1.19 Feeling empty, and dark, and cold

Now that there were five Sims in this house, there was a greater demand for fresh food than ever before. Anna still sold some of the vegetables in the grocery store, earning some extra money to add to the family funds, but it wasn’t so much. They ate most of it, and there was still a hungry unicorn to take care of. Money was definitely becoming an issue, since she was still on maternity leave and only got some of the money she would have earned at a proper workday. Jo was doing his best, but had to miss some days at work, too, due to health problems. His knees were aching all the time, and sometimes he was barely able to get up. It was all down to Anna and the garden at the moment, which stressed her out a lot.

She stayed outside until the sun was down, and was up and running before the first bird even thought of opening its eyes. The store was asking for different vegetables and fruits now, since they had hit autumn now. Nobody wanted carrots yet; in general, people seemed more interested in fruits than in vegetables. The grapes still sold well, though.

Despite their money problems, Anna and Jo had been talking about an entirely different issue for months now. Jo had been to a doctor, who had confirmed that he no longer was able to conceive children, as he was strongly going on eighty. Anna desperately wanted more children, and so they had decided to adopt a child. A boy this time, somebody who could fill Jo’s place when he was not there anymore. Of course, they didn’t really want to think about it, but they had to. They didn’t really have a choice.

And so, on a lovely day in October, little Billy joined the family. A bright and funny boy, more than happy to have found parents who wanted him.

 

His skin color differed from the one his siblings had, but that didn’t matter. He was one of them now, even though he sometimes did stuff his sisters wouldn’t dare to. It sure wouldn’t get boring with him around!

Little did he know what tragedy he was about to get involved in very soon. One afternoon, when he was in the middle of a heated discussion with his mother and Birdy, Jo went outside to feed Kokette. She had already been neighing for half an hour now, and it was high time to give her some carrots from the garden. Anna didn’t want to leave her kids at that moment, because she had just thought of the smartest argument. So Jo went outside, despite feeling funny that day.

He barely made it halfway through the garden when suddenly a very strange feeling crept over him. Kokette, sensing something bad, came running, but it was too late.

Right before her eyes, Jo’s life ended. His wife was not there to watch, neither were his kids. Although he was glad that they were spared with this disturbing experience, he couldn’t help but feel sad that he would never be able to say goodbye to Anna, the love of his life, properly. He tried to scream, but his voice was gone. He tried to run, but his body no longer worked the way he wanted it to. She would never know how it happened.

As Kokette started neighing loudly at the sight of a scrawny figure in a black coat, Anna stopped in her conversation and looked outside. All she could see was a black person standing there, and something behind it. Something she couldn’t quite grasp, as it looked lucent. Jo surely would check out what was going on there.

He wouldn’t. Jo Vocis was gone.

When Anna went outside later, to find out what took Jo so long, she didn’t see him anywhere. Instead, she found a plain grave. Silently, she walked inside, being unable to say a single word. All she could think of was that she hadn’t been there when it had happened. She had left him alone in his last moment, hadn’t been with him when he took his last breath. She hadn’t held his hand, hadn’t watched him close his eyes for the last time. And now he had left her forever.

Author’s notes: R.I.P., Jo… it’s not fair we only had such little time together. He died as soon as his age span was up, not even lived a single day longer. When I watched it, I felt sad for Anna, but writing this chapter even brought up many more emotions. I guess watching someone close die does that to you.