Why Should I Tell You Anything? COMPLETED

The Strange Little Boy

It was a bitter winter's night.

The wind chilling to the bone. The snow sparkled innocently in the dead of night. Clawing shadows crawled from the forest's clutches, desperately reaching for freedom, never truly escaping. I want you to imagine the forest not only as a murderer but also as a prison. Because it keeps all who enter from returning to reality. It even holds its own shadows hostage.

The ice-cream smooth snow sloped gently in my backyard. The naked trees lining the edges of our simple, empty yard. They stretch up to the sky as if they were struggling to wake up from their slumber, but they wouldn't truly wake until spring. The waning moon above slicing through the sky letting the stars have a turn to play. The stars always put on a wonderful display.

The backyard extends further, towards the fence placed around the entire forest. It's a sturdy fence of thick wood, wrapped with barb wire and chicken fence to keep poor animals and curious children from wandering inside. The trees of the forest are mixed of different breeds. Evergreens shield the hidden paths from plain sight while the dying trees squeeze in between. The snow piles high between the trees and coated with rogue pine needles. The dead leaves of the scrawny trees have been blanketed by the sparkling snow.

It's strange though, to watch during the night. To watch the forest sleep during the night. It almost looks innocent at night, rather than dark and ominous. It seems to always be working with the strange and unnatural. So at night, it looks safer. Sunlight shadows should never look unsettling, but anything goes in the forest. When the daytime becomes their new nightmare, the night becomes safe and dream-like. This is how the forest goes.

Though, it is not truly night yet. Today is the Winter Solstice after all. The shortest day of the year. When the sun rose up at ten and set at 4:30. It has been night an hour after I returned from school. Nothing truly special except how the sun ran from the horizon early like a coward. Nothing special of how the moon rose early as the warrior it was. Strange though, how it would all begin today. How my eyes were finally uncovered and no longer blind to the world around me.

I was home alone for most of the day. My mother was working of course, and wouldn't be home until six. So I had the house to myself, like most days. I worked on my weekend homework as I listened to gentle piano music that helped me study. I finished my own nightmare of an assignment in math and tried to proceed on working on my English outline for a speech. But I had no more motivation left.

So I stopped working at five and began to search Netflix for something to watch to fill the time. And yet, out of the hundreds of movies and shows on there, not one interested me. So I decided to watch the forest. I was always a daydreamer, ever since I was little and all the way through my middle school years when I was scolded for not paying attention. A little daydreaming could fill up the boring hour till Mom returned home.

So there I sat near the sliding glass window in the dining room, gazing out into the early night. A fuzzy blanket wrapped around myself already comfy in my pajamas knowing Friday is a day to unwind. I let my head rest on the cold glass, staring out into our empty backyard and onwards towards the dark forest.

I never knew my father. He died when I was only one year old. Yet I felt this distant connection to him. Like he was always with me, despite the fact I don't truly remember him. Mom still loves him to pieces. She talks about him sometimes, remembering happy moments of their life together. Their horribly short life together. It's sad to watch her stumble over her words. It's even worse to see her turn away and excuse herself from the conversation.

As if I didn't know what was going on like I was only a child. I knew she went into her room to cry. I knew she clutched photo albums on her bed, crying herself to sleep on some nights. It's painful to hear through the walls, but I respect her wish to be alone. We both seem to respect that need. If we want comfort, we'll ask for it. If not, then leave us alone. That is one of the ways we are similar to each other.