Cooper's Ridge

The sun was setting just now and the moon was beginning to cast its glow over Coopers Ridge, my new hometown. Yesterday, I found this spot overlooking the valley behind our new cottage. I desperately wanted to see the view at night, with the stars out. The view on a night like tonight was one to behold. A clear night with the moon just peaking, the town in the valley below stretched to the edges of darkness. Tonight marked the beginning of a new era, a new beginning for me. Tomorrow, I will be starting my senior year at Coopers Ridge High. We moved here four days ago. I was devastated when mom told me she had gotten a new job in a small town I’d never heard of in the middle of the mountains. The largest town is hours away. I didn’t realize right away that I would need to change schools and move away from my friends right before my senior year, and when I did, I cried for hours. But I thought about it and I knew mom needed this, she deserved to be happy after all she’s been through. We lost dad about a year ago in a car accident. Plus, I'll be going to college in a year, so if moving helps my mom, and it helps her now, that’s alright with me. I was happy to see the cottage mom had found and even though I was sad to leave Charleston, I was ecstatic to find out our home was on the edge of the world and had acres and acres of forest to explore. The quiet of the night was interrupted by howls, startling me out of my memory. It sounded close. Too close. Wolves, and more than one of them by the sounds of it. A swift breeze whipped around me, sending a chill deep into my bones and tangling my hair around my face. I wrapped my arms around myself, as if to ward off the chill of the night. I needed to get back home before it got too late and mom got worried. She wasn't home when I left for my hike, so she probably didn't know where I was. The forest seemed to darken and almost instantly I felt like there was something in the shadows stalking me as I walked down the trail to our cottage. I’m such an i***t to come out here all alone and at night no less. Our house was close, but not close enough, and I didn’t even think to bring the bear spray mom picked up yesterday. As I approached our quaint cottage that sat on the edge of the forest, I saw my mom sitting by the living room window, her fingers tracing the patterns of frost that gathered on the glass. Even from this distance, she looked anxious. I watched her for a few minutes before the shadows of the forest seemed to propel me into our backyard, almost like a gentle shove. She saw me walk (or stumble) out of the woods, jumped up and ran to throw the door open. Her face went from panic to relief in a matter of seconds. My mom had a wild spirit, her eyes as deep and mysterious as the forest that surrounded us. She used to say that ever since she could remember, she had felt a connection to the wilderness, as though a part of her belonged to the untamed world beyond. I suppose that is where I got my love of nature from. My love of the forest and the mysteries it harbored. It calmed me, being surrounded by such vastness. It felt like... home. Growing up in mostly urban areas and moving around a lot for my mom’s job, I felt an ease I hadn’t felt in a while. It’s like I could breathe being here. Tonight was different, though. Tonight, the air hummed with an electric energy that set my nerves on edge. Something was out there, and it called out to me, to the deepest parts of my soul, while at the same time, it sent terror directly to the center of my being. It felt like it wanted me to go back into the woods but, at the same time, stay as far away as possible. I shivered again as I walked through the door and my mom wrapped her arms around me. “Ava, where were you?” She said in a hurried voice. "I was so worried, my sweet girl. You stayed out so late. It gets dark here so quickly, I thought you got lost. You know, I was 30 seconds away from calling the Sheriff’s office.” “I know mom,” I said hurriedly to try and calm her anxious rambling. “I saw this hill yesterday with this amazing view and I wanted to see what it looked like in the dark. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. "I’m all right,” I tried to say soothingly. “It won’t happen again.” We ate a late dinner, both excitedly talking about tomorrow, my first day at a new school and her first day of starting her dream job. She was a doctor and had spent years in emergency rooms in large cities and towns. She always said she missed the pull of a small town though and had dreams of opening a clinic and getting back to her roots. When the opportunity to be the town doctor in Coopers Ridge came up, she couldn't pass it up. Their previous doctor had passed away, and they had no one qualified to do the job. They’d been without a doctor for three months now, and they were too far away from civilization for that to be okay. They had been trying for a while to find someone but had no luck. A few weeks ago, Mom received a call from my Aunt Lizza, her sister, who lived in Montana, saying she knew of a town that needed a doctor in Colorado. The Mayor of Coopers Ridge was her husband's cousin. He had called my Uncle Aaron to see if he knew of anyone who would be interested and was qualified. We’d never met Uncle Aaron’s extended family, but Mom jumped at the chance anyway. After dinner, I went to my room to finish unpacking and get ready for bed. My room had a little balcony that overlooked the backyard, which was honestly quite amazing. I had a perfect view of the forest beyond our yard. I sat on the balcony for a bit, wrapped in my father’s favorite blanket, just staring at the stars, lost in thought. I saw a flash of movement crossing the path I walked along earlier. Standing, I leaned against the railing to try to get a better view. We definitely had animals in the woods, if the howling earlier was any indication, but I didn’t get a good enough look to see what it might have been this time. I stared intently at the spot in the woods where I saw the flash, when all of a sudden a huge white wolf stepped onto the path facing the cottage. It stared at me as I stood frozen in place. It's like it was trying to see into my soul and I could feel something to press into my thoughts. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I was transfixed by its beauty. Slowly, my senses began to come back to me and I realized that all the ambient sounds had quieted. No crickets, no buzzing, no rustling of leaves in the trees. The stillness was unnerving. It was like the insects, owls and I were holding our breath waiting to see what this magnificent creature was going to do. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes for a second and when I reopened them, it was gone. Like it was never there, and I could suddenly hear all the sounds of the forest again. Did I just make that up? Was I imagining it? God, what a beautiful wolf even if it wasn't real. The night air was a little chilly, but I decided to leave my balcony door open for some fresh air. I always found I slept better with fresh air. After years of city sounds, the sound of the forest was like one of those calming noise machines. I drifted off to sleep very quickly, thinking about white fur and eyes so bottomless, it was like they held the secrets of the universe. My dreams were plagued by a white wolf prowling beneath a moonlit sky, its eyes gleaming with an otherworldly desire. Twisted forms, snarling and snapping jaws. I awoke with a fright when my mom yelled that breakfast was almost ready. Amidst the terror of my racing heart as I started to fully wake, a strange sense of calm washed over me, as though this day was going to hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of my own existence. I laughed at myself. I read too many fantasy books. I had always been drawn to the stories of werewolves, enchanted by the idea of beings who could transform under the dusky moon. I had never truly believed in such things, dismissing them as nothing more than fairy tales spun to entertain. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this beautiful white wolf than meets the eye. Silly Ava, that wolf, if it is even real, is just a wolf and if I don’t hurry I will be late for my first day. As I threw the covers off and stumble out of bed, I noticed the door to my balcony was closed. I could have sworn I left it cracked open. Mom must have come in at some point and closed it. My room had a faint smell of cedar and wild honey, which was really strange. It was a mysterious, almost delicious scent that seemed to trigger a deep curiosity in me as I had no candles or scented lotions in my room. If that is the smell of the forest, I am keep my windows open all the time. Shaking my head, I headed towards my closet to get dressed. I decided on just being myself today, wearing my favorite jeans and t-shirt with my gray and black checkered Vans. I was lost in thought, staring at myself in my full-length mirror, I didn't notice the sound of footsteps approaching from behind until it was too late.