I first saw the boy a few days ago,  sitting in a patch of grass near the south of the forest.  He couldn't be any older than I was, maybe 17, with white, ruffled hair running down to about chin length.  I wasn't doing much of anything, so I just watched.  He had been the first person I've seen in some time, no one really comes into this forest anymore.  A passerby once told me that there's rumors in the nearby towns that this forest is haunted.  He told me some story about a ghost who likes to tie your shoe laces together. I guess the traveller must have believed it, I never saw him again.  

As it got darker the boy left, and eventually so did I.  I had things to tend to.  The roof had leaks in it due to a recent storm, while it didn't bother me much it would be a problem once the weather started to turn.  I busied myself with the roof, placing panels to cover up the hole, but they boy still crept in my mind.  I rarely travel up to the southern parts of the forest,  only for certain mushrooms and herbs,  unless the boy frequents these parts I wouldn't have seen him.  About a dozen people live in these woods.  After mining towns started springing up in the north most of the folks that lived here started to migrate in hopes of a more prosperous living.  First it was just a few, but once word of gold started to spread, people started to move in masses.  Eventually, my parents left as well, leaving me and a few other to take care of the elderly.  But that was 5 years ago,  the last of the elders have died off and most of the kids have gone to help their parents in the mines.  I'm not really sure why I stayed, part of me hopes to find something in this quiet life. I was never too fond of talking to people, living alone in the forest suited me well for a while.  But it does get lonely, maybe that's why I kept thinking of the boy.

I decided to go back to the southern part of the woods the next day.  I didn't really have a plan, I was content just watching the boy. As creepy as it seems, it brought me peace to see another person.  I didn't need to talk to him, I just wanted to know I wasn't alone.  While making my way to the clearing, I heard a large sound further down the path.  I didn't think much of it as earlier that week bad winds started knocking down trees, but as I continued my stroll I saw that the cause of the sound was no tree at all but instead the boy from earlier.  He was lying, face down to the earth, in his hands were a few apples seemingly taken from the tree he had tried to climb.  I stood there for a moment, not sure what to do, when suddenly the boy rolled over and groaned.  He laid there for a while, before lifting his head, noticing that I was watching him from the other side of the path.  

“Oh, I didn't see you there” The boy rubbed the back of his head,  his face turning red with embarrassment.  I wasn't sure what to say, so I just stared, seeming to make the boy blush even more.

“I was just trying to get some-”  I cut the boy off mid sentence.

“Your leg is bleeding”.  Sure enough there was blood running down the side of his leg.  It couldn't have been too bad of a cut but unless he had the right supplies there was a chance it could become infected.  The boy looked down, examining the cut across his shin.  

“I'm sure it'll be fine, it doesn't look too deep” He said. I walked over to the boy and grabbed some cloth that I kept in my pocket.   I made a habit of keeping various supplies on me ever since a bad fall that had happened a few springs prior.  The boy, noticing the cloth in my hand, started to wave his hands around wildly.

“No no, its fine I promise,  I won't have anything to repay you with”

“You don't have to repay me”  I knelt down next to him and started to wrap the cloth around his leg.   

He sighed, giving up his efforts to stop me.  “I don't see many people these days,  do you live around here?”  I nodded and continued to wrap his leg.  I never really liked small talk, I didn't find much of a point in it but nevertheless, the boy continued to ramble.  By the time I was finished wrapping his leg, the boy was still talking.  He mentioned how his family had recently left for the spring months to go mine in the north, leaving him alone to take care of the house.   It must have been a while since he talked to another person as well.  The thought gave me comfort, so I continued to listen to the boy.  

We sat there for a while, just talking.  Occasionally I would nod my head or hum in agreement to let the boy know I was still listening.  I think he needed someone to talk to, and I definitely needed someone around.  As the boy continued to talk,  I realized how alone I really was in the forest, and how much I needed someone to stay by my side and just let me listen.  By the time the conversation started to die down,  the sun had fallen low into the sky.  The cut on his leg still bothered me so I decided to ask about it.

“Do you have disinfectants at your house” 

“I think I might just clean it out with water, that should be enough right?”  That definitely wouldn't be enough,  this boy seemed to be too carefree about the situation, letting his cut fester would certainly lead to problems in the future.   Do I ask the boy to come home with me, everythings a mess there, and I still haven't finished patching up all of the roof.  Plus,  it might be too late for him to walk home and I dont have another bed…

“Come home with me” The words slipped out before I had a chance to stop them.

“Huh.. what I-” 

“I have medicine for your leg” 

“Oh uh you really don't have to …”  He trailed off, looking down at his feet.  I started to walk down the path towards my house.  He hesitated a bit before following me down the path.  We walked together in silence, the mood had shifted a little bit, I wasn't sure what had happened.  Looking back, I'm still not sure what he was thinking that night,  when we walked to my house for the first time.  But whenever I recall that memory a fuzzy feeling fills my chest.  Maybe it was the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. or the warm glow of the sun as it dipped below the horizon, but that night I felt truly happy for the first time in years.

By the time we made it to my house, night had settled all over the forest.  The boy looked around,  noticing the patches of roof that were not fixed.  While he didnt say anything, I was still embarrassed .  This was the first time someone had come to my house in years, everything was scattered all over the place, in an order that made sense to only me.  The house is small with only 3 rooms.  When you first enter, you are greeted with what used to be a living room.  When my family was still here, we would often spend our nights around the fireplace, reading books or talking about the animals we saw that day, but now it's filled with hunting supplies or jars of whatever I could need.  To the left of the living room is a kitchen, with a small fridge in the corner and a stove that barely works these days.  The last room is a bedroom, lightly decorated with some cabinets and a few paintings that my mother had given me on my 8th birthday.   Since my family was poor, we all had to fit on one bed.  But, thankfully for me, the bed is pretty large and would be more than enough for me and the boy.  

I motioned for the boy to sit on the bed.  As I was getting out the bottles of medicine, I could feel his eyes on me.  Ever since we started walking here he's been awfully quiet,  I wonder if I said something wrong…  I made my way back to the bed and started to carefully unwrap the cloth from his leg. The bleeding had stopped a while ago but the cut was still fresh.  As I went to put the medicine on his leg, a hand stopped me.

“Uh, will it hurt…” the boy's voice was softer, almost a little worried.

“It might sting a little bit. '' The hand around my wrist loosened but as soon as I poured the first drops of medicine he grabbed my wrist tightly.  I could see his knee shaking, the boy was in pain.  I wasn't sure what to do to comfort him so I put my hand on his knee to steady it.  We stayed there for a minute, not talking, until the boy let go of my wrist.

I looked up at him,  “Sorry, I didn't realize it would hurt that much”  The boy looked away, avoiding my eyes.  

“Uh… thank you for the medicine”  He looked drained. Did it really hurt that much? Maybe he's hungry…

“You must be hungry, I'll make us something to eat.”  I walked out the room and into the kitchen.  The boy didn't follow me in and a part of me was relieved for some time away from his stares.

There wasn't much in the house for both of us to eat, just a large pot of soup broth and some old bread.  I prepared all the meats and vegetables for the week during the weekend, but as the week was drawing to a close my stocks were growing small.  I threw some firewood into the fireplace, and got out the soup broth, pouring the remains of it into a smaller pot.  There didn't seem to be much more to throw into the soup besides some old potatoes and ham, but it was more than nothing.  As I let the soup simmer,  I went back into the bedroom to check on the boy.  He was in the same spot on the bed, with his head down as if he was in deep thought.  He must have not heard me come in.

“How does your leg feel?”  The boy looked up, some color returned to his cheeks.

“Would you like something to drink,  I can prepare us some tea”

“Oh sure, thank you”  He looked down again, I didn't feel like there was anything else to say so I left the room.  The energy between us had been so awkward ever since we entered the house, such a change from when we were talking so casually back in the forest.  I got out a kettle and filled it with water, deep in thought about the boy. He had been on my mind for some time now, ever since I first saw him in the forest a few days ago.  I didn't realize how much I wanted him to like me, I guess that might be why I'm so bothered by how anxious he seems to be.  I wasn't sure what to do to make him feel comfortable.  I pushed these thoughts away and put the kettle over the fire, right next to the soup.

I poured the soup into two bowls and brought them over to a desk in the corner of the room.  The boy had moved from the spot on the bed and was looking at the painting I had on the wall, still deep in thought, the boy didn't hear me come into the room.

“Uh, I brought you some food”.  The boy jumped, embarrassed that I caught him staring at the paintings.

“Oh, I didn't mean to snoop around, I…”  I brought a candle to the desk and motioned for him to take a seat.  We ate in silence for a while,  there was such a heavy, uncomfortable air that settled around us and eventually it got too much for me.

“Is everything okay, you've been pretty quiet since we got here”  I asked.

“Oh sorry, it's just...  you’ve done so much for me I kinda feel bad”  He scratched the back of his head nervously.  I could tell there was something else on his mind but I didn't pry.

“Don't worry, I like your company”   I could see a smile creep on the edge of his lips, and some life returned to his movements.  We began to talk again, just like how we had been earlier in the day.  The boy mentioned how it's been hard ever since his parents moved out, he barely knew how to hunt, and he definitely didn't know what plants were safe to eat.  I offered to teach him someday, he seemed excited to learn.  We continued to talk late into the night, about nothing in particular. I felt safe around the boy so I opened up, telling him about my parents leaving five years ago, and how I've been alone ever since the others left.  We bonded over small things like that, I didn't realize how long I've been bottling up these feelings,  telling him seemed to relieve so much pain that has been lingering in me for years.

As the conversation died down,  I could see that the boy was getting tired,  I was as well, not just physically but mentally.  It has been so long since I've talked with someone like this.  Before, when I would talk to people passing by or someone from one of the surrounding villages, I would always be left with a deep feeling that I said something wrong and it would bother me for days.  But this time it felt so easy to talk to him,  I didn't have to worry about what to say next, and the boy didn't seem to mind when I would go quiet.  I wasn't quite sure why but,  I felt more relaxed with him than I have since before I can remember.  

The boy stood up, and started to make his way to the door.  There was a hesitant step in the way he walked, almost as if he was asking to stay the night.

“You should stay here, it'll be dangerous outside”  I stuttered a bit, nervous for the boy's answer, but thankfully that seemed to be what the boy already wanted.  He made his way back to the bed,  starting to take off his socks, then his shirt…  I realized I was staring at him and felt my cheeks start to burn.

“You can borrow one of my shirts if you want…”  I turned my head away so the boy wouldn't see me blush.

“Oh yeah… sure, thank you”  I got out a shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms from the cabinet in the corner of the room, making sure I didn't look at the boy changing behind me.  I've seen plenty of people with their shirts off, why is this any different?  I threw the clothes behind me and waited until I was sure the boy was done changing.   I was still embarrassed, so I quickly left the room to go change somewhere else.

The boy was sitting on the bed when I returned. I couldn't help but notice how good he looked in the shirt I had given him, and how it softly outlined the muscles on his torso.  I shook my head and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, deciding not to ponder them.   Walking over to the side of the bed, I pulled back the sheets and crawled in, the boy doing the same on the other side.   I felt extremely awkward, but there was a feeling of intimacy that wasn't there before.  It's late, my brains just a little fuzzy, this doesn't mean anything.  I repeated that to myself, desperately trying to convince myself it was true.  Suddenly the boy's voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Thanks for everything, um… I really appreciate it”.  His voice was soft on the other side of the bed,  a shiver fell down my spine.

“... uh yeah anytime”  I whispered. “Goodnight”

“Goodnight”

I blew out the candle at the side of the bed and willed myself to go to sleep, but I could still feel the boy's presence next to me.  He seemed so calm,  it took everything  in me to not turn over and stare at his back.  Why am I thinking these things?  We’ve just met, what's going on…?.  I chalked it up to how late it was. It has been so long since I've talked to another person.  I'm sure that's what it is,  I just haven't talked to anyone for so long…  I took a deep breath to calm myself down, when suddenly I felt the boy behind me turn and gently place his hand in mine.  A wave of heat washed over me,  my face going completely red.  He must be asleep, he probably just moves around a lot, this is nothing, this doesn't mean anything.  I didn't dare move, instead I became perfectly still and listened to the soft rhythm of the boys breath as he slept.  Eventually I could feel sleep creep up on me.  I replayed the events of the day in my mind,  the boy being the last thing I thought about before finally falling 

into a deep sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I woke up the next morning, the sun was already shining brightly through the curtains. How long did I sleep? Could it already be noon??  I never sleep later than I must,  it isn't really that I enjoy my mornings, more that I feel I get the most done then.  I had always woken up early to get things prepared for the day,  whenever I woke up late I would feel anxious, and inevetivally the day would get wasted.  I started to feel that anxiety swell up inside of me, but as I went to check what time it was,  I felt a hand clasped in mine.  Suddenly, all the events from last night came rushing back to me.  I could remember how I took the boy back here to help treat his cut.  Then, I remembered how we stayed up talking for hours and finally I remembered how I felt going to bed next to him. I didn't quite know what it was, but it was something I've never felt before, something I couldn't put a name on.  I sat up and studied the boy's hand in mine.  In terms of hands,  it was a pretty solid hand.  His palms were soft, like he hasn't done much hard labour yet, and it was bigger than mine, which made it easy to hold.  I moved my attention to his face,  his eyes were closed and his mouth hung open a little bit,  making my heart flutter.  I looked away feeling my cheeks start to flush.  Get a hold of yourself, it's perfectly normal to look at his face.  I looked back and started to take in all the details, like how his eyelashes perfectly accented the shape of his eyes, and how his nostrils flared with each breath he took.  I got lost in the details of his face,  examining each part thoroughly, subconsciously memorizing each part like I would never see it again.  As I drifted back into reality,  I suddenly realized his eyes were open, staring back at me.

A strange sound left my throat as I leapt back and buried my face into the pillow.  My face was burning.  How long was I staring at him,  how long was he staring at me??  God he's going to think I’m a freak, what am I going to say…  I heard the boy chuckle beside me,

“Good morning darling”  His voice was still heavy with sleep, but I could hear the sarcasm dripping off of it, making my cheeks burn even more.

“I- I…. didn't mean to stare”.  I managed to squeak out,  my face still buried in the pillow.  This just made the boy laugh harder..

“Ah it's fine, you don't have to be so embarrassed”. He chuckled.  Eventually, I got up, my back facing the boy so he wouldn't see how red I was.

“... how long was I staring?” I asked.

“Maybe about a minute”.  A MINUTE, OH LORD. I groaned, all the embarrassment flooding back into me.  I put my head in my hands, and willed for my embarrassment to come to an end.

“It's fine, I promise.  Besides…. you’re eyes are very pretty”  I nearly choked,  HOW COULD HE SAY THAT IN A TIME LIKE THIS.  The boy sensed my turmoil and put a hand on my back.

“Why are you embarrassed, what's wrong”  He asked,  his voice was soft, as if he was genuinely worried for me.  

“Sorry, … i just don't get compliments very often”  I was still at a loss for words, and my face felt as if it were on fire.

“What a shame, you're very pretty you know”  

“...”.  One more thing and I thought I was going to faint.  I mumbled a thanks under my breath and quickly left the room.  Thankfully, the boy didn't follow me in.  I leaned up against a wall in the living room and took some deep breaths.  Get it together, it's just compliments why are you acting this way,  can you not handle a simple compliment.  My heart was fluttering in my chest,  the same feeling from last night coming back to me, more powerful than before. Eventually I calmed down and walked back into the room.

“Uh… are you hungry, I can make us something”  I didn't dare look at him, too scared he would compliment my eyes.

“Can I help?”  Part of me wanted to say no.  But truthfully, I did want the boy to help.  I’ve felt more comfortable with him than I have in so long,  it would be nice to keep him around.  I nodded and turned to go into the kitchen.  I was still a little shaken from earlier,  the warmth on my cheeks seemed to linger, but as long as I didn't look at the boy I should be fine.  We worked well as a team,  and he was a surprisingly good cook.  Every so often he would give me suggestions on spices or vegetables I could add to help bring out the flavor.  Our movements flowed together as we worked,  someone would cook the eggs as the other would chop the mushrooms, or someone would grab the plates while the other would add the spices.  We were a good team,  a good team…

We took our meals back into the bedroom, setting our plates down on the same desk we sat at last night.   He talked as we ate, he seemed to have so much to say, and I just wanted to hear him talk.  When one conversation would end,  he would effortlessly move into another, maybe it would be a childhood memory, or a book he's interested in.  I could listen to his voice for hours.  I pushed that thought away, not wanting to deal with its implications.  Suddenly I realized I didn't even know his name.  I've been talking to him for hours,  how do I not even know his name.  I didn't know how to ask him.  What if he's offended… what if he told me and I completely forgot, oh god.  

I was spiraling again,  the boy could sense something was up.  He lightly put his hand over the edge of my fingers.

“Is everything ok”

“uh,  yeah its stupid,  but i dont even know your name.  The words felt wrong coming out of my mouth.  I tensed up, worrying he would be angry.

The boy chuckled,  “Oh yeah, sorry,  my name's Oliver”.  Oliver… that name suits him.  

“What about you?” he asked.

“oh …. my names basil”  

Oliver smiled,  “basil… that's a nice name, it's really cute.”  I could feel the blush rushing back to my cheeks. . When I tell people my name, usually people laugh and ask if its real,  some kids used to call it stupid and pick on me relentlessly.  I never really let it bother me,  it was just a name,  but there was always part of me that wished it was different.  Hearing Oliver say my name,  I've never heard anyone say it like that before.  It's not that the pronunciation was any different,  maybe it was the care he put into saying it, or the way it flowed off his tongue and floated into the air.  It felt real.

I looked out the window, the sun had already made it far into the sky, illuminating the boy's face with a soft glow.  For the first time,  I could see how the light casted shadows on his face, making its way down to a mature, yet soft jaw line.  Fuck. I didn't understand how he could look so pretty, in all lightings, by every angle, his face still made my heart beat faster.  I had just met him yesterday yet in that time I've felt things I've never felt before, things I weren't even sure had a name.  As I gazed at the boy,  I knew I had to see him again,  I needed to figure out whatever it was I was feeling.  I didn't know what they were, but I knew being with Oliver made me happier than I've been in a long time.  

“I want to see you again-.” I blurted,  the words came out before I could stop them.  I saw a smile start to form at the corner of his lips.

“Well, you still gotta teach me to hunt.  It seems like you'll be seeing a lot of me”  He drew out each word, teasing me, like it was a given that we would see eachother again.  I let the words hang in the air before sighing in relief.  I was so worried he would say no, I really didn't have anyone else in this forest.  A familiar face would be nice, especially if the face looked like that…

We walked to the door together, side by side.  Though I would see Oliver in just a few days, watching him get ready to leave made my head hurt.  So many people had left me, my family had said goodbye, then the elders they left behind, finally all the kids had gone. Watching him stand by the door brought back the same unpleasant memories from 5 years ago, seeing my parents stand in the same place,  pulling me into their arms telling me it'd only be a few months.  But this was nothing like that.  Oliver was nothing like them…

Suddenly,  Oliver walked over to me and put his arms around my waist, pulling me into his shoulder.  

“Thank you.”  His voice echoed through my body, rattling through my bones and crawled up my spine.  I tried to respond but all that came out was a muffled “hmm” into his shoulder.  He held me there for what felt like hours, but when he finally let go, my body ached for him to hold me again.  I stood there stunned, I wasn't sure what to say.  My mind was racing, but before I knew it he was already out the door, walking down the path into the forest.

“Goodbye Oliver!” I yelled into the trees, watching Oliver's head get smaller and smaller. 

“See ya' .” his arms waved wildly, a large smile displayed across his face.  I couldn't help but smile back before heading inside, knowing that I would see that boy again.