Song, Unheard

25. A Husband, Absent

25. A Husband, Absent

She was awakened late, by a nightmare. In the dream she stood at the end of a gravel path and watched a soiled figure tend a small bonfire of burning wood. The fire stood at the center of a clearing surrounded by trees whose leaves were a bright and unusual shade of yellow. She approached the figure and saw that his face was blackened by dirt or soot and he did not appear to notice her presence. She moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder and as the figure turned, she realized it was her husband and that he had been drinking heavily. He regarded her in silence, tearful bloodshot eyes peering from within darkened skin. After some moments he turned and pointed to the flames before him. She followed the line of his finger with her gaze and she began to scream, for at the heart of the fire was a flock of birds, each alive and aflame, their beaks parted and wide in silent screams, their body fluids bubbling from boiling throats.

She awoke downstairs, in the child's bed. She heard no sound in the house. He was not in his bed, although she had barely expected it. As she walked the hall toward the family room, she trained her ear waiting for the sound of scotch being poured, but no sound came. She reached the door, turned the handle and pushed it open. The room stood empty. The fire burned, but his chair was vacant. A scotch bottle was present, but devoid of content. For a moment she detected an unfamiliar odor in the room, sniffed the air and found it unpleasantly tainted with cigar smoke. She cocked her head and listened to the sounds of the place. There was only the sound of the fire and the rain. Without knowing why, she continued into the room, past the fireplace and to the window, where she gazed into the wet darkness of the night. As she sniffed the air again, she vaguely registered a sound above the rain.