Nocte Yin: Anti-Villain, Anti-Hero and Anti-Everything Else

Prologue

"Once upon a time..."

#

"Dude, I'm telling ya! I saw the end of the world. It was, like, this vision or something, I swear. No, it wasn't my mind playin' tricks on me. Okay, yes, maybe I was smokin' some of that sweet stuff - but that doesn't make it any less true! It wasn't like my other 'imaginary friends;' it was the real deal! - Don't give me that look! - Do you want to hear it or not?- Good.

"There was this giant tortoise - of course it was a tortoise, it had stumpy feet! Dude, stop interrupting and just listen! There was this giant tortoise and on its shell were numbers. It was in, like, ice - frozen ice - and above it was a man.

"Dude, I have no idea. I couldn't see his face - it was, like, he was a shadow or something - Yeah, a 'silhouette,' that's the word.

"Anyway, the man was creepy.

“Then, all of a sudden, my vision changed. I was looking up at the sky - it was totally blue, man - and this light - this bright, bright light - fell from the clouds!

"It wasn't a star, dude. I think I'd know a star when I see one.

"So it hit me - right in the face. Like, BAM! And so I fell on the ground, and this hand pops up! I tried to run, man. Dude, seriously, I tried to run, but it held onto my feet! - Of course I was freaked out! I'm only human, man. - So then another hand popped out and a body crawled out from the hole. It was a darkness – I’m tellin’ ya, a deep, deep darkness - and it leapt at my face!

"Before I knew it, the man with the tortoise - not the turtle - totally woke up! Yeah, yeah, they were sleeping - Sorry I forgot to mention it earlier. Anyway, when I saw the tortoise's eyes, I knew - just knew, man - that it would be the end of the world.

"And just when I thought it was all over, a girl - a little girl - opened her mouth and some sort of music came out, man. It was the best sounding thing in the world. Better than Coldplay - and nothing's better than Coldplay!

"Her eyes glowed and there was a flash of light and then darkness and then chaos.

"I don't know what happened in the end, man, cause I woke up in the hospital. The nurses told me that I had a seizure and I was saying things - scary things.

"But, seriously dude, it was the end of the world, I swear. I’m gonna go to church and pray for my soul, that’s how serious I am about this."

#

She opened the cast-iron gate and stepped into the graveyard. Her entourage waited at the other side. Winter had ended, snow had melted, leaving behind flatbrown grass soaked in over-saturated earth. The sun was bright, a fire that did not hold enough warmth in the cold breeze. It seemed, nowadays, that there was very little warmth to be had in anything.

Dressed in a strong wool coat and thick black boots, she trekked up the muddy hill. Each step was tentative and yet, at the same time, solid, as if she was a walking contradiction. Holding the collar of her coat against her cheeks to fend off the wind, she gazed at the bag bouncing against her hip– to make sure she was looking at anything else but the stones that ran like a small forest over the grounds.

She spotted a few birds in the sky – a squirrel running about – a sparse leaf – anything but the skeletal stones.

Opening another gate, she entered into the central courtyard. This time she left the gate open, letting the ones sleeping beneath the outer yard to be close to the others, even for a moment. She knew, if ever her Time came or if ever her Space closed in, she would be outside of the inner courtyard while he would be sleeping inside. She could only hope that if that moment ever came, that someone would open the second gate and leave it exposed, if only for a moment, so that she and he, and possibly she and the other he, would be reunited – if only for just a moment.

She stopped in front of a black pillar, a marked grave she dared not step closer to. It was hard to believe, even after a month and a half, that he was gone – that her family was no longer speaking to her. It had been harsh for her, but she was fortunate enough in having a few building blocks given to her, enough to rebuild.

Enough to be resurrected.

She dropped her hands from her coat and reached into her bag, taking out a bundle of incense and a bottle of rice wine. She finally lifted her eyes to the gravestone and forced a smile for him.

She did not say a thing. No words were needed between the both of them. They just understood.

Even if he were dead.

Even if she were alive.

They just knew.

She lit the incense and dug them into the ground. Unscrewing the bottle, she spilt the wine onto the earth, mixing with the mud and grass, for him to drink. Pulling out paper money, she burnt them so that he would have enough funds in the afterlife. Then, after what seemed like a long time just standing there, she placed a white lily on his tombstone, held into place by the stray stone she had left behind from the last visit.

She straightened and crossed her arms, hugging herself from the cold.

It really was a nice day. The wind was fresh, determined to brush aside the old for the new. The sun was big and round, fighting off the shadows for the day. Trees were beginning to show their leaves, flowers were beginning to sprout and animals were beginning to prepare themselves for the long ritual of courtship.

Everything was moving forward.

Even her.

Except she didn't want to.

What could the future possibly hold that would be worth the trial of life?

She checked her watch and saw that she was running late. Tomorrow morning would mark another start, another end. Another something mysterious and unpredictable.

One would think that she was used to it by now.

But no, she wasn't.

Packing up her things and leaving a kiss on the stone, she lifted her collar once more and made her way back down the hill. She glanced back briefly and spotted a white stag on the other side of the far fence.

It was beginning again.

Another journey.

Damn.