Comings and Goings

Things have quieted down the past couple months. I am very grateful for that for I knew controlled chaos would reign once again when Nikara and I had our children. As per my word, Nikara has quietly stayed in the house or yard as her boy grew. Well, I say grew, but it was very hard to tell. Nikara barely gained a bump even as she reached the last weeks of pregnancy. When  I took her to check-ups, the doctors always told me everything was fine. Some mothers, due to their body types and the baby's position, don't show very much. How lucky for her, I thought a bit enviously. My pregnancies have always result in a prominent stomach. It would be nice to not have so much extra weight to get in my way.

Nikara went into labor a couple days past her expected date. I offered to take her to the hospital, but she said she wanted to have a natural birth like I've always had. That made me apprehensive. Nikara has never been one to handle pain well. She did better than I thought, but if our neighbors has been home I'm sure they would have thought something awful was going on from the noise they would've heard. I could tell Nikara was regretting her choice by the time the baby was about to come, but obviously there was nothing we could do at that point. She pushed through and gave birth to her son.

After Nikara worked through the last of the worst pain, she named him Murion. I do still wish that Nikara hadn't become pregnant at such a young age, but I am so happy to have a boy in the house again. My streak of girls can't last forever, can it? I'll pray that I can have another son myself soon.

As plainly expected, Nikara is vastly inexperienced as a mother. That doesn't stop her from trying her best though. The first couple days were the roughest. It took Nikara a long while to recover from the pains of labor, and then there was the lack of sleep she had to deal with. She became very on edge, and would snap at any of us who would breathe in even the slightest wrong way. Thankfully Nikara has become more controlled as she accustoms to her new life.

Khang comes over every other day. I didn't like him much at first because it was clear he didn't want Nikara to have Murion. When he saw that she was going to have the child, it seems he decided to become a proper man. Khang is just as inexperienced as Nikara, but is getting there as a father.  At least he's doing more than some of my own children's fathers have. Khang and Nikara's relationship has shifted to them being just friends though. This saddened Nikara. I think she thought Murion would keep her and Khang together forever. I wish it could've worked that way.

Nikara has cheered up recently now that she's made plans with Yves to move her and Murion to France when she graduates. It shocked me when I realized how little time my daughter and I have left together. Murion will barely have grown when they leave. I don't want them to be so far away, but I know it's fair considering how long Yves has had to wait to meet Nikara.

I've kept myself cheerful by reminding myself that even though one child will be far away, there's another one coming. It will be that way for a long time to come. Each "goodbye" will be matched with a "hello". The faithful tactic of keeping busy also helps to take my mind off negative thoughts. I try to get out of the house when possible so I can learn more about this town. There's lots to see, but just as many people to meet.

I actually got so carried away one day that I forget I was due. I went into labor at the art museum. With the pain not being so bad and knowing I had plenty of time left, I hide my labor from the others around me and wandered longer around the exhibits. I wanted more time to think quietly. I've found the museum is the perfect place for such activities. However, I couldn't ignore the coming of my new child forever and I returned home.

I certainly didn't want to earn another reputation like I did in Appaloosa Plains. When I introduced myself to new people there, they knew me as the elf woman who had gone into labor twice at the festival. No one here knows that about me, and I'm going to keep it that way. My calm mood made the labor go smoothly. I named my new daughter Elridia.

Her birth marks the start of a whole new chapter. In a way, she is like this place's Elrunamir. She's the first child who will spend her whole childhood and teenager years growing up here. This thought has made me more excited than normal. I can't wait to see what is coming down the road for us- both the good and bad. I also wonder if Monte Vista can keep its charm forever. Is this truly the place I'm meant to be, or will its presence become too full of painful memories as well? Time is the only thing that will tell. I will just have to wait to see what the Goddess has in store.

The weather stays warmer much longer in Monte Vista. Unlike Appaloosa Plains, there doesn't seem to be any annual festivals here. I hadn't been fond of them at first, but now I miss them. They were always the best place to be when we need a family pick-me-up. We'll just have to find others activities to do together. For instance, fall finally managed to push away the summer heat. The trees started to drop their leaves, so the girls wanted to build the biggest pile possible. Even though raking the leaves is technically a chore, they enjoyed doing it. Anithien did more damage than help in the process. For whatever amount of leaves Nikara, Iselith, and Saradith raked she would play in the pile prematurely and scatted half back onto the ground.

The coming of fall, besides bringing in colder weather, also brought birthdays along. The first was little Murion. I was just as proud as Nikara was to see him grow up so well. He certainly inherited more of Khang's features than he did Nikara's.

It was after this birthday of Murion's that Khang's parents began to come visiting with him. They had come a few times before, but I knew their suddenly increased appearances meant they were planning something. It wasn't too much later when they offered Nikara and Murion a spot in their home. This way Nikara and Khang could raise Murion together. I could tell Nikara seriously considered the offer. I wonder if she thought living with Khang would make him fall for her again. What would have happened had they lived together will never be known, for Nikara remembered that she and Murion would be moving to France soon anyway. There wouldn't be much point going to Khang's house.

Khang's parents were surprised to hear of Nikara's planned move when she declined the offer. They clearly wanted her and their grandson to stay. They didn't protest further though when they found out Khang had already said it was alright for Nikara and Murion to leave.

The next birthday to come was Iselith and Saradith's.

If it wasn't for the fact that the two of them still continue to dress so alike, one not knowing them wouldn't think that they were twins. Sisters, yes, but never twins. Their faces have very different structures, and not to mention the drastic difference in their hair and eye color. Iselith carries herself as a mature beauty, while Saradith is more baby-faced and sweet looking. Their appearances reflect their personalities as well. Saradith hasn't changed much from the innocent girl she's always been, but recently Iselith has become more of a diva. Iselith's more dramatic behavior makes me scared that a repeat of Nikara's situation will happen with her. I can only hope that Iselith has learned from her older sister's actions.

Right after the twins' birthday was Elridia's.

You know, I had actually forgotten about this idea, but Elridia managed to inherit all of my features. My hair, my eyes, my ears- all three. Of course, Vincentio can be seen through her as well. Although Elridia having all my features doesn't make me love her more than my other children, she is the one I've silently been waiting to meet. It will be fun to see how she turns out personality wise. Interestingly enough, she already acts similar to Lothirien who in turn became a lot like me.

Vincentio came over to celebrate Elridia's birthday with us. He said he was very glad that she looked so much like me. Since I was so beautiful, this young child was most definitely going to be beautiful as well. He always has a way of sliding in compliments, that man.

When the two of us got some time alone, Vincentio admitted that he first wondered what he had gotten himself into by getting me pregnant. He had felt angry at himself and everything else- me included. It had been a while since he lost his wife, but he still hadn't fully gotten over his grief. Vincentio felt like he betrayed her. His other daughter and grandchildren needed him, but he had been ready to let himself go. Elridia's birth was what made him keep pushing forward though, and he wanted to hold on longer and longer. Vincentio said he wasn't sure if he would make it through her childhood, but that he would do what he could.

Nikara kept coming to me telling me it was hard to breathe sometimes. This has been a common complaint of hers as she's grown up. I took her to get an allergy shot since we both thought it was the changing weather making her sinuses congested. However, her breathing only got worse. It was then that a doctor proposed that the odd shape of Nikara's nose might actually be a deformity that has been restricting her breathing. 

Just hearing the word "deformity" scared me, but what the doctor said made sense. I always thought that she got the peculiar shape of her nose from one of Yves' ancestors, because I already knew it didn't come from me or him. The doctor suggested that Nikara undergo a surgery that would reconstruct her nose to allow her to breathe properly. That idea scared me even more. It took the doctor quite a while to convince me the surgery was very safe, and so I eventually consented. I was still terrified, make no mistake, but I would allow whatever needed to be done if it was for Nikara's health.

We scheduled the surgery quickly so it could be done before Nikara left. Everything went smoothly, and Nikara recovered quicker than any of us thought. While the difference might look dramatic when you look at the changes side by side, you barely notice the difference as you look at her normally. I got used to the change within a couple days before forgetting a change had even been made. Most thankfully, the surgery did the trick. Nikara has not had a single problem breathing since.

Though the household is rather full, I decided it was time to try for another child. Nikara and Murion will be gone in a matter of weeks, and then I would lose two again at once when Iselith and Saradith graduate. Another thing I like about Monte Vista more then Appaloosa Plains is that there's no shortage of new people to meet here. People are always coming and going, and it seems our family is not the only one to find this place an appealing town to move to.

The men here are much more attractive as well. I would not have thought so at the beginning, but as with many things, my tastes and thoughts have changed. What I would have considered unruly or strange before is now fetching. For example, take my neighbor- Mr. Moon Rodgers. If I had been the old me left to my own choices, then his pierced ears and messy looking hair would have turned me away. However, those things are what caught my eyes when I first saw him.

I've talked to him multiple times, and I made up an excuse to drop by his house. He was quick to invite me in, but it took me a lot longer than I liked to further our relationship in the way I wanted. I will have to focus on actually getting to know the men around here better rather than relying on my idea that I can seduce any of them within a couple hours.

I was just starting to feel the signs of pregnancy when the time came to say goodbye to Nikara and Murion. Nikara's transition to a young adult didn't seem as intense as I thought it would be. I assume this is because Murion's birth forced her to grow up at a faster rate than she normally would have. Of course, the subtle transition didn't make it any easier to say farewell. It is truly hard not getting to see Murion grow up. I can only hope Nikara and I will have the time and money to visit each other in the future.

I took Nikara and Murion to the airport, and they vanished before my eyes. If you don't count my children who have already left this world, then Nikara will be the furthest away of all my children for a long time to come......