When he's not around...

The house is a little quiet without baby Aslan. It’s not hard to spot his toys, the little fish he used to play in the bathtub, the Wall.E robot that sings and speaks, and the Mr Men and Little Miss books that I bought for him one. His tiny clothes lie unused in the cupboards, his bed and blanket unslept, with his baby scent still smell lingering behind. His mum, sometimes saddened and close to tears whenever she looks at the many, many pictures that she has of baby Aslan.

At last count, I’ve been to Strasbourg no less than 8 times since he came to this world. And this is the first time that he is not there when I visit. A little sad, but imagine how his mum must feel.

Because of her studies, my friend decided to take Aslan home and leave him behind with her relatives. Only for a little while, so she can finish off her studies. She just couldn’t cope with her work, and having to spend (quality) time with this very active (sometimes read: naughty) and demanding little boy. And spending everyday at daycare has made him really depressed and difficult to handle. At least in Taiwan, there are many relatives and other little friends he can be with. There Aslan can receive much love, and has much room to run around in in nature. Even when he was asked where he would like to be, he replied, in his sweet little voice, that he’d like to be in Taiwan rather than here in cold, gray France.
This morning, I woke up to Aslan’s voice on the phone. His sweet little inaudible words, answered the phone, and then disappearing again as he went off on his way to play, only to come back to say something that would leave most people guessing what he wanted to say. I think he said “Play, play… go out… play, play!” and “Foot… pain, pain…” Later I found out he injured himself recently in one of his rounds of running around. The way he plays, jumps and sprints from one place to another, it’s not difficult to get hurt. But then he always has a way of getting back up again, and with tears that have barely dried, run on to explore, poke, and probe whatever he could see and touch.