Samantha

Samantha loved Grey. That she knew. The feeling she had whenever she held him and the joy she gained by looking into his eyes that were the same as hers. The worry she felt when Grey acted differently from how she was informed babies behaved. All these things only confirmed to herself that she loved him, not that her love needed any confirmation.

Grey was clearly an irregular, an outlier. His behaviour was discordant. He was lifeless, then he was absent-minded. After, he seemed to be in pain, and now he only slept. She was unaware of the fact that Grey did training during the night, so his sleeping pattern only worried her further. No baby she knew spent the entirety of its time asleep or eating.

Grey did not behave like other children either, as far as Samantha was aware. Babies were supposed to be screaming, crying machines, incapable of giving their parents a chance to rest, yet Grey did none of that. He was silent, occasionally smiling sillily and gurgling when he saw her face, and only screamed when he was hungry. The boy seemed to follow a precise internal clock; he would cry out for food 4 times a day- 9:00, 13:00, 17:00 and 21:00. Other than that, he slept. At night, there were no cries from the boy, and both she and Lucas were able to sleep peacefully. 

They had been to the hospital thrice now, once each month on the 1st. Grey's doctor had assured them that some babies acted strangely, and although she had no reason to refute, Samantha couldn't shake the feeling that plagued her heart. The doctor had guaranteed her of his health. She had contemplated getting a second opinion, however, she knew that the doctor was one of the best. He was extremely proficient in both Medicine and Magic, holding a diploma in the first and Light magic in the other. He was made for his job.

Samantha wished dearly to hear the thoughts of her child. She thought she might be able to understand his behaviour through it, but knew that there was little point, for all it would be was incoherent, indecipherable babbling. Or so she assumed.

In her latest diary entries, she would ask why her baby acted the way it did. She did not care how the boy acted as long as he was safe, but she was unable to prove that he was. All she could do was stare at him, worrying about him, hoping he was healthy.

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A month had passed in this manner, and it was soon time for Lucas to go back to work. Samantha was upset because she loved spending her day with both her child and husband, but paternity leave was not as long as maternity leave.

The day before, she had gone with Lucas and Grey to the hospital for his 4th check-up. The doctor, once more, told them that the boy was healthy. At this point, Samantha had come to accept that this was how her baby acted. She was no longer worried. He displayed the same attitude no matter how hard she looked. Now the doubt plaguing her heart was gone, Samantha had become assured of their baby's intelligence, assuming that he acted that way because he was a genius or was special. No other reason made sense to her.

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1 month passed, and then a second did. Grey was now 6 months old. Never once had his routine shifted, and Samantha was now sure that her baby was more than genius, more than special. She had asked a co-worker who had a child. She said her baby struggled to stick to one routine. A foregone conclusion, for it was a baby, and yet Grey seemed exceptional at that. She now filled her diary with tales of her baby boy's excellence. He always did things on time. Not even Lucas, her husband, was as punctual as her boy.

She noted that he had started to teeth, yet he did not seem to be in pain, only discomfort. It was shocking to her, to think that her baby was great with pain. It was good, of course, but she felt a pang in her heart at that idea.

What was even more shocking than that was the alarming rate at which his teeth grew. In total, most of his teeth had grown fully in about 20 days, and the ones that hadn't were the ones that came last. She was greatly confused by this and decided to ask the doctor.

The end of the month neared and her baby finally spoke. It was an absolute mess, a baby's babbling, yet to her, it sounded like a dream come true. She had heard the letter 'M' so she was sure his first word would be 'Mama'. Hence, she was so happy. That day, when Lucas came home, she bragged to him about how their baby spoke, and how his first word would be about her. He then proposed a bet, and in her joy, she saw no reason to decline. She would win, she knew.

---

Month 7 came, and Grey's teeth had fully grown. With this, his gurgling had become giggling, and his laugh sounded like tinkling raindrops to her. The boy seemed to laugh whenever he would lock eyes with her. She thought that, maybe he knew the effect it had. Thinking back on his past actions, she came to the certainty that her boy did know the effect his laughing smile had on her.

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Motherly Diary

Dear Diary,

It has been about 8 months since I started this diary. Today, my dream has come true. Grey said 'Mama'. It made me so happy that I couldn't help but brag to Lucas about it when he came home. I felt sad that he couldn't be there, of course, but my baby boy said 'Mama', so my happiness overrode the sadness I felt. Not only that, but I won the bet, so the following month is going to be, 'spicy' to say the least.

Grey has exceeded my expectations. I knew he was special, but speaking his first word almost 4 months early is extremely impressive.

Speaking of remarkable, that reminds me. Last month, at the hospital, I asked the doctor about Grey's abnormal teeth growth rate. The doctor, however, was as confused as I was, stating that he would look into it. Because of their fast growth, Grey had to start weaning sooner than predicted, and it would have to be at a faster rate. The doctor informed us that as long as he ate mana rich food, the abnormally fast drop-off of breast milk should have no negative effect.

Going back on topic, when Grey first spoke, I was so happy that I ignored how old he was. After regaining composure, I did a small bit of research. That was when I found he spoke about 4 months too soon. I talked to Lucas about this, and, after composing himself, he suggested that we keep others in the dark about his growth rate. Once Grey passes a certain age, we will not have to worry about people finding out that he is growing extremely fast. 

We can't know about the future, and can only act on the present, so Lucas and I decided to put Grey's interest first. It is his life, after all. We decided not to inform anyone of this, and to tell the doctor that he spoke his first word at a normal age.

- Samantha xoxo

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Another month flew by. The check-up was normal, Samantha and Lucas felt no discomfort lying to the doctor, simply because it was in Grey's best interest. For their baby boy, even those two were capable of lying flawlessly. 

That month, Samantha grew worried that Grey had yet to crawl. She knew that if that continued, Grey would be behind. Samantha's worries were appeased the next day, though, for Grey suddenly grew an interest in leaving the cot. He started to cry to garner her attention, and, following his whim, she put him on the floor. 

He crawled perfectly, not falling or losing his footing. Samantha realized then that Grey had not crawled, simply because he did not want to. How could she have forgotten that he was a super special genius?!

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It had been a year now. Grey was capable of walking, albeit sloppily. It seemed his centre of gravity was not fully aligned for him to walk.

Lucas had come home that day, only to be met with the image of an above-average height child poorly walking to him with its arms wide open, a wide grin stuck to his face. He had practically jumped out of his skin at the sight. He thought Grey would have just got to his feet around this age, not that he would be walking. Samantha had a good laugh at his expense. Grey's antics no longer shocked her. 

The boy could already say simple things, like 'Hungry' or 'Potty'. He could even greet them. Samantha had been caught off guard one morning when she woke up. She had opened her door and from round the corner a boy jumped, saying, "Hello, Mama!"

At this rate, Samantha predicted that he would learn to read by 2 and write by 3, but then again, she felt she had only scratched the surface of Grey's talent.