Obie has always belonged to the woods. A middle child and only boy in a lower-middle-class, single-father family, the outdoors was free childcare, and the woods a vast playground. The Agnello children were no strangers to the wild, as their father had the biggest heart for camping trips, hikes, and long fishing outings. All three rambunctious children thrived on this energy, little gremlins of the woods; they hardly cared about being teased in school, sitting at the edge of their seats for the final bell so they could run straight outside to play. Obie was no different, a joy to be around, if anyone could catch him, only sitting still for campfire smores and expired hotdogs while their father rambled drunkenly about a magical world that existed around them. In a way, little Obie understood, feeling a spiritual connection to the outdoors, and it was easy to assume this was what their father meant, and all those creaks and groans at night were just the forest coming alive at night. Obie never felt he needed to fear, approaching any strange sounds with an innocent curiosity, a trait his father was weary of encouraging. There were not, thankfully, many strange magical creatures running around their local forest in the middle of Montana, and if there were, Obie was blessedly unaware. Obie got his first job in middle school, picking up litter and maintaining a local parkground in exchange for free camping during the open season, and Obie's love for the outdoors only flourished. It was at the ripe age of 13 that he first started venturing out on small solo camping adventures. Never too far and not without proper gear, Obie's father was insistent in making sure each of his wonderfully unique kids grew up self-sufficient, and what better way was there than letting a 13-year-old roam state parks alone? Camping, fishing, canoeing, and cave-exploring were the building blocks for Obie's foundation in life. It meant Obie didn't have to think very hard about what he wanted to do as he began transitioning into adulthood, and when his science teacher suggested an environmental science program to fast-track him on the road to becoming a conservation officer, Obie dove head first. Obie quietly dreaded signing up for more schooling that would require him to be inside and stagnant but the rewards he'd reap felt worthy, and after several months of studying and interviewing, Obie was on his way to getting an education. College was difficult, while Obie did not find the classes stressful in terms of material, the young boy struggled with finding friends. He was in a new area, and although he was the opposite of shy or offputting, Obie would rather spend his time in a creek over some ice cream social, talking about celebrities. Find him on a hiking trail, and the young man would talk up a storm about his rocks, bugs, and other wilderness trinkets! Without friends and severely lacking the funds (outside of his program stipend), Obie spent his long weekends and holidays in nature, trekking up beaten paths into the unknown for a bit of peace. Bad weather hardly deterred him, and maybe it was there, with childish ignorance, that led to Obie's accident one evening while camping outside of town. He fell, one stumble carrying firewood back to his little makeshift camp. While such a stumble for someone as young and strong as him was hardly fatal, a slide into darkness with various debris could be: no one knew Obie was in these woods. Blessed be the stone Obie's skull collided with, making his transition into death relatively painless. Any writhing and discomfort that came from slowing dying pinned in a rockslide over the next few minutes, hours, and possibly days were nothing the young boy could recall, just waking up at the bottom of a small rockslide with no memory but an inclination to climb back up. The wandering boy found his camp but could not recognize it as his own, only some internal feeling that this was where he belonged, seeking shelter in an old tent with trinkets he wanted to claim. Here he resided, time passing in an intangible way, with no understanding of what he was or why was what he was, wandering the forest until daylight inevitably drove him back to the little tent, nestled deep in the forest, off a beaten path.