The Talisman- Chapter 1

                                                                                    CHAPTER 1

Wolfe forced his chocolate brown eyes open late the next morning.  Casually stretching his arms up over his head, he swung himself to the edge of his plain-looking bed and exhaled.  He glanced to the left.  An empty white bed trailed a muddle of comfortable blankets that led to the sun-toasted floor.  He glanced to the right.  A neatly tidied wooden desk leaned against the old walls while birds chirped noisily outside the unlatched shutters.  This wasn’t his bedroom.  With a sleepy yawn, Wolfe arose and ambled into the next room.  The floors creaked quietly with each step he took.  The smell of simmering porridge filled every room in the house.  Wolfe was surprised to see his brother Seth at the table.  Then the memory of his parents’ death returned to him, and his face turned melancholy.  Seth sat awkwardly at the table, guzzling spoonful after spoonful of porridge.  Golden brown locks of hair hung over his tanned face. Seth’s hair was much lighter than his own, which was nearly black. He finally noticed Wolfe’s presence and managed a smile. 
He paused; Then spoke, “Morning, Sunshine.”
Wolfe stared blankly at him and blinked several times.  After a deep inhale of the haunting sweet aroma of breakfast, Wolfe made his way over to the steaming pot and scooped himself a hot bowl of porridge, topping it off with a heaping spoonful of butter.  He took a seat at the opposite end of the long, narrow table, and at last replied to Seth’s somewhat cheerful greeting. 
“Morning.” he said with raised eyebrows. 
“Did you sleep okay? 
Seth looked genuinely concerned, for he knew that the future would be anything but easy, especially for his 13-year old brother, who is almost 4 years younger than himself.
“Yeah, I guess.” 
“Do you like the cottage? This is where we will be living for a while now.”
Wolfe looked around.  The stove was still lit in the kitchen, with the empty black pot still atop it.  Furniture cluttered around the fireplace at the far end of the room.  Long wooden beams ran across the ceiling of the cottage, and a lamp hung there as well.
“It seems cozy, but a bit cluttered.” 
“Yeah, that was my first impression, too.  We can clean it up later if you want? 
“Okay, sounds good.”
“Listen, I need to talk to you. Seth hesitated briefly, and then continued. I know that it’s going to be really tough without Mom and Dad.  We loved them more than anything in the world, and… 
He trailed off once he realized that Wolfe was beginning to cry.  Soft sobs stuttered as Wolfe tried to resist.  After a moment, Wolfe took a breath, and his gaze rose to meet Seth’s.  Seth bit at his lower lip and began to speak again.
Basically, what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m always going to be there for you, Wolfe.”
Wolfe looked reassuringly at his older brother and sighed.  He closed his eyes and thought of his parents.  Once open, his eyes refocused and he half-grinned at his older brother.
*
After Breakfast, The two boys left the cottage.  The walls of the cottage seemed to be made with large stones.  A grey tiled roof and a red bricked chimney sat above the cottage.  Several windows were scattered on the outside of the house, partially covered by blue shutters.  The front door was also a navy blue color. Assorted shrubs along with plenty of spruce and birch were spread across the yard.  In between all of this, a stone path led from the small cottage, connecting it with the rest of the village.  The boys walked along the path through an opening in the wooden picket fence that surrounded their new cottage.
They passed by a lot of the villagers while continuing on with their adventure.  Seth and Wolfe were already familiar with all of these people, for their new cottage was still in the same village as before. They said hello, and a few of their old neighbors tried to comfort them with their sincerest apologies.  Although Seth and Wolfe felt many things for the loss of their parents, the most apparent was disbelief.  It took a while for them to realize that their parents truly would never come back.  Wolfe went a bit ahead to admire the produce that was regularly being sold by the always cheerful shop owners.  As Seth went to do the same, something shiny caught his eye.  Very shiny.  Seth curiously strayed from the path and went to see what this tremendously shiny object was.  He bent down and knelt beside the unbelievably illuminated object.  It was a talisman.

NOTE: A new chapter will be added tomorrow! Please comment and tell me what you think!