constantly remind himself that he did it for a good cause. And money.

—

“Look what I made!” Heaven said and beamed of happiness. Though building a fire pit wasn’t a massive feat, Heaven was proud of the simple idea. Gathering the rocks and the wood had been easy enough and now they had a place to prepare some simple meals.

Artichoke smiled. “This is great!” He had planned to spend his first paychecks on a grill, but with the fire pit on their island he could save the money for a bed instead. With that, they would have both a place to sleep and a place to prepare their meals. Hopefully that would calm Seahorse down and Heaven would be allowed to stay.

Within just a few days, Arti could afford a double bed. Their first piece of furniture! It looked lonely in the empty room, despite the house being rather small.

He had settled for a double bed, not because he had any hidden intentions but because it gave them more bed for the money. If Heaven showed even the slightest discomfort by the thought of sharing bed, he would keep sleeping out on the logs.

A week after her visit Seahorse called to check that progress had been made on the island. Artichoke wondered why she didn’t come to visit them to see with her own eyes, but she was glad that she trusted him enough to trust his words.

“Right, keep going like that then. Sounds like you actually came up with a plan” Seahorse said when Artichoke had told her about his job and the additions they had already made to the house. It seemed like Heaven would get to stay.

—

“You got me a workbench?!” Heaven beamed when Artichoke came home with the latest piece of furniture. “It looks almost exactly like the one me and my father used to work by!”

“You like it?”

“If I like it? Arti, I love it! Heck, I love you for bringing me this!”

Heaven immediately got to work, using some of the old wood she had gathered during her days when Artichoke was at work. She carefully measured and carved in the wood and once she was done she showed a knife block to Arti:

“Look, I could totally sell these!” she said excitedly.

Artichoke looked at the small scultpture, not exactly sure that anyone would actually pay for that, but instead of saying that he simply said: “It’s pretty.”

—

I love you for bringing me this. I love you.

Artichoke replayed the scene from when Heaven had first seen the workingbench over and over again. She had definitely said that she loved him. And there had definitely been a continuation with for bringing me this. Was that the only reason she loved him? Or was she also in love with him? 

His fingers drummed against his knees as always when he was nervous or worried. He had been sure of his own feelings towards Heaven ever since they first became friends in elementary school. There had never been anyone else. Never.

I love you for bringing me this. I love you.

It had been the first time anyone outside his family said they loved him. But how much did she mean it? Maybe, if he ever found the courage, he would ask her.

“I can’t believe she could be so stupid!” Artichoke was angry and sad at the same time. “She lost everything!”

“Everything?”

“Everything! The gallery was worth more than we’ve ever had and when it lost its income that directly translated in to our family’s economics. There’s nothing left after the repo man came to pick up whatever he could find.”

Heaven took Artichoke’s hand. The Macaron family really hadn’t had an easy time, at least not for as long as she had known them. But, displaying an exhibition based on politics supporting Mixed marriages in the gallery had been stupid. Heaven would never say so out loud, of course but it was true nonetheless. Politics and business did not go well together.

The Mixed Exhibition had made most of the investors pull back their investments and the regular visitors stopped coming. People with money came mostly from pure bloodlines and not a single one had purchased or ordered anything from the collection Daisy had invested in. The loss had been inevitable.

The Macaron family was stony broke. They hadn’t been a rich family since Daisy pulled away from her arranged marriage, but this was definitely an all-time-low. Artichoke had expected to at least get some starting money when he moved out, just like his siblings, but now he had nothing. 0.

“I don’t know what to do” he said.

Heaven thought for a brief moment. “Well, maybe if… It’s not much, but it’s something, it could be a start.”

“What?”

“We have this island in Sulani… It’s totally off the grid but it’s absolutely beautiful and me and my dad built a house, or something, out of whatever wood we came about. It was a great little project, trying to recycle and go with whatever came in our way instead of buying new materials.”

Heaven smiled at the memory of the time she and her father had spent on the island when they worked on their house. They had had big plans for the house – it was supposed to be liveable but fully self-sufficient. Her father always said people cared too little for nature and sustainability and their house-building project had been a way of proving that it was possible to live eco-friendly even in these times.

“You have a house in Sulani?”

“House might be to overexaggerate, but there’s… something. It’s far from complete, but it would be nice to finish it evenually.”

“And you’d be willing to let me live there?”

“I’d love to live there with you, we could finish it together!”

Artichoke could barely believe what he heard. Who was this girl he met all those years ago? How many times was she going to save his life? He owed her everything.

—

The house itself was, like Heaven had said, nothing. At the same time it was everything. Artichoke loved the little shack as soon as he saw it for the first time. The paneling was worn and the sun had faded the painting of the wood but everything was carefully handmade and all the love poured into the work gave the house a welcoming and precious feeling. No, it really wasn’t much to speak of if you just looked at it without knowing its history. But you can never fully admire a house without taking its history in account.

From now on, this was home.

Artichoke had no money and all Heaven’s assetts were frozen since she was just a minor still. Thus, they had no money to get any furniture and spent the first few nights sleeping out on the porch on the benches Heaven and her father had made out of an old fallen tree many years ago.

Heaven had hoped that their old workbench would still be there and intact, but it was gone. She wondered if her mother had sold it when they moved or if someone had realized how useful a steady workbench could be.

They swam over to the public beaches whenever they needed to go to the toilet and they ate mostly the raw vegetables they managed to grow in their planters, unless they went to the beaches to grill. Close to the island was a waterfall that was a perfect substitute for a shower.

They managed, but it was neither fun nor easy. And they didn’t exactly have a plan for how to move forward. How do you get from nothing, when you’ve got nothing to even start with?

Heaven’s sister, Seahorse, came to visit them after a few days.

“I miss you stupid” she said teasingly. It was only a year and a half between them and they had always been good friends. Their mother used to call them pseudo twins as they grew up.

“I’m glad you came” Heaven smiled half heartedly. They hadn’t lived here for long, but the lack of everything was wearing her down already.

“I haven’t been here since dad died” Seahorse said, knowing very well that Heaven hadn’t either, until she decided to move there. It was quite typical for her – getting a stupid idea and following it through without thinking of the consequences or considering if it was even a reasonable thing to do.

“I just wish the workbench was here. I could have made us some decent starting equipment. But it seems to be gone.”

Seahorse frowned, “I’m pretty sure mom smacked it into pieces that first autumn after dad died. Didn’t she?

“Oh yea, she did” Heaven remembered how their mother had smashed the workbench into pieces and burned them on a big bonfire. How had she forgot?

Their father died in a drowning accident many years ago. It had been the reason they moved to Brindleton Bay in the first place. Their mother, Shrubs, had been terrified of the water after that. She couldn’t stay in Sulani. Heaven and Seahorse on the other hand had missed their old home ever since, even if life in Brindleton treated them well. They were a pure family – they would fit in wherever.

“Yea, she did, I forgot. She wanted to burn the house too, didn’t she?”

“Yup. Until we reminded her it was yours too” Seahorse said and sighed.

“Is she mad that I left?”

“Not mad. Worried.”

“Will she ever come to visit?” Heaven asked as she realized she missed her family and the easy way of life where someone provided for you.

“I hope she will. She misses you.”

A bit later Seahorse and Artichoke got time to sit down and chat on their own. After having seen how sparse Arti and Heaven lived, Seahorse was worried, to say the least.

“You’re really living out of nothing out here…” she said.

“We are. It’s… interesting” Artichoke said. He couldn’t lie and say it was fine, but he wasn’t about to admit that their way of living was troublesome.

“Heaven’s a minor still… You’re responsible for keeping her well. I hope you know that.”

“Of course I know!” Artichoke scoffed. “I’m doing my best!”

Seahorse looked around herself with a displeased look on her face. “Sorry Arti, it’s not enough. You need to do better. For fudge’s sake, you guys haven’t got neither a place to sleep nor a place to preapare food. You can’t live like this. Fix it, or I’ll take her back home.”

Author’s Note: I’m so excited to start this generation! I haven’t played Off the Grid before so it’s really fun to try that because I’ve actually wanted to since I got IP a couple of months ago. 

I rolled “Bad Investment” so Daisy’s overtake of the gallery had to be a disaster and Artichoke has about 4k Simoleoans to start his generation. So I actually cheated and let him buy the lot for free since I desperately wanted him to move town. Anyways, I think the Off the Grid trait will make up for that… 

Swans are the true symbol for love. They find their partner, mate with them and then they stay together until their bond is broken by death. Daisy stood in the park outside of the gallery and watched the two beautiful white birds swimming together in the pond. Partners for life. That was indeed what she had pictured for herself and Alabaster, and in a way that was exactly what had happened.

Sometimes swans died after the heartbreak of losing their partner. Daisy thought of what Alabaster had said about his parents. How his father died of the bad heart and soon thereafter his mother, supposedly of the same heart disorder, but still a broken heart. Alabaster came from a family of swans and Daisy regretted that they didn’t name one of their kids after these precious birds.

What would happen to herself when Alabaster died? Would the heartbreak kill her just like it did to swans?

Aster and Snowdrop were blissfully unaware of the inevitable disaster that awaited their family. They kept going through their lives exploring, learning and playing without caring for the eventual death of their father. It pained Daisy that it was far from certain that they would even remember Alabaster.

After Arti’s birthday, he found out about Alabaster’s bad heart and how Daisy and Alabaster were currently preparing for Alabaster’s death. Arti didn’t know how to react to it or how he should go about enjoying the last time they had together with Alabaster.

Naturally, he felt sad and lonely. Alabaster had been his father for so many years and life would be extremely empty without him.

Alabaster was getting more and more worn out for each day that passed. Eventually he was feeling so bad that he didn’t even have the energy to walk Haddock and Artichoke happily agreed on taking care of the dog. At least when he helped out, it felt like he did something.

Alabaster died as fall was starting to leave way for winter.

It seemed peaceful and he passed without fear, even though nothing ever could have been more heartbreaking. Daisy, on the other hand, felt all the fear in the world. She had no idea how she would ever get back to living again when Alabaster wasn’t around.

She ached. Mentally and physically. The hole that Alabaster left in her heart, her life and her family would take a long long time to heal.

“You were the best” she whispered to the cold grey stone that was meant to keep her company now.

—

Haddock adapted quickly enough to his new home. He was a happy and cheerful old dog. Like master like dog.

Daisy loved him. The time she spent with Haddock gave her the feeling of connecting with Alabaster as well. And with Bubble.

She realized how much she had missed having a dog in the house. The tip-tapping of the claws against her wooden floors, the warm breath of a pet against your cheek. She gave her everything to Haddock and for brief moments, she actually felt whole.

Snowdrop and Aster aged in to children in the shadow of their father’s death and no one had the energy or will to plan a party for them. Their life had been cornered with worry and grief and of course it rubbed off on them. It pained Daisy to see her children sad, but she had too much on her own mind to cheer them up.

Daisy herself also aged without a party. Her golden days didn’t feel that golden at all. She felt so, so lonely.

“Happy birthday mommy, I love you” Aster said and wrapped his arms around his mother’s neck and Daisy smiled a genuine smile for the first time in many weeks. Yes, she missed Alabaster but she had to remember that he lived on in their kids. She was, in many ways, blessed with what she had actually got.

“I love you too, sweetie” she replied and kissed her youngest son’s cheek. She was thankful for the small gesture he had showed her because it reminded her that life was not over. Far from. If anything, Alabaster would want her to keep moving forward.

When she kissed her children goodnight that evening the grief in her heart was accompanied by another feeling, a brighter and happier feeling. She would live on. For Alabaster, their children and for herself.

—

Snowdrop and Aster brought home school projects to showcase at the Christmas Fair at school. They were going to show off something they had learned about in science class during the semester.

Aster had decided to create a solar system and Snowdrop settled on a volcano. Daisy stood watching her kids as they were about to start and she thought to herself that kids’ ability to heal and move on was amazing. She could learn a thing or two from that.

“Mine will be better!” Aster teased when they were seated on the floor ready to begin.

“Will not!” Snowdrop replied.

Twins. Always competing. Always cooperating. Always side by side.

—

The misfortune of the Macaron family didn’t stop with Alabaster’s death. Just months later Haddock died as well. He was old, but Daisy still thought that he died like the swans – of a heartbreak after losing his soulmate.

Arti’s birthday was in just a few days and he had looked forward to bringing Haddock along when he moved to Sulani. Aging and starting his own adult life instantly felt less exciting.

“I’ll go with you if you want” Heaven said when Arti told her about Haddock’s death. Ever since they met during scouting all those years ago they had remained friends. Heaven had his back every time someone dared to utter anything about him being mixed. He loved her for it, and now he also loved her for offering to keep him company.

“You’d do that?”

“Yeah! Don’t ask me why, but I do like hanging out with you even if you’re a dork.”

“Gah, you’re the best!”

“I know.”

Heaven had never really managed to see Brindleton as home. She missed Sulani and the beaches were she had grown up and if she could go back together with her best friend, that was more than she could have ever hoped for!

Author’s Note: Wow, two months since the last chapter! Life kind of came in the way with school ending and all the grading and extra work I needed to finish as a teacher. Now I’m on my summer break and I hope I’ll have time to get back to gaming. Anyways, this will be the last chapter of generation 1 and I’m super excited to start playing with Artichoke in Sulani!

The Character Orientation page is updated with new pictures of Snowdrop, Aster and Heaven.

Sweet Pea and Hunter was about to celebrate their birthday, and even though Daisy had offered to bake them separate cakes they had insisted that one was enough. They wouldn’t have a big party, just the family and closest friends so a single cake would be enough.

Daisy couldn’t help but think back of all the years that had passed. How much she had hoped and planned for when moving here – and how little of that had actually happened. She had a decent garden, but other than that not much had gone according to plan. She wasn’t complaining, life was good. Just different to what she had dreamed of.

“So, any plans now that we’re old enough to decide for ourselves?” Sweet Pea asked her brother. She was moving to San Myshuno together with Peach Melba herself, but oddly her brother hadn’t been as excited as her when it came to planning his future.

“I thought maybe I’d move to Sulani. I quite liked it there… Hanging out on the beaches and just taking it slow” Hunter said.

“Sulani?” Sweet Pea frowned. To her, Sulani was a place for vacations – not for living.

“Yeah, I think so. Or I’ll stay here in Brindleton, be close to family.”

Sweet Pea couldn’t understand how he even thought about staying. Brindleton was slow and boring – didn’t everyone think so? She was so ready to get to the city and the action there.

“Is Hibiscus going with you?” Hunter asked. He felt sad about the thought of potentially losing his best friend to his sister, but they had been a couple for quite some time now so he had been trying to prepare for it.

“No. Just me and Peach Melba.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not there yet. I don’t know if we’ll be together forever, but we’re not moving in together. Not yet anyway.”

—

“Oh man I can’t wait for my birthday as well! How nice is it to decide for yourself exactly?” Hibiscus was clearly envious of Hunter’s new possibilities.

“Meh, I still live home and go by mom’s rules. It’s not that awesome.”

“Right. But still! The possibilities!”

“How do you feel about Sweet Pea going to San Myshuno?” Hunter asked, suddenly realizing he had been happy about it purely for egoistic reasons, he didn’t know what Hibiscus felt.

“I don’t know. I mean, I hope she’ll stick with me even if we live in separate places.”

“She loves you.”

“Yea, she does” Hibiscus chuckled. “I’m a lucky faux. She’s great!”

“So, you’ll move after her then? Once you age up?”

“Don’t think so. I’ll probably move after you. I mean, sure, I love your sister. But honestly I love you more!”

“I’ll make you pancakes every weekend!” Hibiscus beamed, he was so excited to go live with his best friend in Sulani. All the fun they would have. All the girls they’d look at (but don’t tell Sweet Pea).

It would be great!

—

Alabaster looked down at his hands. How do you tell the love of your life, the mother of your children, that you’re dying?

And how do you cope with the thought of leaving a life that is at its peak? How do you accept that you won’t see your children grow up? That you won’t be there to kiss their skinned knees or hug away the pain of a heartbreak?

The answer is: You don’t.

“I got the results from the check-up” he said. He couldn’t say more. He started sobbing heavily and Daisy didn’t know what to say. She put her arms around him and cried together with him.

Why did everything in her life fall apart?

—

Daisy wrapped her hand around the coffee cup that Cupid had placed in front of her. Her fingers clutched on to the cup as if it was Alabaster’s life. If only she had been able to keep him by her side only by holding on. She never would have let go.

“Just when things were going well” she sobbed.

“I know, I know” Cupid said. He wasn’t trying to comfort her, that was beyond possible. But he stayed with her, as always.

“How much pain can a heart deal with before actually going into pieces?” Daisy cried. Again.

“There’s a time after. You know that.” Cupid smiled sadly towards his friend. The news of Alabaster’s heart condition seemed unfair even to him. Daisy deserved the happy ending she would never get.

“What if I don’t make it? What if this breaks me completely?”

“You’ll make it. Somehow. One day will pass. And another. And you will live through them and the pain and the sorrow and eventually there’ll come a day when you feel something other than hurt and loss.”

Daisy covered her face with her hands and sobbed. What had she done without Cupid? He was her rock. The lighthouse in the storm. Her anchor.

“How long does he have?” Cupid asked when Daisy has finally stopped crying.

“The doctor says anywhere between 6 months and a year” Daisy replied, feeling the sadness as a lump in her throat.

“I’m so so sorry” Cupid said.

“Me too.”

—

Daisy and Alabaster walked hand in hand through the art gallery in San Myshuno. Even though Daisy grew up in the city, she had never been there before. Art had never really been her cup of tea.

The gallery was huge and the view from the panorama windows was amazing. You could see the whole city from there.

Alabaster explained the pieces of art that were displayed in the main hall but Daisy didn’t really listen. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have understood.

“These pieces need replacing a few times per year. Hopefully because they’re being sold, but honestly more often because visitors won’t come back unless there are new things to watch” Alabaster said and pointed at the huge paintings in the panorama room. Daisy nodded.

“My parents always had artists begging them to display their work, but since I took over it’s been a bit slower. I try to look for whatever’s fresh. I guess you’ll need to be active in buying in new things here.”

Daisy didn’t know why she had agreed to take over the gallery. Probably because he asked her to, he wanted his family’s legacy to live on. “Maybe Snowdrop or Aster wants to run it one day” he had said hopefully and Daisy didn’t have it in her to say no.

Therefore, she had agreed to buy the gallery of him. For a good price, of course. He couldn’t just give it to her, inheritance laws forbade that, so she needed to actually buy it before he died.

Daisy Macaron, soon an art dealer? And she who only wanted to grow her garden. She escaped the city and now it lured her back. She shrugged.

“And how do I know what to display?” she asked and Alabaster answered that it was impossible to know for sure.

“Buy the things you enjoy watching” he said. “Chances are others will agree with you.”

Snowdrop and Aster enjoyed the big open room and the colors. They toddled around the room delightfully pointing at the paintings. Daisy smiled when she watched them. She was thankful that part of Alabaster would live on. And she hoped that his usually carefree and laidback personality would live on in their kids as well. That was what she had fallen in love with in the first place.

Silly her. She should have learned by now that love was inevitably the same as pain. Though she was happy to love and have loved Alabaster. No bad heart would ever change that.

“Maybe one day you’ll display Arti’s work here” Alabaster smiled. He still smiled, despite everything. Daisy didn’t understand, but she was thankful for his happiness. Oh how she would miss him!

—

“Little birthday boy! How does it feel?” Sweet Pea kneeled to hug her younger brother. Was he really about to become a teenager?

None of the kids in the family knew what was awaiting Alabaster. Daisy and him wanted them to not know yet, wanted to give them some more months of normal. Wanted to give Artichoke a happy birthday.

And he was indeed very happy about his birthday. He had wished for an easel and some paint and was excited to see if any of his family members would gift it to him.

Daisy had helped him pick out new clothes and glasses, and after aging up they fit him perfectly. Becoming a teenager is a pretty big deal. It changes so many things. It changes you.

Artichoke was a quiet and brooding young guy, but not one without dreams and hopes. He could see many things in his future; a happy relationship with someone he loved, animals to care for and creative outlets of different kinds.

And now he was one step closer, even if the more important parts were still missing.

He had Piggy, but he only counted as half an animal. Artichoke loved the little rodent, but he often laughed at his own choice nowadays. Pick any pet. And he chose a hedgehog. In his future, Artichoke saw another animal, a dog or a cat. Someone who gave more back and showed more personality. Piggy mostly ran around in there. Though he was a great listener.

Whenever Daisy saw Arti with Haddock, she thought that when the day would come that she and her family needed to adopt that dog, Arti would be its master. Ever since the camping trip to Granite Falls, Arti had loved that dog. He reminded her so much about herself in how he gave of all his heart to that dog, and in how much that dog seemed to help him. They were the best of friends and she hoped that would last long.

Besides, she couldn’t stand the thought of having Alabaster’s dog around if Alabaster wasn’t. It would be better in every way if Haddock moved with Arti when that day came.

Author’s Note: I hate to have to split Daisy and Alabaster. It would have been nice to give her a happily ever after but her marital roll is “single” so she’s destined to be alone raising her kids. Although it breaks my heart! </3

Sweet Pea and Peach Melba have now moved in to an apartment in San Myshuno and Hunter has moved to Sulani. Once Hibiscus ages up I’ll move him in with Hunter in Sulani as well and we’ll see what happens between him and Sweet Pea in the hands om MCC. 

Artichoke will be the Gen 2 Heir, and I’m actually quite excited to play him eventually!

Going to the Spice Festival in San Myshuno had been Hibiscus idea to begin with, but Hunter, Sweet Pea and Peach Melba were all really excited about the idea.

Convincing their parents to let them go to the city all by themselves had actually been a lot easier then they first thought. Especially considering all their parents except Peach Melba’s had previously lived in the city. Or maybe that was what led them to agree so easily – perhaps the city wasn’t as dangerous as it could sound sometimes.

Peach Melba was already there , playing basketball on a concrete court next to the festival, when the others arrived.

There was so much to do at the festival that they had never done or tried before, and they all felt really eager to try as much as they could.

They sat down by one of the bubble pipes and tried smoking that first of all. From there, they had a pretty good view over the festival area and could start planning how to approach it. “Look at all thar food!” Peach Melba said and nodded towards the food area.

“I’m going to try it all!” Hibiscus said eagerly.

Hunter passed the pipe over to Sweet Pea.

“Is tonight the night you will try Sweet Pea as well?” Peach Melba asked jokingly.

This, obviously, led to Sweet Pea choking on the smoke and coughing out loudly.

Hibiscus grinned, “One could hope!”

If looks could kill Sweet Pea would have killed Peach Melba there and then. Peach Melba just smiled though, immensly proud of herself.

Hunter took the pipe back. Was he the only one who didn’t enjoy whatever was going on between Hibiscus and his sister?

“Ah come on Hunter! Relax” Peach Melba said teasingly. “Why don’t you and I go to start testing the food? Leave these two love birds here, eh?”

Hunter reluctantly went with Peach Melba to the food stalls and as soon as he started tasting the exotic food he kind of forgot about the fling between his twin sister and his best friend.

If food could taste this good, then why did his mother keep insisting on only ever cooking garden salad?

“Sooo…” Sweet Pea felt strangely nervous now that she was alone with Hibiscus.

“Can you believe your mom and my dad lived here? Imagine all the fun things they must have done!”

“A lot more fun than Brindleton I’m sure!” Sweet Pea said.

Hunter was on his way back to show Hibiscus some of the delicious food he had been tasting but as soon as he saw the flirtatious looks exchanged between his friend and twin sister he felt angry and betrayed again. He curled his hands into fists and cursed over whatever was going on.

He sat down on a bench a bit away from them to look at what was happening and it didn’t calm him down the slightest. Eventually he decided to go back and interrupt.

When Hunter came back to the pipe Hibiscus smiled at him, “Found anything good yet?”

Hunter put his plate under Hibiscus’ nose: “These spring rolls are to die for!”

“Smells good. I’ll try them later, there’s something else I’d like to do first,” Hibiscus winked towards Sweet Pea and left the table.

Sweet Pea smiled towards her brother and then she followed Hibiscus. “So what is it you’d like to do first?” she asked.

“Maybe… Kiss you?”

Sweet Pea and Hibiscus shared their first kiss there in the center of the Spice Festival. Above them colorful lights illuminated the summer night. Inside of them butterflies flew round and round. It was a perfect night, for sure.

Hunter grimaced when he saw them kiss. He was worried that things would get complicated between him and Hibiscus now that Hibiscus seemed to be dating his sister. Hunter had no one besides Hibiscus. Making friends as a mixed kid wasn’t easy.

He took a stroll on his own around the festival area, desperately looking for a distraction. Soon he saw that in planters around the festival grew vegetables and herbs that he had never seen in his mother’s garden.

He decided to pluck some of them and bring home, it would be a nice gift to his mother. He could already envision how thankful and happy she would be, and how lovingly she would put the new seeds in to the ground in their backyard.

He didn’t love always eating her garden salad, but it was nice and comforting to see her work in the garden. Maybe one day he would find something that he loved as much as she loved that garden.

Sweet Pea and Hibiscus barely had time to part even for the sake of trying the different food in the stalls around them. They were all too wrapped up in each other and the blur that comes with a first love.

“Jeez, you guys should really try this noodle thingy! It’s darn impossible to eat with sticks!” Peach Melba said and tried her best to get some of the noodles in her mouth. She laughed when most of it dropped down on her chin and then down on her chest.

Neither Sweet Pea nor Hibiscus answered Peach Melba, they were far too busy with looking deep into each other’s eyes. 

“Ooookay, I get it. I’m kind of interrupting a moment here” Peach Melba said and started to back off from the couple. 

Hunter actually felt rather satisfied after having plucked a sample of all the different herbs and plants around the festival. He was so excited to see his mother’s face when he gave them to her. And hopefully her usual garden salads could be switched up a bit, perhaps giving them more variations.

When Sweet Pea and Hibiscus finally parted, Hunter decided to talk to his friend about the worries he had.

“So this thing with my sister…” he said.

“Yea? Can you imagine? She actually likes me too?”

“Of course she does!” Hunter said. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“But you don’t seem so happy about it..?”

“No. What if you two break up and everything gets complicated and then you don’t want to see me anymore?”

“Don’t be silly” Hibiscus said. “Of course things won’t get weird between us if things don’t work out with your sister. I promise!”

“How can you be so sure?” Hunter asked.

“Because we have each other’s backs. Always!”

“I don’t want to lose you, is all…”

“You’re my best best friend Hunter, I’m not letting you go!” Hibiscus put one arm around Hunter’s neck in what could best be describes as a bro hug. “I love you man!”

“Look, he already changed his Simbook status!” Sweet Pea showed her phone to Peach Melba with a big grin on her face.

“Hibiscus Fromage is now in a relationship with Sweet Pea Macaron” Peach Melba read from the screen.

Both girls giggled and jumped around. It might have been a silly reaction, but they were so happy about the events of the evening.

“I love this city!” Sweet Pea said, and she didn’t even mean only because it gave her her first boyfriend. She loved everything about it. “One day I’ll live here.”

“We could share an apartment!” Peach Melba said excitedly.

“Let’s!”

—

Back home in Brindleton Bay Haddock and Alabaster were on their usual visist.

“I don’t know, it’s different this time” Daisy said and rubbed her belly. The twin pregnancy was such a long time ago, and she was in such a different place back then, so she had a hard time to remember how that was. But she remembered the Arti pregnancy still. “Either this baby is lying really weird in there with legs spread across, or there are two.”

“Twins?” Alabaster gasped.

“I know it’s far-fetched, but it really is different from when I had Arti.”

“Could it be that there is more room now?” Alabaster wondered.

Raw twin pregnancies were unheard of. It was a miracle that they could even have one child. Two?

“I mean, I’ll be super thrilled if there are two! But… We’re raw.”

“I know. It’s super weird. Maybe we should get a scan?”

“We’ll see soon enough” Alabaster said.

Artichoke had really been making use of his actitity table and he and Alabaster helped each other to put his favorite paintings on the wall in his room. The posters he had was removed one after the other to make room for whatever he proudly showed that he had painted himself.

He had started scouting as well, and that was where he found his very first friend. Heaven Sprinkle was a chirpy little girl who had been living in Sulani up until a few weeks ago. She couldn’t care less about Arti being mixed, even if that meant some of the other kids didn’t want to go near her.

“Your house is kind of cool” she said the first time she came with him home from the scout meeting. He had taken her out to the garden in the back, because he was quite proud of his mother’s garden.

“Have you seen mommy’s cow plant?” Arti asked, smiling proudly. Behind them the cow plant teasingly offered a piece of cake.

“It’s got cake in its mouth!” Ocean said excitedly. “Let’s try!”

“NO! We’re not supposed to eat that cake” Artichoke screamed. “It’s a cool plant and all, but the cake is dangerous. That’s what mom always say. We’re only supposed to look at it from a distance…”

“Why does she have a dangerous plant out here in the garden? Sounds risky” Ocean said.

“I guess. But it’s cool. Right?”

Inside, Peach Melba was showing Sweet Pea an apartment that was up for rent in San Myshuno. According to her, it would be the perfect place for the two of them to live once they became young adults and Sweet Pea couldn’t have agreed more. They were really doing it! They were moving to San Myshuno!

—

It was indeed twins that Daisy and Alabaster had been expecting. Aster and Snowdrop were born the first raw twins in many, many years. It didn’t even take a week after their birth until Daisy’s parents got back in touch, wanting to come see their grandchildren.

“You’re not welcome. I’m not tolerating discrimation against my children” Daisy said. And that was that. She had now cut all bonds to her parents.

Aster was the little boy.

And Snowdrop was the girl. She quickly became Hunter’s favorite and it didn’t take them many days to form a special bond. It was so cute to see.

Author’s Note: I was definitely not ready for having twins again! Daisy’s roll was to have four children, and my plan was to let her have one raw baby. Raw berries are meant to struggle with conceiving at all, and it’s very rare that they have more than one child. I guess my game just wanted to tell me that Daisy and Alabaster were really meant to be together. XD

The Macaron family and Alabaster had planned their trip to Granite Falls for months so they were all really excited to get there and explore the surroudnings while also making use of their scouting skills.

It was a long trip from Brindleton Bay, and by the time they arrived it was already dark and a heavy rain was falling. They hurried to get their tent up to make sure it wouldn’t be too wet to actually sleep in.

Even though it was dark and rainy, the twins and Daisy decided they desperately needed some grilled hot dogs (a luxury they rarely enjoyed back at home due to constantly living off just what Daisy grew out in the garden).

Sweet Pea and Hunter sat down to wait while Daisy got their late night snack ready.

Daisy was about five months pregnant by now – and eating was the best way to keep her nausea at bay and her energy levels up. It was a nice change with a hot dog instead of the usual garden salad or fruit.

Artichoke and Alabaster skipped the late night snack and played a game of horseshoes instead before going to bed.

Eventually they all (except for Haddock who seemed to think the tent was about the scariest thing he’d ever seen) crawled inside the tent and fell in to an uneasy sleep. The rain hammered against the roof of the tent, making it quite hard to relax. The only one that actually got some decent sleep was Haddock who rolled over on his back outside of the tent and snored loudly. He was a silly dog for sure.

The rain still fell heavily the next morning when the sun rised over the tree tops. The light barely broke through the heavy clouds and no-one could pretend they had been lucky with the weather on this sought-after trip.

Daisy and Alabaster both kept their mood up whereas Artichoke was being grumpy and sad. “This is the worst trip ever!” he complained.

“There’s such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes” Daisy said with a goofy smile on her face, wearing the exact same, weather inappropriate, outfit as Artichoke.

“It’ll be fine!” Alabaster said. “I’m sure the rain will stop eventually.”

Their breakfast consisted once again of grilled hot dogs but this time they decided to roast them over an open fire.

Artichoke was really proud to have carved his grilling stick all by himself.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Hunter asked.

“There are no plans, that’s the beauty of this trip!” Daisy answered excitedly.

“We have to make some kind of plan” Sweet Pea said. “Or we’ll be stuck around here and miss all the best things!”

Sweet Pea and Hunter took it upon them to go check in the information stall which places were recommended to go visit.

While waiting for Sweet Pea and Hunter to get back, Artichoke played some more horseshoe. The night before had been the first time he tried it and he liked it a lot. He was still a bit upset and annoyed about the rain.

Alabaster did his best to convince Artichoke that the rain didn’t matter and that it was possible to have fun even if you got wet and the ground got muddy. Arti would never admit, but it did look like a lot of fun jumping in the mud puddles.

When Sweet Pea and Hunter arrived to the information stall the rain had calmed down a little. “There’s supposed to be a great waterfall up towards the mountains where you can fish” she said once she had read the information several times. “Or there’s a hike as well, what do you think we should do?”

Hunter sat on a log a bit back, “I don’t think mom’s in a state where hiking is the best? But waterfall fishing sounds really neat!”

“Right, so then we still need to hike a bit – up towards the mountain. It’ll be fine.”

The rain stopped completely before Sweet Pea and Hunter returned and Arti’s mood got a lot better when the sun started breaking through. Besides, he had just realized how much more fun it was to play with Haddock when they were out in the woods like this and Haddock could run more freely.

The two of them would really become good friends over the course of their camping trip. Not that they knew that now – it was still the first day after all.

When the twins got back to the campsite they were really eager to take their family up in the mountains to find the waterfall. Quickly they packed their fishing gear and got going. Alabaster followed a bit back – taking the chance to let Haddock explore and sniff all the new locations of the forest.

“It’s up here, I can see it now!” Sweet Pea shouted and started running with her siblings close behind her. Daisy had slowed down a bit and was walking a bit behind together with Alabaster and Haddock.

The waterfall sure was pretty!

“This was a great idea” Daisy said once she made it up the hill. She pulled out her fishing gear and stood smiling by the nose of the water. How lovely it was to share the love for the outdoors with both her family and boyfriend.

After a while Daisy stopped fishing and decided to instead pick some herbs from the forest to bring back home. Maybe she could get them to grow in her garden.

She picked everything she saw, even if she didn’t even know what much of it was. It didn’t matter right now, she could figure that out later. The important part was to get these rare herbs and flowers back home.

By the end of the day, when they had all arrived back home by the campsite Hunter and Sweet Pea decided to take some time on their own and roast some marshmallows. The rain had started falling slowly again, but they were just glad it had stopped during the day and their visit at the waterfall.

Daisy and Alabaster had a dinner on their own, quite rare normally but out here the kids had much space to play on, and lots to explore.

Even though the trip had been great so far, or maybe just because of that, Alabaster was feeling a bit sad.

“What’s up?” asked Daisy when she noticed.

“I’m just… I’m scared. What if my heart is as damaged as my parents? What if I have to leave this?”

Daisy didn’t have any good answers, she shared that fear. What if she had to watch him get sick and die? Now that everything seemed to have settled down – when she finally felt happy and supported?

“Maybe you’re heart is just fine” she said. It was the only thing they could hope for.

“But what if it’s not?”

Daisy had a hard time even taking that risk in.

“She’s kicking!” Alabaster exclaimed happily later that evening. “I can’t believe I’ll actually become a father, for real!”

“She?” Daisy wondered.

“It’s a girl” Alabaster said assuringly. “And she’s just as cute as her mother!”

Artichoke had really fallen for the horseshoe game and he practiced it every night. Alabaster made a silent promise of buying him a horseshow game to have back home in their garden once they got back home.

Once the three days of their vacation had passed Daisy was definitely ready to get back home. Her pregnant body couldn’t take more of sleeping on the ground, she desperately longed for her real bed at home. Though, everyone agreed that the trip had been fantastic, they also all agreed that it was going to be nice to get back home.

Author’s Note: This chapter was a bit more picture-heavy than the last few ones, but I think that fit the chapter quite well. The dorky phrase about the weather and clothes that Daisy says in the beginning is a common, really annoying, Swedish phrase usually said by snug people dressed up in expensive arctic-proof clothes to someone who’s trying to make it through storms and blizzards in clothing way less suited for that kind of weather. I think it might come from a tradition of being outdoors a lot throughout all four seasons. There’s actually a law here in Sweden called “Allemansrätten”, roughly translated to “Right of Public Access”, which rules out that everyone is free to roam almost anywhere in the country’s forests and countryside as long as you are being sensible and not litter, or damage the nature in any other way. It’s quite cool actually!

Daisy and Alabaster laid next to each other, cloudgazing and listening to the birds’ happy song and the pouring waterfall. Summer had come to Brindleton and for once, they both felt happy.

“Do you remember when I told you I had hoped my parents would be around to see me fall in love?” Alabaster asked without looking at Daisy.

“I do” Daisy said and looked at her friend at the corner of her eye.

“Did you realize I talked about you then?”

“Huh?” Daisy turned her head towards Alabaster.

“That I had, have, fallen in love with you?” Alabaster said, still not looking at her.

“You have?”

“How could I not?” Alabaster wondered.

Daisy turned her eyes back to the sky above them. Alabaster had become her best friend and she wasn’t sure if this changed everything or if it didn’t change a thing.

“Do you see the whale?” Alabaster said after a moment of silence and pointed at a big cloud above them.

Daisy remained silent for a little bit longer, still not sure what to say. Once she spoke again she brought up a whole different subject. “Arti still has no friends. I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sure he’ll get friends once his scout meetings begin” Alabaster said.

“Maybe…”

“You know what would be great? If we went to Granite Falls, all of us together. Before my heart check-up and before Arti’s scout meetings begin, to give him a headstart. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“The check-up… Have you got a time for it yet?”

“Nope. But I want to live before. In case it changes everything, you know?” Alabaster said with a touch of fear in his voice.

“Right, so let’s go to Granite Falls. Soon.”

—

The kids had decided to go to the beach in Sulani on a summer weekend together with their friends. Artichoke who recently had joined scouting, but hadn’t yet been to his first meeting, had been dressed in the scouting uniform ever since.

It was much warmer in Sulani than it was in Brindleton and the sand was warm under their knees when they sat down to build a sand castle.

Hibiscus had gone straight to the water to take a swim and Sweet Pea and Peach Melba were taking a short walk. Thus, Hunter was the one left to care for Artichoke. It was really a family effort, making sure little Arti wasn’t feeling too lonely or sad.

“Hey man, come help us get the towers right!” Hunter shouted to Hibiscus who came running from the water after having cooled off.

“Sure, give me a sec!” Hibiscus said and ran past them, stopping right in front of Sweet Pea who was standing a bit further away, long enough for Hunter and Arti to be unable to hear what Hibiscus and Sweet Pea talked about.

“I think he’s in to her” Artichoke said, and Hunter instantly felt a sting of jealousy. Hibiscus was his best friend!

Hunter looked over at his best friend and his twin sister who had both started laughing out loudly at the beach. Even though he loved them both to pieces, he did not like seeing them spend time together without him. He felt like a third wheel, and it was not a pleasant feeling.

“They don’t fancy each other” he said sullenly.

“I think they do” Artichoke continued, oblivious to his brothers grumpiness.

“Have you seen this video?” Hibiscus asked and showed a video of a cat getting stuck in some curtain blinds. Sweet Pea had seen it before, but she watched it carefully anyway. Partly just because it gave her a reason to lean in closer to Hibiscus.

She didn’t know when he had gone from Hunter’s plain old best friend to the good-looking hunk he was now but for some time now, her knees had started getting all wobbly whenever he was around.

She laughed loudly when the cat got stuck in the blinds. It was funny, but mostly it was great that he had wanted to show it to her.

“Sweets!” Peach Melba shouted from the shore. “Are you coming?”

“Right right” Sweet Pea replied reluctantly. She regretted promising Peach Melba they’d go swimming now that Hibiscus was here, with her.

“Right, see you later then” Hibiscus said when she excused herself and headed down to her friend by the nose of the water.

At the same time as Sweet Pea left Hibiscus, Hunter left Artichoke alone with their sand castle to go talk to his friend. “I’ll be back soon” he said.

“Right right” Artichoke muttered. He was used to being left alone, he was pretty much always alone.

“What are you up to with my sister?” Hunter demanded to know.

Hibiscus grinned and put his shirt on. “What do you mean?

“Ah, come on. I see what you’re doing! She’s my sister, remember?”

“You don’t think I’m good enough for her?”

“You know what I mean!” Hunter complained.

Hibiscus grinned again: “I’m faux. I’ll have to make do with what I can get.”

The water was nice and warm and Peach Melba and Sweet Pea both smiled as they waded in to the sea. Summer and beach life – wasn’t that great?

They swam out a bit from the shore, leaving the boys behind them.

“Are you into Hibiscus?” Peach Melba asked once they had come far enough from the shore for the boys to possibly be able to hear them.

“I don’t know” Sweet Pea said. “Maybe, he’s quite cute.”

“Cute? He’s smoking hot if you ask me!” Peach Melba said.

“Right! He is, isn’t he?” Sweet Pea smiled. It was funny how the boy who had been around their house ever since they couldn’t even walk, and whom she had seen cry over scary spiders or a bruised kneee when he was younger had grown up to be so attractive. For many years, Hibiscus had been like a brother to her, and she couldn’t quite explain when that changed. But it sure had changed.

“I think he likes you too” Peach Melba said and Sweet Pea felt how her cheeks turned red.

“I don’t know… I mean, we’ve always known each other! I’m not sure he even gets that he could be interested in me. Like, does he even see me that way?”

“I saw him drool when you looked at his phone a few minutes ago. He likes you, I’m sure.”

Back on the beach Hibiscus had laid down to sunbathe while Hunter and Artichoke cooled themselves off with the wind of the swings. Hunter was still annoyed over the fact that Hibiscus seemed to be hitting on his sister but when he heard the giggles from his brother when the swings tickled his tummy he forgot about it.

His brother was so often unhappy and it was nice to hear him laugh and have fun. Hunter didn’t want to let Hibiscus and his sister ruin that.

—

Two weeks later.

The Macaron family received news of the passing of Kiwi Chintz through an early morning phone call. The kids hadn’t had any contact with their father since Cupid found him cheating on their mother, which meant that Arti didn’t have a single memory if his father.

Yet, despite the lack of contact, they all felt sad about the news of his death. Little Arti more so than the twins.

“I never even got to meet him” Artichoke said sadly.

“I know” Sweet Pea said and rubebd her hand comforting on Arti’s back.

“You can’t live without a father! Especially not when you’re mixed!” Arti sniffled, tears were now running from his eyes. “If they had only known that we have, had, a cool dad, they’d leave me be!”

“He wasn’t cool” Hunter said softly, head bent down. While Kiwi had still been around from time to time, Hunter had been the one who had the best relation to his father so he wasn’t surprised to feel sad about the news of his death. However, he was still angry of what his father had done back when they were young and he wouldn’t forgive him even now that he was dead.

Sweet Pea looked up at Hunter who dragged himself out through the front door, clearly wanting to be left alone. “It’s sad that he’s gone, but life hadn’t been better even if he was around” she said, turning to Arti again.

“But… He was a popular mixed berry. Wasn’t he?”

“He was, but he used it wrong. He used it to hurt people, and mother especially.”

“And now he’s gone. We’re better off that way” Hunter filled in. The lie was obvious, it was easy to tell that he didn’t even believe in it himself.

—

The same evening

“Arti’s hurting real bad mom.”

“Aren’t you all? I don’t get why, he was never around anyway.”

“He was our father! It matters.” Sweet Pea raised her voice, she rarely did towards her mother. “Besides, arti’s been hurting a long time. He’s lonely.”

Daisy didn’t want to admit, but she felt sorry for Kiwi’s death too. Even though her feelings for him had cooled off a long time ago, she still had some very special memories of their time together. And she could miss them even if she didn’t miss him or how he treated her.

“What should I do?” she asked.

“How should I now? You’re the parent!”

Sweet Pea was right, Daisy was the parent and it was her responsibility to see to that all her kids did okay. Things didn’t always just fix themselves. Thinking back on her own childhood, she suddenly realized one of the things her own parents had done right in her upbringing. Bubble. Her very own pet. He had made sure she never felt lonely. Maybe Arti wanted a pet too!

Daisy went out in her garden where Artichoke was standing watching over her plants. Like her, he loved the outdoors.

“How are you doing honey?” she whispered.

Artichoke dried a tear from his eyes when he looked at her: “I wish I’d got to know him. I know you hate him. I know we’re better off without him. But I wish I got the chance to get my own memory of him.”

“It’s okay. You’re allowed to be sad and miss him.”

Arti nodded and let Daisy embrace him. “Your sister says you’re often lonely” Daisy whispered in his hair while hugging him.

Artichoke pushed himself free of the embrace and curled his hands into fists. “She told you?”

He felt cheated on, he had been sharing his insecurities and his loneliness with Sweet Pea in trust, and she had betrayed him.

“I’m glad she did” Daisy said. “I think I might have an idea. When I was young, I sometimes felt lonely too but when your grandparents brought Bubble home that changed. From the day he moved in with us, I was never lonely again.”

“Your dog?”

“Yea. A pet can be a great friend! Better than most berries I’m sure!”

“Are you saying I can get a pet?” Artichoke smiled faintly.

“Would you want that?” Daisy asked, already thrilled by the thought of having another dog in the house. Or a cat. She was a dog person for sure, but a cat would do.

“Yes! Any pet I want?”

“Maximum 50 kilos, okay? We have to fit it indoors.”

“Thank you mom, you’re the best!”

—

Just a few days later the hedgehog “Piggy” moved in. Artichoke loved him instantly.

Daisy was incredibly disappointed. A hedgehog! What kid chose a hedgehog when they got the chance to pick whatever pet they wanted? Apparently hers.

—

None of the kids ever had a real father figure. There had been men around: Cupid, Flamingo and Alabaster, but none of them had tried to take on the role as a father to the kids. Daisy had raised them and taken care of them well enough on her own. But once Kiwi was sadly gone for good, Alabaster stepped in more and more and started playing a more and more important role for the kids.

He helped them with their science projects.

He talked with them about their best friends falling for their sister and how unfair and weird that felt.

And he was the one to buy Artichoke his little drawing board. Daisy would never have seen the artistic vein her youngest son had, because she was far from artistic herself. She could easily spot his love for nature and the outdoors, but nurturing this side was definitely something that fell on Alabaster.

Artichoke was a lot happier now that Piggy was here and he had his drawing board. The whole family was really thankful for all the things Alabaster did for them.

—

Alabaster’s words about having fallen in love with her were a constant echoe in the back of her head. It had been a few weeks of trying to repress her own feelings – but one day she had enough of not listening to her own heart.

“You know what? I think I’m starting to fall in love with you too” Daisy said and leaned in to plant a kiss on Alabaster’s lips. Oh if her parents knew this, how thrilled they’d be. Not that she thought about that in this very moment, but she had realized she had been putting Alabaster off simply because he was raw for quite some time. Like it had been more important to not give her parents right than it had been to follow her heart. How silly was that?

“Finally” Alabaster smiled.

When he went back home that day they were both feeling happy and excited for what the future would bring.

A thin layer of snow covered the ground still in Brindleton Bay and the hungry spring sun waited eagerly behind thick clouds for its time to break through. It was almost windless and had it not been for the clouds it would had been a lovely, warm winter day. Now it was instead cold and the snow crunched under feet that walked on it.

This did not stop Daisy and her family from heading down to the docks for an outdoor barbecue. Ever since the twins started scouting they headed out together at least once every week – and a cold winter day couldn’t stop them.

Daisy herself was in charge of the grill while the others enjoyed the activities nature itself provided.

The snow squeaked as Sweet Pea dropped down in it to create a snow angel and she laughed while doing so. Daisy couldn’t help but think of how happy her children seemed and how oblivious they (hopefully) were to all the pain she went through herself.

It was slowly getting better and easier, but it was still hard. Little Arti was a whole different story than Sweet Pea and Hunter had been – perhaps because her garden was bringing in a quite steady cash flow now in contrast to how it had been when the twins were young. Perhaps because she was different. Or he.

Perhaps because she had more than one friend who helped her out nowadays? Her friendship with Alabaster had slowly evolved in to something real, he was a rock. So carefree and relaxed, so different to every raw berry she had ever known before him. And he liked the kids too, and they liked him back.

—

Eventually the spring sun managed to melt the ice on the waters of Brindleton and the Macaron family could once again bring out their fishing gear.

Daisy woke her kids early on the first day of spring, their fishing gear already packed and waiting for them in the hallway. Sweet Pea reluctantly rolled out of bed whereas Hunter happily jumped up. They had grown more and more in to the personalities they had ever since they were babies – Sweet Pea with high level of energy and mood swings of another world and Hunter as a calm, brooding and somewhat introvert little guy. If you hadn’t known, you never would have guessed they were twins.

“This year’s first fish!” Hunter exclaimed proudly not even half an hour after they arrived at the fishing site right outside the back of their house. “I bet they’ll award me with the Outdoor Adventurer badge next weekend!”

“I’m sure they will honey” Daisy smiled.

Like sun itself, Hunter lit up now that spring had chased winter away.

“No they won’t!” Sweet Pea protested. “That’s your first ever fish. It takes more than that. I’ll be a Pegasus before you!”

“We’ll see” Hunter said and readied his rod for another go. Earning badges and advancing in their scouting had become a competition between the two of them, even though that went against everything that scouting was. Daisy didn’t mind, it was impossible to miss the love that both of her children showed each other even if they teased and taunted each other now and then.

—

Sweet Pea and Hunter celebrated their birthday on the third day of spring and they were still the best of friends. Sharing a womb does that to you.

Friends of the family came round to celebrate the teens out in the garden, taking the opportunity to enjoy the nice weather at the same time.

—

Later that day Daisy decided to show Alabaster one of her favorite spots in Brindleton. It was a secluded and often empty fishing spot on the island of the town’s museum. She had come there many times alone to gather her thoughts during the times that had been the hardest.

“See, I told you it was perfect!” Daisy said proudly when they arrived. Seagulls circled above them and the sound of their laughs mixed with that of the waves crashing against the pier. Daisy smiled. She loved this place.

“It’s lovely” Alabaster agreed.

They pulled their fishing rods out and for the first 30 minutes or so, they just stood quiet next to each other, enjoying the surroundings and the company of one another. Daisy was still surprised that it could be this easy to be around another raw berry.

“About my parents…” Alabaster said and broke the silence.

“Mhm?”

“Have I told you that they both died?”

“You did. I’m sorry, from everything you’ve told me they sound like lovely people” Daisy said quietly.

“They were…”

“Dad had a weak heart for as long as I can remember. We always knew he wouldn’t get to grow old. He knew he’d probably never meet any potential grandchildren.”

“Oh.”

“He was very ill during his last weeks, yet it went really fast when it happened. Which I’m glad for… I think” Alabaster spoke softly, pain so clearly toning his voice down.

Daisy lowered her rod. “I’m so sorry, it must have been awful living with that constant threat.”

“It wasn’t too hard actually. It was normal for us. But when mom died just shortly after, that was hard. I had hoped maybe she would he around when I fell in love and eventually, hopefully, had kids on my own.”

“And here I am, still single and no parent alive to share the joy with me if that ever changes.” Alabaster turned towards Daisy, and threw his arms out, changing the tone of his voice in an attempt to ease up the tension. “And I’m stuck in a gallery that I by all means love, but never really wanted to run by myself.”

“Parents really have a way of planning your life, don’t they?” Daisy said.

“Even when they try not to” Alabaster filled in.

“Anyways, the reason I told you this is…” Alabaster spoke softly again. “The other day I got a letter from the hospital where mom died. Turns out she had that same heart condition as dad did. What are even the odds?”

“But she never knew?”

“Nope. But when dad died her heart couldn’t cope with the grief. It was too weak to begin with.”

“So she did die of a broken heart, like you said?”

“I guess. At least that was what triggered her illness.”

Daisy looked down and started to kick the sand around. She wondered how she would react when her parents died, would she feel sad at all? She wasn’t sure.

“They’re taking me in to check my heart now. Apparantly there’s quite the risk that I’ve inherited that same gene.”

The sun had set, the seagulls had gone quiet but the waves still crashed against the pier creating a pleasant background sound. Daisy heard the worry in Alabaster’s voice, it was so clear that he had changed and she didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t used comforting others. Alabaster didn’t notice, he felt comforted just by her presence. Sometimes being next to someone who care about you is all the comfort you need.

—

Back at home, Sweet Pea was cursing at her school project when Artichoke came in and sat on her bed. He sat silent for a few minutes, until Sweet Pea had enough of him just watching her and annoyingly asked, “What?”

“I don’t like being mixed” he whispered.

“What?” Sweet Pea said again, more surprised than annoyed this time.

“No one likes me at school. They say mean things. All the time.”

“Because you’re mixed?”

Artichoke nodded.

“Fudge them.” Sweet Pea said. “They’re idiots.”

“That’s easy for you to say” Artichoke said. “At least you have a friend. And a twin. I’m all alone.”

“But you have friends, don’t you?” Sweet Pea asked.

“No. All the kids in my class says mixed berries are disgusting and foul.”

“They say what?!” Sweet Pea was both angry and surprised. Angry because the stupid ideas of pure and raw superior lived on, and surprised because she had never even considered that her younger brother could be struggling. He had been the sunshine in their family ever since he was born.

“They call me names and such. Fandango said that mom is a disgrace to history and traditions and that he didn’t understand why we were even allowed to go to their schools. No one protested but some agreed. I hate it!”

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Sweet Pea said. She remembered her first day of school, how close it had been that she had that same experience herself. If Peach Melba hadn’t stepped in and stood up for her, maybe she would had been all alone and bullied too.

“I wish I didn’t have to go there” Artichoke said sadly.

“No Arti. You wish they weren’t there. It’s not the same. School’s for you too.”

“Whatever.”

“I’ll think of something. I promise!” Sweet Pea said and went over to give her little brother a hug.

“Thanks…”