The Wolf

Chapter 1

I remember the first time I saw the wolf. I was only 3 years old. My parent had put me to bed hours ago but I wasn't able to sleep. Something outside was watching, waiting for the right moment. I tried to ignore the feeling but it didn't go away, so I gathered my courage and peeked through the curtains and into the icy night.

Out in the snow, under the cover of the dense forest, it crept closer and closer. I couldn't see it but I could sense it's every movement like they were my own. Then I saw it. First it was only glimmering eyes reflecting the moon light, then slowly the beast prowled out of the forest's cover. The wolf's thick coat was a deep brown, speckled white with fresh snow. It came a few short metres towards me and sat there panting lightly. Mist filled the air around it from it's breath. It threw back it's head and sung the ancient song of every wolf.

Every hair in my body rose at the howl, but in my heart I sang with the wolf. I am sixteen now and have long dark brown hair that refuses to obey and I can hardly mange to tie it back every day. I have greenish blue eyes and slightly tanned skin. I am a little shorter than average and kind of pretty, my friends tell me I am one of the prettiest girls at school, I think they need to get their eyes checked. My name is Nara and funny enough my last name is Wolff.

I have only seen that wolf once since that night. It was only just last night. Around midnight something made me wake up. I could hear something outside so I push my curtain aside and looked beyond the glass of my window and saw it sitting a metre from me. I could almost feel it's breath on my skin it was so close. Strangely I wasn't afraid, I had never been afraid of wolves, not even when I saw it as a small child.

It seemed to call to me, so I sat down and opened my curtains wider. If my friends saw me like this they would freak out, but I only felt calm and slightly lonely, like the wolf. I put one of my hands on the cool glass and the wolf slowly came over to the window. My heart beat faster and faster as it inched forward. At last we stared directly face to face through the glass, into each others' eyes. It sat down and put it's paw on the glass where my hand was. I was captured by it's green eyes, then it began to howl at the bright quarter moon. When it finished it's  song, it stood up and stalked quietly to the forest edge, giving me a last look before it ran into the inky shadows.

I went to sleep soon after the wolf left and it's eyes were always somewhere hidden behind trees or in shadows in my dreams. Those were the best dreams had had in a long time. I slept in a little late this morning but that didn't matter, I was still buzzing with the excitement from the wolf last night. I think it was a lone male, for there wasn't any other eyes waiting in the forest behind him. I was ready for school in 15 minutes, which is record braking against my normal 35 mins.

I said goodbye to my two older brothers Joel and Heath as well as my older sister Rosemary and raced outside and around to my window. I had an extra 20 mins and I planned on trying to track the wolf. As I came to the front of my window I couldn't see any prints in the snow, almost like it had never been there. Had it all just been a dream? No it had to be real, maybe there had been fresh snow fall last night? Yea that must be it. There was fresh snow on the wolf's coat last night. It had to be why there was no prints.

I walked into the forest, trying to find more signs of the wolf's passing and I knew a shortcut to school through here which would give me a bit more time. There had to something here, the snow wouldn't be able to cover over every track in the woods. The trees where pines and a few maples that grew close together with their branches often entwined making a canopy overhead. If you looked through the smallish openings you could make out the grey sky. I loved to walk through here in fall, colourful dead leaves covered the ground and mixed with the brown trunks and I often came wandering in the deeper parts of the forest but not to far or I would get lost.

My phone broke the peaceful silence with it's noisy alarm that meant I had to hurry to school. When I reach the old building I tried to find my friends, Shera and Myra. They were standing near our lockers and I had to push past people to reach them. Shera was short with mouse brown hair but always wanted to dye it blonde, I don't think that would suit her and she is pretty enough as she is. Myra is tall with slightly lighter hair then me and she has beautiful olive skin, but she always wishes she was smaller and had pale skin, black hair and emerald green eyes. She is lucky to look as good as she does even when she is not trying. I never can understand why they want to change themselves so much.

When I reach them they are talking about some new guy at school and how hot they think he is. I didn't pay much attention but tried to stay in their conversation. I could feel the steps of someone else walking down the hallway. His steps felt like my wolf, I could sense his every move. I spun around and saw him, the same deep green eyes and dark coloured hair that was messy but looked amazing. He stopped walking and looked straight into my eyes. Time stopped and the world around us seemed to vanish. The meters between us melted away and I could smell the light scent of the woods.