It Is You I Have Loved

Chapter 2

At first Alastor could only think about his mother. He barely acknowledged that he now lacked a home and with her gone he now had to somehow survive without her. He spent about three days staying in that same spot, trying to figure out why it was that she suffered this cruel fate. Then he finally noticed his hunger and set out to find food. During his travels he would encounter human beings and they would always run or scream or insult him or try to harm him in someway. And through it all he never understood why.

But at long last he learned the truth one morning when a ball suddenly rolled it's way down the ditch hole where he had been sleeping the night before.

"My ball." A voice just above him said.

He looked up to see a little girl standing on the edge of the ditch. She had honey-colored locks, pale-blue eyes, wore a dress made from pure pink silk and a small silver tiara on her head. A rather pretty child she was. So pretty that Alastor did not want her to see him for it would break his heart if she were to become frightened of him like all the others. He quickly tried to hide himself deeper into the ditch but she had heard the fallen leaves break under his feet and found him by following that sound.

Alastor closed his eyes and became stiff as he waited to hear the girl's horrified screams. But no such noise came. Instead she heard her voice politely say,

"Excuse me but could you hand me my ball?"

He opened his eyes and looked back up at the girl. He searched her face and body for any sign of fear but she did not appear to have any. Was she sincerely not afraid of him?

"Are you..." He started nervously. "Are you talking to me?"

"Of course silly." She giggled. "There's no one else down there, is there?"

Alastor shook his head.

"Alright so since you're the only one down there could you please return my ball to me? I would get it myself but I may get my dress dirty and I believe that would make my mother very cross."

"Oh! Yes! Yes! Right away!"

Alastor scurried to pick up the ball and then climb up the ditch. When he reached the top he handed it to the girl.

"Thank you." She said sounding very grateful. Despite his unusual appearance, the young lady thought him to be very cute so the very next thing she did was place her hand into her dress pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Good sir I pray that you take this favour as a token of my gratitude."

She placed the handkerchief into his clawed hand. Alastor stared at it confused.

"I don't mean to be rude." He said. "But what is this?"

"It is my favour. By giving it to you I have identified you as someone I am now fond of."

"You're fond of me? Why?"

"Well for one thing you retrieved my ball for me." She then blushed a little. "And I like you."

Alastor blushed too and he smiled. It was the first time he had smiled since his mother died. And this girl had been the first person to show him any kindness since his mother's death as well. It made him very happy.

"Would you like to play a game with me?" She asked him.

"I would like that very much." He answered.

So the two engaged in a small game where they would toss and catch the ball between each other. It was fairly simple, nothing of great importance to the average person but to Alastor it meant everything because after mourning his mother for days, he was thrilled to finally make a friend. They enjoyed each other's company a great deal and even shared a few laughs.

"I've never seen you around here before." She said during their game. "Are you new to the area?"

"Sort of." He replied. "I'm trying to find a new home for myself."

"What a coincidence. My parents are moving me someplace new too." She then started to sigh in a melancholic way. "They say it'll be comfortable but I'll be the only one living there which means I won't have any friends to play with."

"Oh I'm sorry. That doesn't sound very nice at all."

"Uh-huh." Suddenly the girl perked up when an idea came to her. "Hey maybe you could come live with me."

"Huh?"

"You need a home and I want a companion to live with me in my new hone. So why don't you just come live with me?"

"You really mean that?" He asked getting excited.

"Yes I do. What do you say?"

"I think I would like to but I don't even know your name."

"Oh right! How silly of me." She giggled. "My name is-"

"Charlotte! Get away from that monster immediately!"

Out of nowhere, a man ran up to the children and  knocked Alastor roughly to the ground. The man was dressed quite regally and stood in a manner which was very proud and arrogant. A manner which Alastor thought to be very scary.

"Get away from my daughter you heathen!" The man shouted at Alastor.

"Daddy why did you hit him?" The girl asked. She tried to go help Alastor up but she was held back by her father.

"No don't go near him! He's a monster!"

"Daddy stop it!"

"Get out of here you little beast!" The man ordered to Alastor. "Get out! Before I call the guards and order them to make a fur coat out of you!"

Alastor quickly picked up himself up and ran away from the man who frightened him so.

"Now look what you've done." He heard the girl say to her father. "You've hurt his feelings."

"Don't be so naive Charlotte. Creatures like him don't have feelings." The man said. "He's a wendigo. A freak of nature. A demon that eats human beings. That's what they've been doing since they were first created. The world has no place for him or any creature that relates to him.
Everyone will always despise him and anyone else like him."

"But why?"

"It's just the way things are and you must remember that or you will be just as hated as he is. Do you understand?"

"Yes Daddy."

Alastor heard the man's words with his advanced hearing and it suddenly all made sense to him. Why everyone he ever met would always be so scared of him. Why they would always say such cruel and miserable things to him.

"Hideous monster! Horrible beast! Terrifying bringer of death and despair!"

But they didn't just use words. They would chase him down, actually try to kill him, they even killed his mother and father. And for what? Because he was different? Because of sins committed by others? Sins that he was completely innocent of? Where was the justification in that?

Well if that's what the world was going to see him as then so be it. He'll live alone and away from everyone else. He'll be the monster that he's been falsely labeled as. He can adapt himself to that kind of life. After all his mother had told him to never let anyone take away his smile. And smile he would. He would smile at loneliness and rejection.

So after wandering around for a few more days, Alastor finally found some secluded land deep in the forest where everything around him was dark, solitary, cold, and scary which was just the way he wanted it. He built his new home there and would spend many years living alone. Many years living alone but not for the rest of his life.