Chapter 1: My Birthday
Today is a nice day. It's not to hot and not to cold. The wind has a steady blow to it and the flowers are blooming as it is the beginning of spring. I am laying on a bale of hay enjoying the day.
"Hey John, where did you go?" I heard my friend Samuel call.
I dicided to stay where I am. 'I'm going to get the drop on him. This is it.' All my life, I tried to get the best of him and all my life, I have failed, but not this time. I'm waiting in the hay till Samuel is right under me. 'This is it.' I jumped down from the hay and headed for his back. Somehow, he knew I was falling to get him because he turned at the last minute and punched me in the gut. I fell to the ground trying to get my breath back.
"Nice try, kid, but I'll always be a step ahead of you." Samuel said, bent down so I could see him better.
I don't get why I try. Samuel is not only taller but older then me. He had brown hair and a beard. He was strong but you wouldn't know it because he didn't have muscles that showed. He had a big smile on his face as he helped me up to walk home for supper.
"You know what today is, don't you?" Samuel asked me as I was trying to walk on my own and almost fell.
'Today... what was today?' I was thinking to myself.
"It's your birthday, dummy. Don't you know when your birthday is?" He asked sarcastically.
'That's right. I'm turning 16 today. The day I start my training to become a man.' That was enough reason for me to run home. I almost beat Samuel there. He waited for me at the door of our cottage in the woods, leaned up against the door like he had been there for a while. He motioned me to come inside and disappeared behind the door. I walked the last few steps of the way home so it don't look like I had run home. I opened up the door, I couldn't see anyone so I shut the door behind me and as I did, everyone screamed, "Surprise!" They were all hiding behind the sofa. That's my family for you always happy and playing jokes.
"Happy birthday, son." My dad said, walking up to me, followed by my mom, who said the same thing.
"It's hard to believe that my little man is growing up." my mom said, crying. She collapsed on my shoulder. My dad came and started to walk her to the table.
I never liked it when she called me her little man, but all that will change after tonight. After tonight, I officially become a man. I had a great time at the party but I really wanted it to end so I could go on the hunting trip that would test me to see if I was a man or not. If I kill anything, I become a man but if not, I'll have to wait a whole other year. 'I'm not going to let that happen.' The party was nearing the end when my dad got up and got every ones attention. That is if you call everyone my mom Samuel and me, I don't have any other family out side of the house.
"Today is a special day for my son. He leaves us tonight a boy and will come back as a man." he said giving his toast, "He will leave with only a bow and a dozen arrows, and food enough to last a week. I just have one thing to say before you leave, Son. Good luck and I'll have the oven burning for when you return."
And with that, I said my goodbyes. My mom cried a little more and I was off to become a man. I started to head for the forest. 'Tonight is a good night to walk because the moon is full, and there isn't a single cloud in the sky.' I decided I would walk until midnight, maybe later. After a while, I found a clearing that is a perfect place to set up camp, so I gathered some fire wood, started a fire, eat some of my bread, and settled down for the night. That night I had a strange dream.
##I am running through the forest when all of a sudden I get lifted into the sky by an invisible force, and try as I might, I can't get loose. Whatever was holding me was taking me some where. "Where?" I ask my self.##
Then I woke up. I chuckled a little at the dream, put out the fire, and headed out for the mountains. To some the mountains are a scary place. There's stories that monsters live in the forest, but to others like myself the mountains are a source of life. Besides, if there were any monsters out here, I would have found them by now. I've been hiking in this forest all my life, and I haven't seen a single monster. It was about mid day when I found what I was looking for. It was an animal trail and by the look of it, deer. 'They came through here not long ago.' I decided now would be a good time to eat, so I put down my bow and arrows, opened my pack and got out some more bread. As I sat there eating, I kept on feeling that someone was watching me, but every time I turned around to look, nothing is there. The forest is a sanctuary for me, in the forest you can find peace, and sometimes I found answers to questions that I didn't know had an answer. I've always enjoyed being alone in the forest because it allows me to become one with it. 'Well that's enough break for now... back to the trail.' I examined it for a little while to find out which way it was heading, then followed it deeper into the mountain.
As I got deeper into the forest, I noticed that it was not only getting colder, but that uneasy feeling was coming over me even stronger now. What was making me feel like this? I've been in these woods a hundred of times and never felt like this. 'I guess it's the fact that I'm going to become a man after this hunting trip.' That's the only explanation I can think of. I followed the trail all day until about right before sunset, for when the sun goes down in the mountains, you better have a fire going or you'll ether end up freezing or a wild animal will come out to eat you.
After it got dark, the temperature dropped drastically. I was huddled against the fire, eating my bread, trying to stay warm. That night I didn't sleep well. I had to keep on getting up so the fire wouldn't die on me. Usually I have some one else with me so we take shifts. In the morning, I could hardly see my own nose because the fog is so thick. This is a hunter's worst nightmare, not being able to see the trail, but I knew that the herd was far a head so I just followed the trail as usual and the fog eventually lifted around mid day. I took a break to eat and to find out where I was. When I looked around, I noticed that I've never been in this part of the forest. It was kind of neat. There is a stream that runs along side it, a clearing where the stream turns into a small pond, and a bunch of food for the animals. If I'm going to catch something, it would be here. So I unloaded my stuff, grabbed my bow and a couple arrows, just in case, and climbed the nearest tree to get a good look around. 'Bingo. Just what I was looking for.' A herd of deer are in the meadow, grazing. I climbed down the tree to get into position to make a kill. As I got there, the wind changed in my favor. 'This is going to be a piece of cake.' I told myself. I pick out a good looking buck, pulled back on my arrow and let it fly. I watched as the arrow flew in the air and hit the buck on one of his front legs. 'Yes that's it. When I return home, I'll have finally become a man.' I told myself. 'They'll be surprised to see me come home so soon, I bet.'
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