The Mystery Boy

Chapter 1 - Welcome to Berkeley Falls.

This morning in Berkeley Falls seems off in some sort of way to Me. I looks out of the window of the bus I'm currently riding on, on her way to meet my sister at our apartment. I've lived here basically since I've been born and I never really gotten along with everyone around here like most people have. I just didn't have a lot in common with them.

I looks out the window one last time before the bus stops and I looks at where they've stopped and realizes this is where I needs to get off. After riding this bus for so many years I knows just how long it takes for me to get to my apartment from where i work.

As i gets the keys out of my pocket and open the door, I see my sister jump me and squeeze me tight to the point where i can barely breath. "Too tight" I say strained by my sisters surprisingly strong hug. "Oh, sorry!" My sister, Kiley, says as she takes her arms off from around her little sister, relieving me.

"So how was work today?" Kiley asks as she makes her way into our kitchen and opening the fridge to find something to eat. I take my purse off from around my shoulder putting it on our kitchen island and sitting down. "It was like every other day boring, normal, not fun at all". Kiley takes some yogurt from the fridge closing the door, and turns around "You don't even like having fun when I give you have the opportunity to" giving Me a look.

Kiley always wanted me to have fun and be a party girl of some sort, but what she didn't and still doesn't understand is I'd rather stay home and read instead of get drunk and have parties. Our parents would always get so angry with Kiley when she would go out to parties in college. But I always admired how she just didn't care. She would do what she wanted, the things that made her happy and not give a shit what anyone else thought. Yep, that's my sister.

"Oh haha" I say sarcastically. "What you don't ever have fun." Kiley says with a pouty face. "Kiley, that's what you like." "Yeah yeah, I know I know you would rather stay home instead of go out, I know" Kiley says putting her back to the counter and eating her yogurt.

I chuckle just a bit at how much she still acts like a teenager. Guess she was one not too long ago. "I'm gonna go into my room to read, okay?" "Okay, call me if you need anything" Kiley says as I get up from my spot and walk to my room.

I walk into my room and fall straight onto my bed. Taking a deep breath in and out at the sweet relive of relaxation. Finally. Some peace and quiet.

"WILLOW!" I let out a scoff and get up sitting on my bed. "YES?" I yell back to my sister who interrupted my peace and quiet.

"TAKE OUT THE TRASH PLEASE!" "ITS YOUR TURN" I let out yet another scoff and get up from my bed to go take out the trash.
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Time pass

While I'm sitting in my bed laying down while trying to read my book, I thought I finally had peace and quiet again but I can't have that when my sister has her "girlfriends" over. I decide that to get some peace and quiet. I could go out to the woods where I used to go when I was little to read and kind of escape in a way from this town, the world, the pain.

I get up and get my things and quickly make my way out the door passing my sister and her friends while they are screaming over some boy like they are teenagers.

I make my way to the place and I get out of my car and then go into the woods behind my old childhood home, knowing my parents won't mind since I do this quite often. I go through the wood barb wired fence and make my way through the woods to a place with a rock under a big pine tree. I lay my things down and get my book out of my bag I brung my things in and start reading my book while sitting down on the rock and leaning my back against the pine tree I'm sitting under.

I finally have the serenity I've been searching for. I knew I would here. I always do. But little did I know that would be the last time that i ever would. When I hear a slight noise that sounded like someone stepping on a leaf. I look up immediately from hearing the noise and since I didn't hear anything else I decide to be the stupid one in the horror movie and go search to see what or who made that noise.

I slowly get up and put my books down on the rock I was previously sitting on and start walking towards where I heard the odd noise.

I look down and find a branch and pick it up thinking i can use it as a weapon in some way. I turn the corner of a tree and lift the branch in front of my bracing for the impact of another person or some sort of animal but to my surprise it's an odd boy asleep on the cold ground of fall. His clothes look like a homeless person, he's wearing a t-shirt that looks like it hasn't been washed in days. Some ripped jeans that are dirty from the ground that he's sleeping on, and a pare of blue tennis shoes that look like the soles are almost wore off. Since his jeans are messy from the ground it looks like, he must've been sleeping here for a bit.

I look at his face and he looks like he's about 20 or so. His face has a bit of dirt on it and a bandage on his cheek like he's been hurt somehow. He has dirty blonde hair and it's covered in leaves and dirt from lying on the ground. If you couldn't tell from his face that he was older than 16 you would think that he's a child who's been kidnapped or lost in the forest for days.

I get the branch and I poke at his face thinking he might wake up and to not surprise, his eyes start flicking open and closed once again but then finally they stay open. He looks up at me and stares at me for about 5 seconds before realizing the actual situation. He screams when he realizes what's happening and that causes me to scream and hold out the branch to defend myself.

He gets up quickly and stops screaming when he realizes that I'm holding the branch in former of my face looking as non-threatening as possible. I look back at him and I lock with his wife eyes. "H-hello.." the strange boy says with a voice that sounds as helpless as he looks. "Hello." I say softly so he doesn't get scared again. "Wh-where am I?" He says once again very helpless and low. "You are in a forest in Berkeley Falls, Massachusetts." I say calmly. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing sleeping in the forest?" I ask

"Well, I honestly don't know.." he says as he scrunches his face like he can't can't find the missing piece to a puzzle. "W-who are you?" He asks curiously.

"I'm Willow Hartley." I say calmly "are you okay?" I ask genuinely concerned for him considering how he looks and the way he's acting. "I..I don't know" he says genuinely confused. Okay now I'm confused too. "I...I can't r-remember anything" he says finally helping me understand the situation. "Oh.." I say looking up to him. His eyes are a dark blue and they look so helpless, it's like a blue baby bird that's fallen out of a nest.

"Okay do you want me to help you out of here and try and ask someone for help or see if you know anyone?" I ask him walking towards him
"No but also yes" I look at him confused and he notices this when he look up at me. "I want to get out of this forest but I don't want to ask for help." He says giving me more insight. "Oh okay." I say I'm agreement "what about i take you to my apartment first and help you get some new clothes, all washed up and warm then I'll try and help you get some help does that sound like a deal?" I ask him. I know it's stupid like whah if he could be a serial killer or psychopath that's pretending to forget his memories or something. Well even if he is then I was fooled but I know that type of look he has.

Helpless, alone, sad, and scared. I want to help him. So that's what I did.