2. Welcome back to Fabulares Animalia, a Boolpropian
round robin legacy! Where Castoria Reisenden is
continuing her research of Riverblossom Hills. Last
chapter she married Andrew Martin, He moved in
with his teenage son, Jacob Martin.
3. After our wedding night, Andrew and I were too exultant
to sleep. We ended up tending the garden together.
Despite being distracted by my beloved’s closeness I
earned a bronze gardening badge.
4. “Cas? You alright?” Andrew asked as I had to work
very hard not to throw up on his shoes.
“I’m fine.” I told him, could I be pregnant, was that
what that strange lullaby was about. I would have to
pursue this futher.
5. My stomach settled down quickly, thankfully. After a
quick shower, my beloved and I settled down to play
chess. We both needed to increase our logic skill. I
must admit, Andrew is a little better than me. He
says he’s been playing games since he was Jacob’s
age.
6. Jacob returned home from school, his grades were
improving. Andrew said Jacob had been a little off since
his mother had died. I hope this is a good sign for our
relationship.
7. All of sudden my stomach expanded, I was pregnant.
It had to had something to do with the lullaby I had
heard. I wish I could contact my mother about the
incident. I was filled with joy, I was going to have a
baby. I had to tell Andrew right away.
8. But he was asleep. My poor love, he was exhausted
from our night time labors in the garden.
9. Jacob returned from work that day with a promotion. I’m
so very proud of him. He reached the top of the Gaming
Career for teens. All too soon he’ll be wanting to go to
college. We really can’t afford to send him, but he is
smart enough to earn lots of scholarships.
10. The next morning I told my beloved about our
upcoming bundle of joy. Andrew sweep me up in a
kiss so sweet and tender I thought I would melt.
11. Being pregnant made me so hungry, I felt like
I had to constantly eat. Luckily we could
afford to upgrade the kitchen a little so I could
eat more than Simfast and cereal. Though I
loved eating cereal.
12. The crops were constant maintenance. Though
both Andrew and I loved spending time outside.
It didn’t take long before he also earned his
bronze gardening badge.
13. I still went to work while pregnant. My bosses
weren’t pleased, but I didn’t care. We needed the
money too badly for me to stop working.
14. Sometimes both Andrew and I were at work and
Jacob was left home to fend for himself. He said he
liked the quiet. But I still worried about him.
15. All the girls in the neighborhood called him constantly.
He often wanted to invite them over for a party. I
denied his request. Our home was too small for a
crowd of girls. Especially when we weren’t home.
16. I entered my third trimester as soon as I got home
from work. I’m so excited my baby will be born soon.
17. Andrew made us cereal the next morning. He is great at guessing what I need. It was good that he
was in a good mood. I had neglected to tell him one thing.
“Andrew, There’s a naming theme in my family.”
“Like European names? I can handle that.”
“No, well, no so specific. I want to name our baby after a creature of legend.”
“Oh, I guess that’ll be okay. My aunt won’t like it.”
“I know. But it’s important to my mission.”
“She’ll have to accept then.”
18. Andrew had to go to work after that. I spent the
day tending the garden. The tomato plants were
almost ripe. I couldn’t wait to taste my home
grown produce.
19. That night I went into labor. It hurt a lot but was
over very quickly.
20. Even though I had to go through it twice. I gave birth to
twins, which is not surprising since I’m quadruplet myself.
I named them Chupacabra and Lechuza. Though it is quiet
impossible to tell them apart at this age.
21. I wanted six kids altogether. My beloved was all too
willing to try again right away.
22. Jacob cared for the newborns while we slept. I didn’t
even have to ask. I couldn’t have asked for a better
stepson.
23. We had to hire a nanny, while my beloved and I were
at work and Jacob was at school. I hated leaving my
little ones. But since I had gone in while pregnant, my
bosses expected me to come back right away.
24. “Thanks for you help Jacob.”
“No problem Dad.” Jacob said rocking Chupie back and forth gently. “I’m
glad you and Castoria had kids, that way you won’t miss me so bad when I
move out.”
“What happened to college?” Andrew asked.
“I can’t put you guys in debt like that.” Jacob said sadly, “Look at our
house, we don’t even have furniture. I’ll stay and help out with the little
until I can move out.”
25. Barely a day passed and my stomach swelled with
new life. We were going to be parents again! My
beloved would be so pleased.
26. This pregnancy was not as easy as the first. I felt
that I could do little more than eat and sleep.
Andrew and Jacob struggled to keep the house
clean.
27. All of us felt horrible when Andrew found the garden
choke in weeds. Our beloved garden had always been
well tended.
28. With Andrew’s help, we fixed the garden. He told
me what Jacob had said the previous day. My
heart sunk, I had hoped we could of sent Jacob to
college money aside. I had failed my stepson.
29. A lucky chance card gave Andrew a promotion to
Platform Jumper. I hope can use his bonus money
expand the house.
30. In the night I was awakened by my child growing inside
me. It was growing so rapidly. I wondered how were
going to manage three tiny children. Thank goodness
there are three of us to care for them.
31. That evening was the twins birthday, my darling
Lechuza grew up first. She was a happy natured girl,
always happy to greet a new face. She thankfully
patient to wait her turn to be changed and fed.
32. Jacob help Chupie, we weren’t able to afford cakes this
time around. He was only slightly shier than his sister.
Still has sweet as honey, my Chupie.
33. They loved each other very much. Talking in nonsense
phrases that obviously meant something to each other.
I could barely tear them apart to make them go to bed.
34. This night I was awakened again. By horrible pain, I was
labor again.
35. I gave birth to two more boys, Rookin and
Coyote. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I
was. Our house was too small before, now it
would be absolutely cramped.
36. Once the newborns were settled in cribs in Jacob’s
room Andrew and I went back to bed. It took a long
time for me to fall back asleep. Mulling over the
problem of space in my head.
37. The mess downstairs made the decision for me. We
would move, rather try to fix this house. There was a
plot of land near Andrew’s Aunt’s.
38. The instant the newsboy came I snatched up
the paper and confirmed the listing was
available. We began packing everything we
owned.
39. Within two hours, we were there. Our new house. This
time we wouldn’t have to live in squalor.
40. That’s it for this chapter, sorry it’s taking so long to get my chapters out. I’m hoping
I’ll be making more time for them in the near future so I can pass the torch.
I named Castoria’s kids after local legends, thinking it would be fun to learn more
about my area. Some of the mythic creatures are rather famous like the
Chupacabra and others less so, like I had never heard of Lechuza. But that’s what
Google is for right?
Chupacabra is the goat sucking demon widely known to killed cattle and drain their
blood. Tasty. There are a lot of Chupacabra ‘spottings’ but most tend to a mange
infested dog or raccoon.
Lechuza is a home grown Texas legend of witches that turn into owls. Fortunately
they are not considered dangerous and seemed to like scary people on long widing
road trips.
Rookin is a legendary giant bull shark roaming the swamps of my dear neighbor
Louisiana. I’m not sure how valid this legend is. But Discovery Channel gave it a
special during a Shark Week.
Coyote is one my personal favorite Indian legends. He’s part of a lot stories and
cultures. And is always up to some mischief or other. Patricia Briggs, a favorite
author of mine, brings him to life in the Mercy Thompson series.
