My parents have been gone for a long time. My whole life, really. About ten years ago I stopped asking about them. I don’t remember much about them anyway. My mother used to sing me a song to help me sleep, I think. At least that’s when my Uncle Draven tells me when he explains where the song came from that he sings for me.

Shh, little one.

Sleep calls to you.

Beautiful skies of blue.

Dreams will carry you far away.

Today is done and tomorrow’s a new day,

my little one

Every time I ask him to tell me about why my parents left all I get is that they loved me. I used to ask about once a week. Then I only asked every other month. The last time I asked was on my sixth birthday. It was always the same answer. After that, I just stopped asking. But I still imagine them and hope they will return.

The only thing I have to remind me that I had parents, besides the song is my baby blanket. It’s more of a lap blanket now, but it’s soft and warm and blue, like the sky.

Perhaps it is foolish to keep something from people I don’t even know. But I hope one day I will find them or they will find me. It’s been sixteen years, but I’m still hopeful.

My foot is swiped from beneath me and I find myself on my back looking up at a cloudless sky through an opening in the branches of the trees.

“Daydreaming again? What would happen if someone found you alone?” Draven asks standing over me. He extends his hand to help me back to my feet. He smiles as I pick myself up without taking his outstretched hand.

Who is going to find us out here? Our home is secluded in the woods. Not that I mind. It keeps me close to nature and the trees. Draven says it’s in my nature. Elves are keepers of nature. In particular, he says my mother’s family was especially close with the trees. He says they shared in the same kind of longevity as the trees themselves. But I’m only half-elf. The other half belongs to the race of humans like my father which is why my boots are designed with a higher arch in the sole to give me more support and a better stance.

“There is no one for miles. The only other visitor I’ve ever seen is your weird friend. What’s the point these drills?”

“Not everyone you meet is going to be as friendly. One day you’ll understand. There’s more in this life that you have yet to experience.”

“Experience what?”

“The cruelty of the race of man, for one.”

“The race of man? Like my father?”

“That’s not what I meant."

“Well then what did you mean? I’ve never left and you tell me so little of where I actually come from. Just tell me something once in awhile. I’m not a child anymore.” I throw a low punch to the stomach and then a reverse roundhouse kick to take my uncle down to the ground. Without offering any assistance I grab my sack from the ground and dash into the woods. When I hear him get up and shout my name I pick up the pace and sprint into to a grove of trees.