Chapter 2 – The Coming of Age
Valentine Morningstar.
That was his name.
Once.
Before the whispers. Before the villagers spat it like a curse. Before the night his parents vanished into the forest and never returned.
Now, he was just Valentine Blake, renamed after David—the man who took him in. A new name to bury the old one. A new name to silence the malice reserved for outsiders.
Because the Morningstars weren't from here.
They'd stumbled upon the village years ago, outsiders lost in the hills. The people would've turned them away—they always turned outsiders away. It was tradition. Tradition kept the village safe. Tradition kept the forest from noticing you.
But Dr. Jay Morningstar changed all that. He saved the village when an incurable sickness spread through its streets like a plague. He cured the children when even the elders had given up. He healed the chief's own wife when she was days from death.
So the village made an exception.
They let Jay, his wife Daria, and little Val—barely five—stay.
But five years later, they broke the one rule they were warned never to break. They entered the forest.
No one knew why. No one saw them leave. And they never came back.
That was six years ago.
Val was sixteen now. Still angry. Still feeling abandoned. Still wondering what was real.
---
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of a pebble striking the thin metal door of his shed snapped him awake.
"Heeey! Val! Will you get up already? We're gonna be late!"
A girl's voice, half sweet, half furious.
Val groaned and rubbed his face. Oh no… she's mad.
"I'm coming!" he shouted, voice cracking from sleep. "Just give me a second!"
"Don't you dare lie to me! I know you're still in bed!"
Val stumbled up, muttering, "Okay, okay, now I'm coming!"
---
Twenty minutes later.
The shed door creaked open and Val stepped out, hair damp, fresh clothes on, looking way too smug for someone running late.
"Whew!" he stretched dramatically. "Okay, done. Let's go!"
A small hand reached up and smacked the back of his head.
"Twenty minutes? That's your 'I'll be there in a second'?"
"Ow!" Val winced, rubbing his head. "Relax, Syd. I just had to take a shower."
"Relax?" Sydney crossed her arms. "I've been waiting out here like an idiot while you—"
She stopped mid-sentence, sighing. This was so typical Val.
Sydney was his best friend—since before he even remembered what "home" was. Her family had been the first to welcome the Morningstars. They'd grown up side by side, and somewhere along the way, she'd taken it upon herself to keep Val alive.
"Val," she said with exaggerated calm, "what kind of guy keeps a girl waiting outside for twenty minutes?"
"Uh… this kind?" Val grinned sheepishly.
She raised her hand threateningly. "Don't test me."
"Alright, alright, sorry! Let's just go."
They started walking.
Halfway down the dirt path, Val tilted his head. "Wait… where are we going again?"
Sydney stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "You cannot be serious."
"What?!"
She slapped her forehead. "You know, sometimes you're such a doofus."
"Yeah, I know." He smirked. "But you love it."
She gave him a side-eye. "Keep dreaming."
"So? What's the rush?"
Sydney exhaled through her nose. "We're late for the coming-of-age meeting. The one where they finally assign us our responsibilities? The thing that determines our whole place in the village?"
"Oh." Val blinked. "Great. Another chance for James to yell at me."
"That's because you make it so easy for him! You're always causing trouble!"
"I'm just… telling the truth," Val said defensively.
Sydney stopped walking and turned to face him. "Val. You don't need to prove anything. Not to the elders. Not to the kids. You have David. You have me. You're not alone here."
Val's face flushed slightly. "…You really believe me, though? About the stories being fake?"
Sydney smiled sadly. "I don't know what to believe. But causing chaos won't change the past. It won't bring them back. So… just try to stay out of trouble this time, okay? For me?"
Val nodded, his throat tight. "…Yeah. I'll try."
---
"HEY! You two!"
A voice shouted from down the path.
A boy their age ran up, panting. "The chief's been waiting for you! Everyone's inside already!"
"Oh no," Sydney muttered, grabbing Val's arm. "We're dead."
Val gulped, looking over his shoulder at the looming village hall. "Yeah. Definitely dead."