Just About Everything

No. 2 - MISTY MEMORIES

Hey everyone,

here is another one of short stories. This one is set in old Sweden and it's the only story I wrote for my Czech lit class, that I ever liked, so hopefully, it won't be that bad.

Also, I'd like to thank every single one of you who reads JAE. It really makes me happy and the time I spend writing doesn't seem so pointless. ;)

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MISTY MEMORIES

A long time ago there were times when people believed in myths, old tales and the magic of living. The stories were spreading through the land at the speed of light. Those were the times when no one questioned the unknown and all the legends were born, including this one.

Near the place that we nowadays know as Stockholm used to be a small settlement called Stadsholmen. It was a home of a watchman called Lars.

Lars was a tall old man with a worried wrinkles around his eyes. All of the children from the village were scared of him and when they saw him, they immediately ran away. No one understood him and no one even tried. Those, who knew what happened to him, didn't talk about it and those who didn't, were afraid of him just enough to not care. The villagers had no mercy on him, but it seemed that Lars didn't mind. He prefered the solitude of his little cottage on the edge of the woods to the glares that all of them shot his way.

Lars spent most of the time outside, enjoying the way nature took care of itself. During the day, he was either at the bank of the river with a rod in his hand, fishing for many hours, or out in a forest. But when the last rays of sunshine left the sky, everyone forgot that they wanted to avoid the old watchman at all costs. When the night fell, they depended on Lars to make sure that they're safe.

Lars was the most lonely person in the whole Stadsholmen and yet he was surrounded with people all the time, even though he didn't want to be.

Lars was the watchman.

Today was nothing special, it was a day like every other. The sun disappeared behind the horizon a little while ago and Lars came out of the cottage, ready to begin his watch.

He put on his long dark coat, took the lantern from the corner and closed the door behind him. The world was painted in a dark colours and it was eerily silent. That's what Lars always liked about his job. In the night there were no people outside and the only companions he had to tolerate were the animals that came out of their hiding places.

He closed the gate leading to his piece of land and set off.

The path was illuminated by the light of his lantern and all the shadows made masterpieces on the grass. Almost as if they were tall shadowy creatures crawling to their prey that dared to disturb the peacefulness of the night. Nothing of that worried him anymore. Lars kept on walking and he looked arfound to see if everything was on its place. There were rarely any disturbances in Stadsholmen, but when something did happen, it was usually very bad. It seemed like Lars would have a peaceful night today. As he walked through the village the sky got darker.

He was almost on the end of the path that marks the end of Stadsholmen and decided to make a stop near the river as always. There was a big flat stone at the bank where he sat everyday. The river was flowing in a slow rhythm and the moon was shining so brightly that it was almost blinding.

He sat down and turned to face the the forest.

It was always  bittersweet to come here. This was the place that haunted him and yet he came here almost every night. Normally, he wouldn't mind being here. The past was long gone and Lars knew it. But tonight was somehow different. Today there was no peace and silence. Today his mind kept returning to that fateful night so long ago. He didn't want to remember.