Dear Journal,

I've been home for about a week now, and I have to admit, things seem so different. I've lived alone for so long I'm not used to having another body in the house, save for the skeletons in the closets of course. I'm afraid my little Ery (the nickname I've given him) doesn't like it here. He doesn't do very much, but allow me to start from the beginning.

We stayed at Rose's house for about a week, just until I could figure out how I was going to deal with my new situation. My neighbors know I live by myself so I couldn't think of a way to explain how I magically acquired a young child. I'm still not sure what I'm going to say if they ask, maybe that I've adopted him? Anyway, continuing on. One night I decided I was enough of a burden and Eryeu and I left shrouded by the dark night. We promised that we would come back and visit soon because Ery seems to like Rose. We walked in complete darkness until we reached my house. Ery sat by the window and just peered out it for almost the entire evening while I attempted to make my guest bedroom suitable for a young boy. I didn't do a very good job, but it's not like I was given any notice. I'm not even sure if Ery slept that night, I didn't hear him, but I could almost feel him being awake. Every time I checked on him his eyes were shut and he seemed to be sleeping, however.

I've had to adjust my life quite a bit. The next morning I got up and found Ery sitting quietly in the darkest corner in the den. I cooked us some waffles for breakfast and afterwards we went to the market. I'm glad I had saved some gold for a rainy day, and ironically enough it was raining that morning. I had no toys or anything to amuse a young mind at my house, so the first thing I did was buy him a set of jacks. He seemed to love playing that while at Rose's. I honestly had no idea what to buy, and I was constantly thinking back to my childhood and what I did. Eryeu and myself didn't seem to be connecting very well, and I was determined to get us to spend some more time together. I bought a deck of cards thinking it would be something I could teach him. I had also noticed that Ery loves the night and looking up at the stars, so I bought a little telescope so he could gaze up into the dark sky whenever he wanted. After running around and buying some more trinkets of amusement and a few clothes we started to head home. That was until I noticed this little table and a matching pair of chairs. They were painted pitch black and looked like they would fit perfectly into the corner that Ery was starting to call his own, so I bought the set and we went home.

We haven't been to the market since that day. I would normally walk to the market everyday even if I had nothing to purchase. Ery was starting to worry me because he wasn't talking. I didn't know if he knew how to talk or if he just wasn't talking. I would read stories to him and talk to him, and he seemed to understand me perfectly. I started teaching him words and how to write despite the fact I was still completely clueless if he knew how to already do this. He was taking up all my time, but I didn't mind. I was worrying more and more everyday though. My neighborhood didn't harbor any children, and I was deperately worried that Ery was going to have no friends. Would he even interact with other children? He didn't seem like a normal child to me. He just sat in his corner for most of the day and stayed in his own little world. We baked cookies once, and I remember as a kid I would always beg and go on wanting to lick the spoon, but Ery didn't make a peep. I did give him the spoon to lick, however, and it even managed to get a smile out of him.

I was considering taking Eryeu out of the house more. I thought maybe he might like to go to the park one day. He seemed to be getting used to having me around. He still wasn't talking, but ocassionly he would come and tug on my sleeve wanting to play a game. I was beginning to think he would never talk and that perhaps he was a mute. This worried me because I wasn't sure how other kids would react to that. I wasn't even sure why I was so worried about Ery making friends, there was much more I should have been worrying about. Like school for example, I wasn't sure of Ery's exact age. He looks like he should be in kindergarten, but the whole talking thing puts a damper on that. I suppose I could always homeschool him. In a way I suppose I already am.

I was starting to think there was always going to be this gap between Ery and I that would stop us from ever really communicating. However, one night my hope was restored. I had put Ery into his bed and tucked him in and then sleepily crawled into my own bed. I was so tired I quickly drifted into a deep sleep and didn't notice it was starting to storm outside. My slumber didn't last long though. I had felt something brush against my arm and quickly woke up and turned my light on. Ery was curled up into a ball and hiding under my blankets. I didn't know why until a huge roar of thunder echoed throughout the room and the little lump under my covers coiled up more tightly. I gently told Ery that it was okay and he slowly emerged from his little nest in my bed. I hugged him and rocked him in my arms telling him everything was alright and that he could sleep with me. I turned my light out with Eryeu still cuddled in my arms and had just closed my eyes when I heard this tiny little whisper in my ear saying, "Thank you. I love you."