Grisha lay sprawled over the desk, holding the pen in his hand somewhat awkwardly as he carefully pieced together words on the paper.
His expression was solemn, almost reverent.
"Big Sister Gwen, I am Grisha. This is my first time writing a letter, this time."
"Castel has been here for one month already. Been attending literacy class all along. Learned many words. Met many friends."
"Literacy class is good. Friends are good too."
"I like it here."
Grisha lifted the pen, a silly smile appearing on his face. It took him quite a while to come back to himself. He dipped the nib into the ink bottle and continued writing.
"Blood Port is very big. Castel is also very big. There are steel ships, iron roads, and steam engines that can curse."
"When first came here, many people fainted from fright. Seeing steel scared them. Seeing churches scared them. Seeing the Stellar Furnace scared them."
"Grisha does not understand."
"They said Grisha does not understand, so Grisha is fine. They have seen too much of this world, so they do not dare believe it."
"Grisha does not understand this sentence either."
"Fortunately, everyone recovered in the end."
"Uncle Wood went mad for a long time. Lady Nini needed two hands to hold him down, even."
Uncle Wood was not the only one who had gone mad. Grisha wanted to write about the details, but those strange states were truly difficult to describe with words, especially with Grisha's limited vocabulary.
The nurse had told him it was some kind of Castel disease, but the word was too difficult to pronounce, and Grisha had already forgotten it.
There was also another doctor who told him that, when he could no longer hold on, he could recite Lord Theus's name. Grisha remembered that,