Sims Weekly World News

The thing that I miss most is the sun. I really don’t know how the vampires did it, living by the moon and stars.

Yes, vampires are real. At least they were. I have no idea if any of them survived. I am actually not sure if any other humans survived. I have no idea what became of the world that day. I am not sure anyone know. Things were perfectly normal and then one day they weren’t. I am not sure anyone seen it coming. While we were prepared we were still caught unaware. It’s amazing how in one moment everything can change. I thought that the events that brought me to Sunset Valley changed me, but that was nothing compared to what was to come.

*****

Following dinner that night, things changed every so slightly between Alistair and me. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but something was defiantly different. He made an effort to spend a bit more time at home. It wasn’t a lot, but it was noticeable. I found him watching me when he didn’t think I was paying attention. It was just a lot of little things that didn’t make me uncomfortable as much as it added to my confusion about when I should leave and what I should do about the house.

I probably wasn’t the only one confused. Without realizing it, I was making myself more and more at home. That was never so apparent in those early days than when I brought home a kitten that I named Puddy. I really hadn’t put any thought it into it. While out roaming the town and looking for something to do I stopped at the animal shelter and that’s where I found Puddy. Bringing him home wasn’t the first thing that I would do without first consulting my roommate. I am so glad that he didn’t turn out to be allergic to cats.

I wasn’t showing any signs of leaving but I hadn’t officially said I was going to stay. When asked I said that I could always take the cat with me when I left. I don’t know what made me think that it would be perfectly normal to have a cat as a traveling companion while seeing the world. The shots and the quarantines would be insane and unfair to my furry friend. I wasn’t thinking.

Then there was the house.

The longer I stayed the more I realized how much needed done to it. I didn’t understand how Alistair and Basil had lived there for the last five years. I didn’t understand how we were living in it for that matter. There wasn’t a day that went by that something didn’t break. If it wasn’t the toilet it was the shower. If it wasn’t the shower it was the sink. I was always fixing stuff. Living there and keeping up with the repairs was a full time job. The kitchen was unbearable. We had one counter, a stove that I was afraid to turn on, a sink that perpetually leaked and fridge that made everything taste stale. Something had to be done and I set to renovating everything.

The second porch was enclosed to become a home office and the kitchen was entirely redone. On one hand it really needed done, on the other I felt guilty about doing it because I didn’t talk to Alistair about it first. I figured it was going to take days to do the work, but the crew that I hired had it done in less than a day. In fact, the work crew hadn’t been gone more than 15 minutes when Alistair walked in the door from work. He was more than surprised, he was shocked. “You redid the kitchen. Why?”

“It was starting to give me nightmares. I was sure that one morning we were going to wake up and to find the entire downstairs under water. All things considering, that probably would have been an improvement. I could not eat one more day of leftovers that tasted like fridge.” I paused a moment. “I probably should have asked you first, huh?”

“It’s your house. You can do with it what you want.” There was something in his voice that was strained, as if he were holding something back.

“It might be my house, but it’s your home. I am sorry that I didn’t stop to consider how you might feel about it all.” I really did feel guilty about it.

He sounded almost hopeful. “Does this mean you are staying?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.” The truth was, the longer I stayed the more I considered staying. It seemed so much easier than traipsing around the world looking for creatures that may or may not exist. Suddenly that kind of life didn’t seem so appealing. If I stayed in Sunset Valley I could always write. It was something I planned on doing anyway. I would just write about things other than an exotic adventure to some unknown corner of the planet looking for some creature that very few had even heard of. Disappointment washed over his face. “Hey, why don’t we celebrate the new kitchen by me making something other than Autumn Salad?”

He grinned, “Can you make anything else?”

I honestly didn’t know if I could, but I was going to try. “”I didn’t live off of salad in college, you know.”

I shouldn’t have tried to cook. Not then. Not without reading a cookbook or two or taking a cooking class. Not in our brand new kitchen.

Alistair had the fire put out before the fire department arrived on the scene. Rather than have me try and make something else for dinner we out to eat. He wouldn’t admit it, but I am pretty sure by this time Alistair was sick of Autumn Salad. I know I was. In the morning I would have to have a new stove delivered.

On the way home from dinner Alistair had us stop at the park. Not the big park in the middle of town, but the smaller one where the occasional chess tournament was held that was rarely visited. Alistair wanted to watch the stars.

As we sat and watched the sky I realized that there were an inordinate number of shooting stars. It explained all the space rocks that I was able to collect on a daily basis that the science facility would always buy from me. I just assumed it was a meteor shower and in a few days it would be over.

While we were at the park Alistair also took that time to let me know he didn’t want me to leave.

The next morning I went down to city hall and registered as a self-employed writer. I also brought home a second kitten named Puss. Alistair was promoted to sketch artist, which was kind of funny since, at the time, he had no artistic ability. His first attempt at a police sketch didn’t go so well…

As I settled in, I remembered that when I first arrived Alistair told me there had been rumors of at least one unicorn in Sunset Valley and I set out to find it.