"You're turning into a tree."

That is what I was told two weeks ago. A tree. Random isn't it? Then it didn't make any sense, and even now it doesn't. But I think I believe the old man now. Well, I think. I still have to think about that one. It makes more sense now though. In a way.

It started about a year ago. When I was fifteen. I stopped eating. My Mother took me for being anorexic and freaked out. Like I would do that. I just…lost the will to eat? No, not that. I was just never hungry. At all. When I did eat after the first few bites the food just made me sick. I was stuck drinking more liquids then before, and only a few bites here and there. I didn't get sick though. I grew paler, if that was even possible. My Mother worried from time to time when she was home. When. But I never thought that I was turning into a tree. I just thought I was going through a phase or something. Or perhaps I WAS sick. I just never got around to going to the doctors. I don't like them. They wave large words in your face and expect you to follow their directions, like you don't have the faintest clue that they don't know what they are doing. They don't. I was told that I had a cold once. I was in the hospital that night with appendicitis. Nice cold Doc.

I preferred not to be diagnosed with some mental disorder. I'm perfectly sane thanks. I don't need a doctor to tell me that.

I haven’t eaten for two days now. I had a lot of water though. I was busy, reading on my bed when my mother came into my room. She interrupted my act of doing nothing. The book really wasn’t that enjoyable anyway. Some fantasy romance novel that was done a million times before and I all ready knew how it ended. The main hero, who was dashingly good looking but with a tragic past, found himself fighting too many people to count with dastardly odds,. All to save the girl who, more then once ended up ripping her top and exposing her embarrassingly large chest to the world. I should be a writer. The general public of idiots loved that sort of thing. My mother’s loud stomping foot steps entered my room just as I turned the page to find myself reading over the part where the bad guy feels up the chick. And oh, her top rips.

“Hun, shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?” Her sickly sweet voice dripped rotten honey as she used my bedside mirror to fix her shoulder length blond hair. From the position of her and my bed, I got an eye full of something I didn’t want. She was wearing to short of a skirt again, and her underwear was no more then a thong. Disgusting. I knew my mother was single, but did she really have to dress like that? I wasn’t stupid; I knew why she was late coming home most days.

“Mother I haven’t been to school in a month now. I dropped out.” I spoke like it was nothing, because for me, well it wasn’t. I was to smart for the other students anyway. Since they didn’t use the term genius anymore I was known as an exceptionally gifted student. I could pass Grade twelve with full marks right now. I just didn’t feel like doing it. No that my mother figure care.

“That’s nice Hun. Make sure to walk your dog okay? He’s been cooped up so long.” See? I just mumbled some reply, wishing her a good time at work as she disappeared. Leaving my door open. Again. Damnit. Some times I swear if that woman’s shirt wasn’t so damn tight she’d fall apart. I suspect I should be nicer to her. What she being my care giver and protector. Ha. I’ll give her thanks for the house and the money she leaves on the counter. But I’m the one who buys the groceries, cooks, cleans and makes sure the bills are paid. Not to mention if it wasn’t for me, our taxes wouldn’t get done. And they say today’s youth is ignorant.

I listened to her walk down the stairs, stopping for a moment to fix her heels before going out the door. I waited for the sound of her car squealing out the drive way before bothered to even move, a groan of pain escaping my lips when I got up to fast. My room blurred as I held my head, trying my best to get rid of the fuzzy outlook I had developed. I found myself leaning over the bedside mirror like my mother had. Thankfully minus the thong. Ew.

A rather interesting figure stared back at me. Pale to the point of being sickly, noticeably so with a tinge of green to it. My eyes looked sunken thanks to the purple bags underneath, and I winced at that. I thought I had nice eyes. Usually a bright blue, kind of the color the sky was on a clear day. But now, I was reminded of a dead fish. And I quickly looked away, brushing my messy brown hair over my forehead to shadow my eyes. The people outside, when I walked my dog enjoyed staring. Fuckers.

Normally, my room was clean, sans the random shirt or two thrown here and there. I grabbed one on my way out, a hooded sweater that dwarfed my rather short five foot something form. I think it was four inches last time I checked. Hopefully five. But I doubted I was going to grow anymore. I suppose the sweater didn’t help, but if anything it had a rather cute little puppy on the back and the logo of the pet store that I volunteered at from time to time. See, it wasn’t that bad.

“Hey, Winter, come here boy!”

Nothing. Well that was different. Confused I turned into the hallway, looking into the numerous rooms for my dog. Well, mutt more then anything but I still loved him. Some times I wondered if I loved him more then my mother. Not like I would tell her that though. He didn’t seem to be upstairs, and it was hard for a dog his size to hide under anything.

“Hey Warrik get your skinny ass down here boy! Your Ma let your dog out again and he’s going to eat me!”

Startled for a moment, I went back into my bedroom and looked out my window, which had a view of the front lawn. I saw my friend Davis clinging madly to my dog. Who wasn’t trying to eat him, but trying to lick his face off. Like Winter would take a bite out of something that ugly.

“Yea yea I’m coming down just don’t let go of his collar!”

As much as I hated to admit it, even my yell sounded tired. Sighing I slipped on my shoes, making my way outside to find Davis, who could boast five inches more then me in height, with my dog sitting on his chest and pining him to the ground. Winter was in fact not a white dog, but a pitch black cross of either a grey hound and something shaggy, or I don’t know what. I was just thankful that Davis had happened by for what ever reason he had. Mom regularly accidentally let him out and never told me. Thankfully Winters was kind of dumb. Sweet, but dumb.

Manhandling my dog off of my friend took some time, scooping my arms around his barrel of a chest and pulling. I could feel him strain to get away from me, but I didn’t give up, and with what little force I had inside of my I got him off, and he sat there looking up at me with cute puppy eyes that I just glared at. Didn’t work anymore. Maybe a few years ago, but now I just looked away. It helped.

“I see you finally got your ass down here Warrik. Thank you. Oh, you’re wearing that shirt again? Off to go throw yourself into your little causes?” Davis smiled at me, his almost crew cut hair and hardened face making me scowl at him. I didn’t care how tall he was, nor how easily he thought he could kick my ass.

“You’re a condescending bastard Davis. Get a life. Thanks for catching my dog.” I smiled sweetly at him.

“I know.” He smiled back, brushing his jeans off before ramming his hand into my shoulder in what I suspected was suppose to be a loving pat. But I bowled under it, and it took me a moment to straighten back up, grimacing.

“Woah Warrik, you need more sunlight. Later man.” I would have said something back to that, but I just watched as he grinned and walked off, only veering to harass some poor woman walking down the street on the other side. Horny bastard.

Walking with my dog to the park was a treat. Really. He walked me more like it. I did enjoy the park though. It was lush and green, and rarely had more then a few people in it. Nature perhaps was not their thing.

Here I could let Winter roam free, chase the squirrels and other little critters that ran away from his searching paws. A tree offered protection from the small wind that had built up, and I rested against it, eyes closed as the confused barks of my dog filled my ears, then drifted off. As if my head was being pushed in water and everything was muffled.

I thought I had opened my eyes, but everything was dark. I could feel bugs crawling over me, over my feet. Wait no roots. A nest of wood peckers was inside of me, pounding. Pain, and with a gasp I fell over, curled up on the ground and whimpering.

What the hell was that?

Slowly a backed away from the tree, eying it, but I felt myself back up against someone, and I looked up into the smiling, kind face of some old man. His beard was neatly trimmed, salt and pepper color. He had kind eyes, and for a moment I trusted him. Till he spoke.

“You’re turning into a tree boy.” He smiled, still happy as ever.

“W-what?” I looked at him, incredulous. A tree? Sure, and he probably thought that he was Jesus or something.

“You don’t eat right? You drink a lot of water. You’re pale because you don’t go outside. And you just connected with that birch tree. Ah, don’t say anything. Just take this card, and phone me if you want to know more hmm?” When he smiled his eyes crinkled up, and he didn’t look to crazy. I took the card, not really knowing what else to do.

It was white, with a small tribal like tree design in black, with the words “Haven Hotel” and under it “special cases only.” Confused I flipped it over to find a number printed neatly at the bottom, and when I looked back up, the guy was gone.

“Creepy…”

It didn’t take me long to find my dog and get the fuck out of there. No way in hell was I staying in the same park with disappearing old men who thought I was turning into a tree.

But, I couldn’t help but believe him.