Cindy and Christopher "The Beginning"

The moving van backed slowly into the long drive way and stopped in front of the light blue house. Cindy jumped from the van as soon as it stopped. She stretched her long legs and bent to touch her toes. She stood and looked around at her new surroundings, she heard her mothers voice calling to her.

"Come on Cindy, we have a lot to do right now. As soon as your father gets here they are going to start moving this stuff in, so we need to go make sure the house is ready."

Cindy sighed and turned towards the blue house. It was bigger than the last one. It had a privacy fence all the way around the property and a pool in the backyard. She smiled to herself, maybe this was a good move after all. She walked towards the big light grey double doors of the house. Something moved, and even though it was turning dusk out, Cindy saw it. She turned around quickly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the little boy that was crouched down trying his best to hide from her behind one of the well manicured Holly bushes.

"I'm hiding, stupid", he snapped back

"Not very well....so now who is the stupid one?" Cindy came around the bush and stood over the boy.

He suddenly jumped up and pushed her down. The boy jumped over Cindy in an attempt to get away. Cindy managed to grab his foot, pulling his shoe off. The boy stumbled and fell.

"Give me back my shoe!" he reached at the shoe. Cindy held it out of his reach and stuck her tongue out at him. In the next instant the two of them were rolling around in the grass.

"Hey, hey now. Stop this." A mans strong hands pulled the two of them apart. "We can't have this, you two are going to be neighbors!" he stood them both on their feet. The boy grabbed at his shoe and Cindy snatched it out of his reach yet again. "Oh come on now Cindy give the kid back his shoe. You can't wear it." He chuckled.

Cindy threw the shoe in the little boys direction. He scrambled after it and slipping it back on his foot he ran without looking back until he was through the front entrance of the fence. Cindy looked up at her brother.

“Where’s dad?” She asked him

“He’ll be here soon. I came on ahead of him. You know he prefers traveling at night.”

Cindy shrugged her shoulders and headed towards the house.

“You really have to learn to control your temper Cin, you could’ve hurt that boy”.

“I wasn’t going to hurt him Simon.....besides he started it, he called me stupid and he pushed me down!”

Simon stopped and looked down at Cindy, "It amazes me how you get older but still act like a child."

Cindy turned and looked at Simon, balling her fists up she stomped her foot and yelled, "Have you seen me Simon! I AM a child!" she ran all the way in the house and up the stairs. Not knowing just yet which bedroom would be hers she paused looking at the closed doors.

A door all the way at the end of the hallway caught her attention, it didn't look like the other plain white doors. It was white with a swirl pattern in many different faded colors on it. Cindy ran towards that door. Opening it she encountered more stairs. She climbed them and found herself in the attic.

Cindy was able to stand upright and walk the entire length of the attic, there were windows that went from the slanted roof to the floor all the way around, giving the person standing there a full view of the property, the woods beyond the fence and the rolling ocean beyond that.

"Wow", Cindy muttered under her breathe.

"We figured you would like this room. It's one of the main reason's your mother and I decided on this house."

"Dad!", Cindy turned at the sound of her dad's voice and ran to hug him, "I do love it." she looked up at his smiling face.

"Of course we can put up your blackout curtains or some blinds, whatever you prefer this time." He cupped his daughters smiling face under her chin with his hand, "and I will talk to Simon about teasing you. He really doesn't mean any harm Cin, he just doesn't fully grasp how hard all this has been for you." Cindy nodded her head yes and buried her smiling face into her dads chest. He squeezed her tight, "Come on lets go help your mom, before she comes hunting us down."

A couple of weeks later Cindy was out in the late evening taking a swim. She again noticed a shadowy movement as she pulled herself up onto the side of the pool.

"I can see you, I've seen you all week. You know...you are really bad at this." she spoke in the direction of the cabana her parents had placed out beside the pool. The same little boy that she had encountered on her move in day stepped out from behind the cabana. Cindy looked him up and down, he looked like he had been rolling around in the dirt. His pants were at least 2 inches to short for him and his shirt had seen better days. His shoulder length jet black hair had what seemed to be twigs and leaves tangled inside it.

Cindy scoffed, "I would invite you to swim but we did just have the pool cleaned."

"I don't like water." the little boy mumbled.

"Obviously..." Cindy mumbled back, then clearing her throat she asked what his name was.

He looked at her through hooded deep set eyes, "Christopher." he replied.

"Well Christoper, I have a question for you...how in the hell are you getting in here? I have walked this entire perimeter and there are no holes under or in the fence, there are no over hanging trees, and the fence is locked at all 3 entrances."

Christopher moved towards Cindy and sat down next to her. Cindy looked closer at him and her face softened, he looked worn and tired. She heard his stomach growl.

"Do you live around here?", she asked.

"I used to live here..." He glanced around at the backyard.

Cindy looked around and back at him, "What are you saying? This used to be your house?"

Christopher shook his head and turned his gaze down into the pool, "I haven't had a house since my parents left."

"What do you mean? Where did they go? You mean to tell me you have been sleeping outside....here in this yard?" Cindy slid back down into the pool so she could face Christopher. He avoided her eyes but shook his head yes. His stomach growled again. Cindy clicked her tongue.

"Come on let me get you something to eat." she climbed out of the pool again, wrapped herself in her over sized towel and headed for the house. She stopped and looked back at Christopher who was just sitting there, "Well come on....If you are worried about my parents and my brother, they are not here...they...uh ....work at night."

Christopher looked up at her, "They leave you here alone at night?", he stood and begin to follow Cindy.

"I can take care of myself." she stated and opened the back door.

Three weeks later, Cindy came bounding down the steps two at a time. She ran through the foyer and was almost out the front door when she heard her dad speak.

"Where you headed in such a hurry?" he looked up from the paper he was looking at. Cindy had blew right past him.

"Hey dad, what are you doing home? Just meeting Chris we are going to go down to the pier tonight."

"You two have certainly grown close over this last month." He appeared to be in deep thought for a moment, "I'm home because I felt like we were all neglecting you, I was going to take you with me tonight."

Cindy smiled, "I'm fine dad, really! Chris may be a little younger than me but he is really cool. I like hanging out with him."

"Have you been eating your....fruit?" her dad asked.

Cindy shook her head yes, "I picked some fresh off the Pear Tree just last night."

"Alright, go on have fun and be careful." He paused after he said that last part, he and Cindy looked at each other and both of them doubled over in laughter, "sorry old habits die hard."

Cindy raced through the woods leading to the pier, she kept her eyes open for any movement along the way. And as if on cue, the shadowy figure she had grown accustomed to seeing over this last month joined her as they cleared the treeline and stepped out onto the rocky beach.

Cindy looked over at her friend as he raised his head, closed his eyes and let out a long, throaty, eerie howl. She marveled at how thick and curly his jet black hair had become, he seemed so much older and so much bigger than anything that could come from that small mousy boy she had fought with just a short couple of months ago.

Christopher stood tall on his strong muscular haunches, he looked over at Cindy and suddenly had the goofiest look on his face as his tongue flopped to one side of his mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell over onto his side.

Cindy laughed, "Come on stop playing around. Get up lets go to the pier! I knew this was going to be good for you, it's a full blood moon tonight. You look amazing Chris!"

Christopher stood on all fours, he beckoned Cindy with his eyes. She hesitated at first and then she climbed onto his back. They were at the pier in a matter of seconds. Cindy laughed heartily. She slid down his silky coat and landed on her feet.

"I wish you could talk when you are like this. I can't wait until I can fully read thoughts."

Unaware of the eye's watching them, they both sat down at the very end of the pier. They were a site to behold for sure, a little girl wise beyond her looks and a werewolf larger than his years. Cindy placed her arm around Christopher's back and he leaned into her.

In the backyard, a few days later, curiously Christopher sniffed the Pear tree that had been recently planted in the far corner of the yard.

"Don't touch that!" Cindy yelled.

Chris yelped as an electric shock threw him backwards , he landed on his back over near the pool. Cindy rushed to help him up.

"Sorry about that. It's protected by an electric force field."

"Is that the Pear Tree you were saying you have to eat from everyday?" he asked

"Yeah, we all do. It helps keep our appetite suppressed. Mom and Dad came up with it, it's not really a pear as I'm guessing you know by now. But it's simple form keep people from asking questions."

"But not about the fact that you never age, right? Is that why you all move so much?"

Cindy nodded her head yes,"We found this place and figured it would be good for us, we are basically living out here by ourselves, no neighbors for miles and miles. No one to ask about the freak of a daughter who never grows. Simon was lucky he was changed at the right age, he can dress himself to look older."

"Why did they change you so young?" Chris asked.

"Mom says it wasn't their choice. I was involved in a car wreck and lost a lot of blood the doctors said I was going to die without a transfusion, Simon heard them talking and all he really heard was them saying I was going to die......," Cindy's voice trailed off.

Christopher smiled at her, "Well I am glad you all moved here. I was lost and basically starving to death. If Simon hadn't saved you.....then you couldn't have saved me."

Cindy smiled. She looked around again at the big blue house with the double grey doors, the privacy fence and pool, she looked over at her new friend as he awkwardly tried to keep himself afloat in the pool. Cindy threw Chris the flotation device and laughed to herself,

"Yeah, this move was turning out to be good after all."