It's strange. As I write this, it seems that everything that has happened to me springs forward in my mind. I can see it as crystal clear as if it were actually happening right now. I'm not sure why this happens, because any other time that I try to recall some of the things in my life, I come up blank. I've done many difficult things thought through difficult times, but this is by far the most puzzling thing that I have ever come across. I will ignore the why factor for now. I should really be more thankful for this strange occurrence, because I can put on paper what has already gone by that nobody else will ever know about, save for this stack of papers that I am writing on now. I need to begin my tale, in fear of the chance my memory might fail, and the story will become hazy in my mind. I shall begin about four years ago, back when I lived with my father.....

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Summer was just ending. The leaves on the numerous trees were turning various shades of red and orange, causing a swirl of beauty in the woods surrounding me as I walked. Wind whistled between branches while a large assortment of birds and insects flew lazily around the dirt path. As you can guess, it was Fall, and school was just starting up again. School was one of the many sources of torture for me in this small town that I call home. I was constantly bullied, teased, and all around hated. Even the staff hated me, and I don't know why. I was glad to be out of the building, but I had a large stack of homework, just waiting to ruin my day. I put all of these thoughts out of my mind and took in all the world around me.

I had always, and always will, love nature and all of its wonders. I never seem to get tired of just sitting under a tree and waiting patiently for whatever might happen. It all just seemed to help me keep calm and relaxed whenever I wandered into the vast world of green. The animals were a huge benefit as well. They were very accustomed to my presence, so they don't run from me when I approach them. They almost seem to be glad to see me when I get there in the afternoons. I just simply couldn't imagine any world without nature.

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a loud string of choice words that I refuse to put down here. I would know whose voice that was anywhere, especially when the owner was drunk...again. It was my father. He was a very large alcoholic that didn't care about anything as long as he had his beer. He was almost constantly drinking, and had a seemingly endless supply of alcoholic drinks. Some of you may be able to relate to this, but even fewer can say anything about a father who is an alcoholic child abuser. Technically, at the age of 17, I'm not a child anymore, but it makes no difference to him. He'll go into my room and steal or destroy my few possessions for stupid reasons such as his favorite sports team is losing. Whenever he gets angry and I'm in the area, I'm in for a random attack. He'll use whatever he can reach to hit me. He makes my entire life miserable, and certain thoughts have crossed my mind, but there are other things that keep me going.

The brightest and most powerful shining beacon of hope in my barren wasteland of a life is my mother. She always helped me with whatever I needed and supported whatever I chose. She was who I would go to for help, and she would gladly receive me. She even helped me design and build a small shack in the forest where I put all of my favorite things that I don't want destroyed. That, by the way, is another advantage of nature. My father hates anything natural. He won't even go past the first few trees! But back to the topic. My mother kept me going in life. I could never imagine any kind of life without her.

I had to quickly refocus as my small house came into view. It was a simple wooden structure, built of wood over 200 years ago by my...uuuhh...ancestors...I don't know. My father keeps certain information from me. I mean, heck, I don't even know what town I live in! Well, although I hated doing it, I walked through the front door and tried to slip unseen to my room.

"Just where do you think you're going?" I heard from the next room, "You had better get in here right now!" It was my father. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could, so I made a mad dash for my room. "HEY! YOU HAD BETTER GET IN HERE NOW!!!" he yelled again. He was drunk and obviously angry at something. I didn't know what it was, and didn't want to find out. When I reached my room, I grabbed my new book off of my desk and vaulted out the open window, headed for my small shack in the forest.

*****

Notes from me: wow, this is really looking pretty decent. I know that this chapter isn't very long, but I just wanted to get some feedback on what you think! I need some help on some of the following things:

Got any names I can use for my character? I don't want it to be too common, yet not too strange either...

I need a city to set this thing in. I need some suggestions on that too.

See anything that can be improved upon? Any tips can really help, no matter how small!

Please don't assume that this is some sappy sob story. I've got some real excitement planned for the near future involving: a death, a wolf, a strange power...