Dusk Child
There was an old tree when I was a child, spiders and moths lived in its shadow. They hung and crawled as I sat in its hollow. And from there, in the dark of its old heart I leered at all that came with hearts in their hands and minds falling apart. When the moths flew, the spiders spun strings that slithered around. Then one dusk, came a cold man with a head that was crowned. He brought a rope and tossed it over the most crooked limb, and after a day, the spiders, the moths and I whispered as one. The king took a breath of moth wing's dust, as the spider strings fell around his neck. And I stretched my spider hands as we made a pact. "El.emh.Gohol ghren-eh.ghal.ganh.du.drahak". Come hang at spider dusk, as many kings and queens now hang and crawl around me.
And as the king walked home with new hope he had found; us at the tree, crept through the roots and way down below. We carried his shadow to the hall of ether eater and this is what they said.
One spoke with many voices saying, "I am the voice eater, but this voice is cacophonous-for from birth until then, too many lies had the king said".
Another, with an amalgamated face said, "I am the skin eater, but this skin is arid-for too much use has stained it, made it threadbare, ugly and weakly thin".
The third, with a pale face and dried tracks of some liquid that ran down his chin said, "I am the blood drinker, but this blood is dyscratic-because for too long he has wronged too many others; a snake's blood would taste better".
Another, with a hollow chest and dark eyes said, with a calm and empty voice, "I am the heart eater, but this heart is filled with sand and stones, give it back soon so he can use it to build his tomb.
And as none fixed the shadow, we paced out the hall, and there in a corner, sat someone hooded, dark and tall. It called and it asked with a deep and ancient voice.
"Dare you show a wanderer what wonders you carry"
All that I had was the old King's tormented shadow. We showed it, and it took it in its spindly hands-turned it, felt it, smelt it, listened to it and tasted it. Promise showed in its gray eyes and it said, "a long time ago, this shadow traveled on a wintery night, and it came across two fragile fawns and it took them in its arms. The fawns shook and they shook, until it felt the warmth of one disappear and the cold claimed it-worried, the shadow drew its blade and with tears in its eyes, cut the fur off the dead fawn, and put it over the shivering one". It continued, "this alone makes this shadow one worth more than light in this too dark hall and all worth saving". And the hooded one handed back the old King's shadow. I asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the eater of memories forgotten in the mind".
And with this, we crawled and climbed until we came home to the old dreary tree.
The moon struck dusk and a crown neared the tree, and two hopeful eyes were looking at me. The king searched for his shadow, but nowhere near was a shadow to see. Then I said, "honour our pact and your shadow will be yours. " The king, in his eyes the sun, asked what was to be done. I gave him a blade and from there in the bushes stepped out a fawn. "Kill it", I said. And the fawn came to the king and the king sat and held the knife to its throat. The spiders and moths whispered and shook. Then silence came as the knife dripped in blood. " Selfish", I said to the king. I held out his shadow in my hand and said, "you could have been the one you are not, you could have been a kind king, the one that years ago saved the fawn, but you chose your life over an innocent and vulnerable one, now, this I make and this I take, "El.emh.Gohol ghren-eh.ghal.ganh.du.drahak"
The king dropped on the dead leaves and shrunk and groaned. His limbs grew thin and dark and his eyes turned black. He grew so small and vanished under a leaf. Then crawled out a black little spider and it ran up the tree.
-Kroblac
