Year One: June
The little bumps in his mouth had taken on a more distinctive shape. They fed him different food now. One of the new foods was a bright red thing that he had to bite into, but he could only manage a few mouthfuls before he was stuffed. It tasted quite nice though. Much better than the mush that he was fed before.
Tom got bored a lot. He'd managed to master the rolling back trick in less than a month. He really wanted to be able to move around like the big people, but he didn't think his legs were ready yet. He could sit up though. He spent the whole day trying – falling over too many times for his liking – and by the end of the day, he was seated in his cradle, his tiny fingers curled around the bars. The view was spectacular. He was so proud of himself.
In the middle of the day, some of the caretakers had realized what it was he was trying to do, and encouraged him. At first, he was supremely annoyed, but he soon came to the realization that they would point and stare and pinch and pull no matter what he did or said. So, he set about ignoring them till he mastered the art of sitting up.
Now, looking through the bars, he let his gaze wander over the room. There were babies just like him, but most of them were asleep. That made sense. He could clearly see the stars through the chink in the curtains. A woman knelt down in front of him, curling her fingers around the same bars that he was grasping, her hands enveloping his little ones. He looked into her eyes now, realizing that she was the woman who took him to the Nice Place everyday. Everyone else had left. She had stayed. He felt something welling up inside of him. He felt nice. Against his better judgment, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the woman's hand. Her eyes lit up. She had never looked so happy. She patted him on the head and tucked him in. She stayed beside him for a while, running her fingers through his soft hair. Even though he didn't realize it, Tom fell asleep much faster that day than he usually did.