It was a place of peace and beauty, a place of light and solitude. I went there often, when I needed to get away from everything. One memorable day, that all changed. They were yelling at each other again. They had been all night. I had to get away. The door was locked, but the window was open, so I went out that way. The moon shone down upon the land, casting silvery light and dark shadows everywhere. I ran away from the cottage, towards the forest. It was a cool night, but not terribly so, compared to what we normally get, this far up north. There was still snow on the ground, and my bare feet were turning numb, but I was used to it. There was barely a time nowadays when my feet weren’t numb, unless I was inside, which wasn’t often, since the Aunt moved in I couldn’t stand being in there any more. I sprinted along through the forest. There was less snow on the ground, because the trees blocked it, but there was less moonlight as well, so I had to rely more on memory than sight. I had been on this path many times, though, so memory was enough to get me through the forest. The lake looked beautiful, reflecting the stars so it looked as if the stars were swimming in the lake. The moonlight shone off the water, reflecting to cast rippling light on the trees. Then I saw It. It was hunched beside the lake, unmoving.

I wasn’t sure what it was at first. It looked like a mound of fur. I must of made a noise, because it lifted it’s shaggy head and turned to stare at me. I should have screamed. I should have turned and ran, as fast as my legs could carry me. But I didn’t. I just stood there, staring at It, and It sat there, staring at me, and we both stared at each other, motionless. Before I had thought It was just a mound of fur, but now I could see the shapes of it’s limbs. There were It’s legs, with It’s knees drawn up and It’s thickly furred arms holding It’s legs. It’s face looked like a mound of hair, except for two bright green eyes, staring at me. It’s back was hunched, facing towards the lake, although It’s head was turned to look at me. I guess It was taking in what I looked like as well. I wonder now if It was confused about how I had no fur, just as at the time, I was wondering why It was covered in fur. It stood up, and I could see how long its arms were. They hung down past It’s knees, and It was about twice as tall as me. We stood, staring at each other, before, finally, I ran. I sprinted through the trees back to the cottage, in through the door, and hurled myself into my mother’s arms. They had been arguing, yelling at each other again, but they both fell silent at my unexpected appearance.

A few days later, my father came back, and the Aunt moved out of the house again. I still went to the lake sometimes, to be alone, but now I had my parents back, there was nothing to run from, so I didn’t run. We were a happy family again, and although I did wander through the forest, many times, I never saw It ever again. Isabella Bastida