As I turned my spectral eyes towards them, I heard the bespectacled man talking in a low, slightly desperate voice.
“But I want peace and quiet, you know? A place where I can shine. I don’t want a lot of other hot shots running around trying to steal my piece of the pie.”
“Pie, sir? I thought you didn’t care for pie.”
“It’s a figure of speech, Reg. I want to corner the market, if you catch my drift. That’s why Ahanu Bay is just the place. No one’s there yet! But once the secret gets out, they’ll be swarming all over it. And I’ll be there waiting for them.”
A secret?! Now they really had me. I am a terrible glutton for mystery. How I wished I could ask him what the secret was!
“Secret, sir? What secret?”
Oh, thank heavens for that dear boy.
“Geez, Reg, do I have phrase everything as literally as possible? Your head needs adjusting. What I mean is, Ahanu Bay is…well, it’s as close as you can get to heaven without dying.”
“Heaven…the afterlife?”
“No, ‘Heaven’, the Bryan Adams song,” the bespectacled man said sarcastically. “Of course I’m talking about the afterlife! Sheesh, Reg, you’re supposed to be smarter than I am.”
“It’s not my fault if I’m not, sir.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Everything’s my fault. Well, I can’t do much about it until we get to Ahanu. Now quit asking so many questions and let me eat my dinner.”
The bespectacled man finished his grilled cheese and paid the waitress. Meanwhile, I was so excited I nearly manifested. These two gentleman had me hooked! I’ve been wondering my whole death what heaven would be like. Thankfully, this “Reg” and I were of the same mind.
“Now that you’re finished with your meal, sir, may I ask a question?” he asked the bespectacled man.
“Shoot. I mean…sure.”
“What is heaven like?”
“Oh, man. It’s amazing, Reg. White beaches. Palm trees. The biggest tiki bar you ever saw. And hot hula girls everywhere you turn.” He heaved a wistful sigh. “I only got a glimpse. But it was worth it.”
“Pardon me, sir, but why not die again so you can return?”
“Oh, no no no. I’m not ready yet. You see, when I died, I wasn’t happy with my life. I was young; I hadn’t done much yet. So the Reaper took me to Limbo, and that’s where I would have stayed if Mom hadn’t beaten him at his game. And Limbo isn’t much to look at. It’s…well, it’s like this place. A desert. But you can see Heaven from Limbo, Reg. You get little flashes of it. They tempt you with it. But they make it nearly impossible for you to get there.”
The two men walked out to their vehicle as they talked, and I stuck to them like an invisible burr. I couldn’t believe it! This bespectacled man…had died. He had gone to Limbo. He had seen a glimpse of Heaven! And it did sound lovely, although I can’t say I’m all that excited about the hula girls.
So as they zoomed off into the night, I followed that one gleaming taillight…all the way to the almost-Heaven. And I’m so glad that I did.
(NOTE: Further episodes of “Maude’s Tales” will be categorized solely under “Ahanu Bay”.)
Great start to a story, Jen! Can’t wait to hear more.
Wow it’s nice to see Maude again….very interesting the things she’s privy to
MAUDE!! Yeah!! I missed her. :D
Haha, great intro, Jen! Your stories never grow old but I haven’t read far back enough to know Maude, although I think I can pick up what’s going on ^^. Your picture taking ability winds my jaw to the ground … More updates !! :D
Good ol’ Maude! Nice to see her ghostly self again. Maude! You’ve been missed! Can’t wait to hear more of Ahanu Bay. It’s sounding better and better as time goes on. :D
I missed Maude D: I can’t wait to hear more!
Interesting starting point am defientely looking forward to hearing more
Gleee! Maude! :D Glee! Ahanu Bay starting up! And.. Gleee! Tiny cute desert diner! Where did you get all that custom stuff, Jen? =)
Wow, it must be really fun to write from her point of view, being a ghost wandering from place to place, discovering secrets and being able to study people without being considered a freak!
I’m definately looking forward to reading more of Maude’s tales!
ooooh! Maude! Wow! What a treat. Nothing like the good old days… and as usual…. it looks like she’s discovered plenty of interesting things. Love The Oasis, it all looks great. Looking forward to more!
YAYY!!! Maude’s awesome, I’m glad you brought her back (especially into your new neighborhood)!!!
I’m babysitting, so this’ll be short…great update!
Oh Jen! I am so ashamed of my desert community when I look at yours! Wherever did you find the flora and … petra? ALSO, are you using a “hotkey” program for the screenshots ( I think that’s what it’s called?)?
Wow, this story looks facinating! ^^ I’m a new reader, just finished reading every single one of your stories and loved everything! Can’t wait to hear more about this.
By the way, how did you get the cars parked the way they were? I thought they just park on the street, not like a parking lot.
MAUDE!!! W00t!
Very creative. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
Jen I’ve got a site!Just click my name and you’ll go to it!Everyone else who reads these comments PLEASE take a look and tell me what you think!
Okay I just clicked on my name and it turns out THAT’S not my blog but if you click on my name NOW it is.
Jen, just to make sure, you WILL check my blog out, won’t you?I’d really appreciate it if you did, but no pressure of course!Okay?
My site’s called jemcay’s site.
PLEASE!
I just found your blog a few weeks ago, I had heard about the RKC challenge on the official Sims2 site, and wanted to do a Victorian version since I love that era. I was searching for stuff when I came across Annabel Island, then I read about the Braytons, and Fran. Haven’t read about Maude yet, but I can’t wait to hear more about her. I just wanted to say that I love your stories, they’re absolutely wonderful, and I can’t wait for the next one!
YAY update. and a cool one at that. i read all maudes tales when i first came to your site. they are sooooo cool. :)
Great Start to a cool story. I cant wait to here more. I wonder if maude will come across the founders of Ahanu Bay. while shes there :)
be cool if she did. Oh and fran! but shes not there yet.
Anyway. Cant wait for more ! XXX
wow! This stroy is engrossing. I wanna know what happens next.
Maude is back! Great story Jen, it’s nice to see another Maude update.
This is really interesting, Jen. What caused you to go this route?
Oooo, very interesting! I love the little diner! Very nice. I’m interested to see where this goes. Definitely an interesting direction to take.
A great start! I can’t wait. You always have such tantalizing introductions.
I was wondering whether Maude was gone for good. Oh, how I’ve missed her! Thanks for bringing her back. I can’t wait for her to fill me in on Ahanu Bay. :)
OMG, this is great Jen! I loved the dialogue, and that little diner was adorable! Felt like the real thing! I can’t wait to see what Ahanu Bay is like!
Yay! Maude. I love her. Very nice diner. Did you build it? Your sets are great!
Hey guys! Thanks for the comments. Maude was glad to be back!
Welcome to the new readers and commenters! It’s always nice to see new faces.
To answer some questions:
Kay – Shoot, I can’t remember offhand where I got some of that stuff. I’ll do a credits page when I get home! Don’t let me me forget!
winkling – The desert-y plants are from Simply Styling, and the rocks (I *think*) are by Nengi65. She’s retired but you should be able to find most of her stuff at the Sims 2 Graveyard. I’ll double-check when I get home… And yes, I use Snag-It to take my pictures. I love it! There’s more info in my FAQ.
Alie – I have Nightlife, so those are just cars parked in driveways. I used the invisible driveway recolor from roddyaleixo at Mod the Sims 2, so that’s why you can’t see it!
Anonymus – It looks like your site is gone! Will you be starting up another one?
Angelia – What cause me to go this route? Hm, good question! I’m not sure I know how to answer it. I blame Maude…
Christina – Yup, I built the diner. And thanks, I’m glad you liked it! :-D
I love the diner! Will it be available anywhere to download?
I’m glad to see Maude back. I think she was what hooked me onto your blog in the first place.