One Life: Episode 7 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT (last page)

[babyblue1387]

Thanks much guys! I really appreciate everyone's comments!

[babyblue1387]

Sorry this took so long! I'm doing a couple contests, and I had to build the teahouse, even though you don't really get to see much of it.
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A couple months earlier, thugh, I did go to the teahouse with Tomihatsu. I think the experience added to my discomfort. I couldn't help feeling that I was inadequate and that Tomihatsu was showing off.

The ease with which she talked with the men and the other geisha put me to shame. There were so many ruels and guidelines, so many customs.

Yet, at the same time, I felt so pretty. The men complemented me on my beautiful complexion, on my resemblance to my sister and my mother.

They told me I should come around more ofted. Tomihatsu came over and told them that I probably wouldn't be coming around anymore. Next to me, she seemed infinately more graceful and pleasant.

She told them that I made music and that I'd be going on tour soon. Funny, how after all these years, people who are diehard fans of Girls Against The World and people who've never heard of us can occupy the same world. She said I didn't have the time for these types of social events. In that time, Tomihatsu made it known that I'd never be part of this world. No matter how much I looked like a geisha, I'd never really be one. I'd never be what my mother wanted me to be. The men expressed their regret at not being able to see me again. Tomihatsu escorted me out of the teahouse an hour later, and I felt really alone and out of place. I was really graeful to be back in my own world.


That really did weigh down on me, and I found myself thinking about that as I lay looking at my new babies. Twins. Maybe this whole thing with Tomihatsu wasn't worth it. Ayato was so proud and I couldn't dissapoint him. I smiled at him and wondered about that whole post-partum thing. I was definately feeling depressed. Tomihatsu hadn't been able to make the birth because she went oversears with her husband and children. Kimora and Lucien went on tour two days after I gave birth. Vara, Dias, Arin and Lordes were out with Takeshi (the triplets damn near have ADD, they're so hyper. Kimora and Takeshi just call them "passionate," but we all know that's a load of crap). Dionus was beaming with pride, but he was repeatedly stepping out to phone this new opera singer he met. I was feeling alone.

I can't say I exactly felt like killing my children. That would be a bit extreme. I did contemplate just running out, though. No one would blame me. At least that's what I tought laying in the hospital bed. I think, sometime during the night, I got a fever. I was beginning to be a little delusional. The reality of my age really hit me then. I was damn near 40, and I just had two babies. I was going to die before I saw my twins get married. Now, maybe it wasn't the most rational train of thought, but my mind didn't clear up until the doctor gave me some kind of medecine. Said I had a serious infection.

Karma's a total biotch, isn't she?


Kimora rushed back to be with me. She had reluctantly left Lucien in the hands of her manager and road mom/tutor. I know it was a hard decision for her, and she'll never have a problem with Karma. She didn't secretly wish her mother would get cancer and die a painfully slow death. Which actually happened. No, I'm afraid that the irony wasn't lost on me.

Ayato was worried when the doctor said that he'd have to check the babies to make sure they were ok. The doctor said the little brats' names, but I didn't recognize them. Ayato named them. I couldn't even remember what combination of beast they were. To make matters worse, I didn't care, and this scared me. My fever shot up overnight, and the doctors all rushed in.

I could hear Kimora throwing curse words at people, and the rapid click of camera shutters. I couldn't but wonder if I had even more than cause my mother's death to warrant this. Somehow, though, in the throes of a nasty infection, the idea came to me that I was punishing myself. Maybe I wasn't ready to forgive my mother, maybe now I had come to be mad at tomihatsu for being a prick. The only reason she had given moe the kimono was so she could flaunt her relationship with our mother in my face. Just as it occured to me that the only reason I went to the funeral at all was to confirm that my mother was dead gone; to make sure she wouldn't come back. It was evil and selfish--the way I had always seen my mother.

Some three days later, I awoke to find Tomihatsu standing over me. In that moment, I hated her more than I had ever hated another person in my life. She was looking at me and smiling, but in my fevered mind, I saw her smile as saying "serves you right, whore." She turned her back and walked out of the room, presumably leaving me to die. I guess that wasn't the cause because, shortly after she left, Ayato, Dionus, Kim, Takeshi, Vara, Lucien, Dias, Arin and Lordes all came rushing into the room.

I couldn't really see around them, but I had the distinc impression that TOmihatsu smile devily at me, as if to suggest that she was the one woh had poisoned me. Absurd, I know. Somehow, my family took my urge to kill as a sign of pain. That only made me angrier, and I think my fever went up a bit.

[xgreydovex]

i absolutly L. O. V. E. this story.
update soon pretty please! :]

[babyblue1387]

Taking pics for this is really hard, but I just love this story too! There will be a third part of this story. A kind of final interview with Kokoro as an elder.

[babyblue1387]

Ok! Now we're getting to the juicy part!
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Th paparazzi were there when I was released from the hospital four months later.

Kimora yelled at them to please give me some room to breathe. When they didn't I threw a potted plant at them. They moved then.

Ayato brought the cildren in hopes that I'd want to see them, but I didn't care. He'd put them in some hideous outfits, and that only made things worse. I still didn't know their names, still didn't know if they were boys or girls, and still didn't care. Ayato did, and he was more concerned than ever.

He got me into some kind of conseling, and though I didn't want to admit it, I did slowly begin to feel better. The "doctor" said that I was greiving for my mother, but I didn't know how to express it. The meeting with Tomihatsu only brought my feelings of extreme guilt to the forefront. Slowly, I even began to understand that the babies were mine, not just Ayato's and that I had been me, and not him, who had given birth to them. I began to understand that I was depressed, which was why I wasn't caring that there were other children.

I was also told that I had two five month old baby girls. At the time, that was too much for me, and I lost it.

By the time my girls were one, I still didn't know their names, but I loved to play with them and cuddle them. They were beginning to talk and they recognized me as their mother. I had come to terms with having two babies so close to forty, and I completely ignored Tomihatsu, for the most part. I reconnected with my brother Onoe, who'd married Kimora's older sister Tang Mie. I didn't know they had been involved with each other, but that didn't surprise me at all. There were a lot of things I didn't know during that time. Like I didn't know, or realize, that things were working out better than doctors had hoped.

I could talk to Onoe all I wanted, and for as long as I wanted (which we did quite often), and I'd be fine. If I saw Tomihatsu crossing the street, and I was driving a car, I probably--no, undoubtedly--would have run her over. Which is probably why I'm not allowed to drive anymore.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I could tell Kimora had become more serious, and was beginning to settle down. Her hair wasn't pink or blord, or some combination thereof anymore. Lucien's however, was. Kim and Takeshi had four beautiful children, and were as dedicated to each other as any old married couple, even though they never married. They did decide to offically commit to each other in a lovely ceremony.

Nothing big, nothing fancy, but beautiful and classinc nonetheless. She insisted on wearing white, though I told her she shouldn't. Her dress should have been so dark it made black look light. We had a good laugh. Then she asked me when Ayato and I would commit.

"We'll get married a little later," I said, winking at her. Yes, I had finally told Ayato that I loved him. Under the circumstances, it had more meaning to him. I'm glad I waited. It meant so much more to the both of us, then.

[Ninja]

Awesome updates! Great story!

[rachel631]

These mini stories have to be some of my favourites... I like the variety within the tale, and the contrast between the two stories. I also check to see if you've updated all the time!

Just wanted to ask where you got the custom content for Tomi's house, however. I'm trying to make a Japanese themed house, and getting nowhere. I think I've got most of it, but I especially need a traditional table (you know, the one where you sit down on cushions), or else some cushion seats. I've seen a pay one at TSR, but it doesn't look as nice as yours. Besides... paysites... grrrr...

Anyway, thanks a lot, and keep up the good work!

[babyblue1387]

Hi Rachel! Welcome to InSim, and, I can't say this enough, thank you for enjoying my stories! It took quite a while to find good, quality japanese stuff. Do a search at different places like ModTheSims for japan, japanese, asia. You should get a lot of good stuff there. Take a look here at SailorJune's themed downloads. There's a lot of good stuff there.

[babyblue1387]

For all those looking for custom content to furnish your japanese houses...FEAR NO MORE! EAxis has finally come through for us! I was looking for updates on the new expansion pack (yes, it is vacation) and I saw the best news for our asian sims...don't worry about the table anymore because there's one in vacation with PROPER SITTING ANIMATIONS!! They'll sit on their legs and everything!!!!!!!! I know this is slightly off topic for my thread, but I wanted to share my joy with you wonderful people. Head on over there to check out the screenshots for the Far East!:love4:

To make this on topic, there will be an update today.

[babyblue1387]

Oh my. I didn't realize that I was so close to the end. This is the last installment before we get into the part where Kokoro is an elder. Unfortunately for you guys, there's a cliff hanger! HAHAH!!! Ok, not so funny. This entry contains mild usage of the "b" word. It's used all of two times.
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Ayato and I decided to watch the kids while Kimora and Takeshi went on a little vacation. The kids weren't hard to manage, and took care of themselves for the most part. We had them for two weeks, which pretty much just flew by.

When I went back to threapy, I had a major breakthrough: I learned my daughter's names: Grace (with the longer hair), and Helen (with short hair). Grace and Helen Kamina. I was surprised when Ayato and my girls, then 14 months, showed up to therapy. I won't deny that I was happy. I felt like I was at some award show. Onoe showed up, too. That kind of clued me in that something big was going to happen. Onoe looking nervous didn't help me either.

"Well, Kokoro..."
I closed my eyes. Nope. Not the way I wanted this session to start out. Little did I know that the breakthrough wasn't learning my girls' names. The ball was about to hit me hard.
"Onoe, do you want to start things off?"

"Um, Kokoro, I love you. You know that, right?"
I nodded then, a million things going through my mind. There could have been so many things wrong.
"Dad had another family. He, um...well, he didn't leave us any money. It all went to his other family. We were left with all of mom's medical bills."

I looked around the room. Ok. That wasn't so bad. I realized I'd been holding my breath. This wasn't so bad.
"Um. Yeah, but here's the kicker. Well, you and I aren't dad's kids. He's not our father. Except for Tomihatsu. Oh, she did get some of dad's money, though."

Now that was it. I tried to restrain myself, but I couldn't. Maybe not the most damaging secret; something I could definitely live with. But to know that Tomihatsu was the only legitimate one...
"That bitch!"
Ayato didn't have time to try and cover the girls' ears, and they cried loudly. I started to rethink everything. That's why she'd been so bitchy toward me. She ws the only legitimate cild. Even if I wanted to be a Geisha, I couldn't because my heritage was in question.

"Apparently," the therapist began, "many of the Geisha knew. Though they would have accepted you because you were Kuniko's daughter, they would have looked at you differently. They would have talked about and to you differently."
I didn't care. Tomihatsu had rubbed it in my face. Maybe she had poisoned me and made people think that it was an infection.

"I still want you to see her, Kokoro."
"I have no desire to see that beast of a woman. I have no intention of ever putting up with her attitude again."
"Well...I guess we don't have to do that soon."
We sat in silence.

"Um, Kokoro, do you remember when we were kids? How we used to play hide and seek?"
I nodded suspiciously. I also knew what he was implying.
"I'm not suppressing any memories, Onoe. I remember what I was hiding from."
"And you don't feel traumatized by that, Kokoro?"

The therapist fixed me with a stare.
"No. Not anymore." I couldn't help rubbing my shoulder. I still had a burn there. Ayato forced me to confess when he saw the mark on my shoulder. He'd wanted me to immediately turn my mother into the police.
"Why don't you tell me what happnened, Kokoro?"
"You already know."
"Please, cooperate. You know that's not the purpose of the exercise. If you don't want to tell me then, that's fine. I'm getting paid top bucks for this either way."
I rolled my eyes. "She burned me. Not on purpose--"
"I don't think it was an accident."

"In my Geisha training. I hated getting my hair done up. She was using this metal iron and it fell. I was moving too much."
"It wasn't your fault, Kokoro."
"She told me to be still, but I wouldn't. But that was the worst."
"What else did she do, Kokoro?"
"She hit me with the obi [a/n: an obi is the really heavy fabric they use to make the knot or bow at the back of the kimono]. She stuffed snow down my kimono. But that was only to make me stand up straight. I took baths in scalding hot water, but that was the best way to remove some of the makeup and to make my skin softer."
The therapist shook her head.
"You can't make excuses forever. What she did was wrong. No matter what the customs, she shouldn't have done it. Did she do the same to Tomihatsu?"

Onoe slowly shook his head.
"She always treated Tomihatsu better, and I wasn't surprised when I finally found out why."
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So until next time, beautiful people, that is the end of Kokoro's story. If you'll kindly tune in again, we'll visit Kokoro as an elder and see what she's been doing.

[Zggs]

Wonderful.  I can't wait for the update and I have to know where you get some of your cc!  But really I had to stay up and read the whole thread.

[babyblue1387]

Wow! I can't believe you read through the whole thing! Thank you so much and I'm glad that yo enjoyed it. Let me know what you're looking for and I'll see if I can't remember where I got it from.

[Zggs]

I'll look through later but I really did stay up past 10 p.m. just so I could find out what happened!  I think it's awesome were both part of the AA.

[Zggs]

I realize now...the clothes Lillith was wearing when she was pregnant.  They were beautiful.  Plus how to get them to wear those clothes instead of the Maxis maternity?

[babyblue1387]

I have squinge's preg wear all hack that allows woment to wear their normal everyday clothes when pregnant. I hate that nasty maxis stuff. Be warned though, sometimes it's hit or miss if the clothes will actually show the bump. I think more people are actually adding the preg morph into the mesh or whatever these days. I'll take a look at some of Lilith's clothes and edit this post when I find where they came from.

EDIT: The blue swimsuit is from All About Style, which I absolutely adore. The outfit with the white shirt and black pants was from Serasims which closed down. You can check out their stuff at the Sims 2 Graveyard under downloads/serasims. There are some pics there, but it might have been a "donation" set.