From the journal of Nathan Sanchez, June 25

June 25, 2017

     Life is good. Marianne and I are going out still and I really enjoy just being with her. Her and Shiela, who is dating Darren, joined us on our team and we get to spend lots of time getting to know each other. I bet it won't be long before either Darren or myself switches rooms with one of the girls so Darren and Shiela can live together and Marianne and I can do the same.

     Before the pandemic, it could take months, or for some people, even years, to date someone and decide to move in with them. Now, everything is sped up. I've only known Marianne for a month and eight days, but I feel like I've known her for years. We spend hours talking about everything, from our childhoods to our past relationships, to what has happened since this all started. Nothing is off limits and I can't imagine life without her now.

     But, it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Seven couples came from the groups merging and one of those didn't stay together long. Victor and Janet broke up on June 20^th and it has been World War 3 ever since. Every time they're in the same area, they start yelling at each other and have to be separated. It's funny how angry they are considering they were only together like 3 weeks.

Mario and Lisa

     Thankfully, the rest of the couples seem to be doing better. My cousin Mario is dating Lisa, one of the former drummers, and they are totally stuck on each other. He had played drums in school himself, so they set up the kit in one of the barns, which has now become a music room, and they're teaching the kids who want to learn how to play.

Jazmin and Bruce

     Jazmin and Bruce just started dating last week, but can be seen walking around this place holding hands and making moon eyes at each other. They take turns bringing meals to each other when they're on duty and sit, looking at the stars together for hours on end. They talk about everything we all talk about, including what our old dreams for our lives were and how they've changed since the pandemic began.

Rosiat and Evan

     Rosita and Evan bonded over working in the kitchen and have enjoyed working together to perfect their guacamole recipe. They spend time cooking, picking produce from our garden, and taking walks around the secured areas. They hold hands and laugh and talk.

Miranda and Manuel

     Even one of their teachers, Miranda, has started dating one of the older cousins, Manuel. They spent time together at first on the team finding everyone someplace to sleep when the band first joined us. It took a lot of work to get everyone settled, even temporarily until we got more RV's, and they spent hours and hours listening to what everyone thought they needed and trying to give what space they could provide to make everyone as comfortable as possible. From there, it became walks in the evening, dinner together every night, and now they're a couple.

     Though some of the family has been annoyed having to deal with Janet and Victor yelling at each other, still the new people were badly needed to keep our community growing. Otherwise, there were only a few couples that could've provided kids and everyone else was related. Now, we can get couples together and babies born and we can grow and thrive and help to bring civilization back to this undead infested world. At least, if that is what God wants to happen. Please, please, let it be what will be.

As a writer and artist, I appreciate any readers and their comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please, come read the other blog I write for our artisan collective, Raven's Castle Creations, on our website at www.ravencastlecreations.com. It includes posts on art, the mythology of symbols we use in our art, history and more! Also, come see the art we produce in our Etsy store at etsy.com/shop/RavenCastleCreations. Follow us on Twitter at @ravencastleart and on Facebook at @ravencastlecreations.