The Boy with the Purple Eyes

April 28, 1974

It's been one year since I was put on the case of the missing boy with purple eyes. I guess I would have to say that the good part of the past year was actually finally finding him after an agonizing two months of searching, giving up and then saving him…I had lost this poor journal but after locating it, I realized that I needed to add an ending, after all, the last entry I had in here was when Matthew was still in the hospital. It would only be fair to give the tale an ending, since it chronicles the whole ordeal.

Let's see, I might as well start where the last entry left off. It took Matthew one week total to recover from his hypothermia...three days to wake up from his stupor and the rest for the doctors monitor and clear him to go home…I would have to say that his time at the hospital was one of the most stressful collection of days I have ever lived through.

During his time at the hospital, I visited Matthew every day. While he lay there, unaware of the world around him, I would talk to him…I guess I got that idea from those stories that you hear of people talking to their comatose loved ones, how they can hear you but can't respond. I would tell him about how my day was and that I want him to wake up so that I can see and talk with him. For the three days that he was asleep, I would also sit there by his side and pray that he would wake up. There is a God because he heard my prayers and woke Matthew up. He had defied what the doctors had said and was fine. Well…maybe fine wasn't entirely the right word to use at first...

I wasn't there at the hospital when Matthew opened his eyes, but when I arrived at the hospital that afternoon to visit, the doctors wouldn't let me see him. They said that he was experiencing "some psychological difficulties" and wouldn't let anyone near him. Sometimes though, they said, he would allow a nurse to come closer to give him water or something, but it would have to be a female nurse, he would push away from any male person.

I didn't really care about what the doctor's were telling me and I ended up barging into Matthew's room anyway. I think I scared him…When I opened the door and came storming in, he had whipped his head around and faced me. His large purple eyes were filled with fear and he began to make tiny whimpering sounds, shaking all the while. I think that he thought I was Ivan and that I was going to hurt him. I walked up closer to him, saying soothing things and trying to calm him down. When I got closer to him he tried to move farther away from me on the bed. I sat down in the visitor's chair that was next to his bed, still talking to him. I noticed that he was still staring at me, fear and distrust still in his eyes but there was also a little glimmer of recognition. He grabbed Kumajirou, who was sitting near him on the bed, and brought him close to his chest, the head of the bear reaching his face.

Matthew then did one of the strangest things I have ever seen…he deeply inhaled the scent of his bear. His action was so odd…His eyes suddenly shot open and he stared at me. He reached out and tried to take my hand. When I realized what he was trying to do, I placed my hand into his tinier ones. He took it and smelled my sleeve. When he looked back at me, his eyes no longer held the look of fear and distrust, but one of acknowledgment. I guess he recognized my scent on Kumajirou…I did have him for two months and took him everywhere I went. He pulled on my hand, like he wanted something, so I asked him. He patted the space next to him on the bed and looked up at me with his large, violet eyes. I had to comply with those big purple orbs. That's where the doctors found me, on top of Matthew's bed, him curled up by my side, relaxed and asleep.

When I look back on that time, I realized that Matthew's family never visited him. I never saw Arthur, Francis, or Alfred. It was as if the rest of the family made a conscious effort to ignore their other member. It made me furious and disappointed that his own family would refuse to visit him in his time of need.

Once Matthew was deemed well by the doctors and was able to get out of bed, a few social workers from the child protection agency had come in to visit the boy. On their first visit Matthew noticed them and started to hide himself within the jacket I had been wearing. Somehow, he had become very attached to me and I was the only male figure he would let get near him. This meant that I could spend a great deal of time with him which in turn led to me being able to pick up on when Matthew was feeling distressed, happy, or any other feeling. From the signals that he was sending out, these people made him incredibly nervous. I could tell because of the way he reacted, holding closer to me and hiding himself away from those who scared him.

The social workers had come in and spoke to Matthew and myself. They said that they were taking the boy away and were placing him into foster care. They had looked into his family situation and realized that he was being psychologically abused by his parents and brother. The child protection agency then decided to place Matthew into foster care. I looked at the workers, shocked and worried. I wanted to take care of Matthew! If they placed him into foster care, anyone could have him and I would never see him again. I told the officers that I would take the boy to their office and have everything worked out.

I won't really go into detail, but let's just say that in December of 1973, Matthew officially became part of my family. It was one of the best days of our lives together.

What else is there to discuss of the last year…Oh! I know. Matthew had to be placed into therapy for what psychologists call complex post traumatic stress disorder and neurosis. He also suffered from muteness. The psychologist that Matthew was assigned to said that his CPTSD and his muteness stemmed from the traumatic experiences he had when he was kidnapped as well as some of his abuse at home while his neurosis came mainly from his abusive home. Even though Matthew is doing well now, he's still in therapy. He still suffers from some gaslighting (when false information is presented to a victim, making them doubt their own memory and perception), thinking that he is invisible and unloved, but we're working on it. His neurosis is also getting better; he's a little less detached and is learning to be more open with his feelings. He is also no longer mute, which makes me happy because I can hear his little angelic voice all the time now instead of asking him yes or no questions like before.

It's now April of 1974 and Matthew and I are at Ivan's trial. The prosecution used all of the evidence I found, the journal, the videos, the pictures, as well as some testimony. While I wasn't surprised that Toris testified, I was when Matthew did. I never would have expected him to be able to do it. Through all that he has gone through, the therapy, his stay in the hospital, and all the other things this year, I'm so proud that he was able to do this.

When Matthew went to testify, all eyes were on him. He retold what had happened and what he had to live through. When he was through, almost everyone was in tears, the jury, the people in the audience, everyone. Well, I shouldn't say everyone…When I looked at Ivan, he had the creepiest smile on his face and it was directed towards Matthew the whole time he was speaking. For a while I was scared for Matthew. I was worried that Ivan would try to do something drastic towards MY son. I didn't know what it would be but he made me nervous.

After Matthew testified, the prosecutors and the defendant's lawyers did their closing statements. The jury went in shortly afterwards and were gone for only a few hours. I sat there, nervous and scared for the outcome while Matthew sat there holding my hand. He would look up at me periodically and smile. When the jury came back in and announced their decision, guilty in all accounts, the courtroom exploded in joy. Matthew and I jumped up and yelled in happiness, hugging each other and I swung him in circles while he held my neck. It was the best day of our lives.

After the trial and sentencing, death by lethal injection, we went out to have some quality time together, just the two of us so that we could bond. When I look back, I think that everything we've been through, what Matthew's been through has created a special bond between us and strengthened it. Our relationship is only beginning though, and I believe that we'll be able to create something together in the future.

~End~

YAY! It's the end of this lovely little story! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for 100 reviews! As a reward, I made you guys some thank you art. It's here at my deviant art page, just go to my fanfiction profile adn click on home page. It's the first picture. I'm sorry if it's a little depressing but I hope that you'll like it.

Anyway, I'm sorry if the ending wasn't as good as it could have been but there is a reason why...After a little thinking, I have decided to do a little sequel thing. Basically, it will go into the year between the date when Matthew was found up until Ivan's trial. It'll have everything that wasn't gone into detail in this chapter, Matthew and Gilbert strengthening their bond, Matthew being adopted, etc so I hope that you'll look forward to it. The story will be called Learning to Love and Be Loved. It might not get started though until The Monkey's Paw is over and when I update A Secret Hidden from You a few more times. If I remember, I'll post up a link to it on the Hetalia Livejournal thing and on the Prussia/Canada fandom. If you're interested, just keep your eyes out...

Oh yeah! I would be eternally grateful if people could help me with the psychology part like with information on neurosis, complex post traumatic stress disorder and cures for all that. My information only comes from Wikipedia so it's limited so it would really help the new story :D

Thank you guys so much for reading this story, you've all made me one happy person!

~Ninjatomomi