Gabriel opened the heavy iron gates. His grandfather had given him detailed instructions, but he wasn’t sure how to state his unusual business. Mrs. Spector would most likely think he was crazy.



And old woman opened the door. When she saw Gabriel, she looked horrified. He thought he heard her whisper “You…” under her breath.

“My name is Gabriel. Have we met?” he asked.

The woman recovered herself. “I don’t think so. You... reminded me of someone I used to know. It doesn’t matter. Can I help you with anything?”

“Are you familiar with the name Jon Smith Tricou?”

The woman suddenly looked up. “Familiar enough to be interested in what you have to say.”

Gabriel took a deep breath. “He sent me to ask for any assistance you can lend him. He told me to say that he wishes to re-establish relations with your family, but is currently unable to.”



“I’ll bet he is.”. The woman sneered. Gabriel found himself not liking her at all. “Anything else?”

“He said to tell you that there are nine members of his family in total. With the one you already have given, this will bring your balance to zero. You would be interested in this, he said.”

The strange woman nodded to herself. “You’re not of his bloodline, are you?”

“No. My mother was adopted by Jon Smith.”

“And I assume you have no clue what you just said to me?”

“None.”

“Fine.” She went into her house and came back with a package. “This should cover my debts. As for Jon Smith Tricou’s debts to me, tell him I will collect them eventually. After his… recovery…”



Pocketing the strange package, Gabriel hurried away, hoping that this was the last he’d seen of Olive Spector. He usually wasn’t one to take first impressions seriously, but something about the old woman scared him.

Olive Spector looked after Gabriel as he left.

“Smart move, Jon Smith, not to tell the boy any needless details. But his lineage is written in his face. This is troubling.

“Not who I thought at first. I guess that would be impossible. But his brother. They did look alike…”



Still unsure and with a feeling of foreboding, Gabriel unwrapped the strange gift and followed the instructions Olive had pinned to it. Speaking the name “Jon Smith Tricou”, a strange fog enveloped Gabriel.



“Ah, that’s it, my boy.” a familiar voice said and Jon Smith materialized. “Perfectly executed. As should have been expected from the Muenda bloodline. Her powers have clearly not suffered.”

“I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I’m glad to meet you, grandfather.” Gabriel said.

“Well, you’re gonna meet a lot more of your family tonight, so hurry up!”



Resurrecting one after another, Gabriel finally walked downstairs to meet his family. They greeted him cheerfully, asking about Glabe and himself. Finally Jon Smith looked up and said

“I realize this has already taken out a lot of you, but there is one other person you need to bring back. Please go upstairs one more time.”



“Her name is Rainelle. She was not involved with our family, but we are responsible for her death. She tried to bring us back years ago, but failed and paid for it with her life. We owe her this resurrection.”

Unlike the Tricous, who had adapted quickly to their new circumstances, Rainelle seemed confused. “It’s because she’s not like us.” Gabriel’s grandmother Jennicor explained. “We were aware of our deaths and of your attempt to bring us back to life, thanks to our bloodline. This does not go for Rainelle. Or for you.”

“You will both forget about this.” Gabriel heard one of his aunts say. “It’s better that way.”

Then he blacked out.



“Well now, this is QUITE a conundrum!” the old man who had introduced himself as Jon Smith Tricou said cheerfully. “I’m sorry - well, not really sorry, but you know what I mean - that this house is still very much in possession of my family. I do realize that my wife and I rarely leave the house these days, but to hear that it has been declared empty and sold… Well, there must have been an error somewhere.”

“This is embarrassing.” Rainelle smiled. “We really thought we would find this place abandoned.”

“Not quite abandoned yet.” Jennicor said. “There is still life in these old bones. And I’m sure it must please you, dear Gabriel, to find your family alive and well.”

“I could have asked for no better surprise. And to find that my aunts and uncles are living nearby…”



Jon Smith smiled at his grandson. “You know, until this gets sorted out, why don’t you and your girlfriend stay with us? I’m sure you’d love to get acquainted with your mother’s family and there’s room enough for all of us.”

Gabriel looked at Rainelle. “This sounds perfect. Don’t you think so?”

And with that, Gabriel has added another family to Strangetown - well, to Downtown. Strangetown has grown big enough that some of the younger generations are moving to the big city, but for now it's just the Tricous and ServBot 001 Beaker with her home for stray animals. She spent a while camping in Nervous' old spot, but eventually saved up enough money to move away. A little Stray kept her company, so after its death she decided to have more animals around.

As for Gabriel, I wonder if you can now guess who his father is. Like I said before, he looks a lot like him - just ask Olive. If it helps, Gabriel is slightly older than Nervous.

Originally I was going to use the Resurrection Potion for the Tricous, but I ran into a problem with the community lot graves where the relationships with the Default family hadn't been wiped. It's probably nothing to worry about, but you know how this game is. I considered reviving only Rainelle and the teens, so that Gabriel could raise them, but ultimately I wanted Jon and Jennicor back. Olive approves of this, even if she had to hand over her Resurecto-thingy and a lot of money. Gabriel barely had inherited enough money from Glabe to buy the house.

Coming up next: Strange additions of the third kind to the Curious family