Welcome to Glimmerbrook | Realm of Magic 1
I. Welcome to Glimmerbrook
For seventeen-year-old Halle Langdon, the move to Glimmerbrook was not an entirely welcome one. Living in Windenburg since she was born meant a lot of things: her friends (few, but close) were there, her school was there, and all of her memories with her mom, with her family complete, were there.
But in the few years since her mother’s death, since Halle’s life was pulled from the ground like an intolerable weed, no sense of normalcy had ever really returned. Life went on, day by day (was there any other choice?), but there were no handwritten notes in her lunch, no early morning wake-up calls to watch the sunrise. Her father, Ian, tried his best of course, but there was no replacing Colleen.
***
So as moving day dawned and Halle wearily carried box after box out of the rented storage trailer, she didn’t think that anything would change simply because her address did. She couldn’t deny, though, that there was something… alluring about her new town. When she asked her father why he chose Glimmerbrook, his answer was vague, intriguing: “Your mother would have wanted you here.”
"How did you even find this place?" Halle asked her father, voice laced with skepticism.
Ian cleared his throat before answering. "It's, ah... it belongs to your mother's family. Well. It did. Now it's ours."
There was something he wasn't saying, but as Ian turned away, Halle didn't take the subject any further. Actually, she couldn't take the subject any further. When her father faced her once again, the tiniest kitten Halle had ever seen was curled up against his cardigan, staring at her with wide, green eyes.
"I thought he'd be a good sorry-for-uprooting-your-life present," Ian laughed nervously. "His name's Pugsley."
Halle had wanted a pet for ages, ever since her beloved dog ran away when she was 11, but the tidal wave of her mother's death had washed those hopes away. Until now.
"Are you serious, Dad?" Her father lifted Puglsey away from his chest, prying a tiny claw from the fabric of his sweater, and offered the mewing creature to his daughter.
"You deserve him, Hal," Ian said. "This will be a new journey for us."
Halle gently sat Puglsey down on the driveway, before wrapping her arms around her father.
"Thanks, Dad."
***
Even a new kitten couldn't keep Halle from letting her mind run wild. Honestly, with the monotony of unloading boxes and carrying things upstairs over and over again, there wasn't much else to do. It had been three years since her mother died, so why were things changing now? Why right before starting her last year of high school? Why a house that had belonged to her mother's family? If moving always came with this many questions, Halle didn't think she'd ever be doing it again.
And Glimmerbrook was beautiful, even with the gloom and rain of moving day, but Halle couldn’t find anything in particular about it that screamed MOVE HERE NOW.
Except for one thing. One small, almost unnoticeable feeling that could have been the lingering tingle of a blinked-away sneeze, could have been the twinge of a nerve under pressure. What was weird, though, was that this feeling had only started once her father’s car had crossed into Glimmerbrook proper, not a second before, nor a second after. In that instant, a slightly-faded welcome sign blurring past, the buzzing began under Halle’s skin. Not painful, no, but there, in the background. And still now, in the emptiness of the small room she had claimed as her own, it was there, electric.
***
After spending the day unpacking and getting her room just as she wanted it, Halle wasted no time in setting up her camera and filming a new room tour. Her SimsTube channel had been steadily gaining subscribers ever since she uploaded a conspiracy video about the Henry Puffer canon (book four was definitely ghostwritten, right?!).
It should probably be mentioned that Halle loves everything and anything Puffer and had since she was a kid. She used to sit down with her parents after dinner and read the books, each of them voicing specific characters. Her mother had a lot of thoughts about the magic system, and they'd spend way too long debating the merits of potion-making. After Colleen died, Halle's passion for the series never wavered, and watching the movies over and over became her favorite form of therapy.
"...And my dad surprised me with a new kitten! Pugsley! He's so cute. But that about does it for me, guys, I've got my first day at my new school tomorrow. Wish me luck!"
***
The next morning, Halle decided to go wild and make an actual breakfast. Ian was a musician, performing nights with a symphony orchestra, and often slept in, leaving Halle to her own devices. It usually resulted in a half-empty pot of coffee for him and a really good caffeine buzz for her. Today, he'd be treated to some eggs and bacon, as well (and if they had entirely too much pepper, well, would he rather they have no seasoning at all?).
After eating, on her way upstairs to get dressed for school, Halle stopped in front of one of the many bookcases littered throughout the house. This one was different, somehow, looked less real. She noticed something strange; it looked like it had been cut out from the wall and put back in place, a bookcase nesting doll. A secret door? Don't be silly, she thought. But in this old house, with that buzzing still settled in under her skin...
Like all of the other things scattered around her mind, this would remain a question for another time. As for now? Halle's only goal was getting through the school day in one piece.
***
Notes:
- Henry Puffer Stuff Pack
- Halle and Ian are living in lilsimsie's Creek Side Corner Reno, but it is not placed on the Creek Side Corner lot and I also changed the exterior color.
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