Ted woke up alone. Not just in his room, but the entire house was empty. His uncle was nowhere to be seen.

But, Ted wasn't in charge of him. His uncle could go and do things without him. So, he searched through the cupboards for some food.

Jackpot! Non descript sugary cereal, a perfectly balanced breakfast. He ate in silence and amused himself by reading the back of the cereal box. Although, that didn't last long since most of the box was taken up by a simple puzzle. After solving it three times, Ted moved to reading the ingredients.

After breakfast, Ted walked out of the house and wandered around. It was nice to step outside and immediately see the forest. It was quite the contrast from the hectic city life he grew up with.

After a bit of aimless wandering, he saw his uncle sitting on a tree stump. He was facing away from Ted, and seemed to be looking up at the sky.

"Oh, there you are," Ted said as he walked closer. "I thought you might have gone into town alone or something."

His uncle didn't move.

"Oh, sorry. Are you busy or something?" Ted asked as he kept walking closer.

Twigs and discarded pine needles crunched under Ted's feet. A few birds were chirping nearby, and there were the sounds of a squirrel dashing through the trees. But, he couldn't hear anything from his uncle.

Ted's steps got faster. "You're being pretty quiet uncle. Is everything alright?"

Still, there was no answer as his uncle sat eerily still.

"Come on, this isn't funny," Ted's mind raced with thoughts. Terrible reasons why his uncle was so still, and so silent. Maybe fate had forced his uncle to leave too.

As Ted finally reached him, he reached his hand out. But, he pulled back as he was just about to touch his uncle's shoulder. He knew that once he made contact that he would know the truth. But, was he really ready for that? If something had happened, would he be able to handle it?

It felt like an eternity as he stood there and debated whether he should press forward or not. Worst of all, each second he hesitated and his uncle remained completely still, only served to fuel his fears even more. It was a dangerous feedback loop that just kept going.

But, he was here. He would find out eventually, so why not do it now? He tried to convince himself this was the best time to discover it, but it was still difficult.

Finally, Ted thrust his arm forward, and quickly spun his uncle around. There was his answer.

There was no color in his face. It was somehow stiff, and relaxed at the same time. There was a rope that hung loosely around his neck, and purple skin surrounded the rope, like a small hug. For a moment, his empty eyes stared right at Ted, and then his head lurched forward and rolled off of his body and onto the ground.

The blood drained from Ted's face as his eyes stared wide at the scene that unfolded before him. His brain stopped. Not a single thought came to him.

Then, a scream.

Rage, sadness, fear, a swirling of emotions exploded in Ted's mind. They appeared out of nothing and erupted from his body in a primal scream.

"Ted?"

A voice cried out as the world around Ted seemed to fall away. While his mind strained under the intense emotions flowing from him, a warmth surrounded him. Slowly, a feeling of comfort seeped in through the cracks.

"It's okay. Everything's alright."

A voice, it was distant, but it was also clear. But there was something. Something between Ted and that voice. If only. If only he could somehow bridge whatever the gap between them was. But it felt so impossibly far. He could never make it alone.

As Ted stared blankly, his uncle had him wrapped in a hug as he kept speaking in a calm voice. "It's alright. You're alright."