Monte Vista

It took us six days to reach Monte Vista, the new town we would be living in. Thankfully, the long trip was nothing like the torture of the week-long drive that took me to Appaloosa Plains. I had my daughters around this time to talk and play with. I kept thinking though that now I am nearly twice as far away from home as I was before. The elvish lands really do feel like nothing more than a dream to me now. It's quite hard to believe my home and this new place are even on the same continent. I honestly believed that I had been tricked somehow and we had actually traveled overseas. Monte Vista is even more beautiful than Appaloosa Plains, and the atmosphere is so completely different. Even Nikara had no more complaints when we pulled up to our new house.

The truth is that Elrunamir and Ureliel each left me a decent amount of money in their wills. It is a sad thing to think about- that it is the children leaving money behind for the parent. I didn't want to touch what they had given me, but this move wouldn't have been possible without it. In order to be as grateful as I can for their generosity, I've become determined that I will let go of the depression that still follows me and live happily as they wanted me to. With the money I had myself, I was able to purchase a large and stunningly gorgeous house.

At least for me, this house is even more of a dream home than the other "Dream Home" was. It has everything we need, and plenty of space left to expand if required in the future. Unfortunately, there's a lot of unpacking to be done before we can really enjoy what this house has to offer. Still, I let the girls play for a while after we got the basics set up. Iselith and Saradith made a big mess as they dug out their swimsuits. They jumped right into the big pool in our backyard. Nikara watched over them, although she mostly just focused on tanning herself on one of the beach chairs. I've noticed that Anithien doesn't particularly like being outside, so I kept her entertained while I got more things set up.

Since I knew it wouldn't be too long before the girls got hungry, I decided to make lunch with the wood-burning stove. It was incredibly fun and nostalgic to do. Using that wood-burning stove is almost identical to what cooking in the elvish lands is like. On celebration days back home, naneth and I would spend hours making all sorts of things for everyone to eat. When I was young and not able to help too much for the fact that it would have been dangerous for me, we needed someone else there with us. Cooking seems to be the one thing the naneth is not skilled at. She can make edible meals if she has utter concentration, but most of the time she has no clue what to do. Things progressed more smoothly as I got older. That's because she left most of the work up to me.

I was so comfortable making the new lasagna recipe that I allowed my mind to wander. I thought mostly about how I hadn't heard anything from Eloril. I know I can't be impatient though. It would be a long journey for him back to our lands. If he has even made it back yet, there is no way any letter he might have sent would have had the time to reach me. Besides, Eloril doesn't know that I've moved. The letter would have to stop at the old house first before being sent to me by one of my other children.

We enjoyed our lunch out on the back patio. The conversation, simple though it was, felt incredibly lighthearted. In a few mere hours this place has made me so refreshed. Somehow I am able to accept my negatives emotions easily here, let them go, and become happy. I entered and left Appaloosa Plains in a sad state, but everything about Monte Vista is so positive. I feel so weightless and unburdened that the impossible act of flying seems doable.

The day steadily grew later. Despite my best attempts at getting the girls to unpack, very little got done. I let it slide for today since I didn't feel like doing it myself either. I instead took Anithien to the nearby beach. Even if she doesn't like being outside, she has to get out sometimes. It's not good for her to stay cooped up inside the house everyday. She thankfully didn't get too fussy at being brought out. I'm especially glad for this since we would have bothered the other man that was there.

With Anithien playing quietly on the soft grass, I quickly introduced myself to the man. As we began to talk I silently remarked at how different my attitude has become. The current me is certainly nothing like the woman I was at the beginning. I'm sure even if I had been sent to this beautiful place with the amazing house first instead of Appaloosa Plains and the small house, I still would have sulked for days about my predicament. Thought I never wanted to change, I'm glad that I did- even if all the changes haven't been for the best.

The man, Mr. Costanzo Rossi, turned out to be married. That was alright with me. I think I need a bit more time here to adjust, and actually unpack like I should, before I consider having another child. There will be plenty of time to meet other men. The more I talked to Mr. Rossi the more I liked him. I could tell that he was a good family man with a sense of humor. Most importantly, I found out that he is the mayor of Monte Vista. I don't know too much about the human political system in this country, but I know the mayor wields a decent amount of power and influence. If nothing else, beings friends with Mr. Rossi gives me a better chance of helping to keep my lands safe.

I would have talked to him much longer, but Anithien finally became fussy. The day was growing late as well, and I was getting tired from all the long hours of work. I took Anithien home to feed her and give her a bath. I am so glad that Aravilui helped me to find the new furniture for young children that I now own. It is so much easier to keep Anithien clean now that I don't have to struggle to keep her still in the big tub. Luckily, Anithien seems to enjoy this new way of bathing as well.

I feel guilty that she and Jeremiah only had a couple times to meet. I find relief in knowing that the two will definitely see each other again some day. As long as I have family in Appaloosa Plains, I'll continue to be drawn back there.

After Anithien was settled into bed and sleeping, Saradith came running into the room. She wanted to spend time with me. This is certainly not the first time she has wanted to snuggle with me before bedtime. While Iselith is very independent and headstrong, Saradith has always been constantly attached to me like a gosling to its mother. If I give her the slightest opportunity to cuddle, she'll take it. I've never minded though. After having to come to terms with the inevitable aging and deaths of my children, it was nice to have this child to hold.

We talked and laughed for a good long time. I taught Saradith a hand game that I learned when I was very young. The hour became late, but we were having so much fun that we stopped paying attention to the time. However, when I went to wash my face I returned only a minute later to find Saradith fast asleep. I gently tucked her into my bed and laid myself down for the night as well. My sleep came quickly, and my dreams were peaceful.

When it was time for the girls to start their first day at their new school, we found out that our house was the first stop of the bus route. I could tell all of them were nervous sitting by themselves on that empty bus. Going to a new school where they knew no one had been Nikara's biggest complaint about moving here. I'm a little nervous as well, but I can feel that they'll be alright. The school here is a little smaller than the one in Appaloosa Plains, so if nothing else, they'll at least be close to one another. 

Of course, I checked out what kind of education was offered here when I was deciding if Monte Vista was the best place to move to. Education means a lot to me. It's my top priority, in fact. I won't move anywhere without an excellent school system.

Not too surprisingly, my belief that the girls would be fine at their new school turned out to be right. As soon as the school day ended I received a call from Iselith. She wanted to know if she could go over to a boy named Orlando Romano's house. I told her she could, and if they invited her to, she had my permission to spend the night as well. Nikara and Saradith came back to the house beaming. They were so excited to tell me what had gone on during the day.

Although, I could tell that Nikara was being a bit secretive about something. I really wonder why. I hope Nikara will tell me, but as long as it's nothing serious, then I'll be content either way.

A week has passed since then. I decided to give in and hire a maid service. While I've had the money to hire someone else to clean for a long time, I never did it because I feared it would make me lazy and my children irresponsible. I want them to have the skills to take care of all aspects of their lives. Then I realized that I shouldn't have to worry too much. I had workers cleaning up for me since the day I was born until the day I left my home to come live amongst the humans. I think I turned out alright. Besides, I hope, I really really hope, that this can be the town where I can just relax. I know it's an impossible hope, but I'm going to hold onto it as long as I can.

The maid turned out to be a man. This surprised me a bit. He is Mr. Luca Gallo. I didn't get the chance to talk to him a lot since he wasn't here long. The house is still new, and we haven't made too much of a mess yet. I'm very hesitant about considering him as a contributor for the task. It feels wrong since I am him employer.

Thankfully, I still have plenty of time before having to become pregnant again. I love how calmly the time passes here as well. It feels so right to call this place home. It took us a couple more weeks to finish unpacking, but when we did, we all decided to have a celebration. I made a large pizza dinner for us. Nikara also bought fireworks for us to shoot off since it was a clear night.

With those fireworks, we properly initiated our new life here with a bang......