2024-06-17 - 3.2- From Words

at first, all It knows of the strange minds that come and go are that They are there. new minds that It cannot reach, for all It wishes to. further out and more different even than the Someones It already knows of.

the realization of language, of words, begins to change that.

conversations between Mother and Someones drift to It, and slowly it begins to grasp the meanings of the words said, the feelings that come with them. the actions that come with them. how one affects the other.

'i'm sorry' in a mess of play and affection that grows fond happiness.

'no' with wary upset and the Someone goes Away.

'i promise' and frustration, worry, fades slowly into hope and peace.

words have meaning, that much It has already learned from listening, from speaking, but now there is more. words have power. to change emotion, to make a Someone go, to play, to scold. one by one It goes through the words It knows, compares them to the words that drift to It, tries to reason what words cause what effects. which are Good, which are Bad, by It's own understanding of what these concepts are. what bring the emotions It likes, ones It does not. what make Someones come, what prompt them to go.

words have power, that which It does not fully yet understand, and It comes to know that it will have to take care with them.