Where are you?
Such a simple question. Oz honestly couldn't answer. He'd never been able to answer.
Sometimes, as a child, he'd just wanted to shout. I'm right here! Look at me.
But no one ever really had. Three people, maybe, but that was it. And it wasn't enough. For any child it wouldn't have been enough.
So eventually even Oz had lost track of himself. He didn't tiptoe around or retreat meekly in the face of aversion but all the noise he made was as much a distraction as a notification that he was slipping through the cracks. Getting forcefully thrown into the Abyss had just been ironic.
Where the hell are you?
And now he couldn't find his reply. But for the first time in a long time, he thought he might really make an effort. He would look for the answer.
And that was already a step in the right direction.