The adolescent boy lay on the bed, lost in his thoughts,
the pleasant surroundings of his room and the colorful posters
on the walls ignored, his gaze fixed blankly on the ceiling. With
his breathing heavy and his face a mask of confusion and concern,
his mind labored over the same jumbled ideas once again. His thoughts
coming in slow, jumbled spurts, they tumbled together, forming
a half-shaped mass of understanding. Brooding over the situation
facing him, he tried once again to conceptualize it, his uneasiness
growing as he grasped only its shadowy outlines.
After lying still for quite some time, caught up
in his worried confusion, his thoughts were interrupted when he
noticed the slow and subtle change in the light bathing the room
around him, the shadows stretching out along the walls. Glancing
at the clock on the night-stand, then moving his gaze quickly
to the window, confirmed the lateness of the hour. Seeing the
sun sinking low in the sky, ready to dip below the horizon, his
worries were escalated as the inevitability of the situation forced
itself upon him.
His thoughts raced out of control at the idea of
the approaching night. Over the past few days he had come to some
understanding of it, but understanding did not make what was happening
to him any easier, his mind struggling to place meanings and consequences
upon the changes he felt welling up within him. Already he could
feel the forces pressing in upon him, just as with the nights
before, and they were slowly building, threatening to consume
him.
What was happening to him? And yet he knew, or at
least could give a name to it, but still it did nothing to ease
his mind. As before, with the sun's rays slowly dying, he could
feel the forces of the night reaching out to him, trying to impress
its wishes upon his body. Soon the moon would be out, and the
full power of it would wash over him, could he resist its call?
He'd tried to fight against it, but it was in vain,
as the changes, minor at first, but growing in intensity with
the continuing nightly progression, forced their way upon his
flesh. Each night the changes had been more pronounced, the moon
marching relentlessly through its cycle, and tonight, in just
a few hours, the full moon would rise; surely tonight would be
the worst of it, as the changes within him took their toll.
As his eyes stared with a heavy gaze into the encroaching
darkness of twilight, a quiet knock on the door intruded into
his racing thoughts, pulling him, if only briefly, away from his
worries.
Turning away from the window, he sat up on the bed,
watching the door; there was another quiet knock, before it slowly
opened and his mother peeked her head inside. Seeing him sitting
there, she regarded him with a concerned look on her face, he
returned her gaze, but his was dull and preoccupied.
"Scott, are you okay? You've been up here all
afternoon..."
Pausing, taken aback by her intrusion, he finally
forced out "yeah, I'm alright Mom."
"But you've been so quiet lately, and spending
so much time in your room this past week. Is there anything wrong?"
His pulse quickening, his mind racing at her inquisition,
afraid of being discovered, he answered her. "No, everything's
fine... I just felt like being alone. Okay?" his voice straining
at the end of his reply.
Watching her son, looking at him as if trying to
search for some insight to his behavior, her face reflected her
concern. "Okay Scott, I just wanted to make sure you were
feeling alright." Then, trying to help but just grasping
at straws, she finished, "if there was anything bothering
you, you know you could tell me... Do you want to talk about it?"
"No... it's nothing," his thoughts defensive
and his voice becoming more insistent, all his efforts were focused
on avoiding discovery.
"Are you sure?' her voice trailing off, unsure
of what to say.
"Yes. Now just leave me alone" he almost
snapped at her. Then in desperation he turned, rolling over on
the bed, withdrawing from the conversation to stare at the wall
in front of him. His heart beating loudly against the heavy silence,
the moments dragged on before he finally heard her shut the door,
leaving him alone with his thoughts. The relief of ending the
encounter mixing with his other jumbled concerns, his weary mind
found temporary solace as he fell off into sleep.
Awaking slowly to the darkness, gathering his bearings,
his memories returned to him as his eyes adjusted to the soft
light pouring in through the window. His thoughts became more
agitated when he realized the source of this silvery glow. Jumping
out of bed to stand before the window, he saw the pale orb of
the full moon rising up before him in the darkness, casting its
spell across the world, washing the landscape with its ghostly
presence.
Throwing open the window, unable to resist the call,
he felt the cool chill of the night air engulf him, as the power
of the moon's glow poured over his body. Feeling the energy building,
his mind reacted, his thoughts becoming frenzied, consumed with
the flickering understanding of what was about to overcome him.
As the power grew within him, his body became charged,
his nerve-endings running hot and cold, his senses expanding against
their bounds. As before, he tried to fight it in futility, but
his body pushed on, changing against his wishes. Tonight, as he'd
thought, the changes took him farther than they'd gone before,
much farther.
With his whole body tingling, engulfed with the power
flooding upon him, he scratched wildly at his itching skin, quickly
shedding his clothing for some margin of relief. His nerves all
firing at once with the energy surging through them, new hairs
began to emerge from his skin, growing wildly, knitting together
to form a coarse covering, then blending into a finer coat of
fur.
At the same time he felt his flesh becoming malleable,
stretching and molding to the forces exerted upon it. With the
power surging through him, the pain was replaced by wondrous new
sensations, as he gave in to the pressures of the change, and
endorphins swept through his system. His vision blurring, the
physical effects of the reworking of his body overwhelmed his
senses, leaving his mind reeling from their intensity.
Moments later the change was complete, leaving him
dizzy from the rush of those new feelings, gasping at the vague
pleasure of it all, the pinnacles of sensation now just fading
into memory. Blinking his eyes, which now saw the landscape of
the night with a sharper vision, he glanced down at his changed
form, having fully realized the hidden potential locked within
his body.
Relaxing the grip his paws held on the window sill,
he crouched there, regaining his equilibrium as his senses adjusted,
re-tuning themselves to his altered body. Panting through his
partially-open muzzle, he caught his breath, perusing the moonlit
landscape before him with newly-opened eyes, his tail twitching
in excitement behind him.
Then crouching down on his haunches he leapt with
powerful grace, jumping through the window, coming to land on
the ground a few feet below. Breaking into a quick-paced gait,
running easily on all fours, he sped across the yard into the
silvery-lit fields beyond. Off to run with the moon, his thoughts
were free and untroubled, the awkwardness of the time of change
forgotten for the moment.
Looking out the window of her room, his mother watched
him leave to explore the new world just now opened up to him.
Sitting there, watching with mixed emotions, a bittersweet smile
crept across her muzzle. Her lupine ears twitched ever so slightly,
as if recounting old memories of her youth; "adolescence
is always a little difficult," she thought to herself.
Copyright 1996, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net