Looking For Hope

Epilogue: At the Music Studio

December 22nd 2643

The holiday season in Red Sycamore had always been a highly anticipated time of the year, despite the planet's lack of snow and ice—or maybe precisely because of it. Christmas and Hanukah on this planet had never been about drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows or putting on the ugliest sweater one could ever buy, but about drinking fruit cocktails and sunbathing instead. The mild climate of the planet allowed its residents to treat the-end-of-the-year holidays as an extended version of a summer vacation—without the gross sweat and heatstroke. Being from Black Elm, where Christmas had been forever associated with heavy rain and gloomy weather, Izzy was beyond excited to escape her dreary home and bask in the glory of sunshine and clear skies. There was only one thing that worried her—would it be appropriate to be this cheery around her auntie and uncle when the two were going through something difficult?

Nardho had not told Izzy a great deal about the details of Moira's struggle with her rapidly declining cognitive ability, so the young girl was not sure how to behave around the ailing woman. The only thing Izzy knew was that Moira found it increasingly hard to recognize faces that should be familiar to her and that her mood could fluctuate wildly without any warning.

Looking up to her smiling mom and dad for reassurance, the teenager hesitantly walked up to the gate of Nardho's house. The house itself was not huge but it boasted a spacious front yard where various colorful flowers grew—Izzy spotted some calla lilies, chrysanthemums, and dahlias. She spoke to the intercom and after waiting a few minutes the gate swung open and Nardho stood on his doorstep with Kenta, Johan, and their two adopted children all waving their hands happily.

"Izzy! Good to have you here. We've been waiting and wondering when you'll arrive," Nardho greeted his niece and then nodded to Nardhia and Tony. "Moira is in the kitchen making fruit punch. She has been bubbly and talkative lately, but I wouldn't get my hopes up since by now I'm used to witnessing her mannerism change in a flash."

"Anything we can do to ensure we're not gonna upset her?" Nardhia asked. "We brought some cookies. She still has that famous sweet tooth, right?"

"Yeah, that's one thing that stays the same," Kenta chimed in. "And she still hates vegetables. The other day I made ratatouille and she refused to eat my dish. She did, however, seemed to enjoy the fruit basket LJ and Naoko gave her. So, personality-wise, she is still this oddball we have grown attached to, just a little more high strung and forgetful."

"Kenta is right, but don't you worry, Dhia, I'm sure Moira will appreciate the cookies," Nardho nodded to his twin sister. "In fact, she has been talking non-stop about the ones Neesa sent her last week. We ran out of Neesa's cookies already, so it's great to have yours and Tony's. Thanks again for the kind gesture," he smiled and then addressed Izzy. "Hey, would you like to see my music studio? We can talk more there."

The girl in question followed her uncle into his music studio, which she had not been in for over half a decade. It was mostly as she remembered it, except now there were more bookshelves and some trophies Nardho collected for winning some songwriting competitions in his youth. Izzy pulled out a random book from a shelf and her lips turned into an upward curve when she read the title: The Blue Orchid Years.

"Is this the memoir you've been working on?" she questioned with excitement in her voice. "I see that you've got a physical copy. That's cool, hardly anyone owns actual books nowadays."

"Yeah, my affinity for physical books is something I need to thank Vannie for," the middle-aged man chuckled. "I swear her bookworm personality has rubbed off on me. She's even more of a booklover than Kenta is."

"How does Auntie Moira feel about you writing a memoir in her honor?"

"She has no idea I'm doing it," Nardho replied as he returned the book back where it belonged. "But I'm gonna let her know as her birthday is coming up soon and I do feel bad about not asking her consent before penning down what is as much her story as it is mine."