It was a sunny morning. A beautiful golden light appeared from the clouds as its rays pierced through a small window in a room

A boy stirred awake as he noticed the sun hitting his eyes. He rubbed them and stretched as he got out of the bed. His brown hair was messy and ruffled and his eyes were half closed

He did his morning routine and noticed his parents' room was empty. Good, they're gone, he thought as he went outside to have a walk

His village is close to a dark forest. It looks nice in the day, but at night, it gives people goosebumps and stay away from it

The male yawned as he walked into the forest. He only likes to come to the front area. He has never explored deeper and he has no intentions

He sat with his back on the tree as he smiled. He touched his arm and felt a mark of a scratch and his smile dropped. He rubbed it and sighed

He stood up and walked back home as he began to work. He did the laundry, washed dishes, checked on the crops, cleaned the restrooms, mopped the house, dusted, and worst of all, cleaning his parents' cigars and beer bottles

His real parents died. He is an orphan and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Kendall. They abuse him for not cleaning and they mistreat him every time he tries to talk back to them

He wipes his tears and takes out the trash. He went to the barn to check on the animals and noticed his neighbor petting the horse

She had light pink hair and she wears glasses. He turned to see the male and waved, "Morning, George!"

George sighed. He loved hanging out with her. Her sweet voice always seem to make him feel better and she is the only one who knows how his "parents" treat him

: Morning, Niki

: How you doing?

: You know, the usual

: Wait, is that a scratch?!

George looked to see the scratch he made 3 days ago, the one from his arm. He sighed, "Yeah. I used a knife and I wanted to...you know...end it."

Niki felt tears and hugged George. He was almost as tall as her, but only 2 inches taller than her. He is a small boy, yet average height

: If you want to end it *sniff*, go ahead. I'll always remember you

: I don't have to

: But you attempted!

: So?! What's the point of living?! My life is literally clean, wait, get abused, and repeat! I have no change! It's the same fucking shit over and over again!

George dropped and covered his face with both hands. He sobbed and Niki hugged the male. She soothed him and sang a lullaby

As he calmed down, both ran into the forest laughing. They climbed trees and found berries and nuts. They had races as they zoomed through the forest

Niki and George played for hours. They noticed a vehicle pulling up from the driveway in front of George's adopted home. Niki hugged George and watched him walk towards the house with fear

Niki tiptoed towards the window and heard yelling. He peeked to see George with his head down and his adoptive father screaming. He slapped George and Niki gasped and covered her mouth to stop herself from making noise

She heard a glass bottle breaking and tears streamed down her eyes. She noticed the couple walking towards the door and she hid inside the barn. The car turned on and left away as Niki stepped out of the barn and rushed inside the house

"GEORGE!" she screamed and found him lying on the ground. He was covered in blood and he got new bruises from what happened. He was breathing, but it sounded as if he was close to dying

Niki stood up and noticed the floor was covered with dried blood. This is a lot! Niki thought as she stared at the floor in horror. George has been dealing with these monsters and yet, he's still alive

She ran and got a white washcloth and dabbed on the blood from George's face, arms, and his torso. She heard him wince as she managed to pluck out the glass shards on his arm cuts

After bandaging George, she helped him walk to his room. She helped him get on his bed and placed the blankets on top to cover him. She turned to leave and heard a cough

George spoke in a weak voice, "I failed to get the beer and cigarettes. I was given money to buy it, but I forgot and they came home with nothing waiting for them. I'm sorry you had to experience and watch all that, Niki."

Niki's tears landed on George's face and she placed her hand on his forehead. He doze off and snored peacefully

Niki stepped out of the house and walked home. She later remembered something and ran back to the forest. She ran to a tree with scratch marks and tallied one. She smiled and heard a soft grumble deeper into the forest

Niki shivered and ran out as she felt a feeling she was being watched. She ran home and went to sleep, only to receive a dream with green dots staring at her