MidReal Story
Whispers of Deception
Scenario: The Sims 2: Bella Goths Disappearance, The Cries of Mortimer Goth. It all starts when Bella Goth looks at the Telescope in Don Lotharios Deck.
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As I made my way into the backyard, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
I’d always been an observant person, and it was hard to ignore the peculiarity of Don Lothario’s telescope pointed directly at my bedroom window.
After all, this was a new addition to his backyard, and it wasn’t like he had a hobby of stargazing.
Still, I tried to rationalize it as merely a curiosity of his.
I mean, there was nothing inherently wrong with looking at the stars, right?
My logical side told me that most people used telescopes to spy on their neighbors, but my more naïve side refused to believe that Don would ever do such a thing.
After all, he seemed like a good guy.
I snorted at the thought before pressing my eye to the cold eyepiece of the telescope.
I adjusted the focus, trying to get a better view of the sky.
As I did so, however, my vision was obscured by a message etched into the glass:
Beyond the cosmos lies forbidden knowledge.
Only those who seek may find it.
The sight sent a shiver down my spine as I pulled away from the telescope.
“Only those who seek may find it.” It sounded almost like some kind of riddle.
And the message was signed—
The same initials as the one I’d seen in that ancient tome in the library— “H”?
That could only mean one thing.
This wasn’t some silly conspiracy theory or a story for the tabloids.
This was real.
And someone was trying to tell me something.
Someone was trying to lead me somewhere.
I wasn’t sure what lay beyond the stars, but I knew one thing for certain:
I had to find out.
The message wasn’t in English, but rather some kind of cryptic code:
“Beyond the cosmos lies forbidden knowledge.
Only those who seek may find it.” It sounded almost like a warning.
Knowledge that could not be unlearned.
A journey into the unknown.
As I read and reread the message, a shiver ran down my spine.
What had I discovered?
But despite its ominous tone, all I could feel was curiosity and excitement.
It was as if I were being called by some unknown force, beckoning me into the great unknown.
My heart rate quickened with anticipation.
But before I could decipher any more of the message, Mortimer’s voice cut through the night air, calling for me to come down to the backyard.
But suddenly, out of the ordinary, a UFO came into on my way.. and sucked me in.. I had failed flirting with Don Lothario.
Another day, another strange occurrence in our backyard.
I found myself on the deck once more, where Mortimer’s cries echoed through our spacious yard.
He had always been an intelligent and reserved man, but tonight he sounded almost childlike in his wonder and fear— all at once.
“B-Bellla…” His voice trailed off as he continued to gaze through that mysterious telescope that had appeared in Don Lothario’s backyard just days earlier.
His eyes were wide behind his glasses, shimmering with equal parts joy and terror.
“Look, Bella… Come look…”
My heart went out to him.
I knew he was worried about me—after all, it had been weeks since my disappearance—and this strange new phenomenon in our backyard must have only added to his fears.
But as his wife and as the mother of his children, it was my duty to comfort him.
To assure him that everything would be okay.
“Morty,” I began softly as I descended the deck and made my way toward him.
“I’m here, sweetheart… It’s okay…”
He finally turned to me, and I could see the worry etched into the lines on his forehead.
“I thought you were… I mean, when you didn’t come back…”
“It’s okay,” I said gently as I wrapped my arms around him and held him close.
“I’m here now.”
I pressed a kiss against his forehead and squeezed him tighter, offering what comfort I could.
He let out a long, shaky breath and seemed to relax slightly in my arms as he continued to gaze through the telescope.
His voice was small and uncertain, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had seen.
“You’ll think I’m crazy, but… I saw a shooting star, Bella.
It came from the sky, but instead of burning out, it crashed into that hill over there.”
He pointed toward the nearest hillside, which loomed in the distance like some ancient giant just beyond our backyard fence.
“It left a trail of emerald light in its wake, but then… nothing.It’s been so quiet since then…”
Mortimer trailed off, his voice filled with an unease that I couldn’t quite shake.
A shooting star that didn’t burn out?
It didn’t make sense.
But before I could say anything else, Mortimer cut me off with a shake of his head.
“I know it sounds crazy,” he said firmly.
“But I know what I saw.
It was… extraordinary.” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
“It was as if the heavens themselves had opened up and sent that star down just for me.”
“Now I really do sound crazy,” Mortimer muttered under his breath, but I could see the wonder shining in his eyes.
He may have been an intelligent man, but he was also a dreamer at heart.
And in his mind, anything was possible—even the impossible.
A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of Mortimer being alone in our backyard all this time, staring up at the sky.
He’d always been a night owl, but this was something else entirely.
I gave him one final squeeze before releasing him and stepping back.
“Why don’t you go inside?”
I suggested gently.
It was a Horrifying Thought in Pleasantview.
“I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
Mortimer hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to argue, but he knew better than that.
He could see the determination in my eyes, and so he simply nodded and gave me one last kiss before heading back into the house.
Once he was gone, I turned back toward the hill, my eyes scanning the area for anything that might explain what Mortimer had seen.
The woods were dark, and I could barely make out the path we’d taken earlier through the trees.
But then… something caught my eye.
A glimmer of light, far in the distance on the other side of the hill.
I frowned, squinting as I tried to get a better look.
And that’s when I saw it: a hidden path winding its way up the hill toward that strange, glowing light.
It was almost as if someone—or something—were leading me there, drawing me closer with each step I took into the darkness.
It didn’t take long for me to find the path that wound around the hill.
I could feel the energy of the place humming beneath my skin as I followed it deeper into the woods, each step bringing me closer and closer to that strange, glowing light.
Finally, after what felt like hours, I emerged on the other side of the hill.
And that’s when I saw it: a secluded garden bathed in the light of the full moon.
The grass was soft and emerald green, but the flowers were as black as night.
A low stone wall surrounded the area, but there was no sign of how to get in or out.
It was as if this place existed outside of time and space, a secret garden meant only for those who knew where to look.
As I stood there taking it all in, a voice called out from the darkness.
I froze, my heart leaping into my throat as a figure stepped forward to stand on the other side of the wall.
“Who are you?”
I demanded, my voice shaking slightly with fear.
“I’m just a humble servant,” the figure replied, their voice muffled by the hood and mask they wore.
“But you may call me the Watcher.”
“And what are you watching?”
I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as I took a step back from the wall.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“I’ve been watching you,” the Watcher said, their voice low and cryptic.
“I’ve seen the look in your eyes as you gaze up at the stars, searching for answers to questions you can’t even put into words.”
My heart pounded in my chest as the figure continued, their words echoing through the night like some long-forgotten prophecy.
“I’ve been watching your family for generations,” the Watcher said.
“And now, at long last, we have come to offer you a chance to join us—to be a part of something greater than yourself.”
I hesitated, taking another step back as I tried to make sense of what the Watcher was saying.
“What is this place?”
“This is the Garden of the Moon,” the Watcher replied.
“And we are the Society of Secrets.”
“What do you want from me?”
I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as goosebumps broke out on my skin.
“We want to offer you knowledge,” the Watcher said.
“Knowledge that is beyond your wildest dreams.
For as long as anyone can remember, our society has been delving into mysteries that are beyond the comprehension of mere mortals.
And we want to share that knowledge with you.”
I hesitated for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to make sense of it all.
This was it—this was what I’d been searching for all these years.
An opportunity to learn things that my studies and stargazing could never reveal.
But at what cost?
“What kind of knowledge?”
I asked, my voice catching in my throat as the figure’s words echoed through my mind.
“What do you want from me?”
The figure was silent for a moment, and then they spoke again, their voice barely more than a whisper.
“You must be willing to pay any price,” the Watcher said.
“Some things cannot be unlearned.
Some paths cannot be untrodden.
But if you are truly willing to do whatever it takes, then we will show you the truth that lies beyond the stars.”
I hesitated for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest as I weighed my options.
I knew that this was a life-altering decision, one that would change everything.
But in the end, there was only one choice I could make.
And so, taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and met the figure’s gaze.
“I accept,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear that still gripped my heart.
The figure regarded me for a long moment, and then they nodded, a faint smile playing at the corners of their lips.
“Very well,” the Watcher said.
“In that case, I have something for you.”
With that, the figure reached into their cloak and pulled out a rolled-up scroll.
“The rules of our society,” the Watcher said, holding the scroll out to me.
“Read them carefully.
For there is no turning back once you have signed your name in blood.”
And with that, the hooded figure stepped back, leaving me alone in the moonlit clearing with nothing but the sound of their footsteps fading into the night.
I waited until they were gone before I unrolled the scroll and began to read.
The rules were strict: no disclosure to outsiders, no interference with the natural order of things, no breaking of the laws of magic.
There were dire consequences for anyone who broke these rules, and the punishment was swift and unforgiving.
But none of that mattered to me.
I was ready—I was more than ready—to take this next step into the unknown.
When I was done reading, I signed my name at the bottom of the contract in neat, flowing script.
In Simlish, the Watcher said "This is a Important Document, explaining how The Landgraabs have exploited Pleasantview."
I looked up, and my heart stopped.
The hooded figure was standing before me once again, their cloak billowing in the wind like a great black sail.
But this time, there was something different about them.
Their eyes shone like twin embers in the darkness, and there was a malevolent aura emanating from their very being.
“You didn’t tell me you were part of a secret society,” I said, my voice trembling.
“I didn’t think you’d be interested,” the Watcher said, their voice low and raspy.
“But now that you are here, there is something I need to show you.
Something you need to see before you can truly understand what it is you are getting yourself into.”
And with that, the figure reached up and pulled back their hood.
And then, in one swift, fluid motion, they tore off their cloak and threw it to the ground.
For a moment, I just stood there, gaping at them in shock.
The Watcher was not a human being at all—it was some kind of monstrous creature, with leathery gray skin and glowing red eyes.
Its mouth was filled with jagged yellow teeth, and it smelled like death and decay.
I stumbled backwards, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.
The figure—or the creature—whatever it was—regarded me with a cold, unfeeling gaze.
“Do you see now?” it said.
“In our society, secrets are sacred.
And those who break them are punished severely.
Would you like me to show you my true form as well?”
My heart stuttered in my chest.
I wanted to run—I wanted to scream for help—but I couldn’t move.
It was like something was holding me in place, rooting me to the spot.
“I thought not,” the creature said, its mouth twisting into a grotesque parody of a smile.
And then it raised its hand and everything went black.
When I came to, the moon had disappeared behind a thick layer of clouds and the garden was plunged into darkness.
I pulled myself up off the ground and looked around.
I was back in my own yard, standing just a few feet away from the telescope.
I stumbled over to it and peered through the eyepiece.
For a moment, I thought I saw something—a faint glimmer of light—but when I blinked and looked again, it was gone.
The telescope looked just the way it always had: a simple instrument for studying the stars.
There were no enigmatic markings etched into the glass, no mysterious messages left for me to find.
It was just a telescope.
I sank to my knees, my head spinning as I tried to make sense of what had happened.
Had it all been a dream?
It felt like a dream—or more like a nightmare—but the soreness in my limbs and the lingering sense of unease suggested otherwise.
I rubbed my eyes and tried to clear my head.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.
And then, almost against my will, my gaze drifted up to the sky.
I could see stars again—though not as many as before—and they seemed to be dancing in a strange, otherworldly pattern.
It made no sense, but somehow it felt familiar.
Suddenly, I had a document in my arms..
I felt my breath catch in my throat.
It was the contract—the one that the hooded figure had given me.
I’d been holding it the whole time.
My hands were covered in smudges of ink and there was a small drop of blood on the corner of the page.
I opened it up and read it through, just like before.
The contents hadn’t changed.
There were still the same rules, the same regulations, the same consequences.
But this time, there was no question in my mind that it had all been real.
More than that, there was also no question that this document—the one that I held in my hands—was going to change everything.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
There was no point in panicking, not yet.
If this secret society really did exist—and if they really did hold the answers that I’d been searching for—then the last thing I should do is let fear get in my way.
I needed to be smart about this.
I’d signed the contract, sure, but that didn’t mean that I had to follow through with everything.
For now, at least, it would be better if I bided my time.
The society might have secrets to share, but that didn’t mean that they were the only ones who could dish out knowledge and power in return.
If nothing else, my family had always had a talent for getting what they wanted—even when it came to the most closely guarded secrets of our neighbors.
With that thought in mind, I stepped back into my house and locked the doors behind me.
It was going to be a long night.
I needed to prepare myself for what was to come.
And then, just as I was about to slip the contract into a drawer somewhere and forget about it, a chill ran down my spine.
It was like someone—or something—was watching me.
I spun around and scanned the room, but there was no one there.
The house was still and silent and dark.
But when I looked down at the contract in my hands, I saw that the words on the page had changed.
There was a new message scrawled across the bottom of the page, written in that same eerie ink: “Enjoy your secrets while you can, little Goth,” it read.
“Some things are better left unknown.
And others are better off dead.”
I tried to scream—to call out for Mortimer or Cassandra or anyone who might be able to help—but no sound came out.
It felt like someone’s hand was wrapped around my throat, squeezing tighter and tighter until I could barely breathe.
I dropped the contract and clutched at my chest, trying to catch my breath.
And that’s when I heard it:
A low, menacing chuckle, echoing through the darkness.
“Don’t you think you’re being a little hasty, little Goth?
The voice was cold and cruel, filled with a kind of malice that I’d never heard before.
“Are you sure you want to know what you’ve gotten yourself into?
Some secrets are best left untold.”
I tried to answer, but my tongue felt thick and sluggish in my mouth.
And then everything went black.
By the time I finally made it back to my house, my heart was racing and my head was pounding.
I don’t remember how I got from the garden to my front door, but one moment I was standing in that dark and shadowy place and the next I was back on the street, staring up at the moon and trying to catch my breath.
It was like those hooded figures had never been there at all—like it had all been some kind of strange and terrible dream.
But I knew it hadn’t been.
The telescope had proven that much.
And so had that warning etched into the bottom of the contract.
Silence is key, it had said.
Silence or death.
I shivered at the memory of those words—the way they’d seemed to pulse with dark and terrible power—and clutched the contract to my chest like a talisman against evil.
What had I gotten myself into?
When I finally stepped inside my house, I found Mortimer waiting for me in the hallway.
He’d apparently noticed that I’d been gone—either he’d woken up while I was out or he’d just kept an eye on the front door all night—and had been pacing back and forth in worry ever since.
His face brightened when he saw me, but when he looked closer he must have seen that something was wrong.
“Bella?” he asked softly, stepping forward to take my hands in his.
“Are you all right, darling?
Where have you been?”
I opened my mouth to answer him, but when I tried to speak no sound came out.
My throat was so dry that it felt like it was going to crack in two—and when I tried to swallow, it felt like I was gulping down shards of glass.
My head was still pounding, too—each thud like a hammer against an anvil—and I could feel tears welling up behind my eyes.
I blinked them away and forced myself to smile at him, hoping that it didn’t look too much like a grimace.
“I’m fine,” I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I just… got lost in the garden for a little while, that’s all.
The sun’s so bright out there that it gave me a terrible headache, and…”
My voice trailed off as I saw the doubt in his eyes—the worry etched into the lines of his face like an artist’s signature.
I could tell that he wasn’t convinced—and if I’m being honest, neither was I—but after a moment of silence, he just sighed and pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me in a warm and comforting embrace.
“Let me get you some water,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
“Maybe that will help with your headache.”
I started to protest—insisting that I was fine and didn’t need anything at all—but he just shushed me and pulled away, slipping out of the room before I could stop him.
When he was gone, I let out a shuddering breath and sank down onto the couch, clutching the contract to my chest like a lifeline.
It was only then, when there was nothing else for me to do but wait, that it finally sank in: this was real.
I didn’t know what had just happened to me, but it was real.
It wasn’t some fever dream or hallucination born of too little sleep and too much stress.
It was real, and it was happening.
I felt like there was an electrified current running through my veins—my heart pounding in time to the buzz of it in my ears—and all I wanted was for that feeling to go away.
Part of me wanted nothing more than to run away from it all, to retreat back into the safety of Mortimer’s arms and pretend that none of this had ever happened.
But another part of me—the part that had been so desperately curious just a few short hours ago—was already brimming with questions: who were those people on Don Lothario’s deck?
What kind of secret society were they?
What could they possibly want with me?
And most importantly, what did their warning mean?
I knew that there would be plenty of time for those questions later, but for now, the thought of them was almost enough to send me into another panic attack.
So instead, I pushed those thoughts aside and tried to focus on the things that I did know: that I was safe, that Mortimer was here with me, and that everything was going to be fine.
And when that didn’t work, I tried to distract myself with something else—anything else—just to keep myself from going mad with worry.
In the end, I settled on watering the plants.
It was a simple and mindless task—one that I could do without even having to think about it—and even though it didn’t make my headache go away, it at least gave me something else to focus on while I waited for Mortimer to come back.
It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before I heard his footsteps in the hallway—almost silent, like the rustling of autumn leaves—but they were enough to draw me out of my reverie.
I straightened up from the planter and turned towards him, a bright and cheerful smile plastered across my face to hide the way that my hands were shaking.
He smiled back at me, holding out a glass of water in one hand and furrowing his brow in concern.
I forced myself to relax as I reached out to take the glass from him, and even though the water did almost nothing to ease my headache, I managed to smile at him again before I took a sip and set it down on the table.
“I’m fine, really,” I said.
“I promise you, there’s nothing to worry about.
I think it’s just this headache that’s got me so worked up, but now that you’re here with me… well, I feel much better already.”
He gave me another one of those soft and gentle smiles—the kind that made my heart skip a beat—and stepped closer to take my hand in his, squeezing it gently between his own.
“Then I’m glad,” he said.
“I don’t know what I would do if something ever happened to you.
You’re everything to me, Bella—you and Cassandra both—and…”
He trailed off and shook his head, a rueful smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to get so serious all of a sudden.
“Don’t apologize,” I told him, smiling brightly up at him and squeezing his hand in return.
“Don’t ever apologize for telling me that you love me.”
He laughed at that, looking down at me with the same gentle and adoring expression that he always did, and then his other hand came up to cup my cheek, brushing away a stray lock of hair that had fallen out of place.
“I’m not apologizing for that,” he said.
“I’m just worried about you, that’s all.
You look so pale, my dear—are you sure that you’re all right?”
I opened my mouth to assure him that I was fine, but before I could say anything, he started speaking again—and that, in turn, made it very difficult for me to think straight at all.
“In fact,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, “I think now is the perfect time… don’t you agree?”
I blinked at him, feeling my heart jump in my chest and my cheeks flush bright red—and if it hadn’t been for the thick haze that was still clouding my thoughts, I might have realized that it wasn’t the most appropriate time for what he had planned.
“Oh, Mortimer,” I breathed instead as he dropped down onto one knee before me, offering me the box with both hands.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world—so lovely and elegant that you put even the most magnificent works of art to shame—and I could spend an eternity on my knees like this, worshipping you and spoiling you like the princess that you are… or I would,” he amended with a rueful smile as he opened the box to reveal a delicate silver ring inset with a small sapphire and diamonds along the band, “if I had the chance to be with you for that long at all.”
I felt my heart stutter in my chest as I looked at the ring and then back up at him—but it wasn’t until he took the ring out of its box and slid it onto my finger that I realized what he meant.
“Oh Mortimer,” I breathed again as he took my hand in his and stood up again—pulling me up with him—and then he tucked himself into my arms and rested his head against mine as he held me close and murmured softly into my ear.
“Bella… I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that that happens—whatever it takes to keep you safe and by my side for all time… and if I can’t do that…”
He trailed off and shook his head, his long black hair falling over his face, but he didn’t speak again—and somehow, I knew that he didn’t need to.
I knew exactly what he meant, and even though I knew that it was wrong, I couldn’t help it.
In that moment, I let myself be swept away by him—and I didn’t think about what he had planned or what it would mean for me if he couldn’t bring me back.
I didn’t think about anything at all, really—except for the fact that he loved me and that he was here with me and that nothing else mattered.
And with a sigh, I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder, letting him hold me as tightly as he wanted and enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around me.
