Altered Destiny

Three-year-old Nicholas Russell slipped out the back door of his parents' home. If anyone asked him, he would insist they weren't his parents. He would find his real parents. He snuck into the forest, carrying his baby blanket—he brought it everywhere with him in the hopes that he just might run into his mother or maybe his father. Surely, one of them would recognize it.

He soon got lost and ran into another child. The little girl looked at him and then grabbed his hand and led him further into the forest, yelling, "Udonna!"

"What is it, Clare?" another woman—Udonna—asked.

Nick peered shyly up at Udonna. "He has Cousin Bowen's blanket," Clare blurted out.

Udonna knelt down and realized that little Nick was her son. She picked him up and set him on the couch and said, "Do you know where your parents are, little one?"

"No, but I'm going to find them," he said, stubbornly.

Udonna sighed and waved her hand over the crystal ball and soon located Nick's adoptive parents' home. She picked him up and set him on her hip. "Clare, stay here. I'll be back soon," Udonna ordered, before casting a transportation spell that would take the two to his bedroom.

She placed Nick in his bed and then slipped downstairs, leaving a note saying that Nick was home.

Nick opened his eyes—Udonna was his mother and was trying to leave him. He climbed out of bed and ran down the stairs after her. He quickly caught up to her and grabbed onto her leg. "Mommy, don't go," he begged, burying his face in her leg.

Udonna sank to her knees and wrapped her arms around the crying child. "Shh, shh, can you be strong—like Daddy—for Mommy?" she asked.

Nick clung to her, as his adoptive mother walked over to the two. "You must be his mother," she murmured to Udonna.

Udonna nodded and Mrs. Russell continued, "It might be best if you be a part of his life. He'll just run away again to find you."

Udonna looked at her son and then at Mrs. Russell, before nodding in agreement to split the custody of the three-year-old. From that day forward, Nick would spend half his time in the Mystic Forest of Briarwood with Udonna and Clare and the other half in the human realm—long weekends, vacations, and breaks were always spent with Udonna and Clare, while during school, he remained in the human realm.