Forgotten Friday #229 - 正音陽 / Yoh Seine
Who Is Seine Yoh?
2020 art update from Fandom |
"I brought you friends that live in books!" Mr. Elf gestured towards the desk at the foot of Seraphim's bed.
She rolled off of her bed. She was surprised when she saw a stack of books. She picked one up and opened it. The words were strange - instead of the curling and curving cursive she had learned to write, the letters blockily stood alone.
"What are these?" McKenzie pointed at the text.
Mr. Elf was in shock. Did a ten year old just ask what words were?! He knew that she lived with people who could read. He had given Aliyah herself hundreds of books over the years. It wasn't one child's job to teach another... But it dawned on him. McKenzie would do anything to get approval from Connie. Connie did not approve of reading. The only reason the other children could read was because Connie never paid attention to them.
Seraphim closed the first book and looked at the others. Nothing seemed to interest her. Mr. Elf thought about all of his years looking after her. She wasn't dense, but she was a bit dull. Given the choice between fun and sitting still, she would happily sit still in silence.
"Can you give me Green Eggs and Ham?" Mr. Elf knew he was asking too much, but he wanted to see if she could figure it out. There were green eggs on the cover of the book.
She looked back at him. She grabbed Cat in the Hat and sat back down in her bed.
"What do you think this book is about?" Mr. Elf's voice wavered.
Seraphim twisted her face into an expression of contemplation. "Is he made of ham?"
The Cat in the Hat, naturally, did not look like a cat to anyone unfamiliar with Dr. Seuss. And he did ask for Green Eggs and Ham...
"No, he's a cat in a hat!" Mr. Elf was cursing Charlotte's name in his head. Why couldn't she risk her position and teach this child to read? Why did it have to be him?
"That doesn't look like a cat." Seraphim opened the book and looked at the pictures. "None of this looks like anything at all. I don't think Miss Constance would want us to fill our heads with nonsense that doesn't look like anything."
Mr. Elf thought about it. Though McKenzie couldn't read, that wouldn't mean that she'd like books at her reading level. Maybe chapter books would be better for her.
"Say," Mr. Elf cleared his throat. "Would you like to be friends with someone just a little younger than you? I know an eight year old you might like to meet."
"Really? Someone younger than me?"
With a soft 'poof', a cloud of glittering powder appeared on the stack of books. Seraphim scrabbled to pick up the newest book. It had real people on us cover!
No comments:
Post a Comment