"Robbie, Robbie wake up." A tattered voice sounded in my blanket-covered head.
   

"Is it lunch yet?" I had asked, eyes closed and barely moving my lips. The tattered voice sounded in my head again.

   "No lunch was four hours ago." Little did I know, this tattered voice sounding in my ears was my dad.

  "Then why are you waking me?"
   

"We're here." If I were this excited at math, I would be faster than a calculator calculating. This was my dream. I've always wanted to be here, in this magical place, but always not. The stories of the night were probably meant to be cool, but not for me. The night has always been a silent killer in my life. I do everything to avoid him. I shut the blinds, and cower in my room during his striking hours. The last time I went into the night, I couldn't see, and everything was gone. Everything but the eyes surrounding me.

I snapped back to my sences and let the words that were just told to me sink in. I was here! I was Up North! My seat belt locked as if I was in a car crash, I sprang up so fast. I then whipped my sliding car door open, and I almost died with joy. The beautiful smell of Up North climbed up my nose, and I burst with excitement. It smelled like grandmas cookies, but it wasn't cookies, it was nature's equivalent. The mesmerizing smell of water dancing in its oddly shaped home, was releasing its fishy smell. And the crushed blackberries ripened by their bushes, everything is just amazing.

"I've got to turn on the water upstairs, why don't you unpack your clothes and make you bed? The sheets are in in the front room." My dad said, getting quite as he walked outside. We call our big cabin, that we never stay in, 'upstairs' because our cabin is farther that the road than it. At least that is what dad said on the way up.
   

"Hmmm hm hmmmmm hmmm hmmm hmmmm..." These repeated boring noises were the only sounds I made for a while, for I was deep in my thoughts, pushing the annoying over-played song out of my head. Hmmm hm hmmmmm hmmm hmmm hmmmm... Ugg! There it was again! I just can't get rid of it! I couldn't let it bother me though. I was imagining the things I could do. Swimming, fishing, hunting, shooting, driving ATVs, oh, I could go on forever. Although it seemed impossible, there was one thing I would thing I would hate. The night.

            *            *            *

I had bumps lined head to toe, each one scared for a different specific reason, but all of them fell under one category: the night. That unspeakable, despicable, deadly word, could only be said in my head, but still gave me that shiver down my spine. Night. It filled my mind with images and sounds of wolves, bears, coyotes, and flesh eating fish, all with blood seeping through the cracks of their teeth.

Circles. Red circles. That is all I saw. The animals circled me, leaving their blood stained fur and bodies making the circles.

"Why, God why, did I have to ask father to bring me here. Why?" I whimpered, closing my eyes and curling into a ball to forget the pain. Stupid wolf. Stupid, stupid stupid! First I hear their howl is the coolest sound ever. and now what is the greatest thing ever? Not this stupid wolf! God...

Seconds, minutes, hours, and days went by. How am I still here? When I opened my eyes, everything resumed its pace, slowly coming towards me as if I pressed a pause button, then pressed play again.
   

"So I'm being tormented. I have to see these cursed organisms eat my flesh. Great. Just great." I thought out loud, staring into the wolf's blood shot eyes.

            *            *            *

"No. I am NOT going out there." I said, backing up slowly.

"Why?" My dad replied, pointing to the chairs by the sizzling fire.

"Did you not hear me? The blood covered wolves, the claw showing coyotes, the big bears... Just no." I said, still backing up.

"Where did you see this? You know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. So, stop telling me the same un-described answer that you just gave me." My dad said, trying to relax his clenched fists.

"I was looking through my telescope, and I heard growling behind me. And they were all there! The fish, the wolf, the bear... They just kept coming towards me. I was helpless. Then..."

"Then what? Go on!" My dad asked excitedly, holding me by the shoulders.

"Then... I don't know. Then this." I said, shivering uncontrollably.

"You are going to come outside, relax by the fire, and be fine." My dad growled, gripping and pulling me by my earlobe outside, to the night.

The stabbing needles in my ear stopped as I was sat down in my chair. At first I was on the cliff of my seat, but after several minutes I finally felt the warm back of my wooden chair press against my back as I watched the fire. The see-through red and orange flickering flames gave me the feeling that this was needed. This brief set of relaxing minutes was a game changer. And man, I loved it.

"Wow... I never knew this little white thing called... the moon, right? Was actually really cool... I always thought it was those yellow eyes!" I commented as I watched the sparkle of the moon flicker in the eyes of my telescope.

"Just please tell me you are guarding my back from the wolves! Just kidding, I'm fine." I said, chuckling at my own failure of being brave before this.

"All the stories made the moon seem cool, but when I saw the pictures, it seemed so lame. But now, now that I have such a good view, everything changed. I mean... It's... It's... AMAZING! It's fantastic! But one more thing... Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"This is awesome. I love you."