The Forest Boy

Alex was always alone. His parents died when he was very young. He lived in foster homes until he was five. He ran away from a bad foster parent and went into the woods. Ever since, he's lived in the woods learning to survive on his own. He's now fifteen and he longs for a good family. Even though he doesn't know what a good family is, he wants to find out.

Now, he lives in a small cave and hunts during the day. One day he goes farther than he usually does. He hears a small noise close to him and, thinking it's an animal, gets ready to attack it. Just as he's about to pounce, a girl pushes her way through the brush. He doesn't know what to do so he just watches her.

"She seems lost" he thought to himself.

He kept watching her for almost a hour. She was definitely lost. Alex finally decides to show himself. He jumps down from the tree he's hiding in and startles her. She screams and hits him then runs away. He go's after her and before she can hit him again he reasons with her.

"You're lost aren't you. I can help you get back.

She thinks about it for a moment and finally lowers her guard.

"Alright, if you can help me, then I won't hit you again." she says after a minute.

He sighs and starts showing her the way back. He tells her how dangerous the forest is and reminds her not to wander aimlessly. He could feel her staring at the back of his head. He looked back and saw that she was confused.

"If the forest is so dangerous, then why are you here in the middle of them? Also, how do you know where the way out is?"

Alex knew it would take a while to get there but he didn't want to waste time telling stories of the past. He just explained that he's lived in the woods since he was five and that was all he would say. She was quiet the rest of the trip and when they reached the end, she only said a few words.

"Thank you, I'll visit sometime."

Before he could reject her offer, she ran off. Alex knew this wouldn't be the end so he just went home to sleep. Alex couldn't stop thinking about the girl for almost two weeks until she came back again. He finally learned her name.

"I forgot to tell you before but my name is Catherine."

She kept visiting him everyday for an entire year. Alex started to feel happy when she was around. He didn't know what these emotions were. He started reading books when she brought them to him and realized his feelings. He wanted to be a part of her family. He realized that he loved her. Alex decided to tell her his feelings and he was ecstatic when she returned his feelings. He even told Catherine about his past. She was happy she heard about it, but she was sad that it happened.

Catherine asked Alex to meet her parents and sister. Alex hesitantly agreed to. Three days later, Alex was outside Catherine's house. It's the first time he's been in a town for ten years. He was extremely nervous about all of these new experiences. Catherine opened the door when Alex knocked and dragged him into he family room. Her family was there and introduced themselves. Alex introduced himself and listened to her family talk. He stiffened when he heard Catherine's dad talk about his past. He was about to get up to leave when he heard the second half of what he said.

"Even if your original family isn't hear anymore, you're now apart of our family."

He paused and turned around,

"I-I'm apart of your family?"

He laughed like it was a joke.

"Well of course you are. You are my future son-in-law."

He knows he hasn't proposed yet but he didn't question it. He was a part of a family. Catherine and her family accepted him so easily. He was astonished. They didn't question him at all and gladly accepted him. He was so happy that tears started rolling down his cheeks. Catherine asked what was wrong but he knew his answer.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just so happy."

She smiled and hugged him. The rest of the family started laughing. Sooner or later, Catherine and Alex started laughing too. After that, Alex started visiting Catherine's parents more often. Now, Alex knew, he was finally a part of a genuinely nice, and kind family.