You walk through the undergrowth, a rifle leaning against your shoulder that you struggle to keep from dropping. You rush  to keep up with father, who is seemingly oblivious to how fast you're having to walk.


"Come on, boy!" father said, his fingers scratching at his thick black mustache.


As you walked out of the confines of the tight pines, you saw home. The stone and thatch cottage that was to be your home for the next few years, until you became of age to find your own place, stood there in the fields. Overgrown fields lay to the West and South, a trickling stream East and the vast forest you'd been walking to took up the North. Judging from the cart sitting alongside it, Mother and Meredith were already here.


The family was tiny by all accounts. Mother was prone to bouts of sickness, making her womb a barren place for a child to be born. Although they had tried all their life, and continued trying despite even you recognizing the futility of the action, two children was all they'd ever have. It was you and Meredith, the "miracle twins" as the doctor who delivered you liked to say, that would be the only ones that had survived. The number of miscarriages had clearly taken its toll on Mother, who was fond of siting my the fire, staring into it as she said her rosaries. From Father's stories she was a wild and untamed girl as a child, a rebellious soul that Father had been ensnared by. Whoever Father speaks so fondly off, its no longer Mother.


Father still retained some joy, a love of the land and and a love of nature, although the glimmer of excitement in his eyes was becoming rarer and rarer as time passed.


That left Meredith. While father's love of nature and positive nature had been instilled in you when you were younger when Father still held the hope of a large family that Mother had long abandoned, Mother's cold, distant nature took hold of Meredith. She wasn't as bad as mother, but she was a pain to play with and even worse to talk to.

All in all, this turned you into the child you are. Without many friends, you've become quite lonely, but there is a certain peacefulness in nature you just adore. With the birds nesting in the trees singing to you, the hares bounding carefree underfoot among the undergrowth and eyes of a thousand beasts and creatures staring at you, you could never truly be lonely in the woods. You'd do your chores and feel the burden of labor required to survive in such a harsh time, but then, you were free to walk under the protection of the greak oaks and pines and gaze at the glory of nature.


You run down along the fields, hefting the weight of the rifle in your hands as father jogs ahead. Soon, you run up to the porch to find mother and Meredith unpacking. You put your gun in the rack, looking at them.


"What can I do now, father?" you ask.    


"Nothing, boy. It's up to mother and Meredith to do the unpacking and prepare the catch, Papa says, pulling off his hunting sack and pulling out two hares, their necks broken. "I'll tell you what. Get the bearings of the forest for me, lad. Scout out for any hare paths or wild fruit growing or deer grazing areas."


"Got it, father," you nod, grabbing your rifle once more and swinging around to walk back outside again.

You head to the woods

You begin wandering up towards the trees, holding your gun tightly in your hands. Whilst nature is no doubt a sanctuary to your young mind to find tranquility, there's many dangers hidden. You point your rifle, making a loud bang sound as you picture yourself shooting a large grizzly bear like that your grandfather had stuffed in his cabin.

You reach the trees, leaning against a large, thick Oak tree and taking a deep breath, taking in all the scents the forest offers you. Your eyes scan the forest, quickly spotting several points of interest. Among the underbrush you spot a slightly trampled hare path, no doubt leading to wherever's a good spot to graze. There's also the stream, which you could wander along for a fair distance in search of anything worth seeing without getting lost. Finally, there's a large oak tree with lots of strong branches. Perfect for climbing.

You head along the hare path

You begin following the hare path, trudging along with your rifle in hand. You're far from a good shot, but still the thought of bagging another hare fills your mind. Your eyes flicker along the path for the black eyes of a hare staring back. You hear magpies singing overhead as a few peek from their treetop nests. It's a lovely forest, that's for sure.


Suddenly, you hear something. You quickly turn, dropping to your knee to raise your rifle into a firing position to bag your prey as father always does. You don't, clumsily tripping and hitting yourself in the face with the gun. Still, you're getting better. You push the gun off yourself as your rub your nose, before hopping up to a kneeling position. You stare at where the noise came from. Through the blurred visage of your watery eyes, you see in th distance a pale figure,, sprinting past the trees with unnatural speed. You heft your gun to your shoulder and aim, not knowing whether to fire or not. You don't want to miss a chance to take out a… whatever creature that is, but you're unsure whether that's even a good idea.

You fire

You pull the trigger as the gun bucks in your hands, sending you falling onto your back. You push the gun off you, as you rub your eyes, peeking through the trees. You didn't hit it, you don't think. A quick jog over confirms this. You sigh, strolling back to your gun and hefting it up. You spend another hour searching for any trace of the creature, but find neither sight nor sound of it. With that, you tredge back home.

You head home

Labor and Duty


You never do see the figure again. You venture out looking for it a few more times, but you never do. You must've frightened it. No bother. As you grow taller, stronger and smarter, father assures you that soon, it'll be time for you to finally leave and get your own home, your own wife, and your own family. 


You suppose he's write. It's your duty to God and nation to build a strong family like that which raised you. That's what expected of you, and that's what you'll do.