Chapter 2: The Choice
Beep beep beep beep.
Kole woke up to the blaring of his alarm. He grogily shut it off and climbed out of bed. Looking out the window, Kole smiled as he saw the sun peeking out from the horizon. He quickly threw on some shorts and sneakers and rushed down the stairs outside his room and out the door.
Kole stopped at the end of the driveway and took in a deep brethe of air, enjoying the crisp, col sensation filling his lungs. He loved the early fall days just like this. the cool, refreshing air, the colors of the leaves changing on the trees as they prepare themselves for winter. He was happy that today of all days, the weather was so beautiful. After all, nobody wants rain and dark clouds on their birthday.
After a few moments of taking in the morning, he began to run.he started out slow, took the time for his legs to warm up, then gradually picked up his pace until he had nearly reached his top speed. A few early birds passed him by in their cars, but for the most part the only sounds were his feet hitting the sidewalk and the critters of the land running and chittering about.
He ran without thinking, just enjoying the quiet and the slight breeze on his face. Before he knew it, he had run nearly two miles. He stopped and took a few minute to catch his breath, then turned around and began to run home. On the way back, more creatures and people could be seen beginning their day. It didn't take long before he arrived back in front of his house.
The house had two floors and a basement. Almost ntirely made of dark red bricks on the exterior. It was one of the larger homes in the neighborhood, although not the fanciest. the yard was well kept and between the two, put together, they looked warm and inviting.
Kole went back inside and headeed to the kitchen. Upon entering he immediately saw the note on the table:
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Kole,
HAPPY Birthday!!!
Mom and I ar not going to be home until
late tonight. We're sorry, but we'll be stuck at work.
Your gifts are in our bedroom closet. w\We love you
so very much!
Love,
Dad and Mom
p.s. Theres a chest in the closet as well that came from your grandpa. open it last. we called you in sick for school,so have fun!
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Kole put down the note and ran up the stairs to his parents room, across the hall from his own. Entering, he made a bee-line to the open closet and began opening the gifts. There werent more than a handful of wrapped packages and oly took a few minutes to open. He found a hunting knife, a thin box holding a pen with strange engravings on it, and a plain black ring with similar engraving as those on the pen. the rest o the gifts were so normal he barely spared them a glance. his eyes were locked on a box at the back of the closet.
It looked simple at a glance, no more than a foot wide and half as tall. It looked to be made of wood stained so dark it was almost black. He reached forward and pulled it into his lap. It felt cool to the touch. there was an envelope taped to the top of the box with his name sprawled across it in his grandfathers distinct penmanship. He ripped open then envelope to find a short note.
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Kole, you are 16 today. old enough to know who you really are. But you don't have to. The choice is yours; open the box if you want to know, or don't and live the rest ov your life happily. Choose now, there is no later.
~gramps
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Kole set down the note laughing, thinking his granpa was joking around as he usually did. He looked down at the box before taking a deep breath. Not knowing what to expect, he carefully opened the box. As he looked inside, the confusion on his face was evident. All he found inside was an old looking book on top of some kind of folded up cloth. He carried all of his gifts to his room and placed them on the bed before picking up the book and opening it.
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