1. The Ryman Legacy Chapter 11B Three kids in Three Lakes By Mzyra

2. With all the Ryman children now kids or above and the family ‘completed’, it was high time for a full family holiday. Since Juan was originally from Three Lakes (and they had the cheapest accommodation by far) they decided to go back there. Not that the kids knew much about the place themselves…

3. Mia had also taken the opportunity of their going away to have the house upgraded/rebuilt while they were away (whichever they could better afford); after all, last time they went away the house got blown up, they could make a change of house traditional with each holiday and at least then it wouldn’t matter if anyone did anything to this one.

4. As for Juan, he hadn’t packed much* as he didn’t have much in any case and he knew it wouldn’t really matter where they were going. *[That or becoming a zombie has made him freakishly strong…]

5. A few hours later the family pulled up at the campsite on a relatively nice day for Three Lakes.

6. Jose, however, was not impressed. “You mean… We have to sleep in tents? On the ground? With insects and stuff? Isn’t that unhygienic?” And it wasn’t particularly heartening how much of the things to do looked either messy or very active. He almost wished he’d stayed at home. At least he had a bed back there.

7. Lyle (being a typical teenager who didn’t believe in bringing appropriate clothing for the weather) tried to cheer him up though. “Come on Jose, it won’t be that bad! Getting back to nature is good; it’s what we were designed for!” “I don’t think I was. And grilled cheese doesn’t appear naturally, you know.” “Oh, you know what I mean!” Jose wasn’t the only one a little off-put; Liv was disappointed at how there weren’t any other kids there. How was she meant to make friends?

8. Mia wasn’t entirely sure what to think either. They may have been low on money for a long while now and she was ready to try new things, but camping probably wouldn’t have been her first choice and she wasn’t used to this kind of culture as some random woman who she’d never seen before came up to Juan, beat her chest and yelled at him. Then Juan did the same back. This was odd. “Juan… Did you know that woman?” “Hm? No, not really, that’s just the greeting ‘round here.” “Oh. Okay…”

9. Liv had tried her hardest to find something fun to do and had to settle for swinging on one of the hammocks. To her frustration she couldn’t get it to swing all the way over, though this was probably in her best interests.

10. Meanwhile Jose decided to give fishing a go. It wasn’t something he would necessarily choose to do – fish were wet and slimy and he didn’t know what to do with one once he’d caught it, but there wasn’t much else to do, so he thought he might as well try.

11. And it was better than what Lyle was suffering. “Eww, Mum, Dad – do you really have to do that in public? Nobody needs to see it!” But the newlyweds weren’t listening so Lyle followed his little siblings in finding something else to occupy his time.

12. And Jose actually proved quite good at fishing – his ability to stand still as he drifted off mentally meant that he caught more and better fish than most of the adults who were also fishing. “Oh, cool it’s almost as big as me! …Um, what do I do with it now?”

13. “Dad, are you sure this is safe for someone of my age to do? Or someone of any age actually?” “Sure, why not? It’s traditional for Three Lakian people to have axe-throwing competitions from the age of thirteen.” “…And how many of those people wind up losing body parts or having to go to hospital?” “Not that many – there tend to be more injuries caused later after the celebration when the runners-up who feel cheated get into brawls with the winners.” “Uh-huh…”

14. “Woah!” Lyle shouted as he almost fell flat on his face. “I don’t think we’re very good at this Dad, maybe we should stick to fishing?” “Oh come on, practise makes perfect!” “Dad, you said you’ve been doing this for years and yet you just dropped that axe behind you. I think we’re going to hurt ourselves. Can we try something else?” “Okay, fine…”

15. Over at the food bar Liv had gotten bored of hammock swinging and gone for some food and – somehow, probably through loveable adorability – had managed to get the Three Lakes chef to cook up Takemize food and give her chopsticks too. She was surprisingly good at eating with them too for a 5 year old.

16. Mia, however, got a normal Three Lakian meal – flapjacks, the best of them all. She couldn’t help but think that she preferred the Twikii food though. And the Twikii beaches. But she wouldn’t complain. She could totally handle camping in the woods, little though she would have wanted to if it weren’t for Juan.

17. Lyle was a lot happier with the situation, though it was making him a little wistful; if his Dad hadn’t got killed he could have grown up around here, with these kinds of people. Fishing every day, throwing axes (worrying though that sounded), camping… His life could have been so different, but then would he have had his little siblings? They must be worth more than that.

18. “Er, hey! Great weather we’ve been having today, right?” “Sure have!” “Yeah, I heard it’s nearly always raining or snowing out here.” “We do get some days where it’s clear and shiny, tourists tend to exaggerate how bad the weather is here.”

19. “You’re a tourist, huh?” asked the woman on Lyle’s other side. “Well yeah, but my Dad grew up here so I’m kind of half-Three Lakian.” Lyle felt a bit defensive about his tourist status, he liked to fit in. “Oh, nice. Did your dad teach you any Three Lakian as a kid?” “Er, no, he was kind of… not around until recently. I didn’t realise you guys even had a separate language.” “Oh yeah. We don’t use it half as much as the Takemize and people use theirs, but it’s a source of local pride. You should try it.”

20. “I don’t know why Lyle and Juan struggled so much with this – it’s easy!” Mia had kept up her fitness from when she was young – yet another reason her husband would have to treat her right; apparently she could hit you in the face with an axe from across a room.

21. As things got increasingly dark, Lyle decided to liven things up for everyone by starting a bonfire to hang out around. It was a happy and wholesome way to spend an evening while getting back to nature – the kind Lyle had read about in books, but obviously never had a chance to do before.

22. “They should build a cinema around here, that would be more fun than fishing or hammocks. Kids don’t even get to throw axes and stuff around!” “Don’t worry Liv, there are still some other things children can do around here in other places,” Juan patiently explained. “Like what?” she asked dubiously. “Well, there’s log rolling…” Liv groaned.

23. “Why don’t you think about it this way Liv: imagine that this is a movie. You get lots of movies set out in the woods don’t you?” “Aren’t they usually the scary moves though?” “They don’t have to be – your movie can feature whatever you want. Why don’t we just have it be a fun family film?” “I guess that could work…”

24. Juan sat back and stared into the fire as Lyle and Liv talked. So this was his family now. He never expected to have a family that included Zack Landry and somebody like Rodney Jalowitz, but it was more his family than theirs anyway. A wife, two sons and a daughter. And it was all so peaceful! He remembered when he was a teenager; he was a nightmare! It was just as well Lyle didn’t take after him much. But he was beginning to care just as much about Jose and Liv; Jose was shy, but he could understand his insecurity as a young man while Liv was just plain nice and adorable. It was a great life to have.

25. Then Juan surprised them all with a big bag of marshmallows to roast and share. “Hey Jose, you want to join us at all?” “Maybe later,” he called back dreamily from a few metres away.

26. Jose had finally found something he enjoyed. He normally wouldn’t lie on the bare ground (well, bare but for the pine needles), risking getting his clothes dirty, but it was such a beautiful view…

27. You couldn’t see the stars nearly as well back in Simfield as he could in Three Lakes. All the pretty constellations as they shined down, in one way it made him feel small and insignificant, but also like they were purposely shining down on him somehow and he was important. He really liked the night-time, if only he could go to a proper bed after this.

28. “Don’t you want any marshmallows, Momma?” “I ate earlier sweetheart.” “Mmm, more for us Liv!” Lyle responded, cramming a marshmallow down his throat. “Be careful Liv, don’t get too close to the fire,” Mia warned. “Ohh Momma, what’s the worst that can happen?”

29. “… Uhoh. What do I do now?” “We’d better get a fire extinguisher-” “It’s not that bad Mia, just blow on it and wave it around Liv, that tends to work.” “Are you sure?” Liv asked Juan uncertainly before trying it, where it did work. “Oh, neat!” and then she unceremoniously munched it down. Mia managed to stop herself commenting on the potential danger of the fire and unhealthiness of extremely charred marshmallow, after all at least the kids were having fun and nobody was hurt.

30. After Lyle went off to have a shower Jose joined the rest of the family to have some marshmallows of his own. “Maybe you should get the marshmallow closer to the fire Jos,” Juan suggested as Jose tried to roast it from too far away. “But what if I get soot on my clothes? Or I get them singed?” “It’s not that bad,” Liv chipped in, “I set my marshmallow on fire and it was still extra yummy.” “What?!”Jose exclaimed, shocked. From then on he decided that unroasted marshmallows would be just as nice. A little after that the bonfire went out and all the Rymans headed off to sleep in their tents.

31. Very early the next morning, even before sunrise, the family headed out from the campsite to see what else there was to do around Three Lakes. Juan had said something about ‘log rolling’ again and insisted that they should give it a go, despite some of their hesitations.

32. The new lot was very reminiscent of the one they’d left – very outside and with only one other child, who left just as the Rymans arrived, causing Liv a lot of frustration. For those not necessarily enjoying themselves already things were not looking up.

33. But at least Mia and Juan had each other if nothing else appealed much. The children weren’t so fortunate, but at least there were things they could do here…

34. Like falling off of logs into pools of stagnant water. Liv didn’t really mind as she pulled herself up and out of it though. “If at first you don’t succeed, try again!” She had a lot of determination when she wanted to.

35. Jose went for the cleaner and more educational method of studying a giant slice of tree that was erected nearby. “The Three Lakes Giant Redwood grows to an average height of 40–80 m and 5–7 m in diameter. Record trees have been measured to be 84.8 m in height and 10 m in diameter. The oldest known Giant Redwood is 2000 years old. The bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 70 cm thick at the base of the columnar trunk. It provides significant fire protection for the trees. The leaves are…” Even he had his limits though; “Okay, this is too boring, what else can I do?”

36. While Jose was doing a limited amount of learning, Lyle was taking Liv on in the log-rolling competition. “You sure you’re ready for this, Liv?” “Yeah, I’m going to win!” “If you say so…”

37. “It’s not fair! You’re too big to win against!” Liv shouted as she pulled herself out of the water again. “If at first you don’t succeed…?” “But you’ll just win again!” “Not necessarily…” Lyle smiled kindly. “… Oh, okay, I’ll try again!”

38. “Yes! I won! Momma! Juan! Look!” “How can you play on that with all that horrible dirty water?” “It’s fun Jose! You should give it a try – come on, I’ll take you on.” Lyle offered as he pulled himself out of the pool. “I don’t want to fall in that!” “Fine, I’ll let you win, but you have to try it.” “… Well, if I’m not going to fall in…”

39. “You promise you’re going to let me win?” “I said so, didn’t I? Just take a few steps on the log, you’ll see it’s fun!” “Um, okay…” And Jose took one hesitant step-

40. And slipped straight over and into the pool. “Whoops… Jose? Are you okay? I didn’t expect you to fall over quite so quickly…” “I don’t like this game!” “Oh come on, you’ve already fallen in once, you might as well play again and then you might knock me in as revenge if you want.” “Well, since I have already gone in…”

41. “YES! I win!” Jose shouted as Lyle bellyflopped into the water with an audible smack. “This is quite a fun game!” “I told you so,” Lyle gasped, slightly winded from hitting the water. “Yeah, well, I’m still going to have to go and shower right now.” “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea for me too, actually…”

42. The children weren’t the only ones getting in on the action – Mia was kicking Juan’s ass at log-rolling, despite his experience. He protested that his being a zombie made him slower to react and that was why he kept losing, but it was probably more than Mia was just plain fitter than he was. Any woman who still had a body like that after giving birth to three children would have to be.

43. They were competing for quite some time as Juan determinedly attempted to beat Mia at least once, but they probably should have been paying attention to other things. Liv had decided that just because there weren’t any other kids around didn’t mean she couldn’t meet and talk to new people, so she just randomly walked up to adults she never met and started chatting to them. And not about the best things. “You two are married aren’t you? Why can’t you have children so I’d have someone to play with? There aren’t enough children around here!” Luckily the man she was talking to was not creepy and just looked bemusedly at his wife.

44. “Argh, not again!” “Sorry honey, I’m not about to go easy on you just because you’re my husband!” “Falling in looks so painful from the sidelines,” Jose moaned. “It’s not that bad,” Juan said after he resurfaced. “It’s just getting a little repetitive now.” “You could always just surrender…” Mia teased. “Never! I will win at least once!”

45. And so he did. Eventually. Jose was, of course, rooting for the underdog. “Hooray! Finally!” Lyle was more worried about everyone’s safety. “That does look painful. How long is Mum going to be down there?” Luckily Mia resurfaced again shortly after, though splashing water at her victorious husband. Then they realised that Liv was still pestering strangers to reproduce and figured they’d better go back to the campsite for some more sleep – they were all pretty jetlagged still.

46. After some sleep… “… Hey Jose… What’s school like? Because once we get back it won’t be long until I have to start and I’m a bit nervous…” “School? It’s okay. If you obey the rules, don’t talk in lessons and do all the homework on time then you’ll get good grades and the teachers will like you. It’s pretty easy really.” “Well yeah, maybe, but… What about friends and stuff? I’ve read books and all the kids hang out with their friends at break time, but I don’t have any school friends yet! There aren’t even any kids here, what am I supposed to do?”

47. “You might make friends once you start, Liv. You’ll have kids in your classes.” “But what if I can’t? Who do I sit by? Did you make lots of friends at school when you started?” Jose hesitated. “Er, not lots of friends… But there’s nearly always at least a spare seat next to someone. Oh, and hey – if you’re shy or nervous then we can hang out together at break time!” “Won’t your friends mind your little sister joining in?” “No,” he replied, very confidently. “Oh, okay, that sounds nice,” Liv said, greatly brightened as she returned to her flapjacks.

48. Just then Lyle and Juan came over to the eating area. “Right Jose, it’s time for you to learn the Three Lakes greeting!” “… Why?” “Because it’ll help you fit in with the locals. And it’s fun! See, you beat your chest with your fists and then shout!” “… That seems a bit weird.” “It is what it is,” Lyle shrugged. “Give it a go!”

49. Meanwhile Juan taught Liv the same thing. “Er... Rah?” Liv said, beating her chest feebly. “You’re almost there, but it needs conviction! If you do something with confidence then you won’t feel so self-conscious or look silly.” “Right,” she said, then thumped herself harder “Rah!” But Juan had seen something else and was a little distracted. “Er, good work Liv, keep trying – practise makes perfect!”

50. “Hello Liz,” he said, deadpan. “Juan! Look who got to grow up! And… turn blue?” “Yeah, I’m dead, it happens. Look Liz, I’m a husband and a dad now and I don’t want you causing any trouble. We may have fought some years ago, but-” “What’s in it for me?” she asked, eyebrow raised, sensing an opportunity. “You can’t be about to fight a teenage girl…” Juan sighed.

51. “Here’s 50 simoleons, now leave me and my family alone.” “Ooh. Sure you don’t want to make it 100?” He glared at her. “No. I don’t.” She rolled her eyes, “Fine, I won’t cause you trouble. Out of interest, who’s the lucky lady?” “Mia Ryman?” “Really? I always thought she was well out of your league.” “Yes, I know. She still is. Now go away.”

52. Of course Liz didn’t actually have time to leave before running right into Lyle, who was just looking for somebody to test his greeting out on. “Wow, you’re pretty good at that for a first-time tourist. What’s your name?” “Lyle Ryman. I’m here with my family.” “Ohhhhh. I see. Who would have thought Harris would be capable of having such a cute and nice kid?” “Huh?” “Nothing! See you around, Lyle Ryman!”

53. After that the family headed out somewhere supposed to be better than anywhere else – the hot springs spa, with something for everyone, according to Juan.

54. Especially Juan. It seemed a lot easier to pull zombie muscles or put things out of joint, so he wanted to grab a massage more than anything else. Not such good news for the masseuse, however. “Um. Right.” Is his skin meant to be all blue and clammy and… ew? Well, can’t turn back now, just think of the money and the free sauna, it won’t have to last long…

55. Meanwhile the kids were all in the hot springs, where Liz had also turned up having left the campsite. And she wasn’t the best influence on Liv. “The thing about guys is that they find girls really hot – well, unless they’re gay – and so in situations like this it’s really easy to sit back and enjoy yourself while making them really uncomfortable.” “Like this?” Liv asked, copying the teenager. “Sure! It doesn’t really work when you’re just a child and the only guys around are related to you, but one day you could totally cause guys problems.” “Awesome…?!”

56. Liv wished she had a big sister like Liz. She loved her big brothers, but a big sister would be even better. The hot springs were awesome too. The only thing that could make this moment any better was if there was another kid around to befriend.

57. And lo! Liv spotted a girl out of the corner of her eye and she proceeded to chase her down. “Hi! I’m Liv! Let’s be friends!” “Um, okay sure!” “Yes! This holiday is awesome! Later!” And she ran off again, leaving a very bemused girl behind.

58. Mia, meanwhile, was fitting in with the locals. She already knew how to slap dance having visited Calvin at college while the craze was hitting Simfield, but practise made perfect.

59. And soon enough everyone else was joining in, with Jose and Liv trying to learn the dance too. It was just as well it was still nice weather in Three Lakes since they were just wearing swimsuits, but the slap-dance was probably enough to keep anybody warm.

60. But with Jose and Liv gone, Lyle was left alone in the hot springs with Liz. “Why do you keep looking at me? If- if you’re thinking of anything-” “Oh, chill out. It’s just that… You remind me a bit of somebody I used to know. He must have been a relative of yours actually, a great uncle or something. At first I thought he was a bit of a dweeb, but then he kind of toughened up and I liked him a lot more… But then of course he disappeared never to be seen again. I figure he ended up either dead or in jail. It sucks.” “The only relative of my mine I know who went to jail was my mum’s cousin Seth…” “Nah, not him. Never mind…” she said a little sadly and sat back to stare at the stars.

61. Finally having some silence, Lyle sat back and relaxed. He imagined what it must be like to like someone enough that you would still be wondering ‘what if?’ after so very long. He’d not really reached that point of dating himself yet, but he wasn’t going to university, so whoever he dated at school could wind up being his wife and come on family holidays like this, with children of their own. It seemed crazy – what girls were there at school with whom he’d want all of that? He stretched out even more and smiled – it didn’t matter yet or for some time, it could easily wait. But as he thought that a face drifted into his mind…

62. Back by the stereo everyone had given up on slap dancing from exhaustion with many of the other tourists or natives leaving, given the early hour of the morning, but the Ryman parents were still busy so the kids sat and chatted some more, Liv still eager to know more about school. “So what do we have to do in PE? Is there volleyball? That looks fun.” “No volleyball, but there is a small swimming pool for lessons and a football net. Besides those and running, we have to go to the big school or the private ones for other sports, but I don’t think they have volleyball either.” “Aw, that sucks. Hey, where did Mum and Juan go? I’m too tired to look for them.”

63. It was just as well the kids were too tired to look for them because they would have found nothing pleasant if they had found them at that moment in time… But they soon reappeared and were going to sleep in their tents back at the campsite as the sun rose.

64. It was odd that, if anything, the jet lag was getting worse rather than better, but the family briefly saw sunlight after they got up again that afternoon. Juan and Mia were still in a rather amorous mood, but with three kids running around they felt they ought to find things to do and so they headed out once again.

65. The place they went to however, despite having a few shops, didn’t have a whole lot to do and so they had to resort to their own entertainment with Mia teaching Jose and Liv tai-chi by the sidewalk.

66. Lyle normally didn’t mind doing things with his family, but he couldn’t help but think of what his cousin Wally would say about Lyle making a prat of himself out in public. Wally would want Lyle to keep some cool and dignity for the family and so he went inside to play with a pinball machine instead. But if his Mum, Jose and Liv were enjoying themselves he wasn’t going to ruin it for them.

67. Juan seemed to be of much the same mind, not willing to embarrass himself on his home turf. And, since there was a second pinball machine next to Lyle’s… “I swear the right flipper on mine’s busted. How are you supposed to hit the ball up to that bit without losing it down the side?” Juan asked his son. “On mine I wait until it’s almost at the end of the flipper – you have to time it just right – and then you flick it up and… Yes! 2000 more points just there!” “Tch, stupid zombie joints too slow…” “Excuses, excuses, Dad.”

68. Mia could tell how much of a failure the last place was – and playing pinball was not an appropriate family activity – so they quickly moved on to somewhere else which also had a restaurant for those who were hungry for something other than flapjacks, pie or fish. At least the games there weren’t electrical. And, of course, Mia was as good at darts as she was at axe-throwing and log-rolling.

69. Luckily she wasn’t outside to see Lyle following through on some advice he’d been given by a local about buried treasure around. Lyle thought it might be a practical joke, until he tried and uncovered a shiny bowl, so he continued digging and unearthed several things before eventually unearthing a water pipe and its contents. “Ah, crap…” He walked away very quickly – he considered covering it, but thought that that might just lead to soil in the water supply, so figured it was better of this way than him trying to fix it.

70. If there had been one success of the whole trip so far, it was how well it had brought Jose and Liv together. Previously Liv had sought the attentions of the older members of the family who could do more for her and Jose had considered her alternatively too young or too loud, but being the same ‘age’ had really worked well on a trip. “And then Ivan told the teacher that we’d already been taught maths earlier by the other teacher and that we should be doing art, but we’d actually done art that morning and the teachers got really confused. Eventually they figured it out and Ivan got taken to the headmistress’s office, but everyone was happy that we’d missed half of maths.” “”Hehe, I can’t believe he managed to trick them so easily!”

71. “Are the punishments really bad at school, Jos?” “Not usually. I’ve never been punished, but mostly they seem to tell you off, maybe keep you in for break time and make you work more, but the really bad punishments are only given out when you put yourself or someone else in danger, but that’s unusual.” “School’s going to be so much fun with you there, Jos. I was nervous before because I didn’t know what to do, but you can help me!” He nodded happily, “Yeah, I’ll be happy to. I can help you with some of the work too if you need it – it’s going to be great.”

72. The family returned to the campsite for their final ‘night’ after that. Jose, Liv and his parents headed to the tents to sleep, but Lyle wanted to stay out a while, while he still could. He had a lot on his mind from this holiday and especially from the other night at the hot springs. He was pretty sure… No, he knew he had a crush, his first crush… But he’d only just realised. And now he was a little bit anxious to get back, to see her again, to see if there was anything there… But he was also a bit anxious about rejection. He’d never been rejected before, how would he handle it if that happened?

73. And another part of him didn’t really want to go back at all. He loved Three Lakes – the honest, outdoorsy-ness of the place, the straightforward openness of the people… It kind of felt like home. He did like the city and hanging out with friends downtown too, but getting back to nature like this felt so… natural. Whatever happened, he guessed, he was very glad they’d come here. And whether things worked out how he wanted back home, it would be difficult for it to ruin the sense of inner peace he’d gained out there. He was very happy, and hopeful. Life was awesome.

74. The next day (afternoon, really) Mia left the campsite while everyone else was still sleeping to get herself a little TLC without bothering anybody else.

75. She should have gotten a massage at the hot springs the other day, but Juan had been getting one first and then they’d… been busy in the sauna and the kids were too tired, so she never got the chance. It was nice to get some relaxing alone time for a bit though. And it wasn’t like anybody would do much while she was gone.

76. “Lyyyyyyyyylllllllle? Can we go out on a trip somewhere?” “Mum’s out and Dad’s asleep Liv, we’re not ready.” “Oh, but if we wait for them we’ll never get to go and we’ll have to leave soon! It’s still daytime, we can be back before it gets dark and they worry!” “I don’t know, Liv…” “Please, Lyle?” Jose chipped in. “We’ll lose our chance at this rate!”

77. “What is it that you guys want to do so desperately anyway?” “A local told us that there’s a bigfoot somewhere nearby!” Liv blurted out excitedly. “… Bigfoot…?” “We asked some other people and they said the same thing,” Jose explained. “Surely it wouldn’t hurt to go for a walk and see if we can find it…?” “Well…” Lyle started hesitantly, “I guess a walk can’t hurt. They’re always telling us to exercise more at school, so why not. But we can’t stay out too long or Mum’ll get worried and mad at us.”

78. After walking for about half an hour the kids were getting a little bored, tired and cranky. “It must be somewhere around here!” Liv said hopefully. “We can’t go much further in this direction. And you said the locals did say this way, right?” Jose and Liv both nodded back at Lyle. “Well it’s either around here or not here at all and we’ll have to head back, so- Hang on, what’s that?”

79. And the three Ryman children found themselves outside a proper wooden hut. Albeit one with a metal trash can. “I think this might be the place guys. Do you think we should go in?” “I don’t know,” replied Liv a little nervously. “What do you think, Jose?” “Erm, I think… I think the oldest person should go in first and then… the middle person should stay out here and protect the group from outside attack!” Lyle rolled his eyes. “So you’re not scared to go in, then?” “No!” “If you say so…”

80. Lyle walked in to see a big hairy… thing moving around. He guessed that was the big foot, though his feet didn’t look that big really. The bigfoot also seemed to have a working stereo and lamp. It wasn’t exactly what he was expecting. Then he realised that the bigfoot was dancing to the stereo. Hopefully that meant it was friendly, but what was he supposed to do? “Uh, ahem?” The bigfoot froze in his dancing and glanced over at him. “… How long have you been stood there?” “A minute or two…?” “Ah. Um. I was… I was doing a ritual dance, you know. Very important. Brings rain… and stuff.”

81. Lyle was pretty certain that the bigfoot had actually just been doing the macarena – unless that had a secret and hidden past he didn’t know about – but he had no wish to tease the bigfoot on his dancing skills, or possible lack thereof, so he did the Three Lakes greeting he’d been taught, which the bigfoot enthusiastically returned. “Hey, I’m just a tourist – well, my Dad’s from the area, so half-tourist – and my little siblings really wanted to meet you.” “Ooh, children? I like children, they’re so sweet, don’t treat me like a monster. Most people I get are either here by accident and think I’m going to eat them or something or are adults who want to carry out tests or get photos to sell for money. I like to entertain and talk to people, but I’d like my privacy too.”

82. “We won’t take your private-y from you Mr Bigfoot,” Liv said happily as she ran over before stopping in awe of how tall he was and then remembering the greeting. “RAH!” “Wow, you are a very enthusiastic young traveller, aren’t you? I’m very impressed by how well you give that greeting; most tourists seem to be shy and embarrassed about it.” “I’m not embarrassed, it’s great!” “Have you learnt how to slap dance yet, child?” “Yeah! That’s awesome too! Though my legs go pink where I have to hit them… But that’s okay because it’s fun!” “Fantastic! Did you say you had another sibling?”

83. Jose came in reluctantly, having been eavesdropping on the conversation. He stared up at the bigfoot, who realised he wasn’t about to start things off, so he made the greeting first. Jose kept staring. “Don’t be scared Jos – you have zombies for a father and step-father, how can you be scared of bigfoot?” Lyle asked, incredulous. “’m not scared…” he mumbled “Perhaps you would prefer to dance with your brother and sister instead?” the bigfoot offered kindly and Jose shyly went to join Liv.

84. While Jose and Liv played around the hut, Lyle and the bigfoot sat down for a chat. “My name is Justin. I’ve lived up in these hills all of my life.” “Are you the only bigfoot around?” “No, there are plenty more of us on the other side of the mountain away from the simlish settlement, but I like sims, so I moved closer, learnt the language and sometimes get to meet some of the people like yourselves.” “That sounds like a nice life,” Lyle reflected. “What about your lives? Often my visitors appreciate some outside advice.”

85. “Erm, well, me, Jose and Liv live with our Mum and my Dad – that’s a long story – normally we go to school, hang out, then one day grow up, get a job, get married, have kids. Pretty simple life really.” “And you have no problems there?” “Well… There’s a girl I like… But I think I know what I’m going to do. And even if she doesn’t like me, it’d suck, but I could keep going, find somebody else eventually I guess.” “That’s a good philosophy. What about your siblings?”

86. “Er, I don’t know. I think Liv was a bit nervous about starting schools, thinking she wasn’t going to have friends-” Justin the Bigfoot laughed “It’s easy to have doubts like that before you try, but I highly doubt that your sister will have any problems there. From what I see… Your sister is too trusting, but she is young, that naivety will decrease with time.” “I used to be pretty naïve,” Lyle agreed. “Your brother possibly has the opposite problem; he is not trusting enough. Hopefully that too will change with time and experience, but it can be difficult if he doesn’t try. But I trust you are a good elder brother, I’m sure you will keep an eye on them.”

87. “Hey Mr Bigfoot! Were you talking about us?” “I was just speculating a little on your futures-” She gasped, “Can you tell people’s fortunes and stuff? Do me, do me!” Justin smiled, “I foresee a very happy and outgoing young woman with many friends, at least one of whom will probably fall in love with her and she will live happily ever after.” “Yay! What about Jose?” “Um, I foresee a very hard-working young man who will succeed in life and never get his heart broken.” “Awesome! Thank you Mr Bigfoot!” And then she ran off again. She never really noted the differences, just that they both sounded good.

88. They stayed and chatted and played quite a while longer, before they noticed that it had gotten very dark and Jose had already fallen asleep in a hammock. “You cannot possibly walk back to a campsite in this darkness,” Justin said concernedly. “At least stay until morning when you will be able to see the path.” So Liv curled up next to Jose on the hammock and Lyle stayed awake through the night, philosophising with the bigfoot about anything that crossed their minds.

89. Eventually morning came again and the three set out from the hut, certain to soon be face-to-face with rather angry parents. “Goodbye Justin!” “Goodbye Mr Bigfoot!” They called back. Justin sighed. He wished he got more visitors like that or had little Bigfoots of his own, it could get so lonely up on the mountain sometimes… He went to turn on his stereo to take his mind of the melancholy feeling he was getting.

90. When a pink bundle of energy came running back into the hut and threw her arms around him. “Sorry, but I wanted to hug you before we went, I don’t know when we’ll be back…” “It is okay Liv, when you’re old enough you can come back whenever you like.” “Goodbye Mr Bigfoot.” “Goodbye Liv Ryman, be happy in your life.” He smiled at her as she left and disappeared after her brothers. “And careful.”

91. “Well, well, well, what have we here?” Mia was clearly trying to be strict with her children, but she couldn’t hide the smile of relief on her face to see them all back in one – happy – piece. “I wonder if Juan slept this whole time?” Jose whispered to Liv. “You should hear how much he snores sometimes!” They giggled together before seeing Lyle’s slightly disapproving look and then tried to look innocent in return. “Where have you kids been?” “We met Bigfoot! His name was Justin and he knows all the moves to the macarena!” Mia had no idea what to make of this.

92. Then Juan reappeared, “Oh, they’re back! I just told the local police you were missing, I’ll have to tell them to call the search off now…” “They have an interesting story about a bigfoot apparently,” Mia said with an eyebrow raised. “Yeah, he taught me how to that greeting thing properly,” Jose explained before showing Juan, who was quite impressed – Jose had definitely improved since they disappeared. “Right, well, we’d better get going now that you’re back – our flight’s in just a few hours.” And so the holiday ended…

93. And then they were back in Simfield, staring out the windows of the taxi at their new and improved house. “Is that our house?!” “How come it’s so tall? I’ve never seen a house that tall before!” “It’s certainly very… rectangular. Not the most imaginative design.” “Probably quite functional though, I’d imagine. And I expect you kids will want to see your separate bedrooms before you pass judgement…” “Yeah!”

94. Unfortunately for Juan he had to lurch off to work before he could even take one tour of their new house, but he’d barely been able to get time off for the holiday in the first place, he could hardly miss more.

95. “So how will we know which bedroom belongs to who, Mum?” Lyle asked with Jose and Liv looking on in interest. “It’s got four bedrooms, apparently mine and your father’s is on the top floor, so all of yours are on the middle floor, sharing a bathroom between you. You can have whichever bedrooms you can agree on theoretically, but two are quite a bit bigger than the third and those would usually go to the older children.” “Ohhhh…” Liv groaned. “Lyle should probably have a bigger one at least because he is a teenager already, but you can sort these things between yourselves if you must, but no fighting!”

96. Lyle shrugged and went to work on the chocolate-making machine, having accepted ‘bedroom 2’ (bedroom 1 being Mia and Juan’s). “Joooooooooseeeeeeee?” Liv asked with a bright smile and fluttering eyelashes. “What?” he responded reluctantly, fairly certain he knew what was coming. “Do you really want or need a big bedroom? Really? Because you know I’m a girl and girls like to shop and to buy things and so we need lots and lots and lots of space for it all-!”

97. Jose had no will for a fight. “If you really want a bigger bedroom Liv, you can have that one, I’ll have the smaller one. I don’t have much stuff anyway.” “Thank you Jose, you’re the bestest big brother ever!” she squealed. “I can hear you over here!” Lyle called from the machine. “I love you too Lyle!” she said as she ran into the house to look at her new room. Jose figured he ought to look at his too.

98. It was pretty small, only just big enough to hit his bed in against either wall. But it had a window and a view of the back garden and it was decorated in his favourite colour and style, so it wasn’t too bad he mused. In fact, he kind of wondered whether all the rooms were decorated like this or done randomly, or whether somebody had predicted he would wind up in the smallest room, despite being the second oldest.

99. Liv’s room was perfect, she thought; it couldn’t have been much more pink if they’d tried and she had room for a desk and lots of other stuff if she wanted. And she had a view out the front of the house, so she could see when people visited or got home from work or wherever.

100. She had the perfect bedroom, in a brand new and shiny house and tomorrow she’d be starting school for the first time with her big brother to look out for her and be her friend. And Mr Bigfoot had seen her future as really good. She wished she could start it all right now, it was so exciting! She should call her daddy and tell him everything that had happened, he’d be sure to be interested!

101. But there wasn’t much fun to be had yet – both children had some reading to do before school and, although Liv’s was pretty basic, both she and Jose wanted to be able to look smart, or at least not stupid, in front of their classes tomorrow. Mia, on the other hand, just wanted to be able to cook a new meal to celebrate occasions like this.

102. Some hours later Juan arrived home from work again, bringing Noelle Jayapalan with him. After all the history she had with the family, she’d wanted to see that they were doing okay these days and make sure there were no hard feelings towards her or her kids from what their father had done. She always had underestimated how amazingly nice the Rymans of late tended to be.

103. Juan didn’t have time to socialise – or to buy a new work-out outfit – though, he needed to train for the next day at work. He’d missed out on many years of his life and now felt like he had to run to keep up. Sometimes literally, though that was very difficult as a zombie. But he would try. Luckily he had a new porch on which to work out in relative privacy and in the shade.

104. And nice a day though it was, it was still Winter and Lyle had to give up making chocolates or risk freezing himself solid, so he soon joined most of the rest of his family in learning things the old fashioned way, but it wasn’t half as interesting or fun. He’d just have to look forward to what tomorrow might bring… The sun set soon afterward and all of the children went to bed not long after it got dark. Normally he would want to stay up late watching TV or going on the computer, but, like his little siblings, he just wanted the next day to come sooner.

105. Meaning that the house was very quiet by the time Juan stopped working out and came in to hungrily eat, only just missing ruining the new wallpaper in the kitchen. Police needed their energy, urgently apparently.

106. But Mia was the last one up, checking in on the children asleep in their new bedrooms, where she was finally cornered by Noelle. “Is everything okay nowadays then Mia?” “Yeah, it’s great. Everything’s going well with Juan and the kids seem happy and now we have this house too… Basically, before you tone down your subtlety; although Seth ruined my chance to be married to Juan from the start, it’s meant I have Jose and Liv and Juan’s not taking me for granted. So while I wouldn’t say I’m glad your husband went on a killing spree, neither I nor my husband or children are out to get you or your family, you have nothing to worry about. Though… do you know why Juan suddenly reappeared as a zombie?” Noelle shrugged. “We’re guessing it has something to do with the magic, no idea what happened otherwise.”

107. ~~~ End of 11B~~~ ^ I forgot to do that last time, didn’t I? Hmm… Anyway, this is the layout of the house. Pretty self-explanatory since everyone’s asleep in their respective beds. Don’t know why they’ve left all the lights on though – talk about waste of electricity! I’ll have to get them solar panels to make up for it. Despite what Zack said last chapter, this was entirely funded by the money in the Ryman household – this was surprisingly cheap actually and camping kept the cost of the holiday down too. This house is based on a type of house being built down the end of my street, I got the housing plan from there. You can tell because, had it been down to me, I would have put in at least one more bathroom, if not two.

108. Meanwhile, in the rest of the neighbourhood: Johanna Andrews (Birch -> Sean -> Tiana -> Johanna) also went off to university with questionable clothing that was swiftly fixed. (If you’re struggling to remember who came from who and how they’re related to other people, there’s a family tree on my legacy thread at boolprop). But when she went out on the town one day…

109. She met somebody interesting with whom she had two bolts of chemistry…. ^_^ The future looks bright.

110. Elsewhere, this was making me sad. May, resident kick-ass rock star of generation 2 , was growing old… Though her aging outfit wasn’t actually that bad comparatively, she’s compulsively clinging on to her rock star outfit and refusing to acknowledge any difference. Some things never change.

111. It was also time for her wife Brandi to age too, into overalls we’ve never seen before, but she was forced to don the same outfit she’d worn since she left college to help her wife’s delusion that they were still as young as ever they’d been. It was just as well they worked out to avoid the sagginess…

112. And since May and Tiana were twins, Tiana had to age too, along with her husband Jihoon. [Of course Tiana glitched the heck out on me, with her face going and stubbornly remaining grey – I thought maybe it was the magic, so I used that CC painting that can make sims supernatural things and remove them, stopped her being a witch, made her a witch again, didn’t work, tried zombiism, plantsimism, werewolfism, vampirism – none of them worked and the zombiism gave half the neighbourhood bad memories, even though I removed it again. Eventually I did the sensible thing – sent her out in the snow until she went fully grey and then warmed her up again. That worked. *Grumble*]

113. Tiana was spared bad outfits thanks to her witch outfit, but Jihoon was not so lucky. Like her twin sister, Tiana and Jihoon kept their younger outfits, though at least they weren’t indecently revealing or anything. Janice and Johanna never would have let them do that anyway.

114. Finally: Look! It’s an alternative universe version Juan and Lyle! Not sure our Lyle would go for an afro though… Actually, they’re (part of) the Dawn family – you probably won’t recognise the son Connor from when Nicola went to the matchmaker as a teen. I wonder if not-Juan knows his son’s gay yet? Something tells me not.