Awkward Teen Really Looking Forward to Day He Grows out of Cage

For fourteen-year-old Tomas Bolideau, things like sunlight and fresh air don’t come easy.

Bolideau has lived most of his childhood and teenage years in fifty-three-year-old Hermann A. King’s cellar. To look at Tomas now you’d see a typical teenager with a weak immune system, fragile lungs, and poor eyesight.
 
But he’s had to fight harder than most to learn basic things, like reading, or what birds sound like.
 
“It’s been difficult, but Master has been real patient,” added the youngster. “Hey! Wanna hear me do a sparrow?” (Note: This reporter will admit the impression was fair for someone who forgot what the outside world was like.)
 
Tomas’ great passion (“returning to society”) is still affected by his circumstances, but King isn’t worried. “He’s so sociable, and he’s eager to learn. I think he’ll be just fine.”
 
In response to the praise, Bolideau got emotional: “Hate to sound like a broken record, but honestly, he’s been really supportive and promises that once I reach sixteen, he’ll let me go.”
 
No confirmation as to whether a replacement will be found for Bolideau, but in a possible hint King admitted that there’s “chicken wire has gotten expensive in the last decade.”

If the soon-to-be motivational speaker could describe the upcoming day of his release in a word?

“Bittersweet.”