It’s so true… nothing ties people together like love. I can tell Lotte would be sad to see me go, and the kids can’t imagine a world where I don’t come back the next day forever. I went over there today to tune Lotte’s piano, but I never got around to it because the young’uns kept chasing me around asking for a story, and Lotte said herself that I should give them what they wanted, so! I sliced up the bread for their evening snack (they’re almost as happy to get it from me as from Lotte now!) and I told them my go-to fairy tale about the princess who’s waited on by a pair of magical hands. I’m learning so much from this — really, though! — and I’m amazed by how much it stays with them. Like, sometimes, if I have to come up with a detail on the spot, and I forget it the second time, they always jump right in and say, no, it was different last time! so now I’m working on nailing down one consistent version I can unspool in a single singing stream of syllables :P One thing it’s taught me is that if an author ever tweaks a story for its second edition, even if it’s way better written, he’s 100% guaranteed to mess up his book. We’re very receptive to first impressions, and the way people are, they’ll eat up even the craziest stuff; but it sticks that much stronger, so you better not try erasing or crossing anything out!