The missing aren't missing, they're only departed, All minds keep all thoughts - so like gold - closely guarded.

Remember, children. For every exit, there is also an entrance. ~ Milligan, The Mysterious Benedict Society

I'm an orphan!" Constance cried gleefully. "I'm an orphan!" ~ The Prisoner's Dilemma

The missing aren't missing, they're only departed, All minds keep all thoughts - so like gold - closely guarded.

Was it worse for him, Reynie wondered, to have felt loved and then rejected? Or was it worse to have always felt alone?

Something about this made Reynie uneasy. Had he done so badly? Was this meant to test his courage? He did as he was told, closing his eyes and bracing himself as best he could. "Why are you flinching?" the pencil woman asked. "I don't know. I thought maybe you were going to slap me." "Don't be ridiculous. I could slap you perfectly well with your eyes open. I'm only going to blindfold you.

She announced her age right away, for children consider their ages every bit as important as their names.