Violet

Five

I awoke with a start. My mind felt foggy and my body felt heavy with sleep. Slowly I rolled over in my bed until I could see the glowing blue numbers of the clock hanging on the wall across from me. 

“What the f**k?” I whispered hoarsely as the last of the fog in my mind lifted and I came to the realization that it is five in the morning. Irritated at being awake so early I huffed slightly as I pulled myself into a sitting position. I pondered my life as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Realizing that I would be starting school in a week. I didn’t mind school all that much back in New York. I didn’t have any plans for college or anything right now but I didn’t mind going to get my diploma. I let out a short yawn as I wondered what I would be doing today with my mother seen as it’s only Tuesday. 

I rubbed my eyes once more as I tried to lay back down, hoping sleep would come to me again but, after waiting another thirty minutes, I realized sleep was not going to come any time soon so I rolled myself out of the bed and stood up. 

“I might as well shower, since I’m already awake.” I mumbled to myself as I shuffled silently towards the bathroom door. It didn’t take long to shower and dress myself and by the time my mom had woken up I was already downstairs eating a small breakfast. 

“How long have you been awake?” She asked me as she made her way to the coffee pot on the counter. I swallowed what food I had in my mouth and took a sip of my orange juice before responding. 

“I’ve been awake since five.” My reply was short as I continued eating the little bit of breakfast I had left. I watched my mother finish making her coffee then leaned against the counter, turning her eyes towards me. 

“Do we need to get you something to help you sleep better?” She asked as she took a sip of her steaming mug. I thought about it silently as I finished off the breakfast, choosing to throw the napkin and paper plate away before responding. 

“No, I don’t think so.” I finally spoke up from the trash can. It was then that my mother took in my fully dressed form. 

“You’re not in school yet. Are you going somewhere?” She asked. 

“I wanted to go for a walk.” I replied as I took a few steps towards the front door. 

“I don’t know how I feel about you going for a walk this early in the morning. It’s freezing outside and still dark out.” She spoke up as she set her coffee cup on the counter, turning to face me with her arms crossed at the chest. She had a stern look on her face and I dreaded to know where this conversation was going. 

“Well, I would like to at least step out and get some air, if that’s okay with you?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

I didn’t want to argue with her but I was growing restless standing here. Everything inside of me was itching to be outside and it was confusing me just as much, if not more, than it was confusing her. After a long pause she let out a soft sigh. 

“Okay, fine. You can step out and take a walk or something but don’t go too far out of sight from the house and keep your phone on you. We still don’t know this area very well. Oh, and don’t forget to grab a coat, maybe some gloves as well.” She spoke up with that soft parental authority she always held and I gave a soft smile at her. 

“I won’t go far.” I replied as I turned on my heel and headed for the front door, halting only once to do as she said and grab a coat from the closet in the front room. 

I inhaled deeply as I stepped out into the cold November air. It wouldn’t be long now until December and I found myself wondering if this year my mother and I would celebrate Christmas. My thoughts remained on the holiday’s, my mother, and school as I began moving forward to help keep some of the heat inside my body. I pulled my jacket tighter across my body as I made it to the end of the yard and turned towards the right. Further down the street I could just barely make out the clearing I had been in only yesterday when I had come through it to that diner and decided to head in that general direction. I couldn’t see much yet due to the darkness of the sky but didn’t feel any type of anxiety over being out of the house on my own. 

It took maybe five minutes to reach the end of the street where the clearing sat and once I had arrived I knew I wouldn’t be staying long as I had already begun to shiver slightly from the low temperature. I traipsed through the field, the only sound coming from my shoes on dead grass and dirt, until I came across the same prints I had found yesterday. I stopped just before them and studied the ground. It looked like there might have been a new set of paw prints coming up to this spot from a different direction. It took only moments to realize these were new prints. 

I slowly looked up from the ground and ran my eyes around the clearing to see if I could spot the animal that is leaving the prints. I was thankful to notice it was easier to see the clearing now that the sun had begun to rise. When I noticed no animal I shook my head and lowered myself to the ground, hoping I had at least a few more minutes before I needed to head back home. When I took note of the time, I stared once again at the animal tracks on the ground. 

I couldn’t explain why they captured my attention the way they did. Usually I paid no mind to most animals, let alone the tracks they leave, not that I’ve seen many tracks. These tracks seemed different to me. I lowered my arm to the ground and before I knew what I was doing I had traced my hand over the print and once again felt the warmth creep up my arm. This time was different from yesterday however, as these tracks felt even warmer than those from yesterday. The warmth ran up my fingertips, spreading over my hand and all the way up to my elbow. It wasn’t quite a burning sensation but something close to the warmth of a fire when standing at just the right distance away. My eyes widened at the sensation, mentally unsure of how to process what I was feeling. 

With a shake of my head, I decided to stand up and leave, when I heard a twig snap behind me. I held my breath, my heart beating out of my chest. My anxiety grew and when I was positive I was full on shaking, I turned my head to the right and could barely make out a black blob in my peripheral vision. 

When the black mass moved further into my line of sight, I exhaled loudly at the magnificently large black wolf standing only a few paces in front of me. I knew enough about wild animals to know not to run, they like to chase and I would lose. Instead, I slightly relaxed my posture a bit more and stared at the black beauty in front of me. We never had wolves in New York from what I was aware of. At least I had never seen one up close and logically I knew I should be scared but instead I was curious to see how the animal would approach me. 

He stared at me for a few minutes, simply breathing, neither of us making much noise. I was beginning to let my guard down when the wolf made me change my mind as his large black frame took a few small steps towards me. I could now make out the puffs of moisture coming out of his nose as he exhaled. If he took two more steps his nose would be right in my face. I inhaled sharply before I made my next move. With a soft voice I spoke up. 

“Are you a boy?” I asked. Following my statement I very literally did a facepalm. 

“It’s a wolf Violet, it can’t speak to you.” I reprimanded myself out loud, momentarily forgetting the large black wolf standing inches in front of me. My head was facing the ground but I looked up towards the wolf when I heard a snorting sound. I felt warm in the face when I looked up to see that the wolf had sat down, his tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth and he was panting but his eyes never left my face. 

When I continued staring at him, I noticed a slight bowing of the head. I frowned, then realized I must have imagined it. Without thinking I asked again. 

“Are you a boy?” 

The wolf pawed at the dirt this time, letting out a slight huff. I smiled as I took that as an answer. The whole thing was odd, but seeing a semi friendly wolf in a clearing at seven in the morning isn’t the worst thing in the world. 

“Well, my name is Violet, Mr. Wolf. I doubt you have a name since you’re a wild animal but either way, it was good to meet you.” I smiled at own silliness, near having expected to wake up this morning to meet, let alone talk to, a wolf. With a nod of my head I slowly rose to my feet, once again surprised by the sheer size of him. If we were standing side by side, I had no doubt he would be as tall as my hip. With a smile and a wave I bid my goodbye’s and made my way back towards my house, hoping my mother wasn’t too frustrated at my lengthy absence.