Will was a regular sort of boy, not overly fat, overly fast, or overly smart. Now, that isn’t to say there was anything wrong with him. He’d just never noticed that he was in any way exceptional. He still loved television, swimming for long hours in the summer, and pulling up a stool to sneak a bit of Halloween candy when he thought his parents weren’t looking.

He lived on the outskirts of a small town in Alabama by the name of Hallstown. His parents were the proprietors of the local pharmacy, and because of that, they had afforded to buy a larger-than-necessary country home. His father had always had the dream of owning a cabin, so as a result, Will’s house had been built in the style to match. Will’s mother wasn’t so sold on the idea of having the only cabin in town, but the inside of the house was hers to do as she saw fit, so she kept her irritation of the fact to a minimum. It was nice for the most part, but like all reasonable children, Will wondered what it would be like to be something different. To grow up somewhere different, and experience something beyond the confines of his own limited imagination.

Most likely the reason Will felt so drab and dull, was the fact that he had no close friend. He was an only child and if he was completely honest with himself he was very lonely and often felt he would never grow any sort of an attachment to anything. But Will was wrong. Oh Will was terribly wrong.

It was a warm Saturday morning in March, probably the first day that felt truly like spring had come alive and Will was desperate to get outside. His mother had kept him cooped up indoors for the longest time for fear he would catch cold. She seemed terribly afraid of sickness which Will always thought funny seeing as how she ran a pharmacy. He figured she could get any medicine whenever she wanted, but his mother seemed to feel otherwise. It was an abuse of the system, as she called it, whatever that meant.

Anyhow, that morning, before he dragged himself down to breakfast, he decided to be proactive. He put on his warmest looking long-sleeved shirt. It was even red, surely that would count for something, as well as some tan long pants and his brown tennis shoes, you know, the ones that were bought specifically to get dirty. Today, he would ask his mother if he could go out and into the woods. He’d been eyeing them from his window all winter. He wouldn’t go far, and she might just let him if he sounded responsible enough. Why not? He was nine—he’d be ten in May. She could trust him. What could go wrong?

Will his mother allow him to go into the woods?

Yes

No

This Poll is Closed