short stories

Upon the Vibrant Dunes

It was rather quiet that night, the deep blue almost black sky hanging ahead. Alto wandered through the mystical landscape of his home; The sand beneath his feet made a soft hiss as it moved. The landscape was high, warm, and colorful, with soft purples contrasting with soft reds and yellows that faded to a soft, light green.Upon the darkened sky was something simple, a soft, glowing white moon that seemed to give ambiance to the sky above keeping the stars in line. He continued to walk while listening to the breeze of the landscape he so wished to wander It had a rhythm, his footsteps had a rhythm, everything in his home had a rhythm no matter how small or big it was everything had a place; everything had an inner harmony that beat within the creatures like a heartbeat of a human It all worked the same but each inner harmony had a soft hum that concourse with its heartbeat making the humming tone. Alto stopped upon a small little dome-like machine that looked weathered away and beaten by the vibrant sand that would pick up once in a while from the rhythmic,hushed breeze. The machine was made with some type of material like metal that always remained warm but… this one was cold. Placing one of his light purple, gloved hands against the machine he did a soft smile, “I remember you” he spoke peacefully,his voice soft and rather small compared to the melodies that surrounded him. “I wonder if i can get you working again, I hope so the melody you produced into the atmosphere back then was lovely  ” he did a soft giggle with the small hope gleaming. He hoped that this would work. He missed the soothing tone that emitted from this machine that he hanged by often with his brother, Pumpkin when they were just wee little music notes. Sitting down upon the warm sand he inhaled a breath of fresh air, his voice began to Trill with a melody that created something new! From a high Do to a low Te it created a melody that was unspeakable to the human ear. The melody was soothing, smooth like butter. 

The machine was still and silent at first, the screen of the machine seemingly had power supplied to it by anomalous  means the small circle on the screen started to turn a soft pastel pink color, upon the said color change a distinct click was heard as vents on the old withered machine opened from the top, exposing the void within. Like a soft scarf in the wind a hum was emitted from the machine as a line would dance from out of the machine, the hum became audible, its song whimsical as it filled the night sky. The line would bend,twirl, and drift in the air; it had an interesting contrast of color, almost like the aurora borealis...wait...no it is an aurora borealis produced by this machine to carry the melody out across the vibrant sand dunes. Alto would smile, feeling the lash of nostalgia hitting him with the memory of his family who would come to these things weekly to allow the melody to continue, He remembered when he used to sneak out with his brother, Pumpkin to listen to the melody; Often falling asleep and waking up the next morning in there beds, it was strange but all apart of his childhood, his… Alto would pause, remembering his family, it had been a long while, a century to be exact. Signing softly he sat against the metal machine listening to the harmony that ensued, He didn’t know what caused the machine to power off for a while heck even years at a time;  It made him wonder, “what could I do now? I’m the last of the needle mouthed variant” it was hard for him to grasp the concept of the “last of its kind” variant He didn’t understand which hurt, The needle mouthed variant of a harmony had Needle like teeth often associated with vampires or plush creatures,In reality it was a complete different species, the reason why they were called “needle mouthed harmonies” was because of again the had needle like teeth,but they were not visible all the time the teeth were like a snake’s fangs, a protective sheath that covers the needle like teeth when the harmony is normally eating,these variants have two rows of teeth, normal teeth something you would see with a human, and then the needle like teeth you would see when the harmony feels in danger or threatened the needled teeth jut out just behind,in front, and even between the teeth, you may ask “doesn't that hurt?” In reality, it doesn’t the harmony’s teeth are spaced out by inches allowing the needle to come out from between without any pain. They can be aggressive depending on what the danger is currently for example if spotting blood the species reacts in aggression, it's all by instinct.

Alto thought once more, kicking up sand as he did “maybe i should head home..” his head hung low as he frowned, he didn’t realise why he felt such way he was feeling happy earlier wasn’t he? His mind felt like it was spinning with questions that will be left unanswered. Doing a gloom filled sigh he started to walk away from the machine and back home, glancing across the Vibrant,lonely landscape he couldn’t help but feel the sting of loneliness loom around him like a grey gloom cloud. He looked across the horizon to see a warped, dead city. The place was forsaken and gone it looked like it had been abandoned for years, Some buildings were completely in rubble while others were still standing in the state of decomposition, once in a while the sound of vibrant stones falling could be heard as the building crumbled again. Continuing to walk Alto couldn’t help but hear whispers of the damned souls that once lived in this barren,Vibrant colored city. The city was a strange looking one; it had mixes of soft edges with smooth turns, and sharp edges and sharp points and turns, the buildings as high as skyscrapers maybe even taller. Sometimes in the sand there was green rock like rubble which was sharp looking but in reality it was dull and could hardly do any damage the best its gonna leave you was a bruise. His eyes scanned the area till he spotted a house that looked cracked and broken down, yet a silk purple banner in undamaged condition, the edges of the banner having silky blue markings that of symbols ''ᓭ╎リ⊣ ||𝙹⚍∷ ᓭ𝙹リ⊣” (sing your song) he would smile softly, seeing that he was home or in his makeshift home, He would enter into the house the smell of stale air hit him like bricks, god….its like I don’t live here….where did the place ever go…? He asked himself, his voice weak and shaken. Every step he made made a hollow, dead creek across the dusty floor; every step was full of care and love as he still respected the sacred grounds of his forgotten home. He would lay down on his makeshift bed which was made of old soft things he found around the forsaken city like blankets,pillows,old stuffed animals torn and tattered,quilts, and other things. Feeling this made him feel worn out “hey ma” he began to talk,smiling to himself while choking up “i miss you ma, i hope your watching over me while i rest, I miss you mom….Love you” after a while of talking to nothing Alto dozed off.