As she promised to stay with him, as she apologized again, Ezner realised that he'd already forgiven her. And as he did, his eyes found hers again, and his hand reached out, to gently hold her cheek, wiping away a tear that had escaped her with his thumb. He looked deep into her azure eyes, and he smiled. [b]"I'm glad we found each other again."[/b]

He watched studiously how she folded it, making a perfectly straight line. He watched how she wrote her beautifully scripted line. And he began to speak, slowly.

[b]"Muh... my nam... name. My name is..."[/b] Then he recognised the next word as one he'd practiced often. [b]"Elisabeth!"[/b] His voice reached a cheerful tone, and he looked over at her smiling. Actually smiling. [b]"And Ezner!"[/b] He beamed again, [b]"Fo.. foooo..." [/b] His nose crinkled up and his brow furrowed as he deeply concentrated. [b]"Foooound. Found! Found me."[/b]

[b]"My name is Elisabeth and Ezner found me."[/b]

He folded the paper in a mostly neat line, just as she had done earlier, and he held it close to his chest. This was the first gift he'd ever received, from Elisabeth, from anyone. He looked down at her, happy tears filling his eyes, [b]"Thank you..."[/b]

He pulled the note away, opening it, looking at it, memorising every loop, swoop, and swirl. He pulled a small, leather bound travel journal out of the desk. He opened it up, and then folded the note into a smaller version of itself, tucking it inside a hidden pocket in the cover, barely distinguishable from the fold in the binding. The open page showed a much more recent version of the alphabet, written a bit more neatly, smaller, and staying upon a straighter line than the note he'd written for her.

Then he closed the journal, returning it back to where it had come from. [b]"I've never gotten a gift before..." [/b] He gave a goofy, loose smile, running his hand through his hair from his brow heading backwards, his eyes on hers.