Invigoration

- Prologue -

Prologue

HIDDEN DEEP WITHIN A DENSE WOOD lay a splintery, bare wooden shack, no larger than the average home’s living room. Rich plants and flora towered around it, climbing up its cladded walls. Any light which managed to filter in through the trees would be unlikely to pass any further into the sole window of the shack; almost invisible through the blossoming bushes.

The shack sat at the end of a long, tree-lined path, perched on the edge of a cliff: the waves of the estuary roaring below, in the blistering, icy wind.

Night was dawning upon the woodland; the creatures were finding their ways into their warm nests, escaping from the storm. Butchers Wood nestled on the lower slopes of a hill, so sheer in scope that the locals call it a mountain. Its shadow scours the whole wood, protecting all within from the canopy and below.

But the shack shook vigorously, creaking with every movement, as it appeared to sway from side to side. A captivating light shone from the window, bringing an element of warmth to the wood. Thick smoke left a bold stone chimney, escaping before meeting the branches of surrounding trees, and leaving for good. The whole wood was silent, but laughs echoed out of the cracks of the shack and travelled far and wide, enlightening the scared, on this cold, wet night.

For, although on the outside it appeared just a ruin, inside it was very much the hub of a family’s happy life. The Jones family had resided in the shack for centuries, the father in each iteration a charcoal burner, and so fifteen-year-old Brody was next in line: he was enjoying a night at home, having finished his exams early, with strait A*’s.  Burning charcoal in an ancient forest was probably the last thing he should be aiming for, but his parents, Aaron, and Debbie, would never settle for anything else. Completing the Jones clan, Brody’s twin sister, Katisha: a quick-witted character, fit for the cameras, seeking a career somewhere in the media. Brody had always wished his parents were as supportive towards what he really wanted to be, as they are with Katisha, the ‘angel.’

However, Brody loved his family, and all his family loved him: they were bound together by the warmth of their dog, Dock, a six-year-old German Shepard, whose coat was more golden than the element itself! Whenever there was a sore patch in the household, Dock would almost erase it upon his appearance – the whole family considered him to be a special dog.

The shack appeared remarkably larger inside, than out. The perishing door opened in to a snug living area, which encircled the fireplace. There was a woolly, fuzzy sofa, adjacent to a slick, hand crafted oak table; and there were a few rotting ash worktops beside a fridge and oven, the family’s latest investment: for these were the only two ‘modern’ appliances in the shack: no more was to be found in the lavatory or the two clustered bedrooms. Brody and Katisha had always had to travel along the meandering lane passing by the woodland, withering away a little more with every passing object, to the library in Hamberleigh, the local village. This was the only place they could find a computer, and proper books.

It was the perfect evening for the family to be gathered together; Dock curled up in his bed, the rest on the sofa, enjoying a freshly brewed cup of tea. Debbie clung on to Brody’s hand and reminded him that she would always be there for him: they’d always had a close relationship, so it only seemed the norm that she was comforting her son after he was teased, yet again, for his good grades at school. “I’ll always love you – support you - I will always be there,” she whispered to him, the words leaving her mouth seamlessly.

Little did they both know that was soon to change. 

__________________________________________

Hi, Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I won't do these often, just wanted to say thanks, and to turn the page... ;-)