The Wolf's Secret

A hidden secret that not even the owner knows.

Everyone has a secret, even if the secret is unknown to the person that the secret belongs to. Such secrets are often a weakness or an obscure memory that a person has that they either forget on accident or choose to forget, or even something that is not told. These kinds of secrets are few, but they exist, especially in the life of one young boy.

Chet was the school bully. Seventeen and not exactly the most honest or kindest person, he constantly teased and scared the weaker kids of the school. He was infamous for his wedgies and swirlies. A typical grade school bully in a teenager’s body. It seemed to most that he never spent any time actually learning from the school. His time in school was mostly spent in either detention or the office. The only reason he squeaked by without getting expelled was because his mother would bail him out every time Chet was on the verge of expulsion.

His reasons for his bitterness was because his father had died at the age of thirty, when Chet was only five. It seemed odd, for five generations before Chet, it seemed that everyone one of his male family members died at the age of thirty. Of course, Chet never bothered to find out why, since the reasons for their deaths differed from man to man. The reason for his father’s death was because of an overdose of drugs.

Chet had returned from another day of school and detention. His mother was at work, and wouldn’t be back till around six. He went into the living room and laid down on the couch, not even bothering with his homework, since it would be done by the smartest kid in school. He turned on the T.V. and turned to his favorite show. While the commercials were going, he stared at the wolf painting on the wall to the left of the T.V. He always wondered why his family kept that painting, since it was nothing but the wolf’s face, seeming to come out from the darkness. It bored him, but the commercials bored him more. The picture distracted from the noise of people telling him what to buy and what not to buy.

Chet was sitting there till about five-thirty, when there was a knock at the door. He ignored it at first, but when the knocking became insistent, he got up to make whoever was disturbing him go away. He opened the front door, and to his surprise it was Ben Finner, the smartest kid in school. He was still wearing thick rimmed glasses that seemed to fall down every few seconds. He also had a small stack of papers under his arm. Ben seemed to have this smirk on his face that seemed to show that he had either won something or was about to.

Ben’s face always annoyed Chet, so seeing Ben at his front door while he was relaxing almost infuriated him. Chat said, “What do you want, nerd? If you didn’t know, I was busy with something,” the sounds of the T.V. still going in the background.

Ben still had his smirk, “Well, considering that I am the one with your homework, I doubt you are very busy,” he readjusted his glasses, “Anyway, here, this belongs to you.”

Ben handed the papers to Chet. Chet looked at the papers, “This is my homework, and it’s not done!” Chet grabbed Ben by his shirt, “Why isn’t it done?”

Ben stayed calm, not even concerned for what Chet may do, “I see that you are a little upset, but if you let me down, I will tell why I am here.”

Chet, curious, let him go. Ben dusted himself off then walked inside to the living room. Ben walked with confidence, hands behind his back. He stopped in front of the painting of the wolf. Chet was standing in the entrance to the living, confused on why Ben was so fascinated with the old painting.

Still looking, Ben said, “Nice painting, where did you get?”

Chet was starting to get annoyed, but answered, “My family has had it for a long time. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering,” Ben turned to face Chet, still having that smirk. He said, “I have been doing some research on you, and found something interesting. Every male member of your family has died at the age of thirty, right?”

“What is it to you?”

“Well, you see, this painting reminds of something that your family has done, a long time ago. It seemed that your family stole something from someone, someone that claimed to be a wizard, or a witch of some kind. Something that belonged to them was stolen by your great-great-great grandfather, if I am not mistaken. The person was outraged at his loss, and cursed whoever had stolen the painting to die an early death, as well as his male descendents. At least, that’s how the story goes.”

“And you think I would believe this, why?”

“Because, I know you have probably found it weird that every male member of your family has died for one reason or another, and at thirty. A relatively young age for most everybody in the world.”

Chet thought about it for a moment, realizing that maybe the nerd may be onto something, “So tell me, what was stolen that made this crazy wizard so angry?”

Ben’s smirk got bigger, “I could tell you, but then, what would I get out of it?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Ben walked over slowly, then stopped a foot in front of Chet. He said, “I want you to do everything I say till the end of the school year. Then, and only then, will I tell you what you need to return. Do we have an agreement?”

Chet hesitated for a moment. This nerd in front of him was trying to bribe him with a curse that probably didn’t exist. The odd thing was, Chet almost believed him.

After a moment, Chet said, “Alright you have a deal. But I better not be made to do anything that ruins me.”

Ben chuckled a little, “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.”

The following months were a pain for Chet. While Chet was doing whatever Ben said, it made Chet feel humiliated. While Ben’s goal seemed to ultimately give Chet some humility, Chet only felt more hatred for Ben. Chet was forced to be a pack mule and basically be Ben’s bodyguard against the lesser bullies of the school.

Without someone to do his homework, Chet was forced to do it himself. He didn’t ask for any help, since he thought that it would make him look stupid. Though his grades did the job just fine of showing how smart Chet really was.

It was about a month before school had ended when Ben had moved away, before he could tell Chet what he had to return to whoever it was stolen from. Chet didn’t really care it seemed. He was just glad that Ben no longer ordered him around, though it wasn’t that bad.

Years passed. Chet was twenty-nine and not doing so well. He ended up being small drug dealer after he didn’t pass high school and didn’t make it into college. His drug dealing didn’t last, being arrested after only a couple of years. He ended up working at a low paying job in the city that barely supported his wife and four year-old son.

One day, Chet was sitting on a bench just outside a coffee shop when a man in a suit come up to him and sat down. He adjusted his thin rimmed and sleek glasses and said, “It has been a long time, Chet.”

Chet looked at the man sitting next to him, and after a few seconds of thought, he remembered, “It hasn’t been long enough, nerd.”

“For me, it's been too long, but enough small talk. It seems you haven’t forgotten the deal we made when we were children. Still want to find out what item was stolen from that wizard long ago.”

“Nah, I never really believed you to begin with, though it explain the bizarre timeframe that my family seems to die in.”

“Haha, that’s true,” it seemed like Ben never lost his smug smile since the day he told the story about Chet’s secret family history, “Since you still don’t believe me about your family’s past, let’s make a bet. Do you still have that wolf painting that I liked so much?

Chet, almost suspicious, asked, “Yeah, my mother gave it to me when I left home, why?”

“Well, since time is almost up for you, by my calculations, if you happen to die before you're thirty-first birthday, I will get that painting.”

“And what do I get if I happen to turn thirty-one?”

“Well, from what I have been able to find out about you, you seem to be financial trouble. If you win, I will help you get out of trouble. I may even help you find a new job. Does that sound like a fair deal? I mean, either way you won’t lose much.”

Chet thought about it for a moment, not really thinking on why Ben would want the painting so much. Finally he said, “Sure, why not? I have nothing to lose.”

“Then it is a deal. You may want to write that in a will so no one will forget.”

“Fine, fine, I will, just make sure you pay up when you lose.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t lose.”

Months later, Chet died in a car accident only a few weeks after he had turned thirty. It wasn’t until a couple weeks later that Ben had received a package in the mail. He gently unwrapped the painting of the wolf.

Ben looked at the painting for a few minutes to admire it. He then turned it over to look at the bottom right-hand signature, and found the name “Finner” signed there.

Ben smiled, then said, “Welcome back.”