First Friendships Part One

It has been seven years since Samuel was born. He had already begun to experience boredom like no other. There were no kids his age and even so, he was forbidden from making contact with anyone passing by for fear of exposure, panic and misconception. His life was centered wholly around his family. He was being home-schooled and even with his high comprehension ability, he, just like any other child craved social contact.

By adapting the same schedule used by private schools, Bernard and Vivian were able to keep Samuel busy with school work. Although his IQ was off the charts, he still had no other option than to go through the whole process. Being extremely smart was no substitute for actual knowledge and Samuel himself understood that the most. He had almost blown up his house once in an unsupervised science experiment.

During the summer holidays, Samuel sat at the peak of one of the mountains, staring at the clouds and contemplating his boredom repeatedly. Suddenly, his sharp pointed ears twitched as the sound of an engine caught his attention.

"It's been a while since a car came through here", he said as he immediately stood up and took to the sky, flying high into the clouds and scrutinizing the entire landscape. He noticed some sort of vehicle a few miles away entering the mountains from the flatlands.

As he strained his eyes, trying to identify the source of the sound, he unlocked some sort of super hyperopic vision. His reptilian pupils suddenly dilated, like that of a cat in the dark, as his eye sight was adjusted so much so that he could see the vehicle as clear as day, almost as if he was only a few feet away from it. He panicked, and his eyes reverted back to normal.

"What the heck just happened", he asked himself. "Well stranger things have happened", he said to himself with a smile and repeated the action. "It's a camper van. A family is coming camping, this is amazing. I will probably get to meet kids my age", he said to himself feeling excited. "But wait…" he paused.

"Mom and Dad asked me specifically not to make contact with anyone. If I do, I will be disobeying their order". He flew back down to the shore of the lake by his house. For over thirty minutes he just lied on the ground thinking, 'Damn, I really want to meet them, but I also don't want to disobey Mom and Dad. What do I do?'

He laid there for several more minutes and finally got the answer. "That's it. I'll just observe them from a distance. No harm done to anyone. And besides, it's not against the rules if they happen to get into contact with me first". He walked back to the house whistling a tune.

That night, he flew high into the sky, and with the full moon behind him, observed the camp ground for hours. "They are already asleep. How tired are they?" Samuel asked himself after observing no movements at the camp ground for hours. "I guess I'll come back tomorrow", he said and flew away.

Early the next morning, Samuel flew over to the mystery family's campsite. When he got closer, he hid in one of the towering trees covering the mountain scape and stayed as quiet as he possibly could. He had mapped out the entire campsite. Other than the camper van, there were three tents; a large one and two smaller ones. He hooked his tail around a large branch and hang upside down like a bat, a position he'd discovered to be his favourite, as he observed the morning sky and the entire camp area and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. There was sudden movement in one of the smaller tents and he heard unzipping. A little girl came out dressed for the outdoors clutching a kite. She took a look at the bigger tent to make sure the inhabitants were still asleep, and upon confirming, she took a deep breath. She reclosed her tent and quietly snuck off into the woods. "Now, what do we have here?" Samuel smiled as he flipped into the air and slowly flew after her.

She walked through the forest until she came to the base of the closest mountain. She located the footpath up the mountain and started the climb up the rocky slope. "What does she think she is doing, and better yet where the heck is she going?" Samuel asked himself as he watched her from a distance.

She climbed until she reached a smaller path on the side of a cliff. She started to slowly walk on the path with her back to the wall. Shockingly, she had an excited look on her face which freaked Samuel out. "Isn't that dangerous?" he asked himself again and again but he could do nothing but watch … for now.

The girl moved on the path slowly and carefully until she got to a large flat ledge high up the mountain that served the purpose of a foothold perfectly. She stood on it and took in the sights, as far as she could possibly see,p and casually took a breath of fresh air. She then brought out her kite and released it into the strong breeze plaguing the mountains.

The breeze was too strong for her to withstand as it tugged on her kite but she grabbed unto it firmly, fully wrapping the string around her small arm. "The breeze here is very strong, more than I anticipated. I'd better step back", she said as she held on firmly and tried to move a few steps back. Unknown to her, continuous weathering of the rocks had left the ledge highly unstable.

The entire ledge suddenly gave way and she began falling to what was undoubtedly, her doom. She screamed loudly as she fell into the ravine below, images of her short life flashing before her eyes. She closed her eyes as she approached the ground at a tremendous speed, awaiting the impending split-second crushing pain that was to end her life.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms grab hold of her and slow down her descent to the ground. She tried opening her eyes but she was too dazed and could only see the silhouette of a boy before falling back unconscious.

She woke up by the side of a stream with a cold wet cloth on her forehead. "What's going on? I thought I was about to die", she asked herself as she lifted herself up into a sitting position. She turned and saw her kite by her side. "What a weird dream. Was it something I ate?", she asked herself. "That wasn't a dream, it was as real as it could get", a voice suddenly echoed around her. 'Am I just hearing things?' she asked herself. "I see you are finally up", she heard the voice say again behind her this time. She turned but no one was there. "Who is it? Show yourself" she demanded.

"I don't think that would wise, I don't want you to freak out and pass out again", the voice warned. "I promise! I will not freak out", she reassured the voice with a pout. Then out of the shadows stepped a young boy about her age with an appearance straight out of a fantasy book. Huge darkish-red wings, a large spiked tail, curved horns on his head, scaly-skin and yellowish-reptilian eyes that seemed to be staring deep into her soul. "Wow, that's one hell of a Halloween costume", she suddenly chided with admiration completely taking Samuel by surprise.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Listen, this is not a costume, it's all real", he responded with a serious look on his face. "What? Get out of here. Stop messing with me", she said with disbelief. Samuel sighed again and thought to himself, 'I guess I'll have to show her". He took a step back and spread open his wings, completely stunning her. As she stood in shock, he decided to take it a step further.

With a beat of his wings, he sent a strong breeze as he lifted himself off the ground and took to the air. He soared in midair for a few seconds for her to see and believe that indeed, everything she was seeing were all part of a single set, him! He turned to look at her, only to find her back on the ground unconscious again. "I knew it", he said as he dropped back down to the ground. He picked her up and laid her in the right position on the same spot she had originally been lying on.

She woke up half an hour later to find a picnic basket laid on a nicely spread blanket. "I told you so", she heard the voice again. She turned to him and took a good look at him from the tip of his horns to the soles of his feet. "So, he wasn't kidding. How is this even possible?" she asked herself. "Don't think about it too much", he said as he turned to the basket. "Anyway, I thought you might be hungry, so I got some snacks", he said as he sat down cross-legged on the blanket, stretched his wings behind him and relaxed.

She got up, walked to the stream and washed her face several times just to make sure she was still awake. She stared at her reflection intently trying to wake up from this lucid dream. I really am not dreaming", she said and splashed herself once more in the face. She walked back and sat beside him on the blanket. "Here", he said and handed her a towel. "Thanks", she said as she took it and dried her face. "Something smells good, what is that?" she asked after catching a whiff of the sweet aroma emanating from the picnic basket.

"Oh yeah, it's my mom's famous blueberry pie", he said as he brought the steaming pie out of the basket. He also brought out small plates and a bottle of cold juice. "Do you always carry these things with you?" she asked intrigued. "Not really, I like adventuring so my mom always prepares snacks for me to pick up when I'm hungry", he answered. He served her and then served himself. After both of them had had second helpings, he packed up the basket and folded up the blanket.

He set the basket near some flowers and turned to her, "Are you not afraid of me", he asked suddenly. "Well, do you plan on hurting me?" she asked. "No, of course not", he replied. "Well then, there is your answer", she said with a smile. "He smiled and turned to hide his flustered face. 'He is so cute', she thought to herself as her smile brightened.

"So, you guys are here camping huh!" he stated trying to change the subject. "Yeah, we'll be here a couple of weeks", she responded. "Then would you like a personal tour guide for the duration of your stay?" he asked. "Would you really do that?" she asked excitedly. "Of course. So, do you want to go sight-seeing now?" he asked. "Sure, let's go", she said as she stood up with a hop.

As they strolled leisurely downstream, she asked the question that had been boggling her mind since she first met him. "So, do you mind if I asked you a question?" she asked. "Shoot", he responded as he skipped a rock on the stream. "I want to know; are you a demon?" she asked taking him completely by surprise.

"I hope not! I mean, I think not", he responded a little agitated. "Well, are you human or what?" she asked curiously. "Sort of, it's a bit complicated. I am not too sure myself. Not even my parents", he answered. "Are they human?" she asked again. "Yeah, I mean, I think they are", he paused to think. Yeah, my parents are definitely human", he added reassuring himself.