Confusion

Something bad must have happened. That was my first thought when consciousness very slowly returned to me. Everything had been so wonderful, then there was such a long period of darkness, and now there was a massive pain in my head added onto my world of darkness. I could barely make sense of anything. I was lying in a bed. My hair had been braided, but what idiot had done that? Everyone knew how much I hated having my hair tied up completely. The pain, me being in a bed, and my hair not how I liked it truly was all I could make out. I didn't have the strength to open my eyes. I figured whatever had happened to my head must have been making me rather out of sorts. Weird beeping sounds echoed from all directions while I swore I kept hearing a woman's voice in some unfamiliar language project out from the ceiling nearby. It could only be reasoned that I was dreaming. Otherwise, I was afraid to think what being in the strange place I was in meant for me.

Strange Dreams

I knew it would happen one day, but even still...

I was not prepared for that moment when I finally realized Wesley was old. His aging had seemed to be happening so slowly. He had steadily been acquiring more wrinkles and had been complaining about his body hurting in greater quantities, but he simply had that kind of face that stayed youthful far past the youth it showed. I took it for granted that he would always stay that way. I really was in for a rude awakening. It should have been a more subtle transition as subtle is how it happened. I just hadn't been paying attention. When I looked at Wesley before, I saw him instead of his age. What should have been obvious escaped my notice. Then the obvious became clear all at once, and I was left sad and afraid. Wesley's years on this earth and with me were coming to an end. The vast amount of time it felt we had together was now steadily slipping away from us.

Try as I might, I could not speak of my realization to Wesley. It was too hard to get the words out of my mouth. He was well aware of what I was feeling though. He was dealing with the same emotions as I was. I started noticing small changes in his behavior. He was obsessed with dying his hair so that no gray could be seen, and he would sneak pain killers when he thought I couldn't see so he could complain less about how it was getting harder to move. Longer clothing that covered his arms and legs became his preference as he wanted to hide how thin and fragile his limbs had become. The only time he wore something sleeveless was at night when we went to bed. He liked when I would run my finger along his tattoo. It became amusing to me how I had worried he would regret getting it. Now it was a calming reminder of how all this had started, how much time we had had together, and that some small piece of me would forever remain with him when his time came.

What Next?

Thankfully for Wesley and I, Lenn was amazingly behaved right from the start. He naturally did have his naughty moments where I would find him chewing away at the couch leg or using the carpet as a toilet, but once we really dug into his training those incidents disappeared almost instantly. The only thing I had left to complain about was that he was constantly underfoot. His greatest enjoyment was following everyone around. He was so small, so I was really worried one of us might accidentally step on him. I was relieved when he began to grow, and he grew fast. It didn't take long before he reached his adult size. All of us were curious as to how he would turn out appearance-wise. It is safe to say Lenn is a mutt through and through. We couldn't even identify one dog breed he could be related to as he was such a mess of all sorts of features. His look definitely wasn't conventional, but I found him adorable nonetheless.

Birthdays and Babies

I found myself going to the consignment store very frequently. I don't think one day passed without me making a trip there. I got to know the workers and other frequent shoppers well. I went so often because Navinai always begged me to take her. She knew she was looking for something very specific, but she didn't know what exactly it was. All she could tell me what that she would know it when she saw it. Well, she finally saw it. The object she had been searching out was a space rock that had been dropped off just that morning. Though it was a little expensive, Navinai eagerly used her savings to purchase it immediately.

While she was distracted making her purchase, I also might have been secretly buying another bottle of wine for myself. The store carries ones of surprisingly good quality.

History Repeated

It was bittersweet that the day had to come, but Renia's birthday did come. I still haven't seen Penn's clean face. It's hard to say exactly what he looks like when he has his make-up on. One thing is for sure though, he helped me to make one gorgeous daughter. Even as an adult, Renia hasn't picked up her father's wacky tendencies. Not that I was expecting she would. They've always been so different. Renia has become a bit more a couch potato since she graduated, which worries me that she might have burned herself out a little too much. She picked up many excellent writing skills at her part-time job though, and she has decided to become a full-time writer. It was hard having her go, but it was also nice to have a proper bed to sleep in again.

Too Good to Be True

My toddler and my baby had their birthday on the same day so now I have a child and a toddler instead. We celebrated Sind and Melui's birthdays together. As soon as he aged up, Sind began to show signs that there was something a bit off with him. His actions remind me a bit of how Joseph acted, which is worrying. However, then he changes so quickly and acts completely normal and sweet. He absolutely adores being a big brother. Sind plays with Melui all the time, and actually gets angry sometimes when I interrupt.

The Truth

Sind was born very late in the night. It's been a long time since I've had a child come at such an hour. I was naturally tired from the late night and the labor. It was thankfully that the labor itself was relatively short. I was truly ecstatic to see Sind has at least inherited Paul's hair. Hopefully this means he'll have his pretty green eyes as well. Nevertheless, Sind seems so far to be a calm baby. It really is hard to determine his personality just yet though. He fell asleep quickly, and I fell asleep myself minutes after I got him settled.