Welcome to Gaia! ::

An Introduction to Learning

Celebor was waiting by the front door of the inn anxiously for his mother to come home. It was only the day after his first growing, and she had promised him that if he behaved while she was at school (which he had, perfectly), then she might have something for him when she got back.

He didn't bother trying to think of how she would know whether or not he had behaved during the day: it never occurred to him. But even if she hadn't promised to bring something home for him, he would have behaved ... he loved his mommy very much and he liked to make her happy.

He heard steps approaching the front door - they were very quiet, but his elfin ears picked them out - and his heart started beating faster in his skinny chest as his excitement grew. He jumped to his feet and prepared to pounce.

The door opened with a slight creak, and like a shot Celebor was running at the person who was entering. He took a flying leap and landed directly in his mother's arms. She was laughing - one of Celebor's favourite sounds. He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Welcome home, Mommy!" he bubbled. "I was a good boy today, Mommy! I was really I was! You can ask Gramma! I was a good boy and I behaved real good!"

Elnara laughed and swung him around in a circle. "That's good!" she grinned, putting him down and poking his nose. "Because I brought something home that I can only give to a good little boy!" She put one hand behind his back and started guiding him towards the stairs. "But first ... let me get rid of my stuff, all right?"

Celebor nodded, smiling happily, and took her hand in his own and walked beside her. He tripped on their way up the stairs a few times - he was still getting used to his new proportions (long skinny legs and arms, so different from his previous size), and so he was still pretty clumsy. He opened Elnara's bedroom door for her before following her inside. He clasped his hands behind his back and twiddled his thumbs as he waited patiently for his mommy to be finished whatever she was doing.

Finally, she turned and presented him with a small bag. She was smiling, so Celebor smiled too. When Mommy smiled, it meant something good either had happened or was about to happen, and that meant it was good for him to smile too.

"What's in there?" he asked her eagerly, sitting on the floor and sticking his legs out in a big V. He reached inside and pulled out three objects: first, I thick blue notebook with letters and something that looked like water on the cover. It had a red bookmark in it; second, a phoenix feather quill; and third, a small inkwell full of black ink.

Celebor had never had any of these objects for his own before, but he knew what they were used for. "Thank you!" he cried to Elnara, throwing his arms around her middle and giving her another squeezy hug.

Elnara smiled. "And now you can learn to read and write just like the rest of us all do, wouldn't you like that?" she laughed softly.

Celebor nodded vigorously. "Yes!" he cheered. "Just like you and Gramma and Uncle Triton and Uncle Yuki and all the rest!"

He felt very grown up.

Elnara was sitting on her bed, writing in her journal the children's dictionary from Lore open beside her.

Celebor opened the door and crept in slowly, almost scared to talk to Elnara. He didn't want to make her sad ... but he was convinced that was exactly what was going to happen. Still, he gathered up his courage and approached the bed, and cleared his throat nervously.

"Mommy?"

Elnara looked up and smiled, then lowered her book and quill. "Yes, sweetheart?" she asked, sliding over and patting the bed next to her.

Celebor climbed up onto the bed and sat next to Elnara, then leaned against her arm and looked up at her with anxious eyes. "Mommy, can I talk with you?" he asked quietly. "Cos I wants to ask you something but I don't want you to be mad at me."

Elnara blinked. Whatever this was, it must be serious. She put her journal to the side and sat up, then pulled Celebor into her lap and hugged him. "You can ask me anything you want," she assured him. "I won't get mad, I promise."

Celebor looked up at Elnara anxiously. "Yes'rday at the cafe, Sasku was back but he was diff'rent, and Don'van says he's not good to look up to but he maked me laugh and feel good, so why come I can't look up to him? And he didn't make you sad yes'rday ..."

Elnara thought about her reply carefully before she ventured to answer. "I ... don't know why he was so different," she said hesitantly. "I mean, he looked different because he lost so much weight ... but he didn't speak to me at all, so I don't know what's up with him."

She sighed. These must be the types of questions Celebor usually asked Donovan. And Donovan had told Celebor that Sasku wasn't someone to look up to ... well, technically she didn't disagree, but that didn't make him a bad person.

"Celebor, when you look up to someone," she tried to explain, "that means that you respect them, and that you want to learn from them, and in a way, be like them."

"But it's not good to look up to Sasku?" Celebor asked, confused. "Is he bad?"

What a loaded question.

"Sometimes he does things that are bad," she replied slowly. "But everyone does ... but there are also things that he believes are good that aren't, and what people believe is a very important thing to know when you think about whether or not you're going to look up to them."

Celebor blinked. "Why?"

"Well," she answered thoughtfully, "because what people believe influences what they do. Like ... they will do things they believe are right, and they won't do things they believe are wrong to do. Does that make sense to you?"

Celebor grinned and nodded. "And Sasku believes bad things are good?" he asked eagerly.

Elnara smiled, glad he understood. "That's right," she nodded. "So whenever he tells you something, you have to think about it and make sure that it's something you know is right, and if you're not sure then you ask me and I'll tell you, okay? Because there are some things that he might tell you that can be wrong, but he might not know it."

"But if he doesn't know it's wrong," Celebor asked, confused again, "should I tell him?"

Elnara laughed. "If you think you can, yes," she smiled. "But he might not understand what you mean, so you have to be prepared for that too."

Celebor blinked. "But what if he doesn't listen to me?"

"Then just remember to always do what's right," Elnara smiled, squeezing him in a hug. "Even if he does something wrong because he doesn't know it's wrong, you have to always try to make sure you don't do the same things."

"Is that why he makes you sad?" Celebor asked curiously, hugging Elnara back.

For a long time, Elnara thought over that. Finally, she replied, "Yes ... it makes me sad that he does some bad things because he doesn't know they're wrong ... and because he doesn't understand why I think they're wrong." She smiled down at him. "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"But friends means not looking up to him?" Celebor was confused again. "Cos I thought we're s'posed to look up to our friends."

"Well, like I said," Elnara nodded, "look up to the good things ... but not the bad things. And if you're ever confused, make sure you ask me."

She paused. "Or Donovan, if I'm not around. But only if I'm not around, I want you to try to ask me first." She grinned and ruffled his hair affectionately. "All right?"

Celebor grinned. "'Kay!" he agreed cheerfully. He hugged Elnara around her neck tightly. "Thankies Mommy!" he smiled, then kissed her cheek and ran off to find someone to play with.