Vol. I Franklin, Massachusetts
Specimen No. 1 · Homo sapiens, juvenile

Ruaan

Collected [ his birth date ]  ·  catalogued and still growing
Entry 01

A letter, opened today

We started this almanac the way naturalists start any good field study — by paying close attention to something small and new, and writing down what we noticed before we could forget it.

You already have opinions. You already have a laugh that changes the temperature of a room. Everything else in this journal is just us trying to keep up with you.

This page belongs to you. We're only the first ones holding the pen.

— Mom & Dad
Entry 02

Field notes

Observations logged in the order they happened. More to come.

add date
First smile
Where you were, who was there, what you did right before it.
add date
First laugh
The sound of it. What set it off.
add date
First steps
How far you got before you sat back down.
add date
First word
What it was, and whether it counted.
Entry 03

Specimens on record

A gallery, waiting for photographs.

Entry 04

Letters, sealed for later

Not to be opened until the date on the wax.

Open at five
A small note
Waiting for a letter.
Open at ten
A longer one
Waiting for a letter.
Open at eighteen
The whole story
Waiting for a letter.