DogBird (REWRITE)

Chapter 1

My leg dangled off of the branch I was perched on as I basked in the beauty of the fading sun, a sleeping bag nestled comfortably under my arms. The sounds of nature carrying on around me filled my ears; the soft swish of the leaves in the whisper of the wind, the muted shuffle of wild animals scurrying through the underbrush, the buzz of the bugs that mixed with the chirps of the birds. I felt that if I listened hard enough, I'd be able to hear the heartbeat of Mother Nature herself beneath me. The sun's vermillion rays filtered through the contrasting green of the trees towering higher overhead, the warmth permeating whatever skin was exposed to the stream of dying light and filling me with a sense of sweet serenity. I sat here for who knows how long until the warmth on my skin faded to a comforting chill as the pale moon took the sun's place in the sky.

My eyelids peeled apart slowly to stare up at the sprinkle of stars coming into view overhead, darkness of the night blending with the last color of the day. The gentle chirr of cicadas and crickets were the only creatures to be heard as the rest of the forest snuggled up in their burrows and nests, the tug of sleep calling them back to their homes. A wistful sigh escaped my lips as I reveled in the peace that this secluded oasis brought me. It's been so long since I've felt a peace like this. Recollections flashed through the blank canvas of my mind, painting memories and recreating for me the times of simple happiness in a once simple home.

I remembered the old swing tied precariously to a branch of an old tree in our backyard, recalling the countless nights Avery and I would go out there and play until our hands were littered with blisters from the unsympathetic ropes.

I remembered the saccharine clementines that I ate without reserve, never noticing nor appreciating the fact that they were already peeled for me whenever I wanted them.

I remembered the stories that Saundra would read to me every night before she kissed me goodnight, making sure that my night light was aglow to protect me from the monsters of my imagination. Back when those monsters were only of my imagination.

The once innocent memories began to take on a different form and as an attempt to preserve what little I could of those pure recollections, my mind wandered to the lives that lived outside of my own. I wondered about the school I was supposed to attend next week. About the students that would attend the school with me. About the teachers that would teach me. About the families of those students, the families of those teachers. What kinds of lives did they live? Did they have a mom? A dad? A sibling? A pet? Did they live in a house? An apartment? A trailer? With other family? My imagination weaved together fantasy storylines of people I had never met as my eyes gazed up to the stars above, admiring the sight that was close to impossible to see in Seattle. Too many cars, too many clouds, too many artificial lights.

My eyebrows scrunched slightly when a soft sound made its way to my sensitive ears. I played it off as a wild animal still scampering about and tried to refocus on the beauty of the night sky, but the almost indiscernible squeak sounded again, this time closer. With a disgruntled sigh, I gripped the branch beneath me, letting gravity pull me down until I swung from the limb and landed with a soft thud on the dirt. Although it had seemed cool and effortless in my mind, fate decided differently and I stumbled forward with a grunt, my hands flying out to catch my fall and barely saving my face from kissing the earth. It was a good thing that I wasn't sucking on a sucker or I might've been making a trip to the emergency room. The jawbreaker slid over my tongue as I secured it in my cheek, swallowing the sweet flavor.

Once I had recovered from my almost amazingly cool maneuver, my gaze scanned the dark foliage around me. Slight movement caught my attention in the corner of my vision and I turned just as a creature launched itself from a bush, latching itself onto my loose jeans.