Sorting things out

My Dear Mother and Father,

I confess I'm a bit confused at the moment. Ever since the man expressed fear of Ms. Aaoee-sama and the Jaegerlady agreed, I haven't known what to think about people. All the other grownups I've met so far have gotten along beautifully; I have no precedent for such antagonism. Going back to basics, I've considered that:
a) just because Ms. Aaoee-sama is dangerous doesn't mean she's bad. It's a matter of when and to whom someone is dangerous. I'm sure there are some people who would consider Valdy dangerous.
b) just because two people don't get along doesn't mean either one is bad. Just look at you two!
c) Ms. Aaoee-sama and Valdy are on overtly friendly terms. Valdy is obviously a good person and wouldn't be friends with someone bad.
There's much of the fairy princess's business that I don't understand yet due to never having learned Japanese. Maybe someday someone will point out a yucoozah to me in the harbor or explain what the craft of purosutityushon involves. I hope to learn many more things about the Steamlands and my friends. Until then, though, all I have to go on is trust. It's all I've ever had to go on, really. You, as adults, have always had a wide range of things you understood better than me and which I had to accept due to my trust in you. I love you, and this is the nature of love. (I also know that "Honor thy father and mother," is the first of the Ten Commandments, which is another good reason.) There are places Ms. Aaoee-sama goes where I can't follow on a physical level. But on a metaphorical level, I think I have enough information to stay close to her whenever there are sides to choose. Of course, there can't be a lot of important things a silly, half-mad runaway can do for a fairy princess of great beauty, grace, and power. But if she needs something, I should try my best to be there for her. I just hope the Ashbourne Curse doesn't come into play in the process. I would hate to blow up something important to her.
I did take the important step of returning to Steelhead. I'm afraid to go back to Mama Valdy's because I'm afraid the man who wanted to see me in private will find me. I still can't fathom what me might have wanted. Winding up in private with a new acquaintance by accident is one thing, but being specifically taken aside is a whole different matter. I suppose this will need to resolved someday...or maybe not. Is it possible to avoid someone for the rest of one's life?
With Steelhead Shanghai inaccessible, it's been a trifle harder to find the warehouses full of minty spice, and thus I haven't had greatly improved luck sleeping. The mirages are still with me. However, they've changed significantly. The mirages of you, which have been with me almost constantly, underwent a slow transition to something quite visually different from you. They still act like you, but now they resemble great spidery things made of lace and trees, so it's quite a bit easier to remember that they are not the real you. Isn't that wonderful? The King of the Whippoorwills slowly merged with that shadowy creature with the sharp tools, but we're no longer fighting. He explained to me that he's a Sparkperson from another universe, and he came here to study humans. I let him borrow my kidney, but only if he promised to return it within an hour. He now claims he already returned it, although I don't remember hallucinating that part. I'm sure my kidney isn't really gone, with his not being real and all. Still, I don't think I'll let him mirage-borrow any of my other organs. As soon as I learn how to handle the new wave of nightmares, I'll move on from this silliness and never look back. My subconscious mind is eerie and I don't much like it. But perhaps there's a silver lining: It'll teach me to stop being so skittish around things that seem unusual.
I have mapped out the rest of my week: I will search day and night to find another minty spice warehouse, and then I will do my best to sleep in it to clear my mind. I will fight the scariness of my dreams in any way I can think of. I will place Squeezy in a comfortable spot by the stoves in the mine, as he is currently frozen solid, and if he doesn't wake up after thawing, I will make a new squeezy and cover it in many layers of mimmoth furs. I will collect discarded machines from rubbish bins and scientifically analyze the Ashbourne Curse, taking note of what does and does not immediately precede the sudden explosions we are all familiar with. And then I will ask Ms. Aaoee-sama if she needs anything. (Or at least I will try. I'm feeling oddly apprehensive about the whole matter, for whatever reason. Perhaps I let that man's fear rub off on me too much. This is not acceptable.) I will make myself organized, informed, and lucid for my next letter.

Love,
Shaqad