Born screaming into the world, as light filled my eyes and dried my skin. My mother swiftly scooped me off the floor.
A fresh baby boy. I was quickly named Shawne Orange, a name never used.
It looked to me like we were going to start our own settlement. Mother ran with me in her arms for two years before we arrived at a camp!
I was excited to meet my relatives, but mom stopped… silence an then she said “oh no…”
This couldn’t be good I thought.
I looked to Mom
“They are all dead” she told me
I looked around, a few corpses lay on the ground. This is where I met my brother, who would never meet me. Sadness filled my heart and head. It’s quite the shock for a little one.
And then she pose the question “do we go?”
I asked “wat” “er?” “For” “far” “m”
And this moment set our fate.
I had a bust of energy and a birthday 
I grabbed a basket and the only tool created, my grandmother’s stone axe. Holding the axe filled me with pride and I started running north, waiting for Mom to catching up if I got out of range.
We ran for what felt like years looking for water. We seemed to be stuck in an endless field of green.
At one point I waited for mother, but she didn’t show up… I started panicking!!! Mom!?! Oh no… I remembered arriving at our town, and the remains of my brother. Sadness…
I ran back as fast as I could and there she was, beautiful in the sun just a few paces behind.
She was saying uuuugggg.
I kept her motivated by not showing signs of dismay.
A few days after this, we stumbled upon wetlands!
It was a very happy moment we both shared, however it was short lived. These wetlands were the size of a bison, and had no water in them. Again a “uhggg” came from my mom, and i must admit I caught myself groaning as well. Our journey north continued.
No more then two months later we found ourselves in the sweet spot. wetlands, pastures, stone and desert all so close by. It was the perfect spot we had ever laid eyes on. We even had a small patch of winter Tundra.
Mother and I we’re thrilled! We both started working toward making a town together.
I set up home and got to work making fire, bowls, plates and parts for a forge. Mother had a few children and peppered to catch rabbits but the children kept coming and she found herself tending to the children’s needs.
One day while starting to forge a lone Wolf charged into the camp. Normally I let animals be free, but this one came right into the center of town. I started panicking thinking about Mom… Where is mom?
Where are all the kids? They must be out gathering… I needed to do something about this Wolf before someone got hurt.
Mom and I had many conversation during our years of travel, but we never talked about killing. This was new terrain to me. Luckily it came easy, like it was from a past life. I managed to build a bow and arrow and the hunt was on.
I stalked my pray, traveled for years looking for him. He was nowhere to be found.
Cold and hungry I headed back to camp, I put my weapon down and started eating, but who would have guessed… The wolf was now in the fields just south of town. This menacing wolf had to go, the wolf sensed my presence and started to run. But I kept on our tracks and shot it in the shoulder. Our town safe once again.
Heading back to town I noticed it was still empty. “where is everyone?” I thought.
I made an axe and cut down the trees around the swamp. I made farming tools and created a berry plantation inside the swamp. The swamp became my home. after years of searching I found myself just spending as much time in the wet muddy waters of my mind.
Where is she…she left you… No one wants you… You could have saved them… Your nothing without them…
At this point I knew I would never see my mom again, I couldn’t count, but it had been too many years since she had been gone. I had forgotten my name, I hadn’t spoken in… Did I ever speak?. Did I have a mother? Was I human? Was that a wolf?
My past was a fiction, the swamp had become my lover. We didn’t need to talk, it could read my mind.
When it told me it was hungry I quickly planted a row of carrots… still not satisfied I planted one row of corn…
Again the swamp told me how hungry it was. This time I knew what it wanted a row of squash! I stood there watching as the swamp consumed the squash… No another hallucination… my feet sunk deep into the swamp. I was stuck. it didn’t want to eat vegetables, it wanted to eat… me!?
Tried as I might, i couldn’t get away. I was trapped in the swamp. Too weak to escape I cried out for Mom… But no one but the swamp could hear my cry’s
