The Old Mill Chapter 10

Chapter 10
A renovacy made by Jessabeans as a gift to SamelaRita for the Sims 3Amayzing gift exchange.
Link to the renovacy here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9309941
And a link to the renovacy rules in case anyone else wants to play it!
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/920867/the-renovacy-challenge-a-new-and-short-challenge/p1 It is Christmas again. Fifteen Christmasses now, and this is the joy child’s last one before she leaves school for ever. But she doesn’t want to leave here, not yet, and I am glad. I don’t want to go to university she says. I want to get a job.
I do not know what university is, but I do know what a job is. Hope wears her Christmas dress. She loves it. Strength asked her if she wanted a new one, but she said no. He has a new jumper though. I think the ugly gnomes have given it to him. The dog has brought a gift home for everyone. I think he knows it is Christmas too. The wanted child will probably still say they have to keep it. And he will put it in my attic along with all the other things the dog has brought. The dog is very proud of his gift. Take it away, says hope to the wanted child. If you must keep it. But the wanted child comes down with more things from my attic. I think these would make something he says. Let me try.
Change your clothes first, says hope. And do it somewhere else! Look, he says. I was right. Can I go and play with my Christmas present now? This is his Christmas present. And I have a present too! It’s not quite finished yet, but the two old bedrooms have been knocked into one room for everyone to enjoy themselves. The children have put their own things on my walls. I do not know why there is another gnome in here though. And I do not like his face. I would not trust him on a sunny day, never mind a dark night. And now the children are all using the room. We should have a party, the wanted child says. And invite all our friends. That would be fun. We’ve never been able to do that before. That set of grubby old bones I kept safe in my attic and the wanted child put together? It turns out they were worth money! Who would have thought it?
The wanted child sells them and gives most of the money to his parents. They buy some curtains for my downstairs windows. It seems to make strength and hope very happy. They are all doing their homework together. You won’t be doing this for much longer, the wanted child says to the joy child. I still need to do well in my exams, she says. I still have to work hard now. It’s spring and hope is planting for the year ahead. Again. Each year, they have tended this garden. There are now four ugly gnomes. They all seem to be watching her. I shall watch them. Carefully. What is that and how can I do my homework with it on the table, the joy child wants to know.
It’s another collection of bits that the dog found. I put them together, says the wanted child. I’ve just looked it up on ebay and it will fetch a good price.
Well, it can’t live on the kitchen table, says the joy child. They are all going to a dance at the school. Not hope and strength – they are too old. The joy child is meeting the hugging boy there. They are still very good friends, and I think he is being kind to her. Everyone is dressed up very fine. It is the day of the party they were planning. I see the hugging boy is here again. I suppose the joy child is almost grown up now. She is allowed to hug and be hugged. But wait! What is this? The wanted child is too young! Who is this kissing girl? I do not know her. And I recognise the look in this boy’s eyes too. He is looking at the daybreak child as though he loves her. Where has all this happened? I knew that big yellow vehicle that took them away was a bad thing! They look as if they are trying to eat each other. There is a table full of food behind them. Why don’t they eat that instead? Everyone is dancing. Everyone seems to be happy. And the daybreak child looks happy too. Maybe they are all growing up and not just the joy child. I hope they don’t grow up and all leave though. The joy child has left school. And she has made choices. She wants to stay here and help make me better yet, but she also wants to earn money. So she is earning money as a singer, which she can do with some of her time, and helping with the garden and other things as well. Today she has been making jam.
The wanted child and strength are talking about this. They think she has made good choices. I hope I make good choices too, says the wanted child. You will, says strength. And we will help you if you need us. The joy child has strange new clothes! And she has hung new things on my walls, next to a beautiful picture that they daybreak child painted. Everyone is very proud of the joy child. The wanted child says that he has a lot to live up to. The seasons go by, and it is another summer. And look at me! Look at how beautiful I am. I look lovely, inside and out. The daybreak child will have to paint me again. And now I know why I have been made to look so beautiful. It is so that I can match the joy child. She is getting married here. Here, where I am. This has never happened to me before. I think this is the happiest moment of my life. There is even a special cake. And though I know that the joy child will be moving away, to live with the hugging boy, I heard strength and hope make a promise to her: that I would always be part of the family, that they would never sell me. One day the joy child and the hugging boy might live here again. Or maybe the daybreak child, or the wanted child. But I would always be part of their lives.
And I will always shelter them and watch over them.

The Old Mill Chapter 9

Chapter 9
A renovacy made by Jessabeans as a gift to SamelaRita for the Sims 3Amayzing gift exchange.
Link to the renovacy here: https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=9309941
And a link to the renovacy rules in case anyone else wants to play it!
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/920867/the-renovacy-challenge-a-new-and-short-challenge/p1 It’s well into autumn now, and the plants in the garden are dying off. But strength and hope are happy. They have harvested plenty of food, preserved plenty and sold plenty.
I love you, says strength to hope. Without you, I couldn’t have done all this.
He and hope stand close to each other. The children have finished their homework and eaten their meal.They are together in the smaller, warmer sitting room. The wanted child is learning about fish – he wants to be better at catching them. The daybreak child has just sold another painting and is starting a large one. And the joy child has bought herself a guitar. She plays well and sometimes she earns money doing it. She hopes to earn more as she gets better yet. Strength and hope join them and they light the fire and sit together. The joy child fills me with music. I remember her sending music up into me when she was tiny and I was empty, bare and alone. They talk about what to do next. The wanted child would like to change his bedroom a bit. I’ve sort of grown out of all that ship and pirate stuff now he says, a bit apologetically. Me too, says the daybreak child. Not the ship and pirate stuff, but can we redo my room as well? I have some money saved from my paintings. And my bed is getting really uncomfortable. Yes to both of you, says hope. We have some money saved up too and I think it’s time for another big change.
Oh my. Something is going to happen to me! I am so different again! Now they all sleep on the same floor and they don’t have to fight for the bathroom in the morning. They can’t afford new beds yet though. The wanted child still has to put up with his ships. But he has a new rug. He is very fond of sport now – whatever that is. And fishing. I understand fishing. This floor is empty now. I wonder what they will do with me here? The joy child has come home from school late from school today – very late. But strength and hope are not worried, so it is alright. Someone else has come home with her. Someone new. He is hugging her! What is all this about? He had better be a nice person, that is all I can say. She seems to like being hugged. She looks like hope looks when strength hugs her. The hugging boy is beaming at her and he looks a bit like strength sometimes does when he looks at hope. I will wait and see if this hugging boy is a kind boy. If he is not, I will splash him with my water! The daybreak child has painted a daybreak picture. She is going to sell it. She wants a new bed. Strength has filled the kitchen with pumpkins. Okay guys, he says, we don’t need to sell these this year. Or preserve them. Let’s see what we can do with them.
What does he mean? The only thing left to do is cook them and eat them now. That is a lot of pumpkin to eat all at once. They are cutting them up. But they don’t normally prepare food on the floor. And the daybreak child has gone off to do hers in secret. But how will she cook it outside? They have cut them up to look like faces! The daybreak child has lit hers up. Strength did the one with the scary face. I am glad he is not really like that himself. They put them outside. Some by one door… …and some by the other. I wonder why they are doing this? And now the children have all changed their clothes. The joy child looks lovely. I think she is hoping to see the hugging boy. The wanted child looks…strange. The daybreak child says she wants to drop her painting off to sell and then she will catch up with them. They are going out to do something with their friends. I think it is called trickle treating. This makes no sense to me at all! It’s dark and they have lit up the pumpkins. I still don’t know why they are doing this. They look quite good though. I think the cat is my favourite one. The daybreak child is very artistic. The day ends with the joy child making music for everyone.
I’d like to learn to play the drums says the wanted child.
You could start learning at school, says the joy child. I did. Why not join the music club?
I think it will get very noisy if he plays the drums. But I might like it.