Bardolf laid on the floor for some time. He was unsure for how long. More than ever he wanted his mother’s warm and soft touch. He wanted her to rock him with one of her hands placed gently on his cheek telling him everything will be OK. That everything has a way of working itself out. In the cruel short life that Bardolf has lived he felt like the statements his parents fed him were nothing but lies. Why would they tell the truth? Were they just comforting themselves in the end? Why would they fill kids heads with such securities when they knew that they would be ripped from them at any given time? Bardolf felt that he should have never been spared the truths of the world. He tried to repress his feelings of anger and guilt. How could his parents know that they would be taken from this world? They were not here to defend themselves in this solo debate. He wanted his family more than ever. He wanted to know that there were others out there like him. He wanted to talk about what happened. He saw his family go through the change. He, himself, has gone through the change. How Bardolf wished he could have someone there for and with him.

As Bardolf was feeling many emotions of isolation, he started to feel a pang of hunger growing in his stomach. It was not like the hunger he experienced last night. Not as aggressive. He ventured outside to see what he could find as there was nothing inside to feast on. Bardolf decided to fish. He went to the shed in the back to see if he could find the stilts that he and dad built. One can never be too careful, what if the leeches had returned? He remembered that dad kept all the fishing materials in there from the nets to the spears. When he opened the door to the shed; the stilts were broken. They were not mendable. The spears did not hold up well over time either. The spears no longer pointy and sharp but resembled regular sticks found on the ground. One had dried fish guts attached to it.

Bardolf panicked. He did not know what to do for food. Even if he caught a fish, he would not know what to do with it. He was not aware how to make a fire. A few small things he was never taught. As Bardolf stood and wondered what to do next, he gazed over the land and noticed a Cattail that was growing around the lake. He remembered as a child picking Cattails with the mother as well as other plants such as clovers, Dandelions, Blackberries, Daylily’s, pecans, and hazelnuts. The two would spend all day in the forest. Bardolf hated it. He wanted to be out on the water fishing with the men or setting traps for rabbits. Bardolf was considered too young for such an activity. Everything that they found they would bring back and boil down and eat with the fish. The dandelions were the only thing they did eat. They drank as a tea. The dandelions were cooked in a separate pot from the plants they used to eat. They would only hunt for their vegetation when their garden was not producing any lettuce or carrots. Bardolf was very grateful that his mother showed him this. He would be able to survive after all. He went out and forged for his food. When Bardolf got back, he forgot in all his excitement of his memory that he still did not know how to build a fire.

Think, think, think Bardolf. You have seen your parents do it a hundred or more times. You can do this. You have to do this. Your survival counts on this. As Bardolf was thinking back, he remembered seeing his dad take small pieces of bark and using it for kindling and rubbing two sticks together. Bardolf was able to make a spark happen. He blew on it and was able to get the fire going. He put a pot of water over it with all the ingredients he had harvested earlier and had an excellent meal that he created himself.

The days went on just like this. Bardolf taught himself how to hunt for rabbits and fish and pick vegetation to survive. For all the small accomplishes he was able to make there was always a sadness in his heart. He missed his family. He spent a majority of his evenings lying on the ground with a broken heart. He often thought he should not be here. He should be with his family. He did not feel he was strong enough to go on alone. He was frustrated because he felt like the last monster out there.

One evening after Bardolf ate dinner; he was lying on the floor. For the first time, he decided to explore his home. He had respected his families items and had not moved any objects. He started to go through drawers and cupboards. He wanted to know all the things he was never able to learn before. Bardolf came across a photo album. Many of the pictures were of his siblings as babies, one of his dad leech hunting, another of his mother cooking. It brought a smile to Bardolf’s face.

As Bardolf starts to go through the photo album, he begins to realize that he is not the only one left in his blood line. There are others out there. He starts to read the inscription that is written next to the photos. They were people that he has never met before, but there were notations such as Uncle Bernie, Aunt Alice, Great Grandma Sally, Cousin Robert, Cousin Jump. Who are these people? As Bardolf looked at these pictures, he could see the resemblance to his mother and father. He could not understand why he never met them in the past. Did they live far away? Why did they not come looking for him when his family died? Did they know nothing of him as he as he was not aware of them?

As Bardolf is contemplating his relationship with his family, he saw a diary. When he opened it up, there were many encounters that were that of his sisters. Bardolf was elated to find this. As he read the many entries, he started to feel much more normal and not so much an animal that could not control his urges. His sister was so much more brutal than he could ever be. He wondered that if she was alive what would their relationship have become?

Next Chapter: The Friend