Metanoia

“Awooooooh… awooooohhhh!” The howling of a wolf pierced the silence of the night. It was the sound of an animal hungry and thirsty for blood!

He was walking through the thicket when he heard it. His heart began to pound faster! Every step he took became quicker and quicker and quicker! Afraid that he can become the next meal of this vile creature, he hurriedly traversed the narrow, winding path to through the forest.

He wandered why he was there? He did not even realize he was already trudging through that mysterious wilderness. All he can recall was that he got hit by a heavy, blunt object at the back of his head and when he woke up… there he was in this unforgiving part of the earth!

Gasping for his breath, he sat beside a huge boulder. He kept quiet, listening for anything that would indicate an incoming danger.

“Cccrrraaaccckkk… ccrraacck!” Twigs were breaking as he heard heavy breathing just a few meters from where he was sitting.

“Awooooohh… awoooooohhh!” A pair of red piercing eyes stared at him from the dark, waiting for a chance to sink its teeth on his neck.

John struggled to stand on his feet. His knees were aching from exhaustion, but he was determined to survive. It doesn’t matter what he does... he will survive tonight!

As he was moving away from the boulder, dragging his right leg, the creature pounced on John. “Aaaaarrrggghhh!” screamed John as he struggled to get out of the grasp of the creature. He kicked the creature on its side with all his might.

“Eeeewww… eeww!” the creature shouted as it got hurt. It gave up its grasp on the arm on John. This gave John the opportunity to save himself. He ran as fast as he could. After a few meters, John reached the edge of the cliff. Below the cliff is a lake, but he had to jump to save himself.

“Awooohhh!” the creature was near. What will he do?

As it lunged at him from the dark, John jumped into the darkness…

“John, dude! Wake up!” Charlie whispered on the ear of his buddy.

“Class is over buddy!”

John moved slowly. “He was only dreaming, everything was not real,” he told himself.

He wiped the saliva from his mouth and stared at Charlie.

“Was Mr. Ray mad?” he asked Charlie.

“Nope!” his friend replied with a shrugged of his broad shoulder.

Satisfied with the answer, John stood and grabbed his backpack. He is about to leave when Charlie called his attention.

“Dude! Don’t leave yet. Mr. Red says he wanna see you after class.”

“What’s it about?” asked John, his hairy brows meeting together at the center of his forehead.

“Dunno buddy. He just told me to tell you to see him.”

John nodded his head in agreement and walked towards the Principal’s Office.

“Knock… knock!” He tapped on the mahogany door gently, careful not to startle Mr. Red who might be sleeping at the moment.

“Who’s there?” Mr. Red answered from behind the door.

“John, sir.”

“Oh it’s you! Come in!”

John pushed the door open. He stood in front of the principal who was busy reading a letter, waiting for a signal for him to sit down.

Mr. Red sat amusingly on a leather swivel chair made from anaconda skin. Behind him is a huge cabinet with several books covering generations of bestselling authors. On his desk is the statuette of a werewolf, a mythical creature that is half man and half wolf generally found in the European continent.

“Sit down.” Mr. Red gestured for John to grab one of the seats in front of his table while still keeping his eyes focused on the letter.

“Ahemmm!” He slowly turned his eyes on John and handed him the letter.

“This came for you just today. It’s from Smart Tech Industries. Go ahead read it.”

John opened the letter and started reading. His eyes turned bright when he finished.

“Is this true sir?”

“I guess it is. Smart Tech Industries appreciate your research experience and proposal, and they’re offering you a scholarship.”

Unable to contain his happiness - “Woooh! I made it! Thank you Mr. Red.”

“No problem John. Congratulations.”

As John left the office, Mr. Red could not help but smile. He might be a strict principal but he has a heart for students who have dreams and are determined to achieve them no matter how long it takes. Surely John will make his alma mater proud of him. Someday in the near future he would be one of the well-respected scientists of his generation.

“I made it! I made it!” shouted John as he ran across the corridor towards the canteen.

Charlie heard his friend and immediately stood up holding his soda drink on one hand and a burger on the other.

“What happened dude?”

John gestured him to chew the burger in his mouth before he answered his friend’s query.

There is no doubt why Charlie has a big muscular frame. He loves to eat and is a football player. As a matter of fact, he is the Center of the Tigers, the football team of Riverside Middle School. He is so massive with a 6 foot 10 frame and a weight of over 270 pounds.

“I passed the evaluation buddy. I received a scholarship from Smart Tech Industries. Next year I’m gonna be studying at SIMTech Academy in California.”

“Is that so…” replied Charlie with a soft voice. He could not hide the sadness in his eyes. The friend, the brother he has been with for so many years will be leaving soon.

John sensed the misery Charlie is in. He instantly approached his buddy and hugged him tightly.

“Don’t ye worry buddy. I will be visiting you during breaks!”

His chum smiled sheepishly, “Alright dude.”

Even though he knows that he can't be with his best bud in college, John would still pursue going to SIMTech. He believes that through this institution he will finally get a chance to find the answer to the werewolf that has been bugging him in his dreams...