The pain was gone.

That was the one thought resounding within Adrian's head. His blessedly pain free head. For the first time in a long while Adrian's errant thought didn't lead to pain and his reading the titles of his prized books didn't see him crying from the pain and closing his eyes against it. The relief.

To truly test his recovery, Adrian focused inward and just sank into his own thoughts. Adrian let his thoughts wander till he came up against something. Something that felt like a new muscle he didn't ever remember being there, Adrian flexed it and his mind seemed to expand outward bringing with it information his recently abused mind couldn't parse.

Almost instantly he cut it off and retreated from that part of his mind. The discomfort reminded him too much of the mind numbing pain. Never again. Hearing his father bustling around downstairs, Adrian surged out of bed and ran downstairs.

His father who had heard him coming stood frozen in their small kitchen his mouth hanging slightly open. Adrian came to a stop at the last stair and launched himself halfway across the room into his fathers warm embrace. Once he'd have called it crushing now he found it comforting.

With hot tears on his cheek Adrian sniffled out; “I'm okay dad.”

His father squeezed tighter and nodded, “Always knew you would be, always knew.”

Clearing his throat loudly his dad dropped him and ruffled his over grown hair.

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“Lets eat.”

Released from his fathers embrace and wiping his eyes, Adrian missed his father judging the distance he had launched himself and the solid feeling he had felt when hugging him. Smiling slightly he joined his son at the table.

Half way through their meal of heaping mound of scrambled eggs and tea, Adrian lifted his head up from scarfing down food to find his father watching him, worried he asked,

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing”, his father answered with a smile.

“Just looks like you need a haircut.”

Adrian nodded, relieved and got back to his meal. For a moment he thought his father was about to bring up the issue of his failed change. He knew he was being childish but he wanted to not think or talk about it for as long as possible. He felt he'd failed his dad.

After breakfast, Adrian carried out his chair that before he would have had to drag, marveling at his new strength, probably from all his extra eating. His dad watched and didn't comment. Moving the chair to the walls of their little valley and setting up the chair in the early morning sun. Adrian leaned his head back with his eyes closed waiting to hear the therapeutic 'snip snip' of his fathers scissors at work.

He heard one snip and then silence. Adrian opened his eyes wondering why his old man had been acting strange all morning ust to see him opening his personal shaving kit. With a wicked smile his father pulled out dark looking scissors he used on himself because the ordinary iron scissors did not work on people like him.

It took a moment but it clicked in Adrian's mind. His eyes widened and his father seeing his expression snorted and let out a loud bellied laugh.

Annoyed at his father for not just telling him and annoyed at himself for crying so many times in one morning, Adrian furiously wiped at his eyes. He wasn't a child anymore, he was a strongman.

A strongman.

Saying it in his head crystalized the moment for Adrian and just like that he was laughing with his father.

He was a strongman.

He had changed.