This is the start of my soon to be book/short story. I've kind of hit a creative block but I'd love to get everyone's input! Here goes:
Sadness gripped him with it's two rough hands and shook him about. Zoran lie awake staring out at the dark sky wishing that some stars would appear so he would have something to preoccupy himself with. Yet the sky remained a hopeless abyss and reflected, precisely, how he felt inside. The trees silently swayed in the cool breeze while bats flew about, skillfully gliding through the branches. How he longed to be one of them. Slowly, he got out of bed and slid his feet silently into his fuzzy indigo slippers. He admired his feet for a moment, then stood up and crept over to the door. The floor creaked underneath him, screaming at him as if it somehow knew the boy shouldn't be out of bed. He paused, listened for any hint of movement, then continued on. He made his way through the hallway into the kitchen. Shadows of the trees from outside littered the floor and walls of the room giving off an eerie vibe. The boy gave an involuntary shudder as the moonlight illuminated random parts of the kitchen. His eyes were drawn to the shimmering sink faucet that leaked miniscule drops of water. He tip-toed over to it and turned the squeaky knob until the leaking ceased. He stood still and stared out of the window until his temptation grew too strong. He slid the back door open and stepped out into the night air. He felt the rush of the cool breeze on his skin and his dark hair blew into his eyes. He brushed it to the side and made his way across the field. His slippers grew damp as he got farther away from his house but he didn't really mind. His eyes were set on the enchanting forest that lay ahead of him. Shadows of unidentifiable creatures moved about the scene and intrigued Zoran. He had never snuck out of his house before and he wasn't sure it was the best decision. But he knew that staying inside his room would soon drive him crazy. Every day in there was a constant reminder of his inferior position, for he was neither brilliant, incredibly talented, or wonderful with people. In fact, he had never had many friends. People had seemed far too challenging and, frankly, annoying. Nevertheless, he felt lonely every so often. No matter how many books he buried himself in, he could never quite fill the emptiness that ate away at his chest. It seemed that nothing could or would ever fix it. Countless times he had thought the hole would somehow patch itself up enough to allow him to be happy again. He was proven wrong. Time would definitely not help him heal. But that made him wonder: What would? Lost in his thoughts, he had not realized that he had walked into the forest so far that he could barely see his house. Zoran rarely ever called his house home. He hadn't considered his house a home, or what a home ought to be, in a long time. Home meant a place that provided comfort, belonging, and above all, contentment. His house was far from that description. Every day he was bombarded with memories of Adar and he couldn't help but feel melancholy. For years after his brother had disappeared, Zoran would wake up in the middle of the night screaming, crying, and shaking uncontrollably. It drove him crazy that he didn't know what had become of his brother or even if he was still alive. But the worst of it all was that the last thing he could remember was that they had been fighting the morning he had vanished. Zoran was upset at Adar for something insignificant that he really couldn't remember anymore. All he knew was that he would give anything to apologize to Adar and say a proper goodbye. He soon felt a more than familiar lump form in his throat and tears stung his eyes. He fought them back as he usually did and preoccupied himself with a peculiar looking track in the ground. It had to have come from a gigantic animal considering the track was three times the size of Zoran's foot. He observed the odd shape of it. It was in the shape of a rounded square with two pointed toes, both of which were great in size. But what was the most unusual of all was that there were only three tracks. Zoran considered that the animal could have climbed up a tree, but no trees were close enough for that to have been possible. So he was led to the realization that the animal must have flown away. What kind of animal was this? He pondered for a moment, not knowing if he should continue on in the forest. But despite the slight warning that went off in his head, he proceeded. He stepped over fallen branches and dodged thorny bushes as the ground underneath his feet squished. He grimaced when his slipper dug into a pile of mud and his foot slipped out and landed on a pile of wet leaves. He went barefoot from then on. He didn't know where he was going or what he was going to find there but his house was long gone and he found that oddly comforting. The hole inside his chest was beginning to throb less and less as he walked farther and farther. The scent of wet grass and upcoming winter filled up his senses until he thought no more. The sound of the wind echoed through his mind.
