The forest air was cool and dry that early fall morning. Leaves of red, brown, and yellow littered the forest floor. A subtle breeze caused the extending limbs of trees to sway, almost as if they were dancing. All manner of animals, from a small beetle to a large bear, lurked among the crowded trees, but what was truly terrifying was the beast that caused fear to ripple down the spines of all. This monster was dangerous and tricky. It could mask its scent to be like that of other animals in the forest and had strong paws that could grip its prey easily. Stirring animals from their rest, the creature stomped across the ground, crunching leaves beneath its feet.
A six-year-old boy poked his head out from behind a tree where he had been hiding. With what he believed to be great stealth, he ran from the safety of his tree to the next one closest to him all the while imagining himself to be a mighty hunter like his father. Unfortunately, his stealth was not as effective as he had wished because all the animals could see him running around with a great noise following him. He surprised nobody.
This didn't matter to the boy, whose mind was occupied with hunting the animals he was scaring away. In his right hand, he held a small bow, and his left hand gripped a practice arrow his father had fashioned for him. The arrow was not the least bit dangerous, for his father believed that it was best to keep weapons away from one so young. Yet, this did nothing to stop the boy's enthusiasm of wandering through the woods and hunting everything from leaves, to bushes, to the occasional large beetle.
The woods he trekked were alive with a symphony of sounds. Birds sang a song that only they knew, while squirrels barked along, keeping the beat. The dancing trees' rustling leaves created a harmonic accompaniment for the melody performed by the birds. In the distance, a running stream added its voice to the song. If the boy had stopped his trudging about and had listened to the music around him, he would have become hypnotized in the beauty of it all.
However, he didn't stop. Deeper and deeper into the woods he traveled. He had a destination in mind and would not stop until he reached it.
As he ventured, a fallen tree blocked his path. Instead of climbing over it and continuing towards his purposed location, the child ducked behind the trunk and pressed his back firmly into the scratchy bark. He worked on quieting his breathing as he nocked his arrow into the string of his bow. Cautiously, he glanced over the top of his tree barrier, before crouching back down. Again, he let his eyes peek over the uprooted tree. In a quick motion, he pulled the string of his bow back and shot it over the tree trunk. As soon as the arrow was released from the string, the young boy vaulted over the tree and ran to snatch his prey.
"Gotcha!" he shouted triumphantly holding up a large, orange leaf with an arrow-sized hole pierced through it.
The boy giggled to himself as he stuffed the leaf into his leather satchel. Readjusting his wool jacket, he imagined his prize to be a large deer that he was bringing home to his parents and seven siblings. It would make a great feast! He could already taste the delicious cooked venison. Everyone in his family would look at him in absolute adoration and proclaim him to be the best hunter in all Tsukki Mori.
The sound of screaming cut through the still air, but it was not the screams of a human. These screams were of an animal, a creature in terror and distress. Suffocating the surrounding symphony, the animal's yells became the only sound the child could focus on. His chest filled with the erratic beating of his heart as he raced through the brush, twigs scratching his face while the rest of the world blurred around him. Breaths came in short gasps as he turned his head side to side searching for the source of the pained cries.
