Santiago has always been a curious fellow by heart. He would often travel down to the riverbank looking for sea dwellers. He had a fascination with animals which grew as time went on. “Santi, come and get your supper,” his mother would shout at him as the sun began to shade itself.
Santiago dipped his feet in the water, and ran back up to the house in time for dinner. His family gathered around the dinner table as they started to eat their pork.
His father and also bread-winner of the house, Charles McKinley, was a sturdy man who worked day and night as a factory owner to bring his family wealth. His mother, Annabelle, took care of him and his younger twin sisters, Phoebe and Delilah. They lived off the shore of a river in a prosperous community called the Mavern Woodlands, just north of Manchester.
The next morning arose as the sun started to peak over the thousands of trees and into the window of Santiago’s bedroom. He put on his casual pants and started to bike to school. Living seven miles away from school, there was only one school in the whole stretch of the forest, named Devough Academy. Winchester was the home of essentially geniuses, and practiced such brilliance daily. As he sat down in his class of fifteen his best friend, Mitch Persie, whispered to him, “Hey, want to go explore southwards with me? I found a road down there a while ago and I’ve been meaning to ask you.” “Splendid! Let’s go a quarter after noon, meet me at my house.”
Three quarters after noon came by and Mitch was no where to be found. Santiago was starting to worry. However, as he finally let down his head, he could see a small figure in the distance from the second story of his house down his football field length driveway, it was Mitch! “Sorry Santi, I had to stay in my room for a while since my parents were yelling again… Oh well, let’s go!” Santiago and Mitch rode their bikes down towards a small path off an alleyway of a general shoppe.
It was just narrow enough for two bikes to fit on, and only went up half a mile. “Ugh, this was boring. Let’s do something better this week. Any ideas?” Mitch muffled to Santiago. “Well… there’s always Winchester Creek…” “Santi I don’t really want to go, my mother have always told me to stay away from there. She says there are predators there that will rip me in two.” “C’mon Mitch don’t be such a scaredy cat! Sometimes you can be such a bore.” “I don’t care, I’m not going. End of story.” “What if I make a bet with you, I’ll give you twenty pounds if we don’t see an animal at least half our size, since you’re so scared.” Mitch’s family has suffered from depression and debt for the last twelve years since he was born. He hasn’t had a proper lunch in three months. “Sometimes I really hate you for putting situations like this, Santi. This is one of those times.”
Weeks and weeks went by before the two actually went to Winchester Creek. In the meantime, Santiago picked up a paperboy job delivering The Woodland Print. He would travel over twenty miles every day on his trusty bike just to make seven pounds a shift. Mitch had been busy with academics since he was trying to bring his grades up from Cs and Ds. He was trying from a young age to get his academics straight so he could attend a prestigious college, preferably University of Oxford. There would be no way he could get in without total dedication for the rest of his career as a student.
Santi layed in bed for a while, looking at book that reads, “FOREST LIFE.” Every letter of every word, he was so fascinated with what his eyes have been brought upon. He burned the light and went shortly to bed.
The next morning Santi woke up, his stomach aching and teeth gnawing. “Oh my goodness Santiago, you look terrible! We better hurry to the doctor.” He got up out of bed and gazed into the mirror. A sudden epiphany overcame him, as he realized he needs to change himself as soon as possible. “What am I even doing with my life right now,” he thought to himself as he contemplated his recently poor decisions. “I have awful grades, an unhealthy diet, a slight muffin-top and an awkward stance and mediocre personality. I can’t live on like this…” The two scurried over to the doctor’s office, and were greeted by a secretary.
“Thank you for being on time, Dr. Farnsworth will be with you shortly, she is just a bit behind.”
“Hello Mrs. McKinley and Santiago, nice to see you again.” The doctor asks Santi to do a number of different things, later to find out that he has a fever. “I recommend you just eat some soup and get a good night’s rest tonight.”
A week goes by and the illness seems to fade away, Santi is achieving what he had been talking to himself about and is just in better condition in general. He decides he feels good enough to invite Mitch over for a play-date. As Mitch heaves his fifteen year old solid metal bike Santiago still feels a bit of remorse and distrust in himself. Since he is still so young and really hasn’t experienced what it’s like to undergo depression, he does not feel that way yet. However, continuing down his path of solemn may very well lead to it. His daily life has gotten so boring and monotonous that he is getting fed up with every annoyance that has every drifted into his mind. His bags under his eyes droop as low as can be, and he hunches over as if he has a spinal dysfunction.
Mitch rings the doorbell in front of the grand entrance. He walks into the house to greet Santiago. The two play board games for 3 hours, while sipping on apple juice and crackers. “Well that was interesting, thank you for having me over Mrs. McKinley.” “My pleasure.”
The next day, Santiago bikes furiously home from school. He makes his way into the front yard, to see three broken windows in front. “Goodness me, it is how it appears,” he thinks to himself. “Who would do this to me? What have I done to ever deserve this?” From this point on, Santiago has realized the withering fate of humanity before his own human eyes. He realizes now that not everything is as it seems, for turmoil strikes all.
Santiago’s epiphany struck him and left him in awe. He is no longer the little boy he was before. His voice starts to change, grows hair in different areas, and starts to shoot up like a rocket. But only in his mind. He speaks out loud, nothing happens. He measures himself again, still the same five four. Santiago starts to feel as if nothing comes his way. Nothing is fair. This starts a little flame in Santiago’s heart. A little flame of sin.
Wednesday comes, and Santiago is in the shoppe. There is a total of three people in the store, him, an old crotchety lady working the front desk focusing on filing her nails, and a man sleeping in the book isle. He has been hungry all day, and spent his only couple dollars on a piece of bread in the morning. “Well, if people aren’t fair to me, why should I be fair to them.” He puts three scones in his jacket pocket, and quickly scurries out of the door. “WAIT,” shouts the lady. “You forgot your umbrella on the front desk.”
“T-t-tt-tthank y-you.”
When Mitch and Santiago finally headed down to Winchester Creek, they were stopped by a sign that read, “DANGER. WILD ANIMALS.” However, that didn’t do a thing to the young duo. They walked down the dirt path, only to realize that they were slightly lost. “Do you know where we are going right now?”
“Not a clue, Mitch. Not a clue.”
The two kept walking down until they realized what they have seen before them. It was a moderately larger creature, that stood on all fours. Little did they know it was a wolf separated from it’s pack.
“Mitch, toss me that fish in my backpack, I want to see if he likes it.”
The two were so fascinated by the wolf because there was never anything like it near the school, and they have never learned about it’s potential danger. Mitch hands Santiago the fish, and Santiago hurls the fish as far as he can towards the wolf. The wolf deadlocks them in his eyes, and scurries away.
“Aw man, I wanted it to eat it.”
As they start walking back towards civilization again, they hear a slight rustle in the bushes behind them, it was the wolf! He scampers over towards the fish, digs in with his 6 inch teeth, and scurries away.
“Look Santi, he took it! We should come back tomorrow and try the same thing.”
The two part their ways at home, and comes a brand new morning. Mitch does his signature knock on Santiago’s door to let him know its him, and they two go right back at it. This time, the two have a bucket full of fish. “Santiago, honey, do you have any idea where all the trout went? I just stocked up on it two days ago…”
“Yea, uhh, I think dad took it to work for all his coworkers.”
“That’s strange… Okay well have fun, and remember to be safe.”
Biking down to the creek just at almost the exact same time as the previous day, Santiago lays down a fish near the stream of water. “This should get him. Mitch, I want to get enough footage so that I can draw him and show all the kids at school what beautiful creature I have saw.”
“Suit yourself…”
The two wait for a good 45 minutes before anything happens.
“Do you think he will show up Mitch?”
“I dont know, I hope he does.”
Another hour goes by. The two sit a hundred feet out from the bait. Dusk is starting to drop.
“Santi, maybe we should call it a day and just go home.”
Clutching his notebook and pencil, Santiago’s eyes turn as huge as the moon. A small dewdrop falls from his eyes. He was so set out to prove that this animal exists, that he was going to draw it. But instead his canvas was left blank that night, so were his thoughts. Santiago crawls into bed, and prays. “Please, let me furry friend come back. I-I miss him.”
Santiago falls asleep shortly after his prayer, and goes into a deep slumber. He thinks of all the fun he could’ve had with the animal, even though such a vicious one. 2 AM passes by, and Santiago wakes up, sweating beyond belief. He has an imagefy in his head, and decides to look out his window pane. Could it be? He sees a small figure near the ocean, but it could be anything at this point. He wants to believe it’s his friend. He tip toes downstairs, grabs a few fish from his backpack and puts on his wooly sweater. He cracks open the door, and subtly closes it. Making as little noise as possible, he runs out near the ocean. It is near pitch dark, but Santiago manages to see everything. The wolf spots him as he approaches it, but doesn’t run away this time. Instead, he pauses and stares at Santiago for a while. Santiago stares at him. He hurls the fish over towards him. The wolf devours it and demands seconds telepathically. So, Santiago throws another fish over to him. He chomps it up, and continues to walk away. “Goodbye for now my friend. I hope we cross paths again tomorrow.” Somehow, Santiago knew that those words, even though a wolf could not have understood anything he said in english, he got his message across.
The sun shines diligently on Santiago’s house the next morning. Santiago wakes up with a fever, rash and awful stomach ache. He is sicker than can be. “Santi, how did you get so sick? Oh my, it’s worse than I thought. You’re going to have to stay home for a few days.”
“Mom, no! I’m not that sick, really! I need to go to school today because uhh… We are learning something really interesting this week and I dont want to miss it!”
“Oh no, I’m not letting my precious Santiago get even worse than he is right now. You are staying home, that’s final. I will be making you some chicken noodle soup. Come downstairs in fifteen.”
Santiago recovers over a period of five days. Each day he grows stronger, hydrating as much as he can so he can be out the next day. He finally gets the chance to meet up with Mitch at the end of the week. “Santiago, I’m bored of Winchester Creek, can’t we go somewhere else for a change?”
“Mitch, I still never got my drawing of the creature. Also, did I tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I saw him again near my house. He was down by the ocean. I went over to him early in the morning and fed him again. I know he will be there, he is waiting for me. I just have been so sick I haven’t been able to hang out with you and go there.”
A loud bursts is shot into the air. Parrots squawk as if they were in an apocalypse.
“What was that?! Did you hear that Mitch?”
“Obviously… I think it came from Winchester creek, believe it or not. That’s the type of action I want to explore today! Come on Santi, let’s go!”
The two expeditioners pedal as fast as their little legs can hold up. They arrive near the shot, and see something lying down on the floor.
“What is that Mitch?”
“I don’t know, let’s get a better look at it.”
The two go closer and closer to the figure on the floor. It starts to reek of death. As they approach it, they figure out it is a carcass.
“Ew, look it’s a dead wolf. Is that the same one as before?! Please tell me it isn’t..”
“No Mitch, it isn’t. I can tell by the way it’s fur is designed. This one is a bit more grey than the other.”
“Do you know how this happened?”
“Well, let’s see. I see a bullet wound near the spine of him, must have been poachers. We learned all about them in class the other day while you were sick.”
“Jeez, what a cruel world. Okay, We need to find out who’s doing this and stop them. I really hope we can do this before my friend gets wounded.”
The two explore deeper and deeper into the forest.
“Santiago, I think we should stop now. It’s starting to get late and we need to head back to town. Why do you even care anyways? It’s not like we can even stop them even if we encountered them. They would still go on with their lives and lifestyles of shooting.”
“I don’t care what you think, Mitch. I am going to find him. I don’t think you understand what he means to me. You see, you are my only real good friend. Everyone else makes fun of me for being so idiotic and clingy about things. This wolf and I made a connection. We have bonded. Now you can come with me or not, either way I’m going out to find my second best friend.”
“I’m going home Santi, you’re crazy. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. You better not stay out too late and get yourself lost… He’s just a wolf, he doesn’t even remember your face. He doesn’t care about you and you shouldn’t care about him.”
“Be that as it may Mitch, but I think that it is worth it going after him. This is my decision, not yours. I will see you tomorrow.”
    “Whatever man, see ya.”
    Santiago continues to search for his wolf companion. But still no luck. 12AM strikes, and Santiago starts to go insane. He is lost in the forest, and lost in his mind. The only thing still keeping him together is his drive for friends. He doesn’t know where he is going, or where he is. All that floats in his mind is that he needs to find his special wolf friend, that he hasn’t even named yet. “Sanity. I’ll call him Sanity since he is the only way I can regain mine,” he speaks to himself.
    He grows worse and worse every minute he is in the cold, frigid darkness. He is freezing his bones off, practically taking an ice bath for his bones. He suddenly falls to the ground, tired, hopeless, near-death. He pants as he realizes Mitch wasn’t even a real friend, too. What “friend” what leave another friend in the forest alone let to die?
    His life has always been lonesome, even with such a loving family. He expresses himself through dedication towards those he loves, even though he has no evidence they love him back. Some say that Santiago is a slight perfectionist when it comes to companions. He hates letting people down, and will not let it go until the end of the day, even if it is a small thing. He starts to think of everything he has done in his life. But then he realizes he is so young, and hasn’t done anything big yet. “Why am I not a millionaire? I’ve heard of other kids do it. Why not me? What am I doing wrong?”
    Santiago lets go. His last breath dwells on the ideal of him being so caught up in trying to prove one’s friendship that death has caught up to him.
Days go by, and the whole town is in tears. Mitch cries but doesn’t feel it. His family bawls near his bed, reminiscing on better times when he was still present. The whole town is struck in awe, they can’t believe it. Yet, it doesn’t affect anyone’s lives. In a few months, everyone is still going to live their lives, not being affected by his decreasing. The only routine it changes is Mitch’s. No longer does he have a “friend” he can be with during the week.
His family plants a grave in the town’s cemetery. The epitaph on Santiago’s gravestone reads, “A truly adventurous boy. Though slightly independent and quiet in nature, Santiago shows his compassion by being such a loving soul to those he loves.”
Santiago’s personality is underappreciated by those surrounding him. He loves, but does not get love back. Maybe it is because he is too shy and timid to show it, even though he means it.
Mitch starts to think what an idiot he was leaving him all alone, although it doesn’t necessarily impact him. He may cry for weeks, months, even years. But the fact of the matter is that friends are only friends if they truly show leadership for each other. No matter what happens, they will stand by their side. The only thing Mitch could really even think about now was that he won the bet.