1.11 All Good Things Come To An End

Nazari

   Cereal for breakfast again, but the girls didn't moan. They laughed and joked as they got themselves ready for school. I remembered a day when me and Ernesto would stay out late at night and still be ok in the morning. I was still ok in the mornings, but Ernesto was tired today. I was worried. The girls had got up and gone to school, and I'd cleaned the bathroom and was working on the kitchen before he got up. He came through as I was draining the water from the sink, pecked me on the cheek, and greeted me. He took the binliner from the bin and headed outside with it. I wondered if I should maybe do that job myself now. He needed his rest.

   "Nazari!" He called from outside. I wondered what he could want.

   "Nazari!" He called louder, he sounded panicked now, so I ran.

   My heart stopped when I turned that corner.
   "Ernesto..." I breathed. I didn't even know if he could hear me any more.

   I watched as the scene no sim wants to see began to unfold before me. Ernesto looked... happy. He'd been aching and slowly getting more and more frail for years, I hadn't realised how pained he'd looked until he was no longer in pain. But the only comfort I found in all this was that the girls were still at school and didn't have to witness their father dying as I had witnessed my own fathers death when I was very young.

   "Ernesto..." I don't even know if I said it out loud. The grim reaper shook his hand and then he disappeared. He didn't say goodbye to me so I guess at that stage a sim can't see the real world anymore. The reaper ignored me too. I stood there shellshocked for a while, before I shakily made my way back to the house.

   Of course the girls didn't take it well, but I did my best to comfort them, despite the fact I was broken and it felt like my insides had been through a blender.
   "What was the last thing he did or said?" Aria sobbed. I thought it a weird question.
   "He said 'Morning sweetheart', kissed me and then took the bin out." It hurt all over again. He died as he'd lived, helping me and loving me.
   "That sounds so much like Dad!" Aria wailed all over again.

   "The last thing I said to him was 'Night'! I wish I'd known and I'd have told him I loved him too, maybe kissed him goodbye this morning!" Becca cried.
   "Bex, if any of us had known we'd have all been here and spent our final hours together doing something meaningful. Nobody knows when these things will happen, that's what makes it hurt so much more." I was trying my hardest to stop crying. Our worlds had just ended, and ironically the only person who would have been able to cheer us all up, was the one who had just left. Even that damn dog howled that day.

   Geneva came round that evening, she told us she'd got engaged that day. Her boyfriend Aubrey had proposed. There was a pang of happiness as she told me, and the hope of grandbabies... But that was soon replaced with the realisation that Ernesto wouldn't be there. He'd miss Geneva's wedding. He'd miss Aria and Beccas graduations, he'd miss their first days at work, their first dates, their prom, their weddings... It was all so surreal. I hated it.

   Of course, life went on. The house was empty, and none of us smiled much for the first few days. The girls had their school work to focus on, and I had a tour to complete. Probably the strangest part of someone dying, is the way that the world doesn't end. It's strange to think that one sim could mean so much to you, but everyone you pass on the street has no idea.

   I'd often hear the girls talking about him. What he'd be saying in this situation, what he'd do when they'd done this... It was sweet, and I guess that was their way of coping with it all. It helped them, and I was glad they had each other.

   I prefered to be as close to him as I could. We'd had him buried in our garden, the garden he'd slaved over after I'd been annoyed about the dog. He spent a lot of time outside, when the kids were young he'd play with them, and then as they grew up and he grew older, he'd spend most of his time tending his plants. I just came out here to feel close to him. I didn't really touch the garden except to water the plants occasionally.

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:'( I knew he'd die one day, obviously, but I was so glad he'd had a good weekend with the family before. It was like he was hanging on until he'd spent time with everyone, his age bar was full for a week, and yes, he really did die emptying the bin!

In personal news, we found out last week we're having a little boy! No pictures, because in true male fashion he was sticking his head in a stupid position so we couldn't even complete the detail anomoly scan, let alone get a good picture... He also does nothing but kick and spin and somehow he tickles me and makes me itch inside. It's a bizarre sensation, and if you think about it too much it freaks you out... But anyway, thought that would cheer you up after a depressing chapter (and no we're not going to name him Ernesto, lol)