Long Day

I had managed to pull myself off the floor and into bed at some late hour. I had cried myself to exhaustion, and fell asleep quickly. It was a blessing that I did. The last thing I had needed was a fitful night of tossing and turning. I slipped into unconsciousness easily though, and rested deeply until the bright rays of morning light streaming through the window woke me up. I remained in bed for a good long while after that. I heard Silas come in at some point to bring me my breakfast. I continued to stay in bed for another half hour. Eventually, I forced myself to get up. My breakfast was a slice of pumpkin pie. I thought this was strange considering it was late spring, but Silas definitely wasn't a normal man. Though I wasn't hungry when I began eating, my stomach growled loudly after the first few forkfuls went into my mouth. The salad last night had been delicious, but not particularly filling. I was still hungry when I finished my slice. I hoped Silas would bring me more food than the three main daily meals otherwise I would begin to riot. Thanks to my children, I have become accustomed to snacking throughout the day. To not be able to eat at my leisure would drive me crazy.

Trapped

Consciousness came slowly. It didn't help that I didn't want to wake up. My head, my whole body actually, ached something awful. The deep, forced sleep I had been trapped in had been much more comfortable. However, there was no escaping back no matter how long I struggled to return to it. I had no choice but to lay there for who knows how long waiting as the pain slowly eased away while attempting not to panic. My mind was still working far too well to even consider pretending what had happened was all simply a dream. Silas had unexpectedly showed up not long after I called Elemir asking him to come over. I had assumed Silas merely wanted to talk to me. Then, before I had any idea what was happening, he had knocked me out. I can't recall whether it was by a drug or him hitting me in the head. It somehow feels as if he did both. Perhaps he tried to drug me, and when it took longer than he planned he resorted to force? It makes sense enough, I suppose.

As I woke up further, it was obvious I was somewhere completely foreign. I kept my eyes closed, and continued to lay there long after the pain fully subsided. It wasn't too hard to work out what had happened, but I wasn't ready to deal with it yet. It had obviously been hard enough for me to handle everything that had been going on with naneth. The last thing I had needed was to be kidnapped. I took comfort in the fact that Silas had at least brought me somewhere that felt comfortable. The bed I was resting on was softer than my one at home. Considering how much money I spent on that bed, this one surely had to be even more expensive.

Twinbrook

Eleme's visit to the hospital proved what I thought- that she was in good physical health. She was a little malnourished and somewhat sleep deprived, but after two days those issues went away quickly. Though this was naturally a good thing, the following weeks were still tough as we had to deal with Mr. Clemens' trial. He was found guilty, but escaped jail time again because of his condition. The ruling was that he would spend a good five years at a special holding facility for other individuals like him with him then being heavily monitored after his time was served. Eleme and I were free to move on after the sentencing finally happened. Everything, for the most part, became happy again. Calun had his birthday and graduated from high school. He was easily able to get a decent job at the stadium because of his hard work towards strengthening his body, and he promised before he left for his new place that Eleme only had to call him if she needed him to beat up anyone for her.

Recovery

I became barely consolable. After Lithaldoren left and the police began working on the case, there was nothing else I could do but wait. And wait. And wait. This only made the overwhelming guilt nearly crush me until I was completely flattened. Things became even worse when I realized I couldn't fully blame Mr. Clemens. It wasn't his fault he is like he is. His body just doesn't work right He literally could not understand that was he was doing wasn't right, and that he wasn't actually doing what's best for his daughter. 

It was my responsibility as the rational person with the properly working mind to make the right choices. It was all on my shoulders, and I failed miserably. Now my little girl could be hurt, or possibly something much worse could happen. I could not go through that again. I just couldn't. I shouldn't have become so complacent about a situation I never should have looked away from. Then I felt bad that I was monopolizing Sind away from his heavily pregnant wife as he was the only one who can make me feel somewhat decent. I even made it hard for the others what with my random collapsing into tears.

Taken

It's hard to believe just how stormy this winter has been. I've seen ones this bad before, but they're few and far between. We have scarcely seen any blue sky let alone the sun. The clouds are always gray and low-hanging. The snow falls so fast and so often the town can barely keep up. Calun, Ithilas, and Galir have had snow day after snow day. This means the school is actually considering keeping classes going later into the summer. Of course, the boys are complaining about it. Now they're seeing all these days off do have consequences. There has to be equality in all things. Thankfully, the winter season is almost over. I do so miss the sun and my garden.

Escalation

The snow came quickly. It was one of those instances where there was nothing on the ground when I went to bed, but there was a foot of the white stuff the next morning. Naturally, school was cancelled for the day after such a storm. The boys were overjoyed to have the whole day off. They made the walk in the badly cleaned sidewalks to enjoy the winter festival that had recently been set up.

I believe Calun got the most enjoyment out of their time there. He's certainly become something of a daredevil ever since he had his birthday. Now he does all of these extreme things- like eating dirt to freak Ithilas and Galir, and me, out. While I am glad he has become more active and involved, I worry a bit about this new attitude. I just don't want him to go too far and accidentally hurt himself. I suppose as long as he keeps to the relatively safe activities like snow boarding at the festival, which he is quite good at, he should be fine.

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.

Pressured

Sind is an incredibly doting father. Griselda gushes to me all the time about him and how he is so wonderful. I simply smile and listen when she goes on and on. I know how he is. He has grown up quite responsible because of that little fiasco he caused. Sind also has lots of experience helping to care for his younger siblings so it's no wonder taking care of Galir comes naturally to him. I am truly glad I get to witness his and Griselda's transitions into parents first-hand. One more of my wishes has finally been fulfilled.