Little Wolves (gxg)

Chapter 1 - Aunt Paula

Tree angels sing to me. Before dawn, when the morning sun is seeping through the tree leaves, I can hear them. They are a chorus of blessings healing my soul with a gentle whisper. My heart fills with beauty, causing everything around me to shine in a bright song.

The world in the morning is heavenly. While most are sleeping away until noon, I wake before the sun, heading out into the forest to ground myself and wash away my fears.

In the morning, I am free.

I have always felt connected to nature. When I was little, my mom told me I feel that way because I was born with sunshine in my blood. She says all she has to do is look at me and this beautiful light completely fills her lungs. She says at times that light is the only thing that keeps her going.

Right now, my soul is flying through the trees. As I lay on the dew-kissed grass, my eyes follow a little bird swooping, circling, and diving overhead. I could imagine the wind through my hair as I swished and waned in the wind, as my tiny little bird wings glided so gracefully through the air.

I've always wished I could fly. Ever since I was little, I have dreamed of soaring around the clouds, diving in and out of those pretty marshmallows in the sky.

It's the reason I had always dreamed of being a pilot. My dreams never came true, though. Most of the time life doesn't work the way you want it to, and I'm used to it, so I wasn't real upset or anything. I know in another life that's what I'll be. A pilot. Or a bird.

In this life, I am unemployed with an art degree. It's not what I had planned, but my mom relies on me too much for my dreams to be more ambitious. I had just recently graduated college with my bachelor's degree. Finding a job has proved to be tougher than I thought, which is why I am still living at home.

Honestly, I don't want to work yet. I'm twenty-two, young and a dreamer, and I would much rather sit here, in my backyard, watching the birds dance. It's why I'm not exactly searching for a job. I say I am to all of my neighbors, but my mom knows I'm not, and she's perfectly fine with that.

I can't leave her alone, anyway. My father's state of being would chew right through her without me around. Now, don't get me wrong, my father is a good man. He's caring, hardworking, and passionate about anything he believes in, but recently he's lost his way.

He graduated from trade school as an electrician. It was his big idea to run his own business, installing electrical lines for private piers and marinas. But, like any human, he is his own worst enemy.

I think it's because he's still mourning. I see him in the evening sometimes, on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. His face is always long, like he's thinking of a better place, a better life.

My mom is the same way. She's holding it together better than my dad, but I know it's hard for both of them. They don't talk to each other much anymore. At least my mom tries, though.

My family used to be normal. We didn't used to be quiet, nor did we ever keep to ourselves. We used to host parties—believe it or not—but after Willa was born, we all became distant.

Willa turned our town and home into nothing but sad memories. My mom wants to move real bad. So does dad, but none of us have any money, so we're all stuck in this depressing place until someone gets back on their feet. Unfortunately, it feels like no one ever will.

"Nelly! Are you out here?" mom called. I craned my neck to look towards my home, propping myself up on my elbows as I spotted mom poking her head out of the back door. A pair of beetles chased each other through my line of vision.

"Yeah!" I called back, waiting to see what she wanted before I got up. I hadn't realized the sun had risen so high in the sky already. It's probably well past ten by now.