The Autumn's Last Season [COMPLETED]

Nathaniel was born on a cool autumn morning, the kind where the air feels crisp and the leaves crunch underfoot. For twelve years, his life was quiet and uneventful, the kind of childhood most people would call normal. He lived in a small town surrounded by forests and hills, where the days were predictable, and the nights were calm. His family-just him, his mom, his sister, and his dad-seemed ordinary too. But looking back, Nathaniel would wonder: was it ever really normal, or was everyone just pretending?

Everything changed on his twelfth birthday. It wasn't dramatic at first. There were no thunderclaps or sudden revelations. Just a creeping sense that something was... off. It started small. Odd moments when his mother, once warm and attentive, seemed distracted, even nervous. His father, on the other hand, stayed the same-steady and reliable, maybe because he didn't notice what was happening, or maybe because he didn't want to.

By the time Nathaniel was in his late teens, he was a quiet, sharp-minded young man with big dreams and a gift for language. He could learn dialects in days, win over anyone with his words, and read between the lines better than most people realized. But underneath his calm exterior, there was always a tension. His mom had grown stranger over the years, slipping into long silences or disappearing into the attic for hours at a time. There were rumors too-about her past, about things people had seen but wouldn't talk about. Nathaniel tried not to think about it, but the questions were always there, lurking.

This is the story of how Nathaniel went from a boy with a quiet life to a man caught in something far bigger than himself. A journey of hidden truths, impossible choices, and the realization that sometimes, pretending everything is normal is easier than facing what's real. But in the end, Nathaniel knew he couldn't live in denial forever. Sooner or later, he'd have to decide: run from the truth or face it head-on.

Nov. 17 - Dec. 17