River left the hospital in a flurry, hoping to leave behind the boy he realized was a familiar stranger. The boy he saved from a terrible, haunting pain, at least mentally... this time.
He turned the corner after running a distance from the hospital to see his part of town fast approaching. The part near the forest, where he and the boy used to play, where the memories came flooding back... Never mind that.
He ran behind a house to meet his front door yet again that day. He trotted into the entrance, almost breathless, and was greeted again by his dad, cooking in an apron that read, "Just Because I'm Native American Doesn't Mean I Can Talk To Animals, But I Can Sure Cook Them."
His dad turned around to face River, holding a bowl of spices mixed with tenderized meat in one hand and a spatula in the other.
"Hello, River. You mind telling me where you ran off to after you got into a police situation, saved some kid's life, and got robbed at the festival earlier?" His dad asked with a grim expression.
"Hey, dad, I get it, but I just wanted to drop by the hospital to make sure that kid was okay. I really didn't know how long he would live for, so I had to check on him."
There was a pause.
"That's a fair excuse, I suppose. Next time, before you decide to up and leave after a major incident, tell me, 'kay?" His dad reset his expression beck to relaxed.
"Got it, pops. Can I chill in the woods for a little while?"
His dad hesitated, appearing to think it over, then nodded. "I expect you back for dinner in thirty minutes. Stay safe."
River walked out of the house quickly, jumping over the backyard gate and passing the old playground to venture into his favorite part of the woods. The part far, far away from where the incident happened.
As he walked further into the forest, he started to see the trees thin out and lead him to a treasure he kept for himself.
A lack of trees led to a forested lake area. The cool grey of the sky reflected on the crystalline water, meeting the nonintrusive earthy shore. The trees, thinly spread, offered a veil over one short side of the lake on the shore, but the lake overcame the other trees with its presence. The light fog offered a cover to protect the scenery from manmade disruptions.
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River sat near the edge of the still body of water, reflecting on his thoughts.
There wasn't much for an average 12 year old to think about, I guess.
River was not an average 12 year old, fortunately for him.
He sat, and sat, and sat some more. He just enjoyed getting away from the bustle of his life to come here.
He started to get up to leave, when all of the sudden, a force compelled him to sit some more.
Wondering, he looked up to see if it was a divine force or just his legs failing him. His limbs appeared fine, so he sat down again, crossing his legs. A familiar feeling enveloped him as he felt an almost supernatural peace descend.
His attention was caught by an almost purplish hued figure standing nearly in front of him, on the surface of the lake.
It was a buffalo, his spirit guide.
River had first found his spirit guide early on in his life, before his mother introducing the concept to him as a young boy. It came after the moment with the mountain lion, while most children find their guide in their late teens. He was scared and startled by the purple animal at first, but became acquainted with him as he appeared more often in River's alone hours.
But why was he here now?
River gazed towards the buffalo as it strode closer to him. It not only brought its own presence today. It brought the spirit of his little sister, after a long absence. River had not seen the girl since the aftermath of the incident four years ago, and she had grown since then. He got up in jubilance. He made sure not to disturb the nature around him as he got slightly closer to the spirits, wondering what they wanted to show him this time, especially his long absent sister.
But to his disappointment, they left with only a memory, almost as fast as they came.
He tried to look harder into the body of water, but resigned to going back home, as his dad had requested.
He jogged back to the house to eat dinner, through the forest and away from the nature.
He breathily sat down at the table, seating his dad in the apron at the head, his tense mother at his side after a demanding day as head banker in the city, and his younger brother next to the empty seat once reserved for his twin sister. His father prayed over the food, then proceeded to dig into the cuisine. The family soon followed, while engaging in conversation about the day. River just tried to avoid eye contact with his mother, for fear of awaking her temper and overbearing nature, but that only made her more likely to pick on him at the table.
"River, look at me," She spoke pointedly, "What on Earth did you do today? I want to know why I heard about you today at work."
"U-um, I got punched by this kid who took my money then I stopped a group of kids from badly beating up another kid at the festival. Then I went to the hospital to make sure he was still alive, then I came home, then I went on a walk, and here I am." He stuttered nervously.
"River Basilius Killows, why didn't you leave the festival immediately after that mean boy punched you? Have you no common sense?"
"I was planning to, but my instinct told me something was wrong, so I stayed. And it was right."
Glaring, his mother clocked his back-talk, shooting imaginary eye lasers into River's skull, to his nervousness.
But, his mother relaxed a little bit and decided to finish her food, not criticizing her boy any more. He had been through a lot today, she thought.
The younger boy spoke up, "Hey Riv, when did you first choose your spirit animal?"
River replied, "Asriell, you can't really choose your spirit guide. It has to find you, for starters, and mine chose me earlier in my life, so you really should be asking mom or dad, because I'm not sure I know anything."
His mom and dad nodded in approval and continued the meal.
Once the dinner was over, he ventured to his room to try to sleep.
He hoped the buffalo and his sister had brought premonitions of change, or at least something different.
Opposing his hopes, his life continued as normal for many years after. Homeschool with his genius father, then trying to get away in town or in the forest, then eating and sleeping. By the time five years had passed, he was desperate for a change, any at all.
What happened was contrary to any of his predictions.
