Leaving

Looking back at my time in Havenwood, I wish I had listened to him. That I had realized that at Havenwood, I was living life. I wasn't some dead man walking. I was alive.

Ah, I have so many wishes.

That I had stayed in the village with this gruff man who taught me so much. That I had enjoyed the love my parents showed me more. That I had treasured those little adventures me and Lily would find ourselves convolved in. That I had stayed as a protector of that little town.

They'll never become true anymore.

Well, I suppose, I would've never reached where I am now if I hadn't left all that behind. Never become who I am. Maybe I would've still been in Havenwood, lying under the glistening stars every night, chatting with Lily about sweet nothings.

No, I guess I probably wouldn't have been. Too much time has passed.

Havenwood no longer exists anywhere outside my memories and this story.

Ah, so few things from my memories still exist.

Time is cruel.

.....

I heard Kael's words - thought I understood them - but, in truth, they passed from one ear to the other.

I was determined to adventure, to live life; to continue growing and evolving in this world of my choosing.

In the flickering light of the fire, as the echoes of Kael's stories lingered in the air, I found myself ready to embrace whatever lay ahead – to forge my own path, guided by the lessons of a wanderer and the strength I had discovered within myself.

As the night unfolded, stars scattered across the sky like jewels. I gazed upwards; the stars nearly felt in reach. Like I could just pluck them.

Before me, the world beckoned, a realm ripe for exploration expanding beyond the horizon. My odyssey was only beginning. A path of discovery stretched toward lands yet unseen, an adventure as infinite and boundless as the starlit sky itself.

....

==============================

Name: Alex, Son of Gerald

Age: 11 years old

== Overall Stats ==

Strength: 28 (+12)

Agility: 22 (+8)

Stamina: 34 (+16)

Mana: 4 (+1)

Charisma: 8 (+2)

== Traits ==

Determination (Level 7), Focus (Level 6), Survival (Level 6), Pain Tolerance (Level 5), Strategic Thinking (Level 2), [■■■■■]

== Skills ==

Sword Novice (Level 3), Thrust (Level 9), Slash (Level 8), Evasion (Level 4), Acrobatics (Level 3), Detection (Level 3), Carving (Level 2), Caregiving (Level 3), Tracking (Level 4), Stealth (Level 1), Climbing (Level 1), Swimming (Level 1)

==============================

....

The moon hung high above Havenwood, casting long shadows across the sleeping village. The soft hum of crickets filled the silence. It was a sound I had become accustomed to. It had played in the background of my entire life.

And tonight, for the last time, I listened.

Tomorrow, I would be gone.

I shifted in my small bed, on the mattress I had built myself and stared up at the ceiling, the old wooden beams worn smooth by time.

I had spent years beneath this roof, listening to the wind howling against the walls in the dead of winter, the creak of footsteps when my mother moved about in the early mornings, the faint echo of my father's laughter whenever he managed to crack a rare joke.

I loved this home.

And yet, I was leaving it behind.

Because I had to.

Kael's warnings lingered in my mind. His stories of war, of hunger, of men who lost themselves in pursuit of something greater.

But I wasn't them.

I wasn't some war-hardened mercenary, some wandering soldier looking for a fight. I was Alex.

And I wanted to live. 

I knew what it felt like to stay in one place. To not explore. To be stuck, everyday. Hating waking up. Living to sleep. That would not be me..

I sat up quietly, careful not to make a sound. My packed bag sat against the wall, filled with everything I had spent the last year collecting. Dried meat, a water pouch, a spare set of clothes. A knife, sharpened and strapped to my belt.

I had everything I needed.

Except a goodbye.

....

As I slowly began to leave the house, I bent down, slipping a folded letter beneath my parents door.

Mom, Dad, I'm sorry.

I love you.

But I have to go.

I didn't say where. I didn't say when I would be back. Because I didn't know.

I moved through the village like a ghost, my footsteps light against the dirt paths I had walked a thousand times. The houses were silent, their windows dark, the people inside dreaming of another peaceful morning.

They didn't know this would be my last night here.

Next, I found myself standing outside Lily's window.

Her curtains were drawn, the soft rise and fall of her breath barely audible from where I stood.

I hesitated.

Lily…

She would kill me for leaving like this.

A smirk tugged at my lips.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small, folded scrap of parchment, pushing it underneath her windowsill.

Lily,

Don't be mad.

(Actually, no, be mad. You'll be mad anyway.)

But I have to do this.

I know you would have tried to stop me, and I can't let that happen.

Besides, you'd probably make me carry your stuff if you came along.

I'll see you again. I promise.

I paused, then added,

P.S. You're still shorter than me.

She'd hate that.

.....

Finally, I stood outside Kael's house.

Unlike the others, he wasn't asleep.

The candlelight flickered inside, and through the small crack in the window, I could hear him moving. His footsteps were steady, but I knew him well enough now to catch the subtle tension in them.

He knew something was wrong.

He knew I was leaving.

I exhaled softly, my breath clouding in the cool night air.

I wanted to knock.

To tell him everything.

To ask him to let me go without a fight.

But I knew better.

Kael would never let me leave alone.

So instead, I slid a letter under his door.

Kael,

I know what you're going to say.

That I'm being reckless. That I don't understand the world yet.

Maybe you're right.

But I have to do this.

Because if I don't leave now, I never will.

Thank you. For everything.

For training me. For preparing me. For making me strong.

I won't waste what you taught me.

Try not to be too mad. You'll get wrinkles.

- Alex

....

I stepped back, taking one last look at the village that had been my home for eleven years.

The place where I had grown.

The place where I had laughed.

The place where I had been loved.

I turned away before I could second-guess myself.

The forest stretched ahead, dark and endless, the unknown waiting for me beyond the trees. It looked haunting. Chilling.

I took a breath.

And then I stepped forward, leaving Havenwood behind.