Continuation and Feedback of a Storyline I'm starting...

aldavor

Hi fellow simmers! Hoping this finds you all well and simming happily!

Okay, I'm putting a storyline together that may or may not become novel-length, and would be interested in the kinds of ideas as to how to take it forward.

I'm posting what I think would be a first segment to a starting chapter, and at some point there may possibly be a prologue or preamble (or two).

My sim is Jenna Bond, a young adult and child prodigy of music and art. Her background is yet to be written, but for now, she has one family member of which she is aware... her aunt.

I would love to hear your opinions and ideas on moving forward! Thank you!

aldavor

Jenna was very much down in the dumps. Since her mother had passed some four years ago, she had been attending boarding school, and staying with her Aunt Greta (her mathematics teacher) during the breaks. However, she had now graduated and, as a young adult, was expected to make her own way in the world. She was given all that her aunt could afford and, as shde was about to leave for the city, was called into her aunt's office.

Puzzled, Jenna sat down at the desk. "Jane darling" began her aunt. "Angela, your dear mother and my lifelong best friend, had family in what she referred to as the 'old country'. Her ancestry is based in the mountainous Eastern European regions and her great grandparents and their siblings were always regarded by the locals with some suspicion."

"You see" she continued, as she got up from behind her desk and started to pace around the office, "they were quite wealthy, but how they obtained their wealth has always been a mystery. Anyway, that story is far too long and must wait for another time. Suffice it to say that your mother was always the apple of their eye, and was loved by the whole family."

Greta sat in the armchair by the window, slowly leaned back and crossed her legs underneath the long skirt. She reached into one of her pockets and, to Jenna's utter astonishment, produced a pack of slim, long cigarillos, one of which she extracted, placed between her lips and lit with a lighter which was laying on the side table beside her. She drew her breath sharply and inhaled.

"Soon after your mother was born, the family experienced a tragic series of catastrophes which culminated in all but one of their deaths, and your very hurried passage here across the borders by my parents with whom she stayed. As you know, my brother and I have always been your mother's new family and we have loved her as such, in the same way she loved us. The episode was extremely mysterious, as it just seemed too intense to have been a list of coincidences."

She put out her almost finished cigarillo into the ashtray on the table, and stood up to walk to the large antique sideboard in the corner.

"About a year ago, I received a letter that had been addressed to my many addresses at which I have lived; it purported to be from Angela's uncle (her father's brother). His name is Avram Bogdan, and he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Together with the letter was a copy of his will, in which he left a sizeable property to you. He asked me to keep it for him, and on his passing, to give you the details."

Greta sat down again, and before opening the large envelope to taking out a bundle of papers tied with a red ribbon, she looked at Jenna quizzically, as though inviting questions. The only thing Jenna could think of at that moment was "Aunt Greta... you smoke?!?"

Her aunt waved off the question as though she was swatting a nuisance fly. "These, " she said, holding the papers aloft, "are the deeds to property owned by your great-uncle in a place called Forgotten Hollow - it's about a day's train journey to get there from here."

"Now, all legal and administrative fees have been paid, so there are no outstanding fiduciary bonds that are tied to the property (which is a house and some land) but the location itself really needs your inspection if you intend to take up your legacy."

"You see, nobody really ever goes to Forgotten Hollow; your uncle loved the solitude and calmness the place offered him. He was a scientist, and his laboratories were in his basement which very few, if any, of his family and colleagues ever visited. It's a depressing place, surrounded by no less than three cemetaries, dating back centuries."

Jenna shuddered. 'Oh my' she said to herself, but realised that she really had no capital of her own, nor any savings upon which she could count. She was thankful that she was artistically and musically brilliant; she was a child prodigy and inspiration for the arts just seemed to flow effortlessly from within.
She thought for a few minutes in silence, then turned to her aunt purposefully and said "Give me the details; I'm going to Forgotten Hollow!"


To be continued...

aldavor

Now, what I've done is demolished all the properties in Forgotten Hollow, and just placed a custom abandoned mansion-type property on the old Straud Mansion. I'm looking at putting some screenshots up which would form the next part of her journey to explore her legacy.

Appreciate all comments, feedback and ideas!