The truth of the matter is, I don't know how I was born. Thinking back, there are no childhood memories of learning something new or making new friends. There are no parents who raised me, nor is there some home that holds long lost precious memories. As far as I can tell, one day, I just suddenly was. One minute I didn't exist, and the next I'm standing alone on a grassy hillside. Strangely, I don't remember questioning it. I didn't wonder how I got there, I just accepted I was there. All I knew for certain, was my name was Alex, and I had to survive.
That first place, the land where I took my first steps, first breaths, and first felt the warmth of the sun on my skin, that is the place I remember as my first home. I can still see it all so clearly. I stood on a green hillside. A tall oak tree stood at the peak, and a calm river flowed below me running from south to north. A damp swamp grew to the west, across the river. I could smell the earthy musk and see the brown mushrooms growing in the dark soil to be taller than the surrounding trees. To the north of me, across a small field where pigs and horses grazed, the grass gave way to barren sand mountains on my side of the river, while on the other side, the swamp turned to a forest so dense no light could penetrate the leafy canopy.
From the top of the hill, I could see over the swamp and watched the trees fade into the western horizon. To the east, rolling grassy hills were soon encompassed by a less intimidating forest than any of the other nearby wooded areas nearby. To the south, great gray mountains rose into the drifting clouds, which occasionally allowed me to glimpse the snow-covered peaks.
The strange situation I found myself in didn't cause me to panic. I remember seeing my reflection in the water. I saw calm green eyes looking back at me beneath a head of orange hair collected into a ponytail. For the first time, I saw my favorite green shirt, brown pants, and black boots. It could be said I loved the outfit so much that I've worn it nearly every day since.
I pulled the ponytail over my shoulder and played with the ends while taking in my surroundings, marveling at the sights before me. Even though I was new to life, I felt the beauty of this world was unparalleled. The only question wandering through my mind was where would I live?
My eyes landed on a small, rocky hill under one hundred meters away to the southeast. A cluster of trees covered the tiny foothill, providing ample amounts of shade, without blocking the sunlight entirely. Even in the early morning light, I could see the flicker of running water on a rocky outcropping. A cluster of lilacs bloomed beneath some of the trees, adding a splash of color and filling the air with their sweet scent, which I could smell even from my distance. In less than a second, I knew in my heart I had found my home.
I headed for my new place and set to work. The first thing I did, was punch a tree. I couldn't tell you why I chose to do that. Instincts just told me it had to be done, so I did. After a few punches, a piece of the tree broke off and I held it in my hands. Staring down at the block of wood, I could see all of its possibilities in my hands. I could imagine all of its crafting potential and knew it would be the first of many. One log would allow me to create so much more. In my nimble hands, the one log was broken down and formed into four planks, which were then combined to create my first workbench. I placed the table on the ground beside me, marveling at how a single log had been transformed into such a simple, yet elegant creation.
With my table ready, and more ideas running through my mind, I felled the rest of the tree. Some of the logs were crafted into planks, and then some of those became sticks. From there, I combined planks and sticks to form a wooden pickaxe. My first one. How the wood went through so many stages, I didn't know and I didn't ask. All I knew was in my hands, materials could become whatever I wanted them to be.
With my pick in hand, I dug into the cliff face beside the trickle of water. I gathered block after block of cobblestone. It was slow going, cracks formed in the wooden tool with each successive swing, yet I trusted my tool would last long enough. Once I had twenty blocks of cobble in my inventory, I returned to my crafting table and began creating a new pick with a stone blade. After finishing the new tool, I created a stone axe, shovel, and sword. Like with everything else, I had no idea why I created the tools I did, I just knew I needed them. The axes and shovel made sense, but the sword took me by surprise. I had yet to see anything even remotely threatening, but I made it regardless.
After my tools were finished, I created myself a furnace and placed it next to my crafting table. With a simple set of gear ready, my thoughts turned to exploration and food. A single apple had fallen from the tree, but I knew it wouldn't last me long. I explored the perimeter of my little hill. Woods stretched off to the east and south, there were open rolling hills to the north that eventually gave way to the desert. The water from the spring split when it hit the ground. One branch went westward and soaked into the grassy plain five meters away. The other fell into a large opening that dove steeply into the ground as it twisted and turned into the darkness beneath the surface of the world. I didn't dare go further than the light reached. My stomach lurched just looking into the depths. Some more exploration turned up a few more openings leading underground. Some didn't go very far, with enough light seeping into them to allow a full investigation. These I checked for anything valuable, but found nothing and quickly returned to the sunlight.
The darkness bothered me, and I couldn't' understand why. It was just a lack of light. There was nothing to worry about. Until then, the only other living creatures I'd seen had been some horses and a pig. Those weren't exactly threats. What was there to be afraid of in the dark? Images of terrifying monsters flashed through my mind, but I chalked them up to an overactive imagination. Monsters weren't real.
I figured I'd done enough exploring for the time being. I needed at least a few meals stored away, which was unfortunate for the pig I had seen earlier. This must've been the reason I crafted the sword, deep down I knew what had to happen. I ventured back to my first spot and did what needed to be done to survive as quickly as I could.
As my pork chops cooked in the furnace, a few more trees fell to my axe, and more stone was harvested from the cliff face. The stone tools proved to work better than the wooden one, but even these were breaking quickly. I'd need to find a stronger material. Still, they'd work for now and would be easy enough to replace when they broke.
With an ample supply of resources, to play with, I began experimenting with what I could craft. I created a chest, doors, fences, stairs, ladders, all sorts of other knick-knacks. With each new item crafted, my imagination ran wild with all of the possibilities. Was there any limit to what I could create? I wanted to find out, but there was something much more pressing. When I finally peeled my eyes off of my crafting table, I saw the sun sinking toward the horizon.
A pit opened in my stomach.
I wasn't prepared for my first night. My instincts told me so. Panic gripped me as I tried to figure out what to do. My cutout beneath the waterfall looked to be my most defensible position, so I quickly threw up some fences and a gate around the main opening to the north, and a door in the smaller opening to the west. I huddled in the back and waited as the sun set below the horizon and took its last bits of light with it. In the silence of the night, the only sounds were my breathing and the pounding of my heart in my ears.
What was I afraid of? It was just night. There was nothing dangerous in this world!
Not feeling the least bit tired, and not wanting to waste the night away, I convinced myself to return to the crafting table at the mouth of my tunnel. That's when a bone-chilling screech filled the air. I froze on the spot, scanning the field outside for any danger. At first, all seemed clear, then something moved. A figure crested a hill to the north. At first, my hopes rose. It was another person! I wasn't the only one. Then the figure shambled down the hill and instinct told me that was not a friend. Closer still, something moved within the edge of my vision with a creak.
Searing pain erupted in my shoulder, knocking me back a step. I screamed in agony. An arrow protruded from my shoulder and blood seeped out onto my green shirt. Strands of hair drifted across my vision as I searched for who fired the shot. A few meters beyond my fence stood a skeleton, practically glowing in the pale moonlight. Empty eye sockets stared at me as its teeth grinned sinisterly. It held a bow in its hands and knocked another arrow, ready to fire again. I back stepped around the cave wall. Out of sight, all I could do was listen as its hollow bones clanked against one another. I prayed to Notch it wasn't coming closer.
A chuckle echoed from the door to my left. Spinning on my heel, I saw a grubby face beneath a dark, pointy hat looking through the windows in the door.
Go away!
The narrow, unblinking eyes ignored my plea and watched me as another chuckle escaped her lips. I stood perfectly still, hoping she couldn't open the door. The figure remained in place, constantly staring, but never made a move to open the door.
Again the screech from earlier cried out, and this time I could hear the skittering of many feet. The sounds sent a chill down my spine.
I backed away from the opening until my back pressed against the stone wall. I slid to the ground, hissing in pain. The thought of removing the arrow crossed my mind only once. When it did, my hand merely brushed against the wooden shaft and the action tore a gasp from my throat. I left it alone after that.
I cowered in the back of my tunnel, my right hand pressed firmly to my left shoulder, trying to ease the pain, and waiting for the sun to return.