Strange Happenings (DannyMay2020- Strange)
Danny May 2020
Strange
Strange Happenings
Danny lay in his sleeping bag listening to the snores of his family from the nearby tents. At nine years old, he was finally old enough to have his own tent. He drew his cold feet up further in an attempt to warm them. He hadn’t planned on having an adventure tonight. He had only left his tent because he had needed to go to the bathroom. The night sky out here was nothing like in the city. He clutched the watch in his hand before uncurling his fingers to examine it again. The starlight shone through the gap in the opening of his tent and made the watch face shimmer. The face reflected bright blue and there were faint green swirls that almost looked like they were moving. He rubbed his thumb over the engraved initials on the back. C.W.
Danny tilted his head back as he considered what they could mean. He had called himself Chrono, and he watched over Danny. Chrono means time; Danny had looked that up the last time Jazz took him to the library. Maybe the “W” stands for Watcher. The Time Watcher. Now that’s a cool name. He looked back out at the sliver of visible sky. The stars were what got him into trouble this time. He thought back to his unplanned adventure just a short while ago.
-
Danny woke up to an urgent need. He crawled out of his sleeping bag and unzipped his tent. The grass and dirt felt nice between his toes as he stumbled to the edge of the clearing. He scratched his side as decided he wasn’t far enough away from the tents to relieve himself yet. He didn’t want Jazz complaining or Mom scolding him. The thought of waking anyone else up barely crossed his mind, he just had to pee, and he didn’t need someone to hold his hand for that.
Danny shuffled over to a cluster of bushes and did what he came for. With his business taken care of, he started walking back to the camp before pausing to look up at the sky. There were so many stars! He looked around for another clearing where he could see the sky better. There were so many trees blocking the stars from his view. He trotted over to a larger gap between the trees and sat down as he gazed at the stars. He could even see the colors in space!
“Someday I’m gonna be an astronaut and I’m gonna visit you.” He told the moon.
Danny wasn’t sure how much time passed before he was startled out of his peaceful reverie. A high-pitched screaming sound made him jump to his feet. He looked around wildly before sprinting back in the direction he remembered the camp being. He passed several small clearings and many trees before he slowed to a stop. Nothing was chasing him and he couldn’t see his family’s camp. He turned on his heel and tried to spot any familiar landmarks. Nothing. He didn’t recognized a single tree, shrub, or rock.
Danny heaved the heaviest of sighs and leaned against a nearby tree. Now what was he going to do? He rubbed his bare arms to warm them up. It was colder than he remembered when he left his tent. He didn’t want to try to keep walking in a random direction when he was already lost, he might end up even farther away from where he was supposed to be.
He pulled out the watch that Chrono had given him when he was little and rubbed his fingers over the engraving. ‘Now would be a really good time for him to show up and save me again.’ Danny thought. He didn’t really expect to be saved this time though, they were several hours drive away from home and he had never seen the man outside of Amity Park.
‘I could try yelling for someone to come find me. I don’t know if I’m close enough for them to hear me and I don’t want to get in trouble for wandering off.’ He tried to brainstorm a way back. ‘I don’t know if what made that noise was a normal animal or some kind of monster either.’
Danny hugged himself where he was leaned against the tree, the night sky might be pretty, but he really wanted to go back to his tent now. “Hello? Is anyone out here?” he called softly into the dark. He felt something crawling on his arm and jumped away from the tree, smacking at his arm in the hopes that whatever bug had touched him would be knocked off. He couldn’t help the small whimper of distress that escaped him. Being lost in the woods at night was scary.
He was just starting to consider yelling for his parents or Jazz to come find him, if they could even hear with how loud his dad snores, when he heard a quiet rustling sound and froze in place.
“Hello?” he whispered, not sure if he wanted an answer or not.
Suddenly, a figure walked around a large tree near him. The person was carrying a long staff with a clock on the top and the clock was glowing very brightly. The watch that Danny was clutching also started glowing.
It took a moment for Danny’s eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did, he recognized the purple cloak and white hair right away. “Chrono!”
“Hello, child,” he replied, “You seem to be lost.”
Danny dashed over and squeezed his savior’s middle in a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I didn’t think you would be able to help me this time since I’m not near home.”
Chrono laid his hand on Danny’s shoulder and said, “Child, I will always come for you when you need me, no matter when or where.”
Danny looked up at the man as Chrono lifted him off the cold ground and tucked him into the purple cloak. “Are you my guardian angel?” he asked.
His rescuer just smirked slightly and said, “I wouldn’t call myself an angel, but I am and will always be your guardian.”
Danny tucked himself under Chrono’s chin as he was carried back to the familiar sight of his family’s camp. The faint ticking sound that always came from him was reassuring to Danny. When they had reached the edge of the clearing that held the tents, Danny turned to snuggle further into Chrono’s arms. He hardly ever got to see him and he felt so safe when his guardian held him.
“Why do you watch over me anyways? I’m just Danny, not anybody special.” He asked with his face pressed to the man’s chest.
Chrono lifted one hand from where it was supporting Danny’s weight to turn his face and meet his eyes, “Child, you are so special. Even if you are ‘just Danny’ for now, you are important to me. Why wouldn’t I want to help you and care for you?”
Danny tried to hide his face again but couldn’t with the hand holding him in place. “I don’t feel very special most of the time.” He admitted. “I’m not very good at math or reading and I don’t listen very good when I’m told to do things.”
“Oh Daniel.” Chrono murmured as he gently wiped away a tear that Danny hadn’t realized he’d shed. “You’re going to be amazing. Someday you will save the world and you’ll see how much you mean to so many people. These things that you are worried about may seem big right now, but you will overcome them in your own time.
Danny sniffled a little and hugged Chrono as tight as he could, “Do you really mean it? Promise?” He asked. His voice muffled once more against his guardian’s chest.
“Promise.” Chrono replied as he held the child close.
They stayed like that for an unknown amount of time before Danny relaxed his hold slightly to shift position. He looked up at Chrono’s eyes, fascinated by the slight red glow they gave off and gently traced the lightning bolt scar that crossed the left. Chrono closed his eyes and let the child feel the mark.
“Where did you get this scar?” Danny asked.
Chrono opened his eyes again to look at him, “I gained it as a punishment for another’s crimes. Maybe someday I will tell you the story.” He said.
“I’d like to hear it and all of your other stories someday.” Danny replied. His eyes were starting to droop as the excitement from his adventure began to wear off.
“I’ll make sure to tell you when I’m able. Now, however, it is time that you get back to sleep.” Chrono strode forward until he was only a few feet from the open tent Danny had left so long ago.
“Don’t want to go back to sleep, I want to stay with you longer.” Danny pouted as he was set down upon his feet.
Chrono ruffled the boy’s hair, gaining a sleepy scowl, and said, “We will meet again soon, but for now, back to bed. Go on, I’ll be watching.” He smirked slightly at the end of the phrase. Danny couldn’t help a grin himself, his guardian had said that every time they had met when it was time for goodbye.
Danny gave him one last hug, whispering, “Love you,” before shuffling back into his tent and zipping the opening most of the way closed. Once he was settled in his sleeping bag he watched through the gap as Chrono smiled back at him and quietly said, “I love you as well, little one.”
The man then turned and walked a few steps further from the tents. He swept his staff in a large crescent shape and a swirling blue light enveloped him. When Danny blinked the spots away, he was gone.
Now Danny had been lying, still awake in his tent, for several minutes as he wondered at the night’s adventure. He stroked the engraving once more, no matter how long he held it, the metal never got too warm. The watch wasn’t glowing anymore, but it still felt good to hold it in his hands. A tangible proof that he wasn’t alone. That someone was watching over him, someone who had some sort of magic powers. Danny wasn’t sure if he could really save the world someday, or even do his chores when he was supposed to, but stranger things had happened.