A Geeky Bard's SimLit

 Prologue, Part 1 The sun was barely up, the rolling hills of Henford-on-Bagley had recently been liberated from winter’s gloom, and the trees in the village of Finchwick were just beginning to show their buds. Inside one of the cottages that lined Finchwick’s cobbled streets, a young woman brushed a wisp of her long ginger hair away from her freckle-dotted cheek as she opened her bedroom door and then shut it behind her as she hurried into the cottage’s cozy living area. She was making her way to the front entrance when another door creaked as it opened behind her, and a stern male voice spoke up. “You’re late for your paper route, Penny. You should have left before Chanticleer crowed. Our neighbours will want to have time to relax a bit and read the paper before they need to prepare for church.” Penny tried to conceal her frustration as she turned around to face the middle-aged man who scrutinized her, his brow furrowing with severity — and a hint of worry. “I know, Father. I’m o...

 Chapter 12: The Festival As per his usual morning routine, Keoni crawled out of bed and toddled across the hallway to use the potty, and when he was done with that, Malie got him his cereal for breakfast and placed him in his high chair so he could eat it. Leimomi was seated across the table from Keoni's high chair, reading a book, and Hokulani was next to her, also eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast. By the time both Hokulani and Keoni were done eating, Malie had gone into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower, so Hokulani got up and let Keoni out of his high chair. Then she picked up Keoni's empty bowl from the tray of his high chair and her empty bowl from the table and took them to the kitchen sink to wash them. Leimomi closed her book and knelt down on the floor facing Keoni. "Now, my little minnow, it is important that you learn to get along with family, friends and neighbors, and in order to do that, you will need to learn to use good manners. Let...