God of Odd

2. The Shape on The Road- part one

2. The Shape on the Road- part one

He would usually do the driving and she would usually sit quietly in the passenger's seat, but sometimes she preferred to do the driving- like the morning they were heading down into town for the weekend market. The drive through the forest, along the bendy hillside on a summer morning, made driving worthwhile. She happily sat at the wheel, pulling it through her hands bend after bend- flickering sunlight at one bend, shadows at another. He relaxed, enjoying the occasion-no radio playing, just the quiet, cool sounds of the motor. Near silence, watching the movement of the view and feeling the movement of the vehicle, was therapy. Conversation wasn't required, but sooner or later, it happens. Almost as though she was thinking aloud, she told him, "I do hope they still have that rug. I really should have bought it the last time we were there." No response for a second or two, but then, "Why didn't you?" "I don't know. I guess if I bought everything I took a fancy to we'd be broke." No pause this time for his reply, "You do and we are!" They shared the joke with a smile, and then, reaching out and digging her fingers into his knee, she said, "I'm worth it though ain't I babe?" "Well..." he looked at her and she quickly glanced at him, "Most of the time." he quickly added, with a big 'so so' grin and a nod of his head.

It was a perfect morning for the drive and they were both full of the optimism that summer mornings can bring. That morning the traffic had been particularly low and their spirits particularly high. Since they'd hit the road they'd seen, perhaps, just two other cars. Empty roads, clear sunny morning and being together with time on their side were how they loved it to be. Life can be good and on this morning life was good.

The couple were childless, still relatively young and still enjoying the youth of their relationship. They both had positive views of life and of the future- in short, they were happy and content people and probably more so than most.

After another five minutes of calm quietness, something moving in the forest caught his attention. He watched and wondered what it was. When it was gone he was still thinking about it, trying to work out what it could have been. He was then thinking that, maybe, his eyes had deceived him but, whilst he was thinking that, he saw it again. This time he spoke up,

"Hey!" He sat up from his lounging position and looked over his shoulder. He turned back, "I just saw something in the woods." She teased him, "There's always something in the woods." His voice was serious and with a little excitement in it, "No-I saw something weird. It was like a_ a blurry shape_ coasting along, moving through the trees. Like smoke but, kind of solid smoke." She didn't know what to say. He continued, "Really-it was weird! It was twirling_" She quickly braked the car and brought it to an immediate halt.

Just twenty metres up ahead in the middle of the road stood a lone deer. The creature stood staring in their direction. "Wow. There's a treat, eh?" was her immediate reaction.

Whilst they watched and treasured the moment, a young foal came out from the brush on their side of the road. The mother stood firm as the young one slowly trotted across the road. The couple both exclaimed with an 'ah!' and she added, "Beautiful!" Before the foal had reached the other side its sibling trotted out from the brush and the couple's exclamations turned to cheers. It was then that the weird, thick column of smoke came writhing and twirling out of the woods, some ten metres behind the deer. "That's it! That's what I saw!" "What the hell is that?" She exclaimed.

The shape hung in the air, hovering just a few inches off the road. Fat at the top, tapering away at the bottom, it was a dark smoky grey, the height of a very tall man but much fatter. It revolved like a miniature tornado in slow motion- and it was silent. They sat and watched and they made tiny sounds to express their amazement. The thing very slowly began creeping forward, towards the unsuspecting animals.