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."

"Good plan. It's great that you want to surprise her but if I were her I'd be a bit pissed off about a significant other keeping something this big a secret," Izzy nodded. "So, is this memoir pretty much completed then or are you still tweaking it?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure I'll ever finish it on my own," Nardho's face turned grim. "There are a lot of things I want to cover in my writing but there is not enough time in a human's life span."

"You said that as if you're dying," Izzy scoffed. "What is it with you and your fatalistic mindset? No wonder mom and dad were initially a bit nervous about letting me ask you about your project. They said you've been that way since you were nineteen."

"Do you really want to know the answer or are you just chiding me? And for your information, I am dying, just not physically. There are more than one way to die, you know."

Izzy's smile was gone now, replaced by a look of pure remorse. "I'm sorry, Uncle, I didn't mean to offend you," she grabbed her purse and was ready to leave the music studio but Nardho gestured for her to stay. "Wait, you're not mad at me? I was being inconsiderate!"

"I can never be mad at my favorite niece," he removed his glasses and sat down at his desk, then he turned on his laptop and showed Izzy a folder full of photographs. "I was just a little disappointed that you can joke so lightly about death. Then again, you couldn't have known that I unfortunately understand what it was like to be almost dead. Literally and figuratively."

Izzy clicked through the photographs and stopped clicking when she got to a photo depicting Nardho and Moira with a grey-haired man who appeared to be about in his sixties. She was sure that she had seen him somewhere but couldn't recall the occasion.

"That man... Am I supposed to know who he is? I feel that I've met him once when I was a child but I'm not sure. Give me a minute," Izzy searched her memories for the man's face. "Ah! He's the man on Uncle Kenta's memorial altar. What was his name? Lee-sensei?"

"Yeah, that was him. He was my advisor freshman year of college and a very selfless guy," Nardho's eyes glistened and Izzy pulled her chair closer to comfort him. "He was the reason I'm still here. Nardhia told you about my lung disease, right?"

"Mom did, although not in details. So, Lee-sensei was the one who—"Izzy trailed off as she realized where the conversation was heading. "Oh wow. I have no words. Mad respect for him for being an organ donor. I'm sorry if I brought up an unpleasant memory."

"It's okay, I've made peace with it. I know I can never pay him back but in retrospect I think if he could give me a final advice it would be to make sure I'm giving hope to those who live without one," Nardho closed his laptop. "Enough about my past, though. You've come to learn more about what Moira was like when she was younger, right?"

"Indeed. Uncle Nardho, you've never told me what happened after you and Auntie brought down Mr. Milton's mining company. What did you two do next? What became of Ms. Deandra and Ayumi-san?"

"Oh, you mean Dea? She's fine, she got back together with Ayumi and they decided to stay in Golden Valley. Both women are still looking after the Gaburs even now in between their duty taking care of the guest house. Anything else you're curious about?"

"You bet!" Izzy laughed. "I have a million of things in my mind but I'll narrow them down to maybe just ten or twenty questions. So, first thing first. The Gaburs aren't the only endangered species in Red Sycamore or, for that matter, the entire Indigo Inferno, right? Did you and Auntie also manage to save other animals?"

"Well, you know your Auntie, she's always offering her help wherever and whenever help is needed," Nardho chuckled. "Our second year of college, we learned of yet another hybrid species whose habitat was in peril. This time it wasn't because of a mining company but because the ocean salinity had changed so much and this species couldn't lay eggs properly."

"Interesting. I wonder if you guys ever ventured out of environmentalism and actually did things that involved no animals at all. Not that there's anything wrong with animals."

Nardho was going to reply to his niece but then there was a knock on the studio door. He shouted to say the door was already unlocked and Moira came in looking annoyed.

"There you are," she said as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "Everyone's upstairs eating cookies and you're hiding in your man cave. You don't want cookies?"

"One minute, honey," Nardho motioned for his wife to acknowledge Izzy's presence. "I was just talking with our niece about how fun it was to attend the same university as you."

"We have another niece?" Moira raised her eyebrows. "Naoko and LJ got another sibling?"

Izzy glanced at Nardho uncomfortably and the man mouthed go join your cousins, I'll handle this before facing a confused Moira. "That's Isabella. She's grown up so she does look different. So, you were saying something about cookies?"

"Don't change the subject. Since when did we know an Isabella?"

"Since my sister gave birth to her, which was around fifteen years ago," Nardho said matter-of-factly. "You were there when Isabella was born, remember?"

"Shut up," Moira frowned. "That teenager is Nardhia's and Tony's baby? Wow," she rubbed her temple. "Nardho, I know I'm forgetful these days but I can't believe I've been forgetting that your twin's daughter is not a baby anymore. What's wrong with me?"

Nardho gently took Moira's hands in his and hesitated before pointing his finger at the memoir on his bookshelf. "We're getting older and soon our memories will fade," he began. "Before everything fades completely, I want to cherish the most meaningful moments we can still reminisce on. I've been meaning to let you in on this but I was waiting for the right time."

"Is that why you've been locking yourself in the studio lately? You're gonna surprise me?"

"Are you... angry?" Nardho wanted to let go of Moira's hand but she held on.

"I'm... thankful," she leaned closer and put her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for wanting to preserve our memories together. I love you." 

                                                                             THE END (FOR NOW)

Credits: @OmletteDanish  for the picture of adult Nardho and @thefutureunheard for the picture of a nice mountain :)