Whispered Tales

1. A Breeze of Life

The sky showed the moon, big and proud; it appeared to be slightly glowing.

Over a tree branch sat someone, showering himself in moonlight. He seemed to be lost in thought, just looking across the vast forest, all the way to the small village. He wondered what kind of people it held; he could see shadows of people walking around with heavy looking baskets, and kids with too much energy running wildly.

It didn't matter though, that life was not form him, he thought, it could never be for him.

"I chose this" He whispered out to himself with a raspy voice, due to the coldness of the forest; and letting a small puff of vapor to come out of his mouth. He tried to convince himself that this was his decision.

He raised his head once again to the night sky, wondering what will become of him. His green eyes shone with the glowing moon, almost making his iris look white from the reflection of it. His dark skin looked beautiful and smooth despite holding their own share of scars and imperfections. He let the sound of the forest consume him, singing to him soft melodies and he wondered if he had an opportunity to fall asleep if just for a moment.

Suddenly he heard the cheers of children, possibly of the village. They seemed to be playing around with snow, but they didn't seem to notice that they were approaching the forest little by little. He stood upright in his tree branch, maybe he could go investigate and make sure nothing goes wrong. He walked and jumped from branch without making a sound, much like a stealthy cat. The cold air hit his face however he never broke a sweat about it.

He got to a tree near the children, not too close by but barely enough to see them. There were three kids running around, making snow balls and throwing them at each other. He smiled at the children and decided to keep an eye out for them, after all they had the chance to let loose if they pleased.

The children screamed in excitement, drowning out any other possible sounds around them. Life was this, he thought, running around, free of fear, with friends and having a good time. He couldn't help himself; he wanted a closer look at the fun and mischief.

It's to make sure they are okay, he convinced himself, stepping closer over some branches. He stopped and sat down, still fairly away of the children. He felt relieved, seeing someone like himself to remind him that he is not a monster or a freak. He continued to look over them, from the shadows the tree branches provided. He should not get closer, he could not; this was his new place now, away from everything. He chose this.

The kids laugh brought him out of his thoughts, he watched curiously. There were two boys and one girl. One of the boys was significantly bigger, taller; he made bolder choices with his throws, even if he missed every now and again. Than the other one, while the smallest one of the trio seemed sloppier with throws that almost never reached its target, however that didn't seem to let him down, he still looked as excited as the rest of the kids, maybe even more. The last kid was the little girl, she had a chubby face; she was careful with her throws at the other kids, she seemed not as strong as the bigger kid but never seemed to miss a throw. They run around each other, sometimes missing and hitting nearby trees. Soon enough other kids heard them and seemed to want to play as well; they started to run towards the forest excitedly. He heard them more than saw them, they were getting closer and he could hear their small feet crunch the snow below them.

He slid down to trunk of the tree, his back to the open space which was being used as a battlefront. He heard them run around one another and he could also hear the splatter of the snowballs against various tree trunks, he closed his eyes.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, splatter, a small scream and then laughter.

Crunch, crunch, splatter, crunch, laughter and a small whine followed by more small giggles.