“What the—-“, he said as he almost fell over backward and then caught his balance. Ardwyn directed the flashlight back to the same spot but the pair of eyes was gone.

He took a few steps out onto the moonlit grass. If something was going to chase him at least he was within safe distance to run back to the house just in case.

What could have had green eyes like that? Did deer have green eyes like that at night? He wasn’t sure. Not having been raised in a rural area, and having lived in a city all of his life he had hardly ever seen any big animals come out at night.

He stood there in the silence of the night for a long time, periodically making sure that he was still in safe distance of being able to get back into the house. The distance between him and the edge of the woods was just a few feet away. He slowly walked a little closer toward the woods.

He shone his flashlight around, meticulously making sure he didn’t miss a spot.

What could he do anyway? He couldn’t be scared all the time living in this house, too afraid to go outside.

As time passed he gradually calmed down. The area out here was quite peaceful, under the moon, surrounded by forests as far as the eye could see on the horizon.

His thoughts drifted back to the events of the previous week. The first day of school. Jonny, the bully. Mr. Robinson, another bully but of a different kind. He could care less about them now. Forget them, he thought. Let them be. Who cares.

The wind picked up with a gentle breeze that blew his hair. Next week he would get a haircut. Get ready for next week at the new school. Ardwyn wondered, what were the other students like there? The teachers?

He promised his mother that he would do well at school. He intended to keep the promise. Now, he had a new drive. He didn’t have to worry about his money situation anymore. His father seemed to be well off. And he seemed to not really care nor mention anything about finances. He could probably get him new clothes, perhaps even a new car.

Ardwyn realized his dream of getting a job at a local grocery store was suddenly not important anymore. A strange feeling came over him. So much of his energy over the summer had been spent thinking and planning around landing his first job with now being just replaced by a giant void.

Without having to work he could focus on school. He could use the circular area in the tower room to study, and no one would bother him. His father seemed to be busy anyway most of the time with his work.

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And just wait until he invited his school friends over to his house. They wouldn’t believe the mansion he was living in. They would treat him like others treated Michael. The rich kid. Someone they secretly wished they could be. Well, now that was his life. And none of the other school students would know his past of poverty, having to wear the same clothes, not being able to afford lunch. He would never tell them. He would act like he always came from old wealth, and this kind of lifestyle was all he ever knew.

Ardwyn straightened out his posture. He could hardly believe the sudden turn of events in his life.

He started playing with the flashlight switch, turning the light on and off. He looked back at his house. That’s my house. That giant mansion is actually my house now.

Unbelievable, still it seemed. Ardwyn considered how we would present himself at school. He had a clean beginning. A fresh start. No one knew him. He could pretend like he was anybody and he could even come up with a new nickname for himself. Ardy. That sounded pretty cool, he thought.

It was as if his old name was associated with all the bad memories and experiences. Ardwyn, the poor kid. There is Ardwyn, the dork with no money.

Not anymore. Ardwyn would now come from old wealth. A rich kid who lived in a mansion and could care less about what others thought of him. The school girls would love the air of mystery that he would put on.

Ardwyn looked around. How long had he been here out in the night? He was calm and collected now. Any feelings of fear had passed. Of course, the noises must have belonged to some wild animal. He had overreacted.

The area around Ardwyn formed a glass clearing, with some small bushes here and there. Beyond the clearing stood the toolshed he had noticed earlier when getting out of the car.

Ardwyn never had a toolshed before. How cool would that be, he wondered, to store his things in a toolshed? Maybe he would take up a new hobby, and then have plenty of room to store his stuff there. Fishing perhaps. There had to be a lake around here somewhere.

Why not check out the toolshed right now? Ardwyn wondered. On second thoughts he discarded the idea. Even though he felt a lot safer than before, there was no reason to tempt fate. He had plenty of time tomorrow to explore the grounds.

Ardwyn started to feel sleepy and a drowsy warm feeling came over him. He yawned. And then, a few rustles suddenly sounded from the bushes, in the woods, near the far side of the clearing.

What kind of animal could that be? Maybe he could get a little closer and shine the flashlight. That would satisfy his curiosity and provide a nice resolution to the night, which might help him sleep better.

The wind suddenly howled loudly, startling him. Ardwyn took a few steps towards the edge of the woods with the flashlight pointed ahead.

There. That’s as close as he would get. He shone the flashlight around. Nothing. Must have been just some wild animal.

He rubbed his eyes in tiredness. He was done. Time to go to bed. He turned around and made his way toward the house. But where the house once stood was just an empty field.