The secrets I hide at night

LOST AND FOUND

Picture above is what I imagine the girl to look like. Ignore all the bandages. My character doesn't have those, this is just the only picture that I could find that was closest to what my character would look like. Also imagine that is what she is wearing. I couldn't find a kid version of this so just imagine it

CHAPTER 1

my mother always told me that I was different but I never knew what she meant. maybe because I was only 4 years old at the time. but now I know what she was trying to make me understand. my mother died by hunters when I was 5 years old. we lived in the woods. I was homeschooled because my mom didn't like people too much. she mostly taught me foods and medicine that you can find in the wilderness. she said that outsiders are mean, bad people, and dangerous. we can't trust any of them. my mother could turn into a wolf to go hunt but she only went at night because sometimes people came during the day. to me, transforming to my other form was normal because I never had any sort of interaction with " normal people". even if I can transform, when my mom did it she just looked so brave and strong to me. like nothing can take her down. my mother didn't like me to wander off from home because someone can see me and take me away. now she is gone and I'm running away as far as I could from home. I didn't want to stay their if there was a chance that the hunters were still around. I was on my own and froze when I was at the edge of the woods. my mother said to not even think about going near the edge of the woods but here I am.

so I was wandering the town, looking and gazing at all the things I have never seen before. everything was so new to me that even the simplest thing like a water fountain amused me. that's when some men in uniforms came up to me and tried to ask me questions but before they could even touch me I ran like their was no tomorrow. I think they were called police or something like that based on the bold word on their hats. they were surprised that I could run as fast as I'm going. any normal girl couldn't run nearly as fast. they caught me after hours of searching and chasing. since their was no back round of me ( because I was born in the woods ) they couldn't find any documents of me or my family. it was a long process but they finally made papers for me with the help of some doctors and child care services. I was really lucky that their was no moon on that day or else they would've found out what I truly am through the blood tests that I was forced to take. now I was in the California system but they didn't give me a name. I never told them I had one since I didn't trust them at the time. but they didn't expect an answer from me because ever since those police caught me I had not said a word no matter how persistent they were. my mother named me willow when I was born. it was a bird name and my mother really liked it. I felt like it suited me because of how calm and creative I am. but now they would let my foster parents name me if I get adopted but if I don't, when I turn 18 I can pick my own name.

it took a lot of time for me to ajust to the orphanage they put me in and even after a lot of time being their i still didn't like the place. so now, when this couple came in that had a son about the same age as me, maybe even a bit older who were looking for a sister for him, the lady who's name was Ms. Carson, owner of the orphanage asked them what kind of child they were looking for. as the little mischievous 7 year old that I was, went to go eavesdrop on the family. the lady knew I was there. she already learned all my tricks because I had done them so many times. she was a nice lady and the first person I ever talked to besides my mom. when I had first arrived to the orphanage I was so scared and sad. I was still traumatized from the loss of my mother. I didn't trust any adults or children. for that reason kids didn't like to play or hang out with me. some kids even started calling me names like freak, loser, weirdo, boring, and odd. those are not the worst names someone can tell you but to a 6 year old it really hurt. even some of the adults didn't like to stay close to me because of how uncooperative I was. but she never gave up on me when everyone else did. even if it took hours at a time just for me to say a couple of words she waited patiently and never rushed me. after a month or 2 at the orphanage I started to trust her more and she noticed that. but at that time I was so uneducated that I couldn't understand a lot of what kids my age were learning. so she started teaching me things that I didn't know like ABC's, 123's, reading, writing, and much more. and she didn't want herself to continue if I didn't understand. she just didn't want me to be behind in school and surprisingly I was a fast learner. now I am smarter than most kids my age and it was all thanks to her.

while I was thinking about my past with her the couple and her stopped talking. That's when I snapped out of the daze I was in and ran to the backyard of the orphanage. They had all types of toys and equipment to play with so I just pretended like I was their the whole time until I saw a bird in a tree. By the looks of it , it was a robin. It had a nest with eggs in it too. Did I mention that I have a talent for drawing. I make one for the lady everyday to thank her for taking care of me and all the other kids. Now I really wanted to draw that bird. So I went to the arts and crafts room and got papers and a pencil. I went back outside and luckily enough the bird was still there. I sat down on a large rock and started sketching the bird. When I was just about to finish Ms. Carson called out to me. I wondered what she wanted? Usually she would only call me if it was important or she just wanted to hang out. So after about a good minute past I found her but I was surprised to see the family still with her. Usually families are fast at picking the type of kid they wanted. That's when Ms. Carson told me to go introduce myself, and being the good kid that I am went up to the family. "Hello", was all I said because I didn't really have a name besides the nicknames she gave me. So after I did my introduction to the family Ms. Carson explained everything about me like she does with all the children when a family wants to know more about a child. Even my backstory and how I got here. Then I herd the other female which I presumed was the boys mother say " go introduce yourself to the girl". The boy walked up to me and said hi but I bearly heard it. So I said hello back more audible than how the boy said it. But the way he looks and talk's is like he has never felt any emotion in his entire life. I tried to make him talk more by saying  questions to him but he never responded back.

Once Ms. Carson was done talking to the family she told me to pack up my things. I asked her why and she just decided that she will explain while she helps me pack. So she told the family to go to the waiting room and fill out some kind of papers. "Why do i have to go Ms. Carson? I like it here", I asked her. She looked at me and smiled. "Because River (one of my nicknames) they are going to give you more things than the orphanage ever could and they might even take you to places we can't. Please understand that you are one of the best kids I ever had and it hurts me to let you go but I only want the best for you and to have the best life you possibly can. I know you like it here with me but life will only get harder the older you get". As much as I wanted to cry i wouldn't let myself. I know she is only doing what is best for me. So I nodded to her as a response and gave her a tight hug after, that way she won't see my eyes water.