Chapter 3

**** FAY'S PARENTS POV ****

His mother did not believe his story of taking a walk but she did not say anything. She did not make known her suspicion. After the little talk with him about his suspicious night absence, she returned to her room and when she got there, his father was sitting on the bed. His little glasses sat on his face as usual and his focus was on his laptop. He had it on his thighs and he was typing away. She walked to where he sat on the bed and sat there too.

"I am worried." She said.

He kept the laptop on the bed and turned to her.

"About what?" He asked.

"Fay." She simply said.

"What about him?" He asked.

"He has been leaving the house for quite a night sometime now and I am worried." She explained.

"Have you asked him where he goes to?" He asked her.

"I have, he said he goes to take a walk but I do not believe him." She replied.

He did say any other thing for a while and when he spoke up, he asked her what she wanted to do. She told him, they were going to follow him the next night he leaves the house. He told her that was too extreme but she insisted. She was suspecting him of being in a fishy business with the boys from the neighbourhood. The man was reluctant but he agreed, he wanted to do it for Fay and his wife's peace of mind. He returned to his laptop and Fay's mother went to bed. She woke up at dawn and went to check up on the boy and he was there on his bed, sleeping peacefully.

The next night, she could hear the boy sneaking out. She woke his father up and he too could hear the silent noises he was making. They waited patiently for the boy to leave the house and when he did, they waited again so he can cover a distance before going out. They finally went outside and the wind was chilly, the boy had not yet gone far and they could see the boy's grey shirt and black trousers. They followed him and watched as he would turn around occasionally to see if he was being followed, he was heading to the woods and that confirmed his mother's suspicion. Certainly, he had a fishy business.

They kept following and when he got to the entrance of the woods, he turned around again. This time, as if he knew they were following. He entered the woods and they saw him go behind a tree, they sneakily entered the woods too and they watched the tree he went behind, waiting for him to come out and explain why he was in the woods. But Instead of him coming out behind the tree, a wolf did. A big black wolf. He was coming at them and  His mother shrieked loudly and buried her face in his father's chest, crying. He stopped in his tracks and his father looked at him and knew instantly that that was Fay. He called him and the wolf turned around and ran. It was definitely Fay and he kept calling but the wolf kept running. It ran so fast and it was out of sight in no time.

His father wrapped his hands around his mother's head and pulled her in for a hug. The woman was crying profusely. They stood in the woods for a while and his father carried his mother's bridal style all the way back to the house. They could not sleep all through the night, they kept wondering if what they saw was true or if was it just a dream. His mother kept going to his room, hoping to find her child on the bed sleeping peacefully, but there was no Fay. His father was dumbstruck, he did not know what that was but that was not his child, Fay. And he certainly would not raise a wolf in his house. They spoke to each other and they decided it was time Fay knows the truth and they were going to tell it to him if ever he decides to come back.

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He ran deep into the woods and when he was sure that no one was following him, he stopped and transformed, he was devastated and shattered. He did not want his parents to find out about him that way, he remembered the fright in his mother's eyes and the disbelief in his father's eyes. He walked over to a tree stump and sat on it. He buried his face in his palms and cried. He wondered how he would return back home. Now that his parents had known about him, the certainty he always felt that they would love him regardless was beginning to fade away and anxiety replaced it. He wondered and doubted if they would take him back. He reached over to his black silky hair and pulled it, groaning loudly and angrily.

He did not go home that night. Neither did he go home the next day or night. He spent two nights in the woods, feeding on fruits and vegetables. He was scared of going home, he was scared of facing his parents and he was certainly scared of rejection and losing his family. He looked dirty and unkept, his skin had bruises all over it from insects biting and scratching. He had not had a bath and his skin felt sticky and he stank. He looked pitiful and on the third night, he walked out of the woods and headed back to his house. Not that he was ready for anything, he was very scared and anxious. But he knew he had to go back to his house or he dies in the woods.

When he got to the house, he did not sneak inside. He wanted to be sure if his parents will welcome him again, he knocked on the door and his mother's voice echoed inside, telling the person at the door to hold on. She did not take too long and she opened the door. She gasped in surprise at the sight of him at the door.

"Who is that?" His father asked.

"Fay." His mother replied.

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