One night, in a small room lit only by a desk lamp, a boy, about the age of 15, was writing with a smile. When he reached the last page, he stopped, and clicked his pen.

He started reading over his notebook, inspecting for mistakes, only stopping after fifteen minutes of proofreading.

“Finally…” The boy muttered joyfully. He hugged the notebook, as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

“My twentieth story.” He fell asleep soon after.

>>>>

It all started five years ago, on a warm and sunny afternoon. A ten-year old boy knocked on the door.

“Come in.” A gentle voice reached his ears, and he opened the door to see his mother.

“…” The boy was speechless. The room looked like a… dump. What did his mother do to make such a mess?

“Hey, George.” Suddenly, his mother`s gentle voice called for him, making his body freeze.

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“A-ah, yea mommy?”

“I want to give you something.”

“W-what is it?”

“Come into my room, I`ll give it to you.”

George reluctantly entered the… cave? That seems appropriate…

“You know…” The mother`s voice called out to him, abruptly snapping George out from his thoughts.

“…it`s your birthday soon, right?”

“Ah, yes…” Cold sweat started falling from his back. His birthday is close, the day after tomorrow, in fact… He shook his head. He and his mother were still having a hard time after his father disappeared suddenly.

“No, it`s okay.” George gave his mother a resolute smile.

“I`m the man of the house now, I don`t need gifts!” He made a macho pose, but with his small chubby body, it looked cuter than manly.

His mother stretched his cheeks with a laugh. George rubbed his red cheeks soon after. He was pouting, feeling wronged.

“No, you don`t need to worry.” She assured him with her usual soft and gentle voice. She took out a thick old book with a leather cover and tinted white pages.

“This is a magic notebook.”

“I`m not a kid anymore, mommy. There`s no such thing as magic!”

George`s mother smiled warmly at him before handing him the notebook.

“I`m sure you`ll have a lot of fun with this.” She ruffled his hair, making him pout.

“Geez, fine. I`ll take it.” He took the book, but because it was too heavy, he placed it on the ground.

“Be sure to take care of it.”

“Of course, mommy. You don`t have to worry.”

Little did he know that on the next day, he will experience a great trauma. One that will make him embrace the notebook as if it were the most precious thing in the world.