#to clarify who's who julie is from lovehacks

[peace-coast-island]

#ChoicesCreates: Travel

Title: Eshajōri (#LoveHacks) Summary: Eshajōri - “people meet, always part”; the concept that expresses the idea about the impermanence of all things, that every human relationship will end someday due to the transient nature of life. Julie Nagarkar (MC) writes an article for Typewriter Keys where she interviews various people she met during her travels. Featuring MCs from other Choices stories and HSS.

@angelschoices @hollyashton

Ever since coming to San Francisco, I’ve been thinking a lot about the people I’ve met, the friends I made, and the ones I left behind. Then one day while looking for inspiration I came across the word eshajōri. The word means “people meet, always part” and that stuck in my head for a while. Slowly I began to put the pieces together for this article over the course of a year, talking to people during my travels with that word in mind. I have to admit that it wasn’t an easy project to pull off, especially with the rough start Typewriter Keys had, but you know me, I love a good challenge.

Happy first anniversary to Typewriter Keys and thank you everyone for making this possible. Our team couldn’t have succeeded without your support.

And now on to the article. The prompt is:

Talk about someone who is special to you. But not just anyone, it has to be someone who isn’t really a part of your life anymore. Think about this person and why they left an impact on you.

Acacia Lim

About her: My name’s Acacia, I’m from Saltwater Creek and a sophomore at Hartfeld University. Designated Mom friend, works for the newspaper, trying to figure out adulthood, single and independent.

Her story: I grew up in a small town, the kind where everyone is sort of like a big family. It was always like that until a few years ago when a tornado caused a lot of destruction and then a blizzard that winter forced more people to leave. I think by now about half the town is gone, which is sad since I grew up with all these people. Senior year of high school was pretty hard as I had to say goodbye to many of my friends. There’s not many of us left and it’s kind of sad but it’s something we have to deal with.

One person that meant a lot to me was Miss Lyric, who was my piano teacher. She’s a cute old lady who everyone loves. She was like the town grandma, everyone always looks up to her for advice and I think she was one of the oldest residents there. Miss Lyric is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met, from her powerful and angelic voice to the way she plays her heart out on the piano, she can pretty much do anything!

For years I’d go to the community center for piano lessons. Miss Lyric was the reason why I wanted to learn because I loved watching her play and it looked fun. Sadly the community center was damaged in the tornado but Miss Lyric, being the optimist, didn’t let that stop her from bringing music into the town. Her enthusiasm and ability to look at the bright side made the next several months a lot more bearable.

The day she moved away was one of the saddest days in my life, no exaggeration. A few months after the blizzard, Miss Lyric revealed that she was moving to Lake Celene to live with her son. It wasn’t an easy decision for her but the harsh weather had taken a toll on her health and it wasn’t easy taking care of a house that was falling apart. The night before she left, we threw a farewell concert for her, where I played one of her favorite songs and sang with the choir. Saltwater Creek just isn’t the same without Miss Lyric and her musical presence.

We keep in touch once in a while, which is great. She says that she misses Saltwater but she’s also happy at Lake Celene where she’s a music teacher at the elementary school. Miss Lyric, if you’re reading this, I just want to say thank you so much for bringing music into my life. Every time I play the piano, I think of you and how you pushed me to become an artist.

Finley Sayavong

About him: My name is Finley and I work for Prescott Industries. I was born and raised in the Tri-State area and I just live an ordinary life, not extraordinary really.

His story: During winter break when I was in college I went to visit one of my cousins in Entienne Falls. The way there was fine and the visit itself but coming home was an entirely different thing. From delays to last minute changes due to the weather, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it home on time. Just when things were going well after being stuck for three hours, icy roads forced us to stop in the middle of nowhere. Luckily the bus was well equipped to keep us alive for a couple days if things were to get worse. I was miserable for the whole day because of everything going wrong so by then I was just done.

While waiting for the weather to clear and the roads to be less dangerous, I met an old couple who sat behind me. Their names were Irma and Margaret and there was something about their personality and how they approach others that you can’t help but smile at. They tried talking to me earlier but I was zoning out at the time and they let me be. Now that we were stuck here, they approached me again knowing that unless I wanted to be bored out of my mind for the next several hours, I might as well strike a conversation with someone. So I did.

We spent the next three or four hours exchanging stories to keep our mind off the weather. Irma made us laugh when she told us how she met Margaret through a blind date that went terribly. Margaret decided to mix things up by telling horror stories that kept us on the edge of our seats. As for me, I didn’t have much to say so I sat and listened. Soon other passengers joined us and started telling stories too. Before we knew it, night had fallen and later we went to sleep and the next morning the roads were safe to travel. Throughout the whole ride we kept exchanging stories. The ride wasn’t the same when Irma and Margaret got off at Evergreen Oaks.

Although I never saw them again after that, I never really forgot about them. It’s funny how an event like a storm can bring people together in unexpected ways. Their stories and how they lifted everyone’s spirits up always stuck with me for reasons I don’t really know how to explain. I guess in a way I learned something from them about how to take something bad and turn it into something good, which is something that I’ve been doing a lot lately.

Delanie Buchanan

About her: Hi, I’m Delanie, I’m from Spectrum Falls and I’m a student at Peace Coast Academy. Youngest of six, family owns a restaurant called the Stargazer, loves food, somehow created a school from a plot of land, some of my best buds are Autumn, Payton, Julian, Nishan, Wes, Sakura, Mia, Katherine, Koh, and Ace.

Her story: When I was young, my siblings and I used to play with the Eagle siblings Jess, Abbey, Dave, and Robbie. I remember running around the neighborhood and driving our parents crazy, especially during the summer. Baseball games were a blast with them and I was always on the winning team!

We’ve sort of drifted away as we got older. It just happened. Jess was the oldest, a few months older than my oldest sister Lana. When they started high school, Jess got involved in a lot of extracurricular activities so we didn’t see her as much. Abbey and Dave followed in her footsteps too so that changed too. Out of all of them I was closest to Robbie since we’re the same age plus we both tend to get away with a lot of things because we’re the youngest. But it isn’t like the days of the Buchanan and Eagle siblings were entirely over, we still hang out once in a while but not all together, which probably made some neighbors happy since we can get pretty wild sometimes.

Now with most of the gang in college or living on their own, it’s a bit tricky to get us all together. While my siblings are still in the city, Jess, Abbey, and Dave are all over the country. Jess lives in Boston and attending grad school. Abbey is at Rhode Island School of Design as a graphic arts major. Dave is studying at CalArts and hopes to make it big someday. As for Robbie, he’s at Light Bulb Tech, a magnet school known for its focus on science and technology.

And I’m here on the island running my own school and doing my own thing. I guess you can say that things have changed a lot between us. Sometimes I miss the days when we would run around the city and play sports at the park but just because we’re getting older doesn’t mean that those days are gone for good. As I learned growing up, you make the most out of the time you have with your friends and although those times won’t last, I still have these good memories to remember them by.

Kieran Akiyama

About him: I’m Kieran, I’m a junior at Hartfeld University. I live with my grandmother in New Haven, was born in Sapporo, moved around quite a bit after that. I don’t really know what else to say.

His story: Growing up, I was primarily raised by my grandmother. My mother died when I was four and my father over a year later. I don’t have too many memories of them but at least I have family members who can fill in the gaps about them.

Other than my grandmother, another family member I was close to was my grandfather. Grandpa Skip, as he was called, was my dad’s father. He grew up in San Francisco and moved to Boston after retiring. My grandmother and I lived with him and Grandma Daisy for a few years before settling in New Haven. Up until then I didn’t know too much about my dad’s family except that they would call sometimes and send lots of pictures. Grandpa Skip and Grandma Daisy visited Sapporo a few times after Mom and Dad married. The last time they came was shortly after I was born. Dad always wanted to take me and Nana to Boston but he never found the time. One of the biggest reasons why Nana decided to move to the States was so I could be closer to Dad’s family.

Grandpa Skip was always into mysteries and he considered himself a detective in training. When there was something mysterious going on, like unusual noises in the middle of the night, or something gone missing, everyone always called on Grandpa Skip. He would take me along as his partner in crime, teaching me how to take in my surroundings and how to look for clues. While the “cases” were simple things like misplaced keys or an appliance in need of repairs, it was fun playing detective with him.

Another thing about Grandpa Skip is how he saw life as an adventure. He saw every day as a new start instead of focusing on the mundane. He was the type of person who believed in living life to the fullest. I guess that’s why he got along well with my mom since she saw life the same way too. Grandpa Skip had this ability to make seemingly ordinary things look exciting. He always said “life is an adventure and you are the explorer so make a story worth telling, kiddo!” and that has always stuck with me. Even after several years I can still hear him saying that loud and clear in my head.

Rose Emmerdale

About her: My name is Rose Emmerdale and I am a freelance writer and novelist who is currently on vacation. I have one older brother and two younger sisters, and I love traveling and learning new things.

Her story: During my travels I’ve met many people with memorable stories. This encounter happened recently during a trip to Corentine where I met a young aspiring writer named Rika.

From first impressions, you can see that Rika and her cousin Elowyn are quite curious and inquisitive. It’s not every day that a town like Corentine gets visitors from the outside so naturally attention was drawn towards me. I spent the summer there helping out at the local paper and hoping that a new setting would give me some inspiration. At the Corentine Gazette, I met one of the editors, Bice, who is Rika and Elowyn’s aunt.

From there, I saw a lot of myself in young Rika. She grew up in a non-conventional family, raised primarily by her aunt after her mother died along with her cousins who lost their parents too. She wanted to make a name for herself and not be defined by the tragedies in her life. I was surprised when she said that she was a fan of my books, which isn’t something a self-published author would hear every day. She was a sweet person with her angelic smile and  enthusiastic personality. But in her eyes I can see that she’s been through a lot in her life but despite that she maintains her sunny disposition. In a way, I wanted to be like her because she was idealistic and carefree.

As I got to know her, Rika looked up to me for writing advice. She showed me some of her work and I have to say, I was impressed. I won’t go into too much detail in case it becomes published someday but it’s rare to find someone with her talent and skill. Her writing is raw, to put simply, but also poetic, dark but with some mischievous playfulness weaved into it. For a rough draft, she shows a lot of potential. And believe me, I do not hand out compliments like that easily. So when I wasn’t working, we’d go over her story and I’d give her suggestions and tips, and not just about writing but about life in general too. Now that I think about it, Rika is kind of like a mix of my sisters, which probably explains why giving advice to her came naturally.

I still keep in touch with Rika from time to time to see how she’s doing. Once in a while she’ll send me a draft of an article she’s writing for the Gazette and ask me to help her edit it. Now she’s attending a university in Peace Coast Island with her cousins, which happens to be where I’ll be staying for the next several months after the cruise is over so I’m looking forward to seeing her again.

Louie Zhou

About him: I’m Louie and I’m new here. I just moved in from Chester Faversham, I’m in the band and junior at Berry High, and so far I’m liking it here.

His story: There was this one person I used to be close with, he was my mom’s half-brother, Uncle Abner. You may know him as Abner Kinnaird, aka one of the richest people in the world. I know, hard to believe that I’m related to someone like him. Well, I am and honestly, he’s actually a pretty cool guy.

Anyway we used to be close until about four months ago. I’d rather not go into detail about what happened so let’s just say that there were a lot of things we said that we wished we could take back. Uncle Abner may be rough around the edges but he does care, a lot, sometimes more than he cares to admit. He’s stubborn and set in his ways so sometimes it’s hard trying to get your point across to him. But he is also a great listener if you can get past his sarcasm and he’s true to his word so when he says something, he means it. I appreciate someone who is honest and upfront about everything though it wouldn’t hurt to be more careful about certain things.

Despite our disagreements, we made a pretty good team. Uncle Abner always talked about keeping family close since I’m the only one he has left. I heard that he had a similar relationship with my mom, always butting heads but at the same time they care for each other a lot. Even she was estranged from him for a while but they worked things out in the end. The same will probably happen to us, hopefully in less than a year. I have to admit, I miss him nagging at me and then getting annoyed at him for being so worried over nothing.

At least now we text each other once in a while. He wasn’t there to say goodbye when me and my dad left Chester Faversham, which bugged me a lot. I can’t remember the last time we hung out together before the big argument but I guess that doesn’t really matter anymore. I didn’t believe him when he warned me how easily family can fall apart and now I know. We still have a long way to go but at least we’re making an effort to avoid repeating history and fixing our relationship. I can’t forgive him completely yet but it’ll take a lot more than a dispute to break our family ties. Funny, that sounds like something he’d say. Or am I quoting him on something he said in the past? Am I beginning to sound like him?!

Well, if you happen to come across this article Uncle Abner, I hope we can speed up this reconciliation thing so you can drop by and hang out with us again.

#ChoicesCreates #choicescreates26 #playchoices #choices stories you play #LoveHacks #Julie Nagarkar #headcanon ramble #well that was just barely met the deadline #so yeah school still trying to get used to the routine kinda low key for now #this was actually kind of tricky to write i was planning on something else #and it turned into this at the last minute #i had to cut enid and jamie out because of time and i did incorporate my original idea into it which had to do with louie and his uncle #also rika in rose's story has to do with my hwu oc who's part of the sala family which is kinda messed up #she and her cousins and her aunt are the only normal ones in the family which is why they're alive hah #to clarify who's who julie is from lovehacks #acacia from freshman/sophomore #finley from hero #delanie is my hss mc original hss game #kieran from endless summer #rose from rules of engagement #louie from hss choices #might have to do an every other week thing for these events which sucks but irl comes first #Acacia Lim #Delanie Buchanan #Finley Sayavong #Rose Emmerdale #Kieran Akiyama #Louie Zhou #Rika Sala