FOR THE WIDOWS IN PARADISE — private au

[roan ;]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ — Roan, unlike his mother and grandfather, had known what family meant since the very first day he had been born into the world, screaming and chilly. Family meant safety, and warm smiles, and soft encouraging words from mama and his supportive father, along with soft chuckles from Ahab whenever Roan did something unexpected. Never had he known the confusion and disoriented terror of waking up in a hospital bed, nor did he know the sadness and anxiety that came from living within an orphanage, desperately waiting to see if one day you would have a family as well. No, even though he had certainly been a surprise for both Roxanne and his father, he was certainly far from a mistreated one. Ever since his first day in the world, the boy had been pampered with gifts, clothing, and love, from literally every one of his relatives. And it certainly wasn't as if he had a small family. Even though Roxanne pretty much only had Ahab, his father had many family members scattered all about, all of whom were eager to see and spoil the new arrival. At first, Roan had been confused and distressed by all the new faces, commonly bursting out into tears or throwing fits when he was surrounded by doting relatives. However, over time, Roan had grown to be a much more social and polite boy, who was still extremely curious about everything he came across. Although he was still young, already he loved venturing off on his own, commonly sneaking out to places like the backyard with Kal following close behind. Occasionally when his mother found him, she would respond with fond exasperation, although at other times she would respond with sheer fear. He never knew the true difference in how she reacted, but he knew how much he hated the fear, and it made it so that his ventures out were few and far between.

When Roan had first met Ahab, he had been a timid child, not out of worry that Ahab would hurt him or something along those lines, but just because of his mother's several warnings. Ahab was sensitive, and while he was a warm man that cared about Rox and by extension him with all of his heart, that didn't erase any possible trauma he had, buried as it was. However, as the months had gone by and Roan had grown more comfortable, he had become extremely used to his grandfather's company, very commonly spending day and night drawing pictures of Ahab and his mother, along with him. As time continued even further, Roan's toys began to migrate into Ahab's house, littering the floors and getting stuck in every conceivable corner as Roan's imagination came up with elaborate games. Although he did well to heed his mother's warning about Ahab's home, Roan couldn't help the curious urge that often drove him to explore the place, usually whenever his mama and grandfather were distracted by their conversations about what he considered to be "adult stuff." Usually, he would eventually be stopped by Kal, who would sometimes accompany them just so he could gently wrangle Roan back to where he was supposed to be. Had he been anyone else, perhaps Roan's adventurous spirit would've been bested, but he wasn't anyone else, and he could still commonly be found searching around for secrets. There was no guarantee there was some secret portal to Narnia in his grandfather's house, but there was also no guarantee that there wasn't.

When his mother had announced that morning that they were going to visit grandpa Ahab, the child had practically vibrated with excitement, stumbling over himself in his race to get dressed. He always loved visiting grandpa, because not only did he get to see his very sweet grandfather, but it meant that he had someone to test out his creative stories with his toys out on. Of course, Roan didn't know that Ahab often just nodded along and told him it was great no matter what it entailed, but he didn't really need to know that. Roan had been walking happily alongside his mother when Ahab's house came into view, his hand clasped tightly in his mama's. When Ahab and Roxanne met together in a happy hug, Roan practically bounced with joy. The boy enthusiastically nodded at his mother's words, rushing forward to hug at one of Ahab's legs,  "Of course we're always excited to see abuelo! Abuelo is always so sweet and nice!" He hugged the older man's leg for a long moment before he stepped back, a broad grin on his face as he retook his mother's hand.