People often call me crazy. I’m that crazy lady who in a post-apocalyptic world, has a lush roof garden and talks to her plants every single day.
I’m that annoying lady who constantly tries to convince others to vote for change. To go green, clean up the town and make it a better place for everyone.
No one seems to care about that, though.
Except my husband, Stuart. When we got married 22 years ago, we never thought Evergreen Harbor would end up in the horrendous state it’s in now. We’re both passionate about the environment and made it our mission to keep this town green.
Obviously, the exact opposite happened. The town became more and more industrial each year, robots and cyborgs started taking over and things couldn’t get any worse. Even the town’s name was changed to Hazard Harbor, because it truly is hazardous to live here.
Stuart and I now have four children and a robot of our own. I work as a freelance crafter, making fizzy juice, fabricating furniture and producing candles. Stuart works as a civil engineer and he created Cyclo 2.0 in his spare time – a robot who helps out around the house and Stuart hopes that one day, the town will be restored to its former glory with the help of his beloved robot. I fear this is the beginning of the end.
Having a big family is both a blessing and a curse. My youngest, Chelsey, loves wearing anything with flowers and really enjoys reading flash cards. She’s my little ray of sunshine in a time when the skies are always grey.
I try to teach all my children to live an eco lifestyle and reduce their carbon footprint. Luckily, most of them do.
Except my eldest daughter, Caroline. I wouldn’t exactly call her the “black sheep of the family”, as I love all my children with every ounce of my being and treat them equally, regardless of their behaviour. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be under the same roof as her and she’s busy destroying everything Stuart and I built up over the years.
She loves living in her own filth and wants this town to remain in its current smoggy and polluted state. Her room is something straight out of a horror film and I don’t even dare to set a foot in there anymore.
She wasn’t always like this, though. As a child, she always took out the trash and did all her chores. She had a great relationship with her younger sister, Carla, and they always played together.
Now, these siblings have a typical love-hate relationship. When they’re not fighting, Carla visits Caroline in her room and they start chatting like good old friends. She even offers to clean up her sister’s room every now and then, much to the annoyance of Caroline.
When Caroline came out, I was the first person she told. I simply wrapped my arms around her and promised that I’ll always support her – no matter what. Little did I know how difficult it would be to keep that promise years later.
She thinks because she’s an “adult” now that she can do whatever she pleases and won’t look for a job or go to college. When she’s not sleeping until late in the afternoon, she dives into dumpsters and finds new things to clutter up her room.
I probably shouldn’t blame her. Most colleges were destroyed in the apocalypse and work is really hard to come by nowadays. Still, she could study or work online.
Sometimes we all gather around the kitchen table and pretend we’re not just another dysfunctional family. The other day, I announced my fifth pregnancy to everyone and they were all ecstatic at the news.
The baby will be here in a few days. I’m really excited and petrified at the same time. I can only hope he decides to follow in his parents’ footsteps and not his eldest sister’s. But a mother’s love is unconditional and unwavering. I’ll always love my children, even if they choose a different path in life.
Author’s Notes: Thanks for reading! I have decided to participate in the Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge this month, organized by LisaBee, EA Game Changer for The Sims 4 and fellow SimLit writer. The theme of this month is “love”. I also created this family in honour of #BlackLivesMatter and Pride Month. We’re living in difficult times and it’s more important now than ever to be kind and accepting of each other, despite our differences.
I kindly invite you to please read all the stories entered for this challenge at the end of the month and vote for your top three choices in both categories (Novice and Veteran), meaning you will have a total of six votes. Any vote that doesn’t contain three votes in each category will be thrown out, so please vote for three Novice stories and three Veteran stories!
Credits:
The family and their home were created by me for RethaSim’s fantasysave and can be found on the Gallery:
Divan the Simmer's SimLit Blog 