Sun Mote Copse Is It Easy to Be Young

There was a twitch of nervousness when Eljay found Elfie that day (or rather, the other way around; Eljay had been searching for mushrooms in the Copse when Elfie found him sniffing about in a clearing). Maybe because he had an inkling of what was coming or maybe because he was just usually nervous, especially -- much to his own pain -- around his own son, who clearly didn't like him. Eljay just wished there was something he could do, but it felt to him that it was impossible to win his son's love and the more he tried to protect Elfie from the world, the less successful he got at it.

Hiya Elfie, Eljay said with a soft smile. If only his love was enough, but it somehow never was. And while the worst of the pain of losing Wiffle had subsided, he knew that it was still visible in everything he did. Maybe it was because he did everything just not good enough that he noticed so much that she was not here; every time he failed, every time he pushed Elfie further away, he knew that Wiffle would've done so much better than he.