In the woods, Kira, a lively, very loving, and passionate 17-year-old teenager, lies back against a tree making sure her beautiful, long black hair is not stuck in between the roughness of the tree. She puts in her earphones and closes her big, green eyes. She lets the soft music soothe her, indulging in a peaceful mood.
This is the only place where she can escape from all that goes on around her; the only place where she can realize things that she could not if she were somewhere else. Little does Kira know that something in those woods will change her life forever.
See, the thing is that Kira and Carolyn, her mother, fight every single day. It has never failed, and now they argue even more since her mother is getting married. Jacob Black is her mother’s fiancé. He is six feet, very fit, brown hair, hazelnut eyes, and he is sweetest person in the world. He has been nice to Kira since day one, and treats her as if she was his biological daughter.

It was not always this way, arguing everyday with my mom. She used to be so kind and fun. She and I would always laugh together, even when things did not make sense to other people it made sense to us.
Before this marriage, my mom, was literally ditched. The dude broke up with her, right before her wedding, because he was seeing another woman. I guess that explains her bitterness now. Then after that, she just argued with me all the time….
While in the woods listening to music, Kira starts to think about her day, and what she sees at school. She thinks about the relationships she has with people she encounters and how they feel. Even more, she thinks about how she can feel when they are not happy. She thinks about how she can understand every single mood that they could ever be in.
I wish people could understand my mood changes like I understand theirs. But no, they just assume that since I am always a happy person and since I am constantly making jokes that I do not have any other feelings, when I do. I do have those depressing moods, those sad ones, and the mad ones. I have any and every mood you can think of. But no one understands me…. They think they do but in reality... they really… do not….
Elyza, Kira’s sister, and Mally, Kira’s best friend, are about the only two people in the world that semi- understand Kira, but they still do not one hundred percent fully understand all of her actions and/or emotions. You see, Kira’s actions are very subtle. She does not move a muscle without planning it out in her head. She is a very smart girl, who likes to think things through.
Well, time to go back to the devil’s mansion. Oh, how I hate going back home! I feel so trapped in there like I might suffocate. That woman will never know me. She thinks that just because I am her daughter she knows every single part of me, but she does not! No one will ever truly know me….
Kira stands up and wipes off the dirt, leaves, and grass from her clothes. As soon as she stood up, she heard something strange.
“Shhh, shh, shh, crunch, crunch, crunch.”
What in the pits farm is that noise? Now it sounds like someone is running. It’s coming towards me! I need to get out of here! But, I have to see what it is. Okay, first I need to find something to defend myself with in case it is something big. Hmm, I guess this log about the size of a meter stick; will just have to do since there is not anything else that looks better.
All right, it is coming pretty fast so I need to hurry up and climb my butt up in a tree to spy on this thing. “Uh, ah, ohh, ouch!” man I picked the wrong day to wear short shorts. Everything I pass is scratching the mess out of me.
Okay I think I am high enough to avoid whatever is out here; and high enough to where I can see them, but they cannot see me.
Kira is sitting in the tree waiting to see who or what it is. It is now quiet and all Kira hears is something or someone trying to catch their breath. They have now stopped walking, and are just standing there.
They must be tired, or lost. Hmph, I do not know but I am about to find out.
Since all seems well, Kira slowly climbs down the tree with her log still in her hand ready to attack.
“HA!” screams Kira.
Once I screamed I thought he would be scared and do something to me, but no. He just stood there and stared deep into my eyes. I have to admit, at first he kind of creeped me out by the way he was looking at me. Then, just as I was about to comment about it, his big, beautiful, hazelnut eyes captivated me. The only thing I could do was just let them melt into me. All of a sudden, his expression change into something sweet and soft, (kind of like a piece of Hershey’s chocolate). Ok Kira, pull yourself together!
“Um, Hello I’m Kira.”
Really? Kira, really? Why in the world would you say hi to him? Let alone tell him your name? My goodness gracious those eyes are to die for! I do not even know him and think I am all ready falling for him. Man! If it was not for my dang curiosity I could have easily ignored this whole situation and pretended that I never heard any of those sounds and just went back home.
We each took a step back and I noticed his dog tag. It said Henry on it. Hhmm, interesting.
“So um, what are you doing here in the woods all by yourself?”
He gave me a look that read, “I could be asking you the same thing.”
With that being said, it was pretty clear that neither one of them were going to go anywhere, so they both took a seat next to the tree that Kira climbed on and started to get to know each other.
Everyday after their first meeting, they hung out every moment that they could. They became to be so close that they could read each other’s mind. At times, they spoke to each other with out saying a single word. All Kira had to do was look at him and she already knew what he was thinking.
“Hey, are you alright? You seem a little down today,” he said with those eyes.
“Huh? Yea, I am fine. Well, I really do not know. Sometimes I don’t feel like talking, eating, or sleeping. Then I just sit somewhere and come up with different stories in my head that could be a movie or something. Basically, I pretty much daydream. I guess I just want to be by myself at times but then again I do not. The whole thing is somewhat confusing, it’s as if I can feel everyone’s emotions that I face everyday and they hit me at the same time. When I try to explain this to people, they look at me like I am some crazy person,” expressed Kira.
I stopped myself from talking because I felt like I was just going on and on. So I just waited for reply. Instead of giving me a look or something to answer my question, he just came closer to me and brushed his face against mine. It was so subtle and his face was soft and smooth…, like a feather really. It is funny, because this whole time, that was all I truly needed; someone to just completely listen to me while I uttered how I have been feeling all along. I needed someone who would accept how I feel. To accept my mood changes. Lastly, to comfort me once I was finished talking.
As Henry listened to her talk, he loved the way her facial expression changed with each word that came out of her mouth. Henry could only wish that he was capable of speaking to someone the way she spoke to him. Little does Kira know that he too felt the same way she did at times.
Henry was a great listener, because that was all he could really do. He had no words to say, because he did not know how to express how he feels like Kira does. In many ways, Henry would love to be like her. She inspired him. To do what? That is the thing. Henry had no clue. He was limited on everything he could do.
Kira was his perfect friend. He loved her dearly. She loved him dearly. Which is why they were perfect together.
The wind was blowing, the sun was barely out, and the clouds were set perfectly in the sky. This moment for Kira and Henry could not have been more wonderful.
This has been the best day I have had in a very long time. I can’t remember the last time I have felt this peaceful.
Just as we were about to doze off into a glorious nap, the wind started to blow harshly. At first, we did not think anything of it but then it kept getting stronger as the minutes passed by. Then it started to drizzle. That drizzle did not last very long until actual rain came down. Thank God it is not pouring yet, so we still have time to find a place to keep us from getting drenched. I looked over and Henry was still lying down as if it were still sunshine and clear skies.
“Henry! Get up! We have to go somewhere that is covered! If I am not mistaken, I think there is a little cave past that oak tree by the rocks over there!” screamed Kira over what felt like a tornado.
After what felt like years, Henry finally got up and they ran until they got to the cave. Kira was so distracted about getting to the cave that she never looked back to see how Henry was doing. To Kira’s dismay, she found out that was exactly what she needed to do.
“Woo, we made it,” Kira said while catching her breath.


“Henry?”

Kira looked around everywhere. She could not find him through all the rain.

“HENRY!! WHERE ARE YOU?? HENRY! ANSWER ME!” Kira said pleadingly, hoping she would hear some sort of sound that would lead her to him.

Oh no, I lost Henry! My goodness gracious Kira how stupid of you to not look back and check on him every now and then.

Kira left the cave and went to go search for him. She could not, for the life of her, find Henry anywhere in all that rain.

Lord Jesus, please help me find Henry. I am sorry for not looking after him like I should have. I promise to do better next time. (Hopefully I will not have to go through this situation again but still.) Ah! Focus Kira, focus!

The rain started to clear up, but the sky was still full with clouds. Just as Kira was about to give up and just wait for some miracle to happen…

“HENRY!? Oh my gosh! There you are!” Kira said almost in tears. “Oh, No!”

Henry had a huge rock that was covering his leg. When Kira took the rock off, she saw that it was bleeding uncontrollably. Kira ripped off a piece of her shirt without any hesitation. She tightly secured Henry’s leg with care.

Henry is now at the hospital and Kira is right beside him, not letting him out of her sight. The doctor walked in and said, “Alright so there is good news and bad news. Henry, you will be back to normal in a couple of weeks so you need time to rest, which means no more going into the woods for a while,” Dr. Johnson explained.

“As for you, Kira, you did very well wrapping his leg up. It was perfect. I could not have done it any better myself. You know, you should really think about going to school to become veterinarian when you graduate next year. I think you would be great at it.”

Wow, who would have thought that Dr. Joseph Johnson, the-number-one vet in the town, would be saying this to me right now? I mean, I guess I could become one since my love for animals, especially dogs, have grown even more because of my love for Henry.

Henry is my best friend. I love him so much. I mean, I have seen people who love their pets like they love their family, but I never thought that I would be one of those people. Henry has helped me so much over the past few months, he has made me a better person. Being with him puts me in a better mood. My mom and I even get along a little better. Yeah, we still argue, but we have cut that down to only three times a week instead of three times a day, so I guess that is a start.
In addition, I stopped having those days where I keep to myself and do not talk to anyone. I guess the whole time all I needed was to just take time out and actually explain it to someone for me to get over it.
Henry and I are now inseparable. We go everywhere together. People give us dirty looks because we are such an odd couple. (Mainly because I am a lot taller than he is). In this relationship, height does not matter one bit. We understand each other. I finally have someone who understands me…all of me.
Ten years have passed and Kira sits back in her living room chair and thinks about the time she first encountered Henry. How she acted and how he did not react. How their relationship grew into something amazing. This is something she never thought would ever happen in a lifetime. It was truly something special. Mostly, she reflects back on that day in the woods with that horrible storm. If it were not for that storm then she would not have became a vet. The best things truly do come in mysterious ways.