The Boy in the Woods

Summer has always been my favorite season. It's easier than the rest of the year. I never have any responsibilities beyond chores at home and occasionally making dinner for mom after work. The suburbs stop being quiet in the summer and the kids fill the place up with noise.The whole neighborhood stops being sterile and more of a home. There are some woods behind my neighborhood the locals call the Greenway. It isn't some huge expanse of wilderness or anything but they break up the concrete and cookie cutter houses just enough that you don't feel totally disconnected. It's like a little sea of trees someone saved for me behind the house, full of life. You can smell the difference when you step in, the smell of hot tar and asphalt giving way to earth and pollen.

Following the trails and dodging mountain bikers whenever they shout "On your left!" The walking paths are a bit overgrown, and in the deeper woods there's benches and picnic tables that nobody remembers. It's a daily routine for me, going out to the lichen covered bench and drawing the trees and stones around me. Summer vacation feels so short now that I'm about to be in high school. Maybe it was always this short but somehow months feels like they're gone in a day, when they used to feel like… well months I guess. Dad says that it's because my brain doesn't have anything to compare the time to, or something like that, and every summer feels slow to him. I think he's just complaining because he's old now.

My friends make fun of me a little for always being out here, and not at the local pool or driving a town over to go to the huge outlet mall. I always get teased for never wanting to do the usual girl things. It's never anything cruel but still, it stings a little. I know I'm a little distant but I don't know if I can help it. I just like the stillness and the smell of the woods; the quiet noise that's all around me. I can sit and draw for hours or listen to music in peace. I'm at home here, despite the bug bites and the burrs and the patches of bramble I have to climb through. The scratches always seem preferable to the torture of… Ugh boy talk. I've been doing chores as fast as I can all morning so I can get out of the house. I shove the last of my clothes in my dresser, grab my satchel, and shout down the hall toward the kitchen. "Alright mom I'm going out!"

Mom looks up from preparing her pot of iced tea. "Back in the woods Amelie? Shouldn't you be trying to socialize a bit more? You're starting high school in September. You only have one chance at being a teenager!"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "It's fine mom! I have plenty of time to make friends once I get there. Besides, they've got clubs and stuff I can join, I'll be okay!"

My mom smiles at me a bit and shakes her head. She's too worried about me. I'm thirteen and capable of making my own friends. I wave goodbye and head out the back door and through the gate at the bottom of our yard. I take a deep breath in and step into the leaves. I know the way to my spot so well I could do it with my eyes closed. I'm an expert explorer traveling paths only I know. Left at the weird broken boulder, over the tree that fell down last winter, past the utilities tower and a big jump across the ditch that everyone says is supposed to be a stream but there's never any actual water in it unless it rains.

I get to the small tree covered ridge before my destination when I hear something. Is that music? Is someone in my spot? Nobody else ever comes here; I don't think I've seen another person back in this part of the woods since I found it. I quietly push the branches aside and try and catch a look at the person stealing my little sanctuary. It's… a boy? I think? Long hair and baggy clothes make it hard to tell from the distance I'm at. I lean against one of the sturdier looking branches to get a better look. They're writing in a little journal with a leather cover. I can almost see the page if I lean a little more and…

"SHIT!" I shout as my world gets turned upside down. Maybe I should have chosen a sturdier branch to lean on, since this one decided to just give up and snap under my weight. I tumble down the small grass slope behind the bench and roll to a stop next to the startled stranger. There's a few seconds of stunned silence before they finally say something. "Hey are you okay? You rolled like… Ten feet!" The stranger's voice is shaky with surprise. "Oh crap your nose is bleeding I have some tissues my mom gave me just a second"

Now that I'm closer they're definitely a boy. My age, I think? I can't really tell with my brain still bouncing around inside my head. He pulls out one of those packs of tissue you get at the nurse's office when you have a cold, the little store brand ones. Meijer brand, the least terrible of the store brand tissues.

"Here take the whole pack I don't want your shirt to get all stained and my mom buys like a million of these at a time," he insists shoving them towards me. I hesitate but he continues,' Seriously, take them you're bleeding everywhere.'

My hands are shaky as I take the tissues and try to stem the bleeding. Yeah, he's definitely a boy, but his hair is longer than mine, and he seems kind of… I don't know soft to me? His eyes are really worried but I'm pretty sure I'm fine. My head is swimming a little.

"Do you want to sit on this bench? I can move my radio and stuff, and it's probably better than the dirt. I don't mind sharing." the boy offers. I nod, it's about all I can manage with my nose still bleeding like it is. I like to think I'm pretty tough but even like… Football players and stuff get a little shaky when they bleed too don't they? The boy offers his hand and helps me onto the bench. He looks less worried now and he's smiling at me.

"I'm Micah, by the way. What's your name?"

"Oh… Um Amelie, sorry for stealing your tissues." I'm putting on my toughest face but it's hard to keep myself from crying. I'm not hurt too badly or anything, but a bloody nose would make anyone cry! He hasn't said anything about me watching him, so maybe I'm in the clear.

"So… How long were you watching me from up there?"

Oh god, he knows. I've been found out and he thinks I'm some sort of weirdo creep! I'm not! It's normal to be wary of people you don't know and it's my spot! "Oh God you knew I was there?" I groan, the embarrassment welling up in my stomach "I promise it was like maybe a minute! I just wasn't sure who you were and this is my spot and nobody is ever here and maybe you were a weirdo!" I'm sweaty and I feel weird, is it just from the nosebleed? Is it from being embarrassed? Why did he have to be in MY spot? It's summertime and this is my place to be all summer, so maybe he should leave! I can't contain myself any more. I can feel my throat tighten and my voice raises to a shout. "Why were you in MY spot! I always come here and there's never anyone here and this wouldn't have happened if you weren't in MY spot!" I'm talking too fast and he hasn't said anything. All he's done is smile at me with his weird gentle smile. Who smiles when they're being yelled at and who smiles like that? God this kid IS a weirdo! His smile turns to bright almost girlish laughter and I can feel my face turning red.

I pause for a second to catch my breath. I'm furious! He ruined my day! I have a nosebleed, I'm stressed out, and now he's laughing at me? Who does he think he is! He smiles at me again after he stops laughing, and I notice I have my fists all balled up and somehow I'm on my feet.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh, you just look really funny like that with all the tissues in your nose. I promise I won't laugh any more." He's smiling at me this really wide, friendly smile. I'm still angry… No, I'm angrier! He's too friendly! I'm a weirdo who just fell out of some trees! What if I'm a murderer? Okay, so I'm thirteen and maybe most murderers are adults, but it's the principle of the thing! He pats the bench, and gestures for me to sit again. Never. This is a battle of wills between us for the fate of my secret spot. Everyone in my family will tell you I always win when it comes to battles of will. My dad says I'm an "obstinate little shit" but I'm pretty sure he means it with love. The boy, no, Micah stands up and leaves the whole bench to me.

"Seriously, please sit. I don't want your nosebleed to make you too dizzy to stand and have you end up falling again. My dad says to always give up my seat to a lady and especially if she's hurt. So please take the bench. I'm sorry you fell." I swallow my pride and sit down. He's right, I am really dizzy and falling down in front of the same boy twice in one day would be devastating for my cool, loner image I'm working on for high school.

I notice he has a small backpack stashed under the bench. Micah smiles at me again and motions for me to scoot over. He pulls the backpack out and rummages around for a second. "I know exactly what you need right now Amelie, gimme a second." He pulls out two bottles of water and offers one to me. "My mom always has me bring a couple bottles with me whenever I go out exploring the neighborhoods. She can be a bit overbearing, but sometimes it works out pretty well. Like now! Please take one, you could definitely use it more than me."

He can't be real. A girl falls out of the bushes and starts bleeding everywhere and his only response is laughter and bottles of water? I snatch the bottle of water from his outstretched hands and twist the top off. My cool composure doesn't last in the heat and I start chugging the contents. Micah laughs at me again and I sputter as I try to choke out a response. "You keep laughing at me! What's so funny? I'm hurt and thirsty…" I feel my cheeks get warm again. "We just met and it seems a little mean."

Micah smiles at me again. His eyes seem almost.. Sparkly? It just makes me more annoyed. We sit in silence for what feels like an hour before he finally speaks. "Amelie… Do you wanna be friends?"

My whole face feels hot. I can't look at him. I think I'm angry but… Maybe he's onto something. He hasn't actually been mean to me and I guess I did fall from the sky like one of those characters in the manga my friends from school read. He stares me in the eyes, never once breaking his smile.

"Fine! We can be friends. Don't think you're off the hook for laughing at me. And you owe me for my bloody nose!" He puts on a dramatic thinking face, his hand in the shape of an L under his chin. I know he's messing with me, this was his idea in the first place. Micah offers up his pinky finger to me. "Swear on it Amelie?" It's so silly. What are we elementary schoolers? Something in his eyes makes this whole ritual seem so important to him. I wrap my pinky around his. I shake my head a little, my nosebleed and my fall don't seem like such a big deal now with our fingers entwined. "I swear Micah."