Rather than see me cramping my fingers by writing by hand or struggling with the temperamental typewriter I had found hidden in the back of one of the closets, Leon had ended up bringing home a small netbook before more than a week had passed, something basic and limited in what it could do but still suitable enough for typing up my books.

I would still need to rest my hands from time to time, but at least there was less erasing and the spell-check feature would help fix any mistakes made from simply typing faster than my fingers could keep up. It also allowed Leon to read without worry of smudging the pages as he eagerly devoured page after page of lovingly written words.

It was such a blessing and spoke so much of his joy in getting to read the fruits of my effort each day that I was encouraged to write even more than ever. I soon found myself finishing a second book and then a third, this one a side story that branched out from the others I had written, following a new character that had been introduced in the second book. It almost felt like the words flew onto the pages.

Each story brought yet more smiles to Leon's face, filling me with more and more joy each time, slowly filling up the holes that had been within me until there was only one left. One hole that even Leon and Lucas couldn't fill.

But Matthew was at least half a world away from me, leaving the hole empty and aching. My poor son, I wonder if he still missed me?

--------

"You should post your stories online." Leon's voice came from the far corner of the room, making me jump for a moment as I had not heard him come in.

"What do you mean? I don't understand, how would I even do that? We don't have any internet here and even if we did, could we really take that chance?" I knew of his ever-lingering concern that someone would find us and connect us with the missing people from America, even if it had been years since my disappearance.

"We might not have internet here, but there is a small library not too far away that has it. They offer free wifi use to their visitors, as long as you have a regional library card for signing in. We can go in the early mornings, before most people would be active and you can post your stories online. There are a few sites where all you need is an email account to sign up and email accounts are rather easy to get these days. I've already signed you up." With those words, he passed me a piece of paper, folded in half with a plastic card tucked inside that showed membership for the 'local' library a few towns over.

Opening the paper, I saw an email address and a password carefully written down, small hearts dotting the page like the notes he would leave me during Valentines Day each year. With a gasp, I looked up at him, seeing the huge smile lighting up his face.

"Happy Valentines, Shina my love."