The Supernaturals [On Hold]

Childhood (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6

I just stared at him. I was not sure if I should be mildly horrified or simply paranoid. "What is in there?" I asked cautiously.

"Bushes, trees, flowers-normal forest stuff. The trees are a vibrant green though." I sighed in relief-nothing to worry about, then. Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived. "And there are the werewolves, fairies, and such."

Fairies? They did not sound very terrifying, but neither did mermaids. Obviously, the people who had written my childhood storybooks had never met any of these creatures firsthand. Perhaps they did not know they even existed. The people had maybe thought it up on their own; probably being high on some sort of drug whilst doing it.

Were wolves was the things that truly terrified me. Just the thought of it sent chills down my spine. "Werewolves?" I stammered.

"Yeah."

"How did those come to be?"

"The same was you and I did." Arbor mumbled. "Werewolves are Supernaturals, yes. They aren't good though."

"And the fairies?" I prompted.

"There are good and bad fairies." He said simply. "The ones in here, however, are notorious as well."

"Well...why? Why choose to be bad?" I asked more to myself than to him.

Arbor looked at the sun which was rising higher and higher in the violet sky. "Why be good?"

"What do you mean?"

"We all must make a choice-all the Supernaturals and the civilians alike. We decide how to go about making a living. You can work for it or you can take it from someone who has worked for it. We all choose a path in life: good or bad; right or wrong; hero or villain. The werewolves and the fairies and other creatures have chosen their path, we will all eventually choose our own-you and me both. We decide if we want to achieve greatness by raising people up or tearing people down."

"Greatness is like a pyramid." I nodded.

"You can't have a pyramid without the people standing beneath you, supporting you. But you will not be judged on how powerful you became in the end. You will be judged on what you left behind you."

We wandered on through the forest until we came to a clearing-a beautiful meadow full of flowers. Arbor decided it was a nice place to sit and relax for a bit. We set down the blanket and relaxed on top of it, soaking in the sunlight. I bit into a fresh apple that we found in a nearby tree; it was juicy, red, and absolutely delicious. I realized, at some point, that I knew almost nothing about Arbor. The thought was slightly disconcerting considering that he knew a fair amount about me. "I wish I knew more about you." I said.

Arbor seemed slightly surprised. "Why?"

"Well, I have been wandering around with you for three days. I want to know more about you, the mysterious Arbor." I grinned at him. "Tell me about your childhood." I prodded when he did not respond.

He glared at me, but grudgingly began. "My mom was the magic one-she had the same power as me, but that is irrelevant. One day my dad found out about her powers.

"He called her a demon and some other rude names. She was burned alive, but of course it didn't even hurt her at all. She escaped when the all left. She snuck into our house one last time to give me a kiss and a note explaining everything in the middle of the night. I never saw her again."

His face had taken on a hard, emotionless quality. He did not look like the Arbor I knew. "How old were you?"

"Eight."

"I'm so sorry." I wanted to throw my arms around him. Instead, I set my hand on his, gently. To my great surprise he let me lace my fingers through his. His hands were pleasantly warm. "Tell me more."

"My mom left; I was left alone with my dad for eight more years. I was sixteen at the time. My dad and I were fighting again-what a surprise." He laughed darkly. "Things got physical and he gave me a black eye. I shoved him against the wall. What I did not know was that my hands had become swelteringly hot, and I left two hand-shaped burns on his chest.

"He ran after me, chasing me with his gun. I escaped. I've been wandering the forests and towns ever since." He said somberly.

"Does it still hurt to think about?"

"Yes." He whispered.

"Do you miss her?"

At first Arbor was silent. Then he started to cough; I realized that he was trying to cover up the sobs. "More than anything in the world!" He blubbered. That is when he broke loose. Great cries broke from within him; I saw the wetness on his cheeks.

I crawled over to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tightly. He layed his head on my shoulder and bawled like he hadn't for years. My dress was dampening, but I could not have cared less. I stroked his back gently and held him close. My heart was breaking, for him and for me. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks. "Me too..." I whispered.

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