The chirps of birds and the sounds of mourning doves echo through a quiet town, the morning sun rising over the horizon as light washes over the buildings. On the outskirts of this town, an old home rests on its weary foundation. The walls are aged and yellowed by time, contrasting with the vibrant and well-kept grass surrounding it. A tree stands proud beside it, splitting into two trunks a few feet from the ground, forking out diagonally into the sky as if attempting to pierce it. The sun beams through the windows, illuminating a figure laying on a bed that once was made. He opens his eyes, blinking rapidly before they adjust. The blue in his blue-gray eyes take prominence in the light as he smiles at the dawn of a new day. Swinging his thin quilt off of him, he practically leaps off his bed. He stretches, opens his window, and feels the warm morning breeze spread across his bare skin as he takes a deep breath. Clad in his pajama pants, he walks to his charging pearwatch and checks the time, reading 7:14 AM. Putting his watch back, he walks across the rather small room, the floorboards occasionally creaking as he enters the bathroom. He goes to take a shower, which I won't describe as he's 15.
He finishes his shower after around fifteen minutes, the steam rising from the top of the door frame as he opens his closet. He picks out a t-shirt with characters on the front, a tall goat lady, a child with short hair and a striped outfit, a skeleton with a blue jacket, and a few other popular characters from the game. He also picks out a pair of blue jeans with faded little green hearts drawn all over them in sharpie, a small smile gracing his lips. He slips on his clothes, socks, and then walks out of his room. He steps on the hardwood floor, glancing around at the familiar environment. A ticking clock reading 7:31 hangs above the staircase, and two doors are in front of him. The door to his left has a hanging sign on the door reading, "BEWARE OF MOM", and the door across the short hall has bright green hearts painted on it.
He walks across the hall and quietly opens the door. He peeks in, seeing a girl sitting in a chair and leaning over a desk. Her room is decorated with posters of popular rock music and purple carpet, which helps him sneak up on his headphone-wearing sister. Her long brown hair is tied in a low, lazy ponytail as she listens to rock and draws "anatomy" with a mischievous smile. He leans over her shoulder and inspects her work, nodding like a wise sage as he pulls her headphones off and comments,
"I think that's a little big for her."
She jumps out of her seat, immediately trying to elbow her brother, only to hit air as he scurries out of her room. He can hear her slightly muffled yell of frustration through the door,
"Stop it!"
Giggling mischievously, he races down the stairs and into the much more spacious room downstairs. He smiles as he hears sizzling in the kitchen, the sound prompting an instinctual response as he goes to the location of food. Entering the kitchen, he spots his mother standing in front of the stove. She doesn't turn around, but seems to know her son came running at the sound of food being made.
"Are you two trying to kill each other again?" His mom says wearily, yet with a smile on her face.
"What? We need the life insurance!" The boy responds with a shrug of his shoulders, sneaking towards the table, where a small pile of bacon rests, awaiting his stomach's invitation.
"Don't even think about it, Xavier." She didn't even turn around, but knew he was going for the bacon. With mock annoyance, he says,
"Fiiine.. I won't touch it." As he steals a small piece. His mother finally turns around, her long black hair tied in a bun, her amber eyes locking onto him like a hawk. Her slightly wrinkled face is stern, her smile lines contrasting with her frown. Thoroughly intimidated, Xavier puts the bacon back in the pile. He backs away slowly as if facing a predator, slipping out of the kitchen. They both smile once out of each other's sight.
Walking back into the living room, Xavier glances around casually. A couch sits in front of a decently sized flatscreen TV, a coffee table in between the two. A potted plant hangs by the window, but he didn't pay much attention to that, so I won't either. He walks over to the couch and sits down, opening Nitflix as he browses the shows and movies. He closes Nitflix after a bit, stretching as he gets up, bored with just sitting around and watching something. He goes back to the kitchen, seeing his mother still at the stove.
"Hey mom?" Xavier questioned.
"Hm?" She makes a questioning sound.
"How long until breakfast's done?"
"Not much longer now." She sighs lightheartedly.
Xavier looks at the clock in the hallway. 7:48.
"Alright." Xavier says, walking towards the door as he slips his shoes on. He opens the door and takes a deep breath, his eyes drifting across the hard and to the tree as he smiles. He runs up and jumps an impressive amount of distance, grabbing a hold of a rather thick branch as he hauls himself up with practiced ease. He climbs at an impressive pace, after a few minutes or so he's a good thirty feet high. Deciding to be daring, he continues up until the branches above him are too thin to hold him as he sits and enjoys the view from so high up. He watches the sun hang just above the horizon, and he pulls out his phone to take a picture. The clock on the Home Screen is displayed.
7:52.
He takes a photo, one arm wrapped firmly around the trunk of the tree.
7:53
He decides to wait up here until breakfast is done.
7:54
7:55
7:56
7:57
7:58
7:59
Xavier feels his phone vibrate from a notification, and when he checks his phone, the clock on the home screen shows a strange number.
00:00
The notification reads,
"You shouldn't relax this high up."
Both the branch beneath him and the trunk he's holding onto suddenly snap. Shocked, he reaches out in a useless attempt to grab a branch on his way down, the last thing he sees before it all goes black is a boy with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, a devilish smile on his face.
On my face.