Landscapes for the Dead

Mopoke

How good are you at ignoring things?

For instance, if there was a fly buzzing around your room, would you notice, or would it fade into the background? Does the noise of the traffic constantly annoy you, or can you tune it out?
Do you notice the ticking of the clock?

Let me share some knowledge with you, and I'm sure you would have heard this before: ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is also safety. Paintings on the backdrop are never a threat.
Remember that now.

Now let me introduce you to a figure who is usually a part of that backdrop. He is the Mopoke Man, so named because he has a call like a Mopoke owl. He most often goes around hooting mopoke, mopoke into the night, although he is quite skilled at producing other sounds as well; the barking of a dog, the chirping of crickets, the howl of the wind, the dry scuttling of a dead branch against a wall.

Most times people don't notice he's there, and that's fine. The Mopoke Man likes these people. He is perfectly content to be a part of he background, but what really excites him is when people take notice. When that happens, he steps forward.

Have you ever stopped to listen to the sounds of the night? To truly listen to them? And have you noticed, that when you focus on them they somehow appear to get louder?

Things do tend to get louder as they get closer.