Transformations

    “Father please stop. He hasn’t hurt me. He’s gentle.” I pleaded more watching my father matching through the forest was a loaded shotgun.

    He had been furious when he found out that I had been seeing a wild wolf out here on my own. The wolf has been nothing but sweet and tame to me. How could my father think of shooting such a creature.

    What really set him off on this hunt was that his son had followed me to my meeting of my wolf. The wolf had growled at him and scared him. My ‘brother’ went screaming right to his mom and dad.

    You see, I wasn’t their biological daughter. On paper I was, but in all actuality I wasn’t. They had claimed me as their daughter. My real mother had died giving birth to me. Their daughter was still born on the way to the hospital. So they did a little switch-a-roo with the infants claiming that they couldn’t save the either mother or daughter.

    My real mother had been traveling alone. She had gotten a ride with my ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ when they both went into labor. Neither could make it to the hospital before they gave birth. My ‘father’ had to pull over and helped his wife forgetting my mother. That was till she died and he found out that his own daughter was already dead. I became the replacement.

    Even so, I was never really treated like their daughter. Just like I was the bastard step child. It got better when they had their son. He got all the attention and I got peace. For the most part.

    “This will teach you that wild animals will not be tolerated.” He sneered.

    I rushed forward and grabbed the gun. I pulled him off guard and we both heard a shot ring out. His face drained of color as he slowly backed away from me. The gun smoking a little as he did.

    “Dad.” I used that term of endearment for the first time in my life. I had never used it because he always told me not to. That he wasn’t my dad, but he’ll try to be my father.

    He backed up more staring not at me, but at my stomach where my hands were now. My stomach was warm, but I didn’t look down. Instead I kept my eyes on him.

    “Dad. Please...”

    His eyes slowly came up to mine before his head started shaking slowly back and forth. “Sorry...” He turned on his heels and ran full speed back toward the house.

    I stared at his figure as it disappeared into the blackness of the night. My knees finally buckling as his form vanished. Engulfed by the darkness. A darkness starting to close in on me.

    I laid there on the damp forest floor getting colder by the second. I was afraid. Scared of dying like this. All alone. No one around me to comfort me. To tell me that everything will be fine even if I died now.

    A tear fell from my eye. My birthday was just three days away. Three lone days before I would have turned eighteen. The day I would be considered an adult. Its sad that I would die so close to that day.

    A few more tears came as I heard paws pounding on the ground. Why was I suddenly so said at the thought of my wolf seeing me dying? That I won’t get to see him ever again. To feel his slightly rough fur.

    Soon a deep feeling of regret is blanketing me. The regret of never been kissed by a guy. Not letting the guy from the other day when the moment came to kiss me. The regret to have ruined that sweet moment.

    A few friends from school had asked me to a small get-together at one of their houses. It was the first time I was ever invited to one. I was nervous and excited. I had no idea how to be in that type of setting.