700 Years

My first child born here in Twinbrook will be a boy. I was impatient to know, and so I got the ultrasound as soon as possible. I noticed this pregnancy a lot faster than I normally do. It had been while I was getting a massage at the spa that the touch of the masseuse just felt different, especially when her hands lightly brushed against my stomach. From there on I kept an eye out, and my suspicion was correct. I was happy to be having a boy even if I hadn't had much of a preference on gender this time around.

I had a little down time before I technically had to go on the "hunt", but I chose to use some of that free time to make some more male acquaintances anyway. The substantial lack of available men is another reason why I slightly regret letting Ithilas and Eleme choose where we had moved to. Twinbrook isn't exactly a tourist hotspot, and the people already here have their tightly knit families. I will try not to be rude, but the single men that are here aren't of the greatest pickings. A decent amount are too old, and most of the rest seem to be rather eccentric. After what happened with that man, all I want is normal. Thankfully, I managed to make some progress with my list of acquaintances. I was becoming dejected for all the men I met were married. Then I ran into Mr. Moshe St. John. He was single and receptive to my flirting even with me having my slight pregnancy bump. I took it as a good sign.

Eleme's birthday came along. Ithilas felt bad that he had to miss it, but his prom was also that evening. Eleme told him not to worry. He should go have his fun, and she and I would have a fun evening with it being just us girls. The summer festival was in full swing so Eleme and I made our way there to celebrate her special day. However, Eleme was interested in playing this game I just didn't understand. With my back beginning to ache something awful again, trying to play was simply painful. It was relieving when another woman at the park who already knew how to play the game volunteered to join in my place. Eleme didn't mind. I watched from a nearby bench, and cheered my daughter on.

Unfortunately, our time at the festival was cut short. The two of us had only just gotten in line to purchase some festival food when a heavy downpour suddenly dropped down from the heavens. We were forced to rush back home, and I made Eleme's favorite meal of egg rolls instead.

And my little girl grew up so beautifully. I'll admit that I shed a few tears when she wasn't looking. When I say she is so beautiful, I don't mean only her physical appearance. Eleme is so ambitious. She has this desire to do things as perfectly as she can, and she has already stated her intentions to get a part-time job at the stadium nearby. Her strength on the inside is simply amazing. Then I am also ridiculously happy that Eleme is normal. It might be a strange thing to be happy about, but I had feared she might show at some point that she had something of her father's condition. But no, her mind in clear and properly working. This was all I truly needed to discover.

Eleme and I greeted Ithilas when he returned from the prom. While he hadn't been crowned prom king, he was content. None of us were really convinced he would win considering we only moved here so recently. That he made it onto the court at all is amazing in itself.

Time passed along smoothly and quickly, and my stomach was large and in the way before I knew it. This made it hard to garden, but I kept up with it despite the challenge. I suppose I liked struggling with that big belly in a way. It reminded me how close I was to meeting my new son. It was a bright thought that clashed back against the rather down mood surrounding the house that came from the news that Galir and Calanon weren't allowed to visit as had been planned since their grades at school had been poor. We were all looking forward to seeing them again, but that would have to wait until they applied themselves more and earned the right to visit.

I had been disappointed for another heavy storm had prevented me from going outside, but when a different kind of wetness came over me I realized it didn't matter if I wanted to go outside. I was in labor. Ithilas and Eleme were off at school, and so I didn't have to worry about anyone else as I made myself comfortable in my room. The labor lasted several hours with the pain being bearable enough. I could even sit at my desk and write some more of my latest novel for about an hour before I really had to focus. That other kind of work I had to do resulted in my son, Rithranduil. With a full head of hair just like Buddy's, I knew the tiny boy in my arms was going to take a lot after his father.

Eleme practically flew into the nursery when she and Ithilas returned home and I let them know Rithranduil had been born. She held her little brother for the longest time, and instantly changed his diaper when he needed it changed. I could tell she was ecstatic to finally be the big sister. She certainly had to wait a long time. The years between her and him is even greater than the time between Elioviel and Elediril's birth. The exhaustion of Eleme's own long day vanished as she helped me to take care of Rithranduil until bedtime.

Ithilas helped me with his brother in the following days as best he could, but for the most part I didn't bother him unless I really needed assistance. I knew Ithilas had his own crazy schedule to keep up with. He works so hard I barely see him sometimes. He'll leave for school in the morning, and instead of coming home between the break of when school ends and his part-time job begins he'll remain at school to do as much of his homework as possible. Then he'll work, come home to eat dinner, take a shower, finish his homework, spend a little bit of time with the rest of us, and finally head to sleep. I let him know I was concerned at how little free time he had, but Ithilas reassured me this was how he wanted things to be. He really desired a good job at the school after he graduated, and doing all of this now would ensure that that happened. I didn't push my worries further since Ithilas is determinedly working towards his dream, but I can't help but to miss his presence a little.

A huge burden was released from my shoulders since I had taken the time to meet Mr. St. John previously instead of waiting until I needed a man at that time. My goal has become to keep a pace like I had towards the start of my time in Sunset Valley- in that I will have perhaps two or three children close together in order to fill the house up a little faster. Then I can return to my normal, steady-paced routine. I also have to keep in mind I could have more surprise multiples, especially for the pregnancies like this one will be where I do not have an ultrasound to determine the gender of my child. After my time with him, some part of me does want to have multiple children with Moshe. He's attractive, a bit old-fashioned, and more gentleman-like than Buddy. We got along great. Moshe even told me he was at that point in life where he really wanted children, and I was left to wonder if he was sleeping with me for the same purpose in which I was sleeping with him. Even if that wasn't exactly the case, his willing attitude was relieving.

I was afraid Eleme would become like Calun after she did go ahead to get that job at the stadium. Much more of her time became devoted to exercising. Thankfully, she at least she did her work-outs someplace where I could see her, and she was willing to take a lot of breaks to spend time with me when I needed a person who actually knew how to speak to talk to me. Rithranduil has begun to babble a bit, but naturally he is not a good source of a conversation. I do feel a little lonely sometimes after going from such a crowded to house to one where I am left alone while my children work most of the time.

It was disappointing and exciting then when Ithilas had another reason to be busy. I don't know how he did it with his already filled schedule, but he found the time to start dating a lovely classmate of his by the name of Jade Greenwood. She lives just across the bridge and down the street, so it isn't too horribly time-consuming for Ithilas to go visit her. I have only met her a couple times myself, but I like her very much. Her family is incredibly environmentally aware, which always gets a plus from me.

My clothes began to fit a bit tighter, and I knew that time had come again. I wasn't really desirous to deal with the symptoms of pregnancy again, but I was glad to be certain that I would be having another child. However, my back hurt considerably more than it normally did so I booked a slot at the spa one weekend while I left Ithilas and Eleme to babysit. The masseuse told me the pain was partly from the pregnancy, but also a lot because of the stress that had been building up over time. I thought about it, and the words made sense. I really haven't had a break or moment to rest ever since the incident. I've been going, and going, and going.

I almost panicked when I realized the summer season was practically over and that I had done pretty much nothing to enjoy it. I couldn't believe I let it slip by me so easily. I Instantly organized a trip to the beach for I would not let fall come without having one tiny day off in the warm weather. My children obviously came along, and Buddy, Moshe, and Jade joined in as well. The day was surprisingly warm despite the heavy overcast that placed the world in constant state of shadows.

The beach was not as nice as the ones in Sunset Valley, but there was plenty of room and it wasn't very crowded. Once I stopped comparing, it even became rather pretty. Buddy went off to buy us all ice cream, Ithilas, Eleme, and Jade ran towards the water, and Moshe took out his towel to soak up the heat from the bit of sun peaking the ground the clouds and the warmth emanating from the sand below. I stood and watched while Rithranduil cooed in my arms. He likes being outside.

Buddy took Rithranduil from me when it was my turn to relax. Moshe joined the teens in the water, and I took out my own towel to lay down and get off my feet. I considered going swimming, but at that moment I wasn't in the mood to get wet and having to deal with the mess afterwards. I instead enjoyed the soft sand and towel, and turned my head to watch the young ones play. My eye kept wandering back to Ithilas. It was hard to believe that day I spent at the beach with Sind, Griselda, Lomenia, Lithaldoren, Lueth, Navinai, and Calun was when I was pregnant with him. It struck me just how fast time truly is going by, That day feels like it was only yesterday, but there was Ithilas before me getting ever closer to graduating from high school. 

My reminiscing got worse as I remembered my own age. I'm now over 700 years old. I still haven't been keeping an exact track even though I know my human calendar birth date thanks to my children in Monte Vista, but it's a closer estimate than it would have been otherwise. I've been doing this task now for over 300 years. The truth that I could have finished long ago if I had just had one child per year hit me as it has done so previously in the past, but I fought against it with my same old argument. Sure, I could have returned home faster. However, what kind of life would that have been for those children? It certainly wouldn't have been a good one, I surely would have gone crazy, and I don't think that's what the Goddess had in mind. Besides, I don't think sixty-eight children with the sixty-ninth on the way in 300 years is a bad ratio at all.

Though I realized how fast time was rushing by, it didn't stop it from going so quickly. Ithilas' birthday arrived, and it was a great day for all of us when he revealed that his hard work had more than paid off. The school gave him a much higher position than he ever dreamed. It was much more than he dared to hope for. It did mean Ithilas became a bit worried as if he was really qualified to start teaching high school right off the bat. That's why he chose to remain at home for a few days to improve his intellect before he moved out to start working the following week. By the time he did move out, Ithilas was much more confident that he could handle the position. I was confident everything would be alright as well.

After the household got used to Ithilas' absence, Rithranduil's birthday shook things up again. He reminds me of Thrin in a way. I suppose it doesn't help that they have similar red hair that I, for whatever reason, decided would be a good idea to style similarly. Nostalgia hit me again when I realized Thrin was only my twenty-seventh child. It felt as if he had just been here, but now he has been gone for so long with so much having happened since then. I had been about to come up with a new hairstyle for Rithranduil, but I decided to leave it as a sort of token to the brother he would never meet.

Moving on past my old memories though, I was correct in my assumption that Rithranduil would take a lot after Buddy. The only thing that directly gives away Rithranduil's position as my son is that he has my green eyes. It would be otherwise hard to tell the connection.

However, his birthday wasn't the only thing we celebrated on that day. Eleme, Rithranduil, and I also welcomed Tinaldor into the world. I was glad Eleme had had a day off school due to the day being used for teacher meetings. Rithranduil wouldn't have been looked after properly without her when I suddenly went into labor. I suspected by Tinaldor's darker skin and his hair that was the same color as Moshe's that he would look as much like his father as Rithranduil does.

When Tinaldor fell asleep and I rested a bit, I took over Rithranduil's walking so Eleme could get some enjoyment out of her day off. I had assumed she would exercise again to train for her job, but she took to painting instead. She told me later she wants the same thing I do- to decorate the nursery with lots of cute pictures and paintings. The walls are very plain at the moment, which bothers both of us greatly. That's going to have to change considering how much time I will now be spending in there......