So there I was, on my knees, staring at that grave. My parent's disappearance was the most difficult problem I ever had to accept during these last years. I was seven when they disappeared and yet, I was smart enough to know that they were never coming back. Their graves were places in their favorite area that always made us happy to visit, hoping that their tombstone would be more joyful. But I was mistaken, I felt so lonely and all I asked from God was to find me a new family in which I would be happy and never be sad again.
I just said to myself that the orphanage would soon be on my back but not make my desires a reality. So I decided to run away, hoping that I could find my own family. As soon as I turned my back, there he was. That mister was holding a beautiful berrirose in his long fingers. He was standing right next to a bench in front of a duck pond. He was the father I would die to have. he had a pale white skin and looked so elegant. I started to run at him and cry at the same time. I tackled his waist and held it as hard as I possibly could and just let all of my sadness out. He seemed surprised to have his kind of reaction. With some sort of struggle I managed to say Please mister, I beg of you. Let me be your daughter. We're both very different and I don't want to be alone anymore! I looked up and had this small gleam in my eye.
After a few moments, he nodded and dropped the flower in my hair. I started to feel the biggest joy I ever had. I had a new family. Well let's get out of this rain; we might get a cold papa! I said with joy as I held his cold hand. We walked into a dark forest together and papa showed me my tree-house that would be my new room. The room had some sort of a tomboyish look which I loved. The night was coming and it was time for bed. After he tucked me in, he asked me this question that I'll never forget:
-Won't anyone notice that you're gone?
-Nah, I'm a lone wolf. I was always alone in my family, no cousins, no friends, no aunts and no nothing.
With one kiss and a goodnight, he went outside to his nightshift.
So I started a new life with papa in this old forest that he protects from any human that trespasses this place. I never got the best reactions from the city right next to us. I went to school, like any other person and did my ‘’shopping’’. I always went to the city with a cape and a huge basket. The cape was to hide myself from all of those glaring eyes and the basket, to put my food and clothing inside. I also entertained the little ones at the park with my stories. They seemed to love them, especially when a good fright was present. But, that joy lasted very few, the mothers didn’t like me approaching their children and talking to them. The shops would close each time that I would just place a step in the street and how can I forget the whispers behind my back each time I did something. In all circumstances, I was a good old outcast. My only friends happened to be the animals that habited in the woods. My best friend was Desta, the red fox. We understood each other like no one could. Like all living creature, Desta passed away not long ago. She got hit by a car. I was sad but with papa’s words, I was happy once again.
Papa would occasionally get sick and his duty became mine as well. I would always warn the trespasser two times, if he didn’t leave on the second warning, I would let him get eaten by wolves and do nothing except watch him scream. Until one night, it was a very ordinary night; the sky was a bit cloudy but the stars glowed beautifully. The plains were lit by the moons light and all was sleeping except for me. I did my surveillance around the forest looking for the occasional trespasser. I looked to see if the important were still at their rightful place. I counted them and realised one was missing. I ran to check if I haven’t forgotten it at its normal place. It was stolen. My heart was pounding. I quickly told myself that the person still had plenty of the other things to go get before matching anything against papa. I started looking for him or her, noticing that all of my pages from my book were gone. The most important pages were gone. I started to panic and finally found the man who took them away. I ran towards him and only by turning around he slapped my face. The hit made me trip on the ground, so I found myself with no defense. I couldn’t possibly cry for help or anything to wake papa up. I told him with no doubt:
-If you don’t leave now and give back what’s stolen, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.
-Oh don’t worry, I’m not planning to leave or dying soon.
His voice was a thick and had a lower tone, a very manly voice. As he finished his sentence, he kicked me in my stomach leaving me lying on the cold and branch filled floor. Suddenly a deep fog started to appear with a tall silhouette in the fog. It was papa. He was behind that mister back and was ready to protect me. As I started to smile, the man quickly turned around and stepped away from papa. Papa was furious and I knew it. The stranger tackled papa while holding m pages from my book. Papa fell on the ground and just stayed there. I crawled over to papa with tears and talked to him but no answer could’ve been heard from him. I begged, I pleaded and I tried to make him fight again. My last words to him were:
’’Papa, you have to get up, he can’t kill you. You’re my family; I’ll be all alone again. You just have to get up! I love you too much! Please papa, I... Please.’’
As I lifted my head, the man was standing there; his smile was the craziest and the biggest smile I could ever imagine. He stayed a few minutes and came closer to papa’s corpse. I yelled and cried at him to stay back but he continued no matter what. He pulled out a knife out of his pocket and placed himself right in front of me.
<-I-I killed him… I killed slender man, and soon, his daughter. He said with an insane voice as he lifted the knife at the wide eyed girl.