The sun filtered through the tall windows of Dr. Ludwig's study, illuminating the large wooden desk covered in papers, books, and writing tools. The child sat on one side, intently focused on the letters in front of her, while Dr. Ludwig, proud yet patient, guided her from the other side. Every word and every sentence she formed was met with gentle encouragement.
There were some bumps on the road with pronunciations because of the roll of the tongues and different accents. But the child slowly started getting over the discomfort and learning each word, looking at Dr. Ludwig as if asking, 'Did I say that right?'
Dr. Ludwig would softly clap his hands and nod before gently ushering in another word as his doppelgängers helped along, helping the child form another word after listening to them form the word first.
However, one particular struggle became apparent early on: the child's difficulty seeing the letters clearly. Her squinting and the constant re-adjusting of her papers did not go unnoticed by the observant doctor.
Deciding to rectify the situation, he arranged a visit to the resident eye doctor, about whom the child was worried because she had never stepped out of the hospital or knew what an eye doctor was.
Dr. Ludwig assures her that the eye doctor checks on people's eyes to see their eyesight and tells her that he went to the eye doctor when he was around her age, having to get glasses because he could not see anything far away.
The child slowly started calming down as she listened to Dr. Ludwig, even looking at his glasses when he handed them to her to have a look as she handed them back. He even added that he would be by her side, too, to make sure she was safe.
…And then comes the problem with the clothes after one of the doppelgängers asks, "So vhat kind of clothes vould she be vearing enstead of a hospital gown?"
Luckily, Dr. Ludwig had some extra time to give the child clothes: a long-sleeve dark blue gown that reached down to her ankles, jet-black tights, and black slippers. When the day came, the child was anxious and hid behind Dr. Ludwig as he told the lady in front of the desk of his appointment.
After the lady at the desk tells them to wait for their turn, the child and Dr. Ludwig sit in a chair, and instantly, millions of eyes stare at her from all directions, all the people around her except for Dr. Ludwig.
The child looked down at her lap to not be terrified, gently wringing her fingers with her hands as she nervously chewed her bottom lip. Dr. Ludwig noticed the poor child's nervousness after seeing everyone staring at her and giving them the deadliest glare at them all.
Instantly, everyone looked away from the child after Dr. Ludwig gave them the deadliest glare before gently taking her hand to keep her from wringing her hand too much. The child flinched a little after Dr. Ludwig took her hand, but she grabbed his hand with both hands, still nervous from everyone around her.
Their number was called, and Dr. Ludwig took the child with him to the eye doctor's room, who was surprised after seeing a human child before him. Instead of gawking at the child, the eye doctor began the checking, showing what each instrument did.
The child slowly started to feel comfortable after listening to the eye doctor explain what each instrument does before doing it to the child. Some of them were a little uncomfortable initially, but with assurance from Dr. Ludwig, the child slowly went through the process.
Eventually, the data returned after a while of tests concluded that she has astigmatism and myopia, which is why most of the words are either blurry or she has problems reading whenever she moves them up close.
'No wonder I couldn't see all that well.' the child thought after listening to the eye doctor explain. The eye doctor stood up and left the room to make glasses for the child as she waited, although she was a little out of it because her pupils had to be widened for the pictures.
Dr. Ludwig stayed by the child's side, keeping an eye on the child in case something went wrong, even to ensure everything went right. Sometimes, he would check the door of the room they were inside to ensure no unwanting paparazzi was waiting for her.
Finally, the eye doctor returned carrying a glasses case before opening it, showing an Oxford blue, rectangle, half-frame glasses. The child watched as the eye doctor carefully removed the glasses from the case and opened them.
The eye doctor carefully placed the glasses onto the child's face, and the child watched as everything that was once blurred was restored to normal. The child flinched slightly after seeing the eye doctor's appearance, looking confused.
"There you go, sweetheart," the eye doctor smiled as the child looked around, slowly calming down after seeing everything look normal. "Let your eyes adjust a little to the glasses, and you'll be able to see everything."
The child then looked up at Dr. Ludwig, perking after seeing his face, who looked middle-aged with streaks of graying in his jet-black hair and wearing a medical uniform with a symbol on his forearms.
Dr. Ludwig did not notice as he thanked the eye doctor for helping the child as she followed him, although she stumbled a little because her eyes were a little blurry to get used to the glasses she was wearing.
Dr. Ludwig noticed the child stumbling and gently swooped down, picking her up from the ground and holding her close to his chest as he exited the eye doctor building, ignoring that everything was staring at the child in his arms with confusion. However, the child becomes more nervous at how different they all look compared to the others, making the child feel out of place.
But she slowly calmed down once they stepped back into the hospital, returning the comfort as Dr. Ludwig placed the child down, telling her to take some time to let her eyes adjust to the new glasses she was wearing. The child agreed, pushing the glasses into place before noticing her hands.
They… looked very different now that she was wearing glasses that allowed her to see, noticing lines around her fingers, even the smallest details like the miniature scars decorating parts of her palms and stitched-up scars around her wrists.
The child gently felt the scars around her fingers, palms, and wrist from underneath her dress' sleeve, even noticing how thin she was from underneath the garment, which brought some confusion, wondering how much she did not see herself in the mirror because of her poor eyesight.
She trailed her fingers across her long hair, perking a little when she looked at the strand of hair in her hand, which was blue instead of the hazelnut brown she used to have. The oil, grime, and stuck items in her thick hair were removed, showing long, wild hair that had yet to be trimmed.
The child moved the hair strand back, and her fingers trailed over her ears, feeling how pointed they felt underneath her fingers instead of being round and human-like. More curiosity filled the child's head about her appearance, wanting to know what she looked like.
Seeing a full-body mirror, the child pushed herself up from the hospital bed and started walking towards the mirror, her feet gently clapping against the tiles. She hesitated momentarily, unsure if she wanted to see herself, but her curiosity gently pushed her into looking through the mirror.
When she peered into the mirror, the child was astonished at what she saw in the mirror's reflection. Staring back at her was herself, but with long blue hair that reached down to her ankles, wide azure eyes with the new glasses, and the new clothes Dr. Ludwig bought for her.
She looked very different from the others, even considering the people staring at her when she entered the eye doctor's building, gawking at her appearance and even how she looked. She looked… human.
The thought of 'human' echoed through the child's mind as she felt her pointed ears that stick out from the sides of her head, gently feeling them with her fingers as she stared at herself in the reflection.
How human is she really? Something shifted around her neck, and the child snapped out of her thoughts, looking down at what was around her neck and removing it from her garments. It was the necklace she was given from the two creatures.
Curious, the child walked away from the mirror and sat back on the hospital bed, looking curiously at the pendant in her hands. The gemstone in the middle was a large rainbow jewel surrounded by symbols ranging from animals to squiggly lines.
She flipped the pendant onto its back, looking for anything written on it or maybe some dates that indicate that this is some plastic pendant she is wearing. But from how heavy it feels and the feel of the gemstone in her hand, the child agrees that it is real.
The child placed the necklace back into her garment and went back to thinking, wondering what she would do now that she was stuck in a different world surrounded by strange yet kind people. Half of her wanted to escape because of all these strange faces surrounding her, but… another half wanted to stay because she felt safe.
'Safe' echoed through the child's mind about her surroundings, and she slowly calmed down from being on her toes… but there was that lingering thought of the hateful nurse, deciding to keep her guard up in case there were people like her.
Dr. Ludwig and his doppelgängers were now teaching the child how to write after learning to piece together words to speak, although she struggled with pronunciation. The progress with learning to write was shaky at first, but she slowly started to master it, much to Dr. Ludwig and his doppelgängers' amazement.
The child was a little disheartened when her attempts at writing were wonky, but Dr. Ludwig and his doppelgängers helped the child discover her problems and show, giving her some comfort in attempting.
Eventually, the child started practicing writing names, starting with 'Dr. Ludwig,' 'Nurse Flood,' and words like 'Home' and 'Family.' The child was entertained with writing and continued practicing before pausing a little.
The child finished writing 'Apartment' before looking at the list of words and stumbled across one called 'Stephanie.' The child cocking her head slightly to the side after reading the name before returning to the paper and slowly wrote an 'S,' 't,' 'e,' 'p,' 'h,' 'a,' 'n,' 'i,' and 'e.'
"Vhat does zhat spell out as?" Dr. Ludwig smiled as the child looked at him with curiosity.
The child looked back at the name and said, "Steph-ha-nie." Then she perked after hearing the name, repeating, "Step-ha-nie. Stephanie."
Dr. Ludwig could not hold back his smile, his heart swelling with pride and warmth. "Exactly! Very well done," he said, his accent curling around the syllables of the chosen name.
His doppelgängers around the room shared in his joy, their faces lighting up with bright smiles. Each clapped softly, their eyes gleaming with appreciation and a sense of accomplishment. They witnessed the birth of identity through the veil of words, a significant milestone in the young girl's life.
After hearing 'Stephanie,' the child gently cocked her head and slowly asked, "Can 'Stephanie' be my name?"
Dr. Ludwig's eyes softened at the tentative question. There was a hint of hope in her voice, a gentle inquiry into her newfound identity. He knelt down to her level, his face showing a soft smile.
"Ja, ef jou vould like et to be. 'Stephanie' can be jour name," he affirmed gently, his voice carrying a comforting certainty.
His doppelgängers mirrored his tender expression, one of them adding softly, "Et's a name jou picked, und et suits jou vell." A unanimous nod was among them, reinforcing the moment's acceptance and special significance.
The child-no-Stephanie felt a warm feeling in her heart after listening to the kindness from Dr. Ludwig and his doppelgängers, looking back at the name before hugging Dr. Ludwig, which startled him from the unexpected hug.
"Thank you for helping me find my own name." Stephanie thanked Dr. Ludwig, looking up at him with the warmest smile. Dr. Ludwig was momentarily touched by the sincerity in Stephanie's eyes and her heartfelt gratitude. His face brightened with a tender smile, mirroring the warmth in her expression.
"Oh, et vas my pleasure, Stephanie," he said softly, his voice hinting paternal fondness, returning the hug to Stephanie. "Jour so cute zhat jou can kill someone vith kindness."
"I can?!" Stephanie panicked after hearing Dr. Ludwig's joke.
"He's joking!" one of his doppelgängers laughed after hearing the panicked tone in Stephanie's voice. Stephanie sighed after the doppelgänger exclaimed as the others laughed at her reaction as she was blushing a light blue color.