WITCHES and FREAKS

April 13th

I do wish. I really do. As proud as I am of being able to handle myself when others my age can't even make their own meals, I'm just human. I need help sometimes. I'd be more than a little grateful if you could give it to me. If it's not too much trouble, anyway. I still don't know what you are. I don't know if you're just the book or if you're something else writing in it. Either way. . . I'd really be glad to take any advice you could give on the problems I've been having.

Before I forget, here's what happened today. Mom and Dad had a long talk about what happened and they decided I was telling the truth. I never got into trouble like this in Remaine, so they don't have any reason to believe it was me that was at fault. Mom was intent on punishing me but Dad talked her out of doing anything rash and serious, so all I got was cleaning the whole house on my own this weekend and doing all of the smaller chores for a couple of weeks, like dusting and washing the dishes and all that. Bastian asked if he could help me with the chores and Dad got Mom to agree, so we're both sharing them now like we usually do anyway. Cleaning the house will suck, but maybe I can find some more secrets like the box. The best way to look is to look behind everything and check every nook and cranny of the house, and I mean to do it. It'll be exciting!

Besides offering to help me, Bastian finally showed me his translations. All of it is nonsense, and he says even though he has the words in English he still needs to figure out what it all means. He has to translate the translations. He says that's going to take way longer, and I got him to agree not to copy down any of the pictures. We've had enough trouble already, and we don't need to summon a monster made of whatever bones are buried under the cellar floor. That seems to be what happens in movies and books, and I would like that not to be real.

Verge and Chance are out today trying to find clothes for the summer. It's wednesday, but it was a short day today because one of the stupid boys in the elementary school pulled a fire alarm, so we were all sent home while everything was reset. In the city everything is automated and easy, but everything in Eviros is all weird. The fire alarms have to be reset by hand, there's a water tank for the sprinkler system and the bathrooms that have to be drained and filled by a truck that comes by every day, and all of the lights run on generators that are actually inside the building. It's like the school took a step back in time and decided old technology was so much better than actually improving the town. It's awful. It hurts enough that we don't have a TV like a lot of the kids in Remaine and that the only computer is in Dad's study. And none of us except for Mom and Dad have phones except for the home phone. On top of that we have to deal with the school. It's ridiculous. I really love it out here with all the trees and the wilderness, and I adore the fact that the air actually smells like air and there aren't a thousand buildings crowding us in. But life is more difficult here. It's been a month and I still haven't gotten used to it. I don't know if I ever will. It's just so different.

Anyway, that's pretty much all that's been happening. And absolutely none of it is important. You're actually writing to me now. Like, actually writing. Not just leaving little notes, but actually WRITING to me, like you're actually interacting with me on paper. This is just so cool! I have a million questions!

What are you?

What's your name?

How are you writing in the journal?

Can I see you?

Do you know anything about the box?

What do all of the pictures mean?

I have more questions but these are the most important ones. I really hope you'll answer because I'm beyond curious! I'm going to put the journal away now so you can write. I'll check it a bunch to see if you've written anything! I'm going to go eat now, so go wild!

Aw, I guess you have to wait until night time to write. That's a little disappointing. You've only ever written after the sun goes down. Well, I have to go to bed because I'm still a little bit grounded even if Dad tried to get me out of it. My curfew and bedtime are an hour earlier until I finish with all of the chores I'm supposed to do. I'll check in the morning!

I will begin by telling you I will not answer any question you have until it is urgent for you to know the answer. I will only give of myself what I deem necessary. No torrent can prod me to further what I have told you or what I have yet to say. However, having said that, I will give you my thoughts.

You appear to be a part of a unique family. Your parents have passed down to their children intelligence that has already come to bear fruit. From what you have written you appear to be the most mundane of your siblings; however, this may be out of humility rather than truth, and if it is you should be admired. Not all intelligence is valued, but heart is heard by all things. That in itself you should pride yourself on, even if your peers do not see it.

Those peers are not your concern, even if you believe they are. If they see nothing in you, you should see the same in them. They are temporary. Nothing in this universe is permanent. Not even the stars in the sky last forever. Those who are cruel to you will not live past their hundredth year, and even if you are not evil enough to take comfort in that fact, keep it close. Often the knowledge that nothing lasts forever can keep one back from their reckless reactions to pointless actions. Do not say it aloud, but repeat it to yourself: in one hundred years, these bullies will be gone from this world, and they will have left nothing. It is on you to be sure the mark you leave is better than theirs.

Your brother Verge is much the same way. He may be irritating and you may not get along, but nothing is permanent. He will mature, and as will you. One day, you will both be adults, and you will look back on this time and regret that you did not try to get along. A sibling is a precious thing. Those who have them seem not to think so, but those who are like me, those who were born alone and have no one in the world to turn to when things go sour, will tell you that it is a lonely life when you do not have that blood bond with anyone. Hold Verge close to you, and do not let him drift away, even if you think Bastian and Chance are enough to keep you whole. A family is a unit rather than a slew of separate pieces, and it is everyone's duty to keep it all together.

Bastian seems a fool to me. I have few thoughts of him. From what you have written, I can conclude that he is a very bad influence on you, and you should not idolize him as much as you do. However, I know you will ignore that particular piece of advice, so I will invest no energy in it.

Give Chance a few years to mature. You were that young once, and I can guarantee you were no different. Few humans deviate from the pattern of childhood — when he gains his own unique personality, you will see him just as you see the twins, and you will appreciate him exactly as much.

Your parents mean well. Do not underestimate the power they have to help you when you need it. I am not the first person you should turn to for advice. They are.

The times when I can write are specific and set. You will figure it out in time. For now, appreciate that I am able to write at all. Sometimes things don't go so smoothly. And I will always, always be interested in what you have to say. It is no time out of my day to hear a lonely heart's cry. My days are innumerable and endless, and it is a break in the emptiness that I can speak to anyone at all.