Elan hugs back!

"Thanks, mom!"

"I got you a graduation present!"

She presents him with an instrument case.

"Oh my gosh, a new lute case! Thanks, mom!"

"You should open it up."

She winks.

"Oh my gosh!! A new lute! And it's so pretty!"

A lot of Elan's classmates are heading straight out to find gainful employment. Elan's going home for a few days first. The road to adventure can wait until he's had a few home-cooked meals and slept in his own bed, after all.

He plays his graduation present all the way home.

There's another graduation present sitting on his bed.

"A book?"

Elan opens it curiously.

Elan brings it to his mother.

"Mom, I think this book is broken. There's nothing in it."

What.

"… sweetie, it's supposed to be empty. That way you can put whatever you want in it! A diary, or a story, or anything."

"Oh! Thanks, mom."

He returns to his room. He should totally write something in the book… but what?

He decides to start simple:

This Book Belong's To Elan!

The book writes back:

Hi, Elan! It's nice to meet you.

hi????????

Oh no, did I scare you? I'm sorry! I always try really hard to not be scary.

Elan giggles. That's kind of cute.

Well, I would probably say I was surprised, not scared. I didn't know my mom got me a magic diary that writes back.

I'm glad that you're not scared.

So, what are you for? Are you like a friend that lives inside a book or something?

Not quite! It would be more accurate to say that I am the notebook. And I was sent here by the Spirit of Youthful Femininity to offer you its power!

Doesn't femininity mean girliness? I'm a boy.

Well, yes. But it's okay that you're a boy! The spirit's powers can be offered to anyone who's open to the things the Spirit is about.

What kind of things *is* the Spirit about?

Maybe this is some sort of… magic storybook. And the "diary that writes back to you" thing is part of the framing device.

The notebook sparkles about this! It doesn't literally sparkle, mind, but it animates sparkles around the next paragraph.

Lots of things! Well, technically it's one thing, but it's pretty circular to say "the Spirit is about itself." But the kind of thing the Spirit likes is when people (usually girls, but boys too if they're also girls or sometimes girls or just kind of girly) get to be beautiful and special and powerful in a feminine way.

Like… feminine wiles?

That's definitely one of the feminine ways to be special and powerful!