Under the full moon the sound of twigs burning with a crack can be heard in the middle of the woods, a man sits on a log, view to the moon over his shoulders as the shadow disappears into the flame with an old pot boiling a brew with a strong stench, long trees gave cover to the creatures that hid in the dark giving a silent gossip to the night.
He sits with hands over knees as he gets warmth from the flame, his hat black as the night came over his face making it barely visible, only his lips can be seen as he chewed away, leaning in from time to time to stir what he was brewing, he grabs a cup from the left of the flame as he pours the brew inside an old tin cup, he sniffs it as if breathing in life after a five minutes dive, without a moment to waste he sips, once, twice and the third went down with a gulp.
Looking to the sky he looked over his shoulder giving a smirk.
“ it is time”
He stands up, exposing his tall figure for the first time, wearing all black he kicked dirt over the flames as he killed the last of the fire, taking a long drag of what he was sipping he dropped the cup, fixed his hat and took steps towards the thick tall trees casting shadows over the night, only source of light was the moon as it shines over the trees.
“ for how long will you hide from me
How long will you make us wait
How far will you go to escape the inevitable
Tonight we end this “
Deep within the thicket of the bushes, tall trees that have stood the test of time lay all over the dark field as tall green grasses cover the view to the ground.
A lone soul hidden within an old tree cave scampers for comfort as he shelters himself from the darkness and what ever hunts the field at night.
Hunched over in a tight spot he looked over his shoulder barely with enough room to tilt sideways, pulling on an old leather pouch he opens it bringing out a dried up brown substance, chewing on it he uses his left hand to pull his toes in closer, as the rain fall gets heavier splashing on his legs, the smell of an old tree fills the tight corner he was hiding in, looking left and right trying to be on alert to fight off any animal that may come along looking for shelter. It has gotten to a point of hiding in tree caves and sleeping on branches every night trying not to get devoured.
“ definitely not a way to live”
He stretches his right-hand looking at it as he uses his left hand to trace over the big scar visible to sight as the lightning lit the sky with a blinding flash, a few seconds later the thunderous roar of the heavens came as a thunder escorting the light, touching his ribs as his stomach made a slow rumble followed by a long growl.
“ food we can’t afford to go Look for”
He has lost a significant amount of weight, for the last time he checked he couldn’t fit into such a tight space not to mention spend a night inside, comfort never a thought of it comes to mind, only the instinct for survival has taught him to wake to the slightest sound of a cricket.
As the water slowly starts making its way into the cave due to pressure the sand was losing integrity and letting the water flow to its desired destination,
“ this surely is not a way to live, no food or safety for a wandering soul “
“ what brought you here “
“ I had to run “
“ from who exactly?“
“ from what sounds more of the question “
“ so from what exactly have you been running? “
“ he will kill me too”
“ kill you? “
Opening his eyes he looked through the darkness squinting his eyes he could barely make out anything, he looked around, eyes darting from left to right.
“ did I just have a conversation with myself? “
Using his leg to push sand and water created a little mud wall that seem to have reduced the flow of water to the cave.
“ a conversation with yourself? That will mean you are running mad “
“ who said that? “
He managed to say out loud.
“ who am I you say, for seven years we have tortured each other and all you can say is who is that?”
He heard a voice say, he could swear the voice was in his head, no sound of the rainfall not a single drop of water could be heard, yet the voice was as clear as he could hear himself think earlier.
“ I owe you no introduction
But I’ll die if I let ignorance have the best of the moment”
Looking out through the rain he couldn’t see a drop of rain anymore just a thunder storm without the usual sound that accompanied it, the sky danced with the lights as spears pierced the heart of the dark clouds.
“ I am but what you birthed
The fear in the heart of what might
I am the lurking with the unknown
Company to the forgotten son
Fear of yesterday
Experience of the wanderer
Dynasty of the eternal
Vengeance to the wicked”
As the voice starts off from within he could hear it leave with an echo in the cave he hides as the sound slowly moves to the outside, looking through the thick bushes he saw a silhouette of a man standing tall with a black hat made of the night he came out of.
“ I summon thee, come out and face me”
Leaning his head out he observed the bushes as the lightning storm brings the shadowy figure into light, dragging his behind along the coarse sand and splinters of the cave he manages to bring himself out, his feet deep within the mud he could feel the ground soaked as he emerges bare feet, slowly standing up while keeping an eye on the shadowy figure, he hears a voice this time deep and audible as it echoes through the night.
“ seven years have you wasted away
Eighty four months have you wandered
Three hundred and thirty six weeks have you lived without an aim
Running from what you’ve been destined to face
Did you really believe you could escape me? “
The figure spoke as he takes long strides speaking with authority, he could feel his knees grow weak as his presence got closer.
“ you of all people should have known
Theirs no escaping I “
With the last of his sentence lightning struck the tree he just crawled out of, setting it ablaze.
“ I wait for you no longer “
Pointing a finger to the full moon, he continued
“ she wills it also “
The flames engulfed the tree as it turned into a blazing blue fire all over the branches.
The tall figure stood in front of him, only a few inches taller revealed his true height up close.
“ at least have the courage to look me in the eyes when I’m talking to you ”
“ it’s not lack of courage that stops me from talking “
With that he looked up at the man that stood in front of him, he had on an all black attire visible from the light that now burns behind him, he saw the man had not a drop of water on him, just his hat made an umbrella to the rest of him.
Looking to the sky he saw the rain drops floating under the full moon as lightning bathed in the sky like a bipolar gypsy with a tune, the moon, the rain and the clouds all stood still, the night only broken by the strikes and flames.
“ I fear you not, I only dread the lose of them “
“ so you morn them by being useless? “
“ I morn them by saving their memories, you destroy what you touch “
“ on the contrary, I consume what I touch, I preserve by accepting “
“ why do you haunt us?
I’m the last of us
What did I do to you?
What did they ever do to you? “
“ last of you? Boy you are barely a beginning, the torture you give to yourself has started making you feel self important I see “
He raised his head as if to clear the hat from blocking his view, for the first time I felt his gaze bore into my soul.
“ it seems after all this time you still know nothing “
With his right hand he grabbed the hat as he takes it off revealing a cleanly shaved man with long beard tied with a strap right under the chin, not much hair on the head told a story of a man that loves his hygiene.
“ you still want to tell me about you being a last of anything? “
Leaning forward made M almost fall to the ground, he couldn’t believe what he was looking at.
“ who are you?
N? “
“ certainly not “
Was all the reply he got as the man dropped his gaze to the fear stricken M.
“ I’m certainly not N nor you, I am but what needs to be “
With a flash of the light he heard the thunderous sound.
The white room.
Standing in a cozy room decorated in white, only thing that stands out is the mirror he now stands in front, resting his hands on the sides of the basin he looked deep into the mirror as his eyes dart from one corner to another looking for flaws on him as he just finished shaving, with the blade and cream still resting in the basin.
Looking deep into his eyes a great smile formed on the right side of his lips as he confirmed he was ready, bulky and well fed, he pulled on his sleeves covering the barely visible scar on his right hand.
He grabbed a hat setting it upon his head he turned away from the mirror as he took eight steps, he grabbed on the pure silver door knob, he twisted it opening the door he looked back at the room and tilted the front of the cap with his hand as if bidding goodbye.
The door opens up as the white room stood out more from the black night he was about to step into.
Taking a step he pulled the door behind him as the light cut the darkness making its way into the room.
**********×***********×*************
Sitting around the fire, the children listened attentively to her as she finished telling the story, they looked in amazement as total silence broken by the cracks of twigs filled the night.
“ grand gran, who is he? “
A lone voice said breaking the vow of silence everyone has decided to take.
“ oh, he will be your burden to carry when the time comes little one, that’s if you choose to do so, IKY”
***********×*************×***********
Accept what you can’t change, the beauty of life is learning to amass greatness in the dark.
Welcome to abyss 😏
