Scalding temperatures were traded with the cold breeze that idled near the open window. Peering outside the glass frame, separating the outside world from a boy seated on his bed, that stood on uneven wooden legs. Clouds barricaded the Moon’s light that stood lonely amidst the hours of darkness, unseen as thundering storms seized the spotlight. Abandoned by its past beloved of scorching heat, floating in circles never able to grasp a single glimpse. An outcast rejected by all, it wept in isolation ignored by the souls swept with sleep except for the tiny child swinging his legs in silence. He observed the Moon obscured by clouds coated in grey and it stared back, examining the boy for if he was a kindred soul, companions with solitude. Someone whose only friends were his thoughts from daylight to night but alas he wasn’t. Emma shuffled into the room, capturing her son’s focus on the window narrowly open. She crept besides Glenn, mindful of not creaking the wooden floorboards and roared, “BOO!”

The boy yelped out of the bed about to launch a chopping attack he had seen in Kung Fu movies. Emma broke into a laughing fit, weak at the scene of her boy’s stance mirroring one of those fake martial arts she had once seen in Russia. It only made her chuckle louder remembering the obese men that would slap acting to be professionals at fighting. She could only stop after the pain from her stomach was too much. Glenn frowned in clear display of his displeasure at how Emma was more of a child than him sometimes. She slipped an arm across her son’s shoulder still snickering, “Oh c'mon dear, when you have children, you’d be doing the same thing in twenty years.”

She breathed out softly beside Glenn swinging her legs in sync now, inspecting what had snatched the boy’s vision. The Moon was in its entire glory, a complete circle despite the layers of ash-clouds sprinkling tears that washed away the view. Droplets splashed onto the window, some entering into the small passage opened and began seeping into the wooden floor cracks. Emma dashed up to the glass frame, securing it down no longer granting jets of water to infiltrate the house. A loud sigh escaped her mouth noticing wet patches present on the pants she wore. Curses crawled forth from Emma’s lips, swearing at the weather that in response poured down more violently. Rattling similar to a snake, she shivered beside Glenn trying to steal some of his warmth. In spite of teeth chattering, Emma questioned her son’s curiosity with the outside. “What’s so interesting baby.”

The nickname ‘Baby’ slithered into Glenn’s mind. It upset the eleven-year-old mildly but he accepted that he was a fetus in his mother’s eyes. Glenn wanted to help around the home, work and support his mother, not being another replica of Daniel. Hatred gathered in the depths of his convoluted mind save for the feeling of blue infecting Glenn's heart. There was once a man faithful and charming with his words and copying a fairy tale, those too happy must be balanced out with the rest of the world. Tragedy struck befalling the family into the pits of hell, struggling in poverty even when there was a roof above their heads. He became a man of taboo, changing over the years. No longer the same father the boy cherished but a name to be recalled in the chance they would meet again, he would ask why. Glenn wanted to become a sword able to be wielded, deep inside though he knew his mother didn’t need him to become a weapon for her. She wanted him to stay a chick, unable to leave the nest but he must spread his wings so Emma may never cry again, even in the periods where she could be annoying such as now. His mother kept repeating the same question whilst pulling at his bruised cheek lightly. “What you staring at, the hidden moon, the bitch of rain or the reflection of the handsome boy in front?”

Glenn continued swaying legs back and forth, “Nothing.”

It was the same full moon, reminiscent of the same spectacle he had seen before when Daniel had fled the house. Old memories of trust being eradicated were revisited but the Moon bewitched him of its elegant appeal. He suspected the Moon and him were kindred souls on a journey to an abyss of no end. The reflection of himself standing in the glass frame sat beside the crowd of tar-black clouds eclipsing the rock a quarter the size of Earth. Pills being shaken around grabbed ahold of Glenn’s eyes, as Emma swung both bottles of medicine in an attempt to hypnotise her son.

“Don’t forget about these.”

Another round of taking these prescribed pills he thought. Glenn wanted to be a man and these pills were for someone that needed help. The boy delved deep into the notion that to be an adult, he didn’t need assistance with any issue. A glass of water was given with the two different pills by his mother, raising the powder turned into an edible solid to the entry point of his mouth. He pretended to swallow them, gulping water down his throat, when in truth they were hidden below his tongue. It was a flawless performance when Emma left the room noticing Glenn unconscious, snoring. The pills were spat out instantly into a bin and he trudged back to bed with hands resting behind his head.

One step closer to becoming not a baby in the eyes of the one person Glenn held significant in his heart. The Moon allured him to deep sleep, as he rested comfortably knowing that he would grow to be a man, not weak and pathetic. The night blossomed with thunder striking the heavens, as a boom reverberated throughout the town. Electricity flickered for moments, extending out into the sky alike to the roots of a tree, air clustered towards the latched window that stood shut. It remained working to uproot the window upwards with its fingers of gust blowing a sparse opening, as the latch loosened.

Crying wind invaded the tranquil room that bore a boy fast asleep. He dreamt of the past, a recurring nightmare that would plague him forever, condemning himself for his deeds. Glenn was a puppet again, incapable of sensation in his limbs. Daniel stood in front of the front door, holding several prized possessions whilst Glenn stood further away dead-tired from waking up in the middle of the night. He had previously heard random noises that startled him, as he went to investigate with teddy bear pyjamas on. The moonlight spilled onto his body with the door open, not blocking the full moon that stood alone. Glenn was a servant to the strings high above, from the mannerisms to the words he spoke, control never existed until it was too late. Gone was the man he formerly called father and the cords that ruled over him. He shot into the streets barefoot, seeking a silhouette that left not a single trace. Majority of the times, this dream continued with him roaming the streets of his hometown pleading for an answer, “Why?”

It was not a perplexing question, rather he only desired to know the reason. The chilly concrete floor made contact with his feet, the Moon gleamed unconcealed by any clouds and sorrow grew inside of him. The starving hatred consumed his ability to listen, perceive, reason and finally swallowed him whole. Twisting in events, a random variable disrupted the dreadful fantasies, it was conflicting with want and memories diverging from reality.

“Son I'm here.” A tone stained with glum sentiments, Glenn pursued after the voice for an answer. He bawled out for a reason, explanation, apology in the makings for three years. Never had this vision given a voice to Daniel but now it had perfectly mimicked his range of pitch. Outside the room, squalling showers of rain made the latch come loose and blasted Glenn with water. The boy gasped drenched in freezing water still processing the dream that transformed into reality.

“Son I'm here,” Daniel called out to him near the woods. This could not be real Glenn thought, he pinched himself multiple times experiencing the numbing pain that spoke otherwise. The voice greeted out repeatedly and the sight of a shadowy figure edged close to the forest. The boy leapt out his window, sealing it down incase the floorboards get swamped by the rain. Night had evolved to clouds mirroring the oil-skies flooding the ground alongside lightning booming down. On the hunt for an opportunity of admission, he presented no hesitation entering the woodlands speeding across trees.

Glenn was encompassed by a blanket of darkness, following the calls of his father, unblemished with the slurs that he had long ago. Venturing deeper into the lands of timber, an infinite amount of branches hindered his path. This was coupled with the thorns that pricked apart the loose attire he wore. There were periods where clothing was clung onto by the spines of the trees. Glenn marched forward shredding new holes into his pants and shirt, rebelling against nature itself. The ocean of trees became too crowded with wooden arms, he shifted beyond them all with a force to be reckoned with and so they did. His hand slipped beneath a large branch holding spikes in its arm. Lunging forwards planting daggers into Glenn's chest, no matter the pain, he could hear a voice reaching out to him. He heaved forward and the sounds of snapping the branch resounded in the woods.

Chasing out of desperation, doubtful if this was transpiring in real life, as he was in the middle of the woods but the wincing cuts that embraced his chest made it apparent. “Son I'm here”, the words progressed deeper into the woods gradually maturing to an echo, still resonating in the boy’s ear. None had known the boy's location, not his mother or anyone. Moreover, now alone in the sleeping woods that hid mysteries, it welcomed Glenn with open arms, greedily awaiting for more souls. Blood ran deep drenching the loose clothing in crimson. An abyss of trees, he stood below one with its leaves defending him from most of the unrelenting storm, shivering with each droplet splashing onto his body. The cold seeped into the bones of Glenn, his fingers and toes unresponsive, as they were being drained of their nerves.

Sprinting had emptied Glenn’s legs of their endurance, he crumbled down to the floor, careful of cramping any muscles again. Even now, the night was still an adolescent hiding emerald-green eyes gawking at the intruder below its dwellings. The unknown screeched, gripping the boy's attention, now on the run again not pursuing but fleeing from whatever lay behind him. He tried dashing back to where he had first entered from yet he was trapped in the sea of branches with no marks left behind, Glenn was lost. A pair of wings flapped In sync, obscured by the pitch-black masking alone the boy’s vision, not the predators that lay inside the woods. He was unable to run any further and ideas kept going rampant within his mind, none of them of use or logical. The thought of him dying made him despair, scenes of Emma crying at his funeral. A fool he was for chasing a non-existent call, he should've taken his pills Glenn thought but the voice sounded too real. Whether by chance of fate he caught sight of a cave surrounded by masses of trees and a stream beside it.

He ran in hopes of the monster that trailed after him to stop. The mistress of fortune seemed to enjoy playing with him, as the foreign creature behind him gave no signal of withdrawing from their pursuit. Calves set ablaze with fatigue hollering at Glenn to yield, his mind murmuring sweet thoughts to submitting. He ran imbued with the spirit of his mother sacrificing any last vigour possessed, intruding into the cave. Glenn stepped past an ancient marked circle almost unnoticeable, as it contrasted with the stone floor fading out. The path inside was straight having no other tunnels and the noises behind him was no more, but to the boy who ran for his dear life, he did not stop. Running blindly into the Labrinth of darkness, he felt a hand brush against his ankle. The boy could no longer comprehend what was false and real blending a complexion of different realities. Misstress of fate seemed to be finally satisfied with the entertainment of the boy's fear and showed a flicker of light. Thunder clashed against the heavens, whilst the wind splattered water across his body. Glenn howled in pain clutching at his chest still open with cuts. His surroundings were the same and different all at once, as he exited the cave. Trees towered the size of buildings or so it resembled and the droplets that fell were basketballs splashing across the fields of green.

“Son I'm here.” The voice was still heard. Glenn could sense his heart being squeezed tightly, quietly following the calls heeding for him to come closer. Ignoring the balls of water that soaked him, the views that contained a stream of water previously small beside the cave grew outlandishly large. It was calm in comparison to the wild winds and storms. Glenn focused his sights on the roots matching the size of a bed impaled into the ground and stream absorbing its water. This world made no sense, was everything larger or was he the one smaller. The voice hid behind a rock now the size of a boulder, Glenn peered beside it searching for the bastard. He had grown tired of this hide and seek game. Legs trembling in exhaustion and a chest that had thorns seeming to grow out of his chest painted in blood. Nobody was there, save for the stream comfortably resting amidst a storm. A tree stood proudly over the stream of water sheltering it from the falling droplets of rain. Now he understood why his mother enjoyed listening to the calm streams of the Amazon. Too bad he wouldn't be able to see her again Glenn thought, tearing up.

The loss of blood slowly reaped the child's life, any last energy he had was gone. His limbs were the weight of stone too heavy to move. Glenn's body was slumped in front of the giant rock, he was glad the leaves from the tree that towered above him shielded him from the rain. He watched the water flow with ugly cries. In the fog of his tears, he could see a blur of a naked figure rise from the stream. A woman of unbelievable beauty surpassing any goddess, dripping with water from the currents. Her expression was that of shock gradually turning to a stoic face. The woman strolled towards the boy, who was unknown to her yet familiar in appearance to someone she once knew. His hair was the colour of oak, long matching the image of a girl and his feminine traits brought out a past she had never forgotten. Losing consciousness by the second, Glenn saw golden hair soaked yet it swayed with grace enchanting the boy of its stunning colour. He gazed at the women who came closer, seeing her figure free of clothes. Lifting the weight of his arm barely above the dirt ground, he tried reaching for the entrancing hair so beautiful, giving anything to gain a single touch.

"Your hair is so beautiful... you must be an angel... Please don't take me... away from my ma... Ple.." Glenn lost consciousness finally feeling warmth instead of the cold. How pleasant, the boy thought believing that he'll only be taking a small nap just to rest. The moon witnessed all, it's tears wept downwards to the tar-clouds that showered the woods in blue.