The Life of the Forest

He knew that even if he could have walked home, he would have died shortly of blood loss. At the sight, James' mother fell to the ground beneath the oak. It was at this point that she went into labor. Luckily her husband had not yet carried out his intentions, and was able to deliver the baby. The combination of labor and hunger was too much for James' mother, and as his father nestled him between the roots of the tree, she passed away. Her husband then pulled her skirt back down over her legs, swallowed the barrel of the gun, and fired.
 Several hours later, another hunter crept up to the clearing at the foot of the tree. Due to his failing eyesight, he had been following a set of tracks backward - those from the deer James' father had attempted to shoot. He rushed to the tree, and stared awestruck at three dead bodies lying sprawled on the blood-soaked ground. The third, however, was not dead. Just as the hunter was pulling a tarp from his pack to cover them, he heard the baby cough and begin to cry. He was startled, but dropped the tarp, gathered the baby into his arms, and hurried toward his truck. As he wrapped the baby in his jacket and stepped into the cab, a storm broke and began to drench the land.
 In a small town, everyone knows who is pregnant, and when their child is due. Thus when the hunter brought James to the doctor it did not take long to determine whose baby it was. He was christened James by the hunter - who chose his own name when prompted by the doctor to think of one. He tried to explain to the doctor where he had discovered the child, but found that he was too deeply disturbed by what he had seen. The memory was too near - he could not tell it. As he drove home, the heavy rain caused his truck to lose traction, sending him in a somersault over the side of a narrow ravine. The flooded river rushed his body through the woods and deposited it in an isolated marsh.
 That night the doctor brought James to his house, where he fell asleep to the sound of nature removing all trace of his past. His aunt and uncle were contacted the next day, and moved into James' parents house to raise him. For his whole life, everyone, himself included, believed he had been abandoned as a child by parents who did not have the means to raise him.

(two)
They say that a child does not make any long term memories until after the age of two. But it is certainly not true that their experiences as an infant do not stay with them. In his heart, James carried the memory of his first day on earth. He could not explain it, but a faint glimpse of a dark afternoon would often haunt his dreams.
 On the first day he ventured into the forest alone, he felt at peace. The emotions of a two-year-old do not run particularly deep - they feel hunger, pain, and to some extent, love. In the forest, James felt none of these. He did not love the forest - he needed it. He continued to stumble between the trees, and crossed the driveway just as his uncle was coming home from work.
 Though his aunt and uncle tried to prevent him from escaping again, he quite frequently evaded them.