I wrote this story as life’s lessons for my children - Wisdom, Blessed, Wolf and Spring. If Tired Mom and I are lucky, this list will grow and we will be even more tired.

I am afraid of death. Not because I fear what happens after potential oblivion swallows my intellect. In all honesty, I am curious about it. However, I have many attachments. Many things I fear losing, and they gave birth to my desire to write stories with lessons for those I don’t wish to leave. I plan on writing a story, long or short, for each of my children, in which they overcome mortality and become something greater.

My motives are selfish; my lessons certainly flawed. Thus, the story begins with Archibald. He is me. A father with the best of intentions, offering many horrible, naive lessons, incurring countless mistakes. All of us do. We are human, flawed; each of us has their own circumstances, each tries their best, each incorrectly approaching parenting, for there is no correct approach. Forgive us.

Archibald had to die. Not just because the dream demon wanted him dead, but because of our hope as parents. We hope that, once Judges eventually drags us off the stage kicking and screaming, you stay behind and make us proud. We hope you grow older, better and greater than our ugly selves.

We are bastards; I know. But if life were any different, it would be tragic. My heart goes out to anyone who experienced the terror of being left behind on the stage. Alone.

What follows are simplified and the most important things I hope my characters showcase.

Wolf is full of lessons. Even if you skim through the story, you should pick out some quirks which annoy you or make you want to scream at him. He was foolish in many aspects, but he improved and grew. I hope you will too. Life without mistakes is impossible, incredibly short or incredibly boring.

Learn from your stupidity. Don’t ignore it, don’t persist in it either; move on and remember it. Laugh whenever you look back and count your errors. Laugh because you survived with a concussion, because you didn’t fry your brain, and because you only broke a finger instead of losing it. The above reasons to laugh aren’t random. They come from my personal experience. They are my stupid and endearing mistakes, which only I find endearing.

A number of readers minded Wolf getting fleeced. It wasn’t accidental. He lost money, got robbed or scammed, yet it didn’t impact his overall wealth in the end. I have wasted around three salaries on indulging myself this last decade. I don’t regret it, even when faced with an immediate lack of that exact sum. Working three months to eat better food, to buy a collector’s edition of a comic I like or a board game I played twice. Isn’t that the point of working? Of earning? For us to see a shiny and buy it, to live well, to invest in our happiness? Don’t mind the small losses if they buy you pleasure; if they buy you time or peace or mental health. In the end, that money won’t matter, what matters is you.

Another over-exaggerated facet of Wolf’s life is his obsession with his appearance. This story is for you to read as teens. As teens, we are/were all insecure with our bodies, and this scars our later lives, assuming we let it. You’re not too short, or too tall. Your breasts aren’t too small or too large, same for your peen. You are you. If you think you are fat, exercise and eat healthy food. If you think you’re too thin, eat more and again, exercise. Others find your insecurities no less ridiculous than you found Wolf’s. Others care about them just as much as bystanders cared about Wolf’s. People may make fun of you, or admire you, but at the end of the day, they don’t give a damn; they have their own problems; their own bodies; their own insecurities.

Anna exists in Wolf’s life to show how clear communication and conveying our expectations to our partners is paramount. Otherwise horrible things nobody wants may happen. If you ever meet the “right person” and problems with them or you keep popping up and the relationship turns toxic, please, for the love of all that is holy, think of how stupid you thought Wolf and Anna were all this time. Please. Talk.

Mandy is there to show that good may come from bad, and bad may come from good. We should keep an eye open for unremarkable people in our lives. People, who with a little nudge, may help us experience incredible things.

Nobles plotting against Wolf are there to show that our enemies, or any adversity, may lead to fortune in our lives, if we are strong enough to pass the tribulation.

Wayde is there to show that the person you trust the most, the person you leave your back wide open to, may in fact be holding a sharp thingy pointed at your kidney. People we trust might push us off a cliff. Sometimes they are quite literal about it. It’s difficult to maintain more than five meaningful friendships. Five slots, seven billion people. Choose carefully. Who you choose to trust and whether you trust anyone is your matter, but trust shouldn’t be given lightly. That said, no man is a lone star. I have repeated that many times throughout the book.

Edwin is there as an example of everything you should never do to your children and people you care for. Even if it works, and it worked for him, think of the pain and damage you are inflicting onto others, think of the lives you’re ruining. The abuse statistics in our modern, humane world are horrifying, every one of us knows an Anna and an Edwin. They are simply hiding their true colors. One in five women experienced their version of Mandy’s nightmare.

Headmaster Smith and Dick Richard are there to show how crazies are sometimes quite sane and that people way above us, making decisions which impact our lives, may in fact be even crazier and more arbitrary than we are.

South is South. Someone who knows loss and loneliness beyond human understanding; enough to seek shadows of comfort with mere wisps instead of leaving them be. But, it’s too early to discuss his existence.

Finally, the incubo is there to show that our lives are controlled without us knowing. If we try to break free from constraints imposed on us, we may meet violent resistance. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, I have nothing against freelancing construction workers, people governing from the shade, little unripe men, or anyone else. Nature imposes more than enough limitations on our sorry asses. If you don’t believe me, just try breaking free from the strong nuclear force and see what happens.

There are many other events and people demonstrating various situations to look out for in life. If you search for them, you will find them. If you don’t, you won’t. I don’t intend to bore you too much.

Wolf is now a man and mentally my superior. Since that’s the case, the next book is less of a lesson, more of an adventure towards a singular goal. Yet that too is a kind of lesson. Sometimes the things you had and lost are important enough to struggle and advance through the unknown. Sometimes, if you are blinded, careering towards your goals, you lose sight of what is around you. It is best to recognize important things in time and hold on to them tightly, lest you lose them. Life rarely graces you with second chances.

I nag for your own good,

Sleepy Dad