Even on Same Days we do different things. Pa says we have to keep our brains active or they'll rot. Maybe Brain leaks out of ears if it rots. Pa says Brain is clever like a hard drive, but I don't really know what that means. When I was four, Pa helped me build my Mind Palace. Pa's Palace is really complicated so he explained to me how to build a simple one. Mine has a wardrobe where I put important information, just like Wardrobe in Room, but bigger. Pa said he's going to teach me how to read and write, just like the Not-Real children on TV when they go to school. I'm going to learn the Per-i-odic table and maybe one day I'll be able to do experiments, but only if we're allowed. We have to follow the rules or Chain will hurt Pa's leg even more.

Sometimes, on TV, people don't speak English. I want to learn other languages so I can be clever, like Pa.

We do other activities too, like dancing. Pa is teaching me how to waltz. I dance well, like Pa. We're very the same on the inside, but we don't look the same on the outside. I can also count to one thousand and I know the alphabet forwards and backwards. Sometimes we play pirates together and Pa is the captain and we make swords with tin foil and I pretend Table is the plank and I jump into Pa's arms and I'm all safe and sound.

We watch TV shows and Pa helps me guess who is lying and who is telling truth. I play same game with Pa too but it's more difficult with TV people because I can't ask them questions. Pa says I'm good but I think he lets me win.

We do so much on Same Days that the muchness is tiring sometimes and makes me sleepy. That's why I fall asleep so quickly in Wardrobe, even if I don't want to. I want to listen to Pa talking to Them, but he doesn't want me to hear. Old Magnussen has a soft voice and the Wicked Witch always sounds angry. I haven't told Pa, but I'm a bit scared of Them.

"Pa, why are we the same on inside, but not on outside?" asks Jack, curious.

Pa stops what he's doing and looks thoughtful. He sits down next to Jack on Bed. "What makes you think we're different?"

Jack holds up a strand of his long hair. "My hair is brown, but yours is dark." He says. "My hair has grown down my back and it's wavy, but yours is very short. Your eyes are blue but mine are brown and your face is different shape."

"Your face will change shape as you get older, Jack." Explains Sherlock. "When I was your age, my face was round like yours. And as for my hair," he runs his hand over his head where it's cut military style, "My hair gets cut regularly, so it never gets to grow, but I know that it can be wavy, just like yours, curly even if I don't brush it." He smiles. "And you're pale like me and you're the same as me on the inside." He wraps his arms around his son and pulls him close. "So really, there's very little difference between us."

"But I have the best nose in the family."

"Yes, you do, but only because it's still a baby's nose."

"Does old Magnussen cut you hair, Pa?"

Sherlock freezes. "You know you're not supposed to talk about him, Jack."

But why do They cut your hair, but not mine?"

"Because They don't like my curls-" Sherlock bites his tongue mid-sentence. "Because that's the rule. Otherwise, Chain gets tighter. They also shave my face so that I don't grow a beard. But They never see you, so They don't know what you look like."

"And I look like you, inside and out."

Sherlock kisses the top of his head. Yes, you do."

That night, the door opens and They come in. Jack sits up in Wardrobe and peeks through crack-in-the-door. He can see Old Magnussen's face and the Wicked Witch's back. He tries to understand what they are saying.

"Is this a birthday cake?"

"Yes. It's Jack's birthday."

"You should have told us," says the Witch, "we would have got him something. How old is he now, four?" She cuts herself a large slice of cake and shovels it into her mouth. Sherlock grips the side of the table and turns his back to them. He doesn't answer.

"Five." Whispers Jack.

"Why don't you have a seat?" says Sherlock, trying to sound polite.

"Thank you." Replies Old Magnussen and he sits down. "How is the boy?"

"Fine. Healthy."

"Is he asleep?"

"I think so. He should be."

"Good." They dust the crumbs off onto the floor he'd cleaned earlier that day. That makes Jack cross. He doesn't want them to spoil Pa's hard work.

"Take off your clothes." Says the Witch.

Sherlock moves out of Jack's sight and They follow him. Jack lies back down with a huff and counts sheep to fall asleep. When he opens his eyes again, he's in Bed and Pa has a new bruise on his right arm. Jack doesn't know how it happens. It just does.