Night

Girl with no name

It's been a week since I was walking to that mountain. Every day passed in a blink of an eye. Last week I think I saw an asteroid falling down to earth. It's been quite a while since anything came down to earth from up there.

Soon I can rest. I'll find that river and stay there for as long as I want too. That is how I traveled. I stayed in one place until I became accustomed to my surroundings, then made myself a new destination.

Moving forward is the only way I stay sane.

I jumped over a small river, clenching my thirst and explaining to my brain that it was poisonous, so that it'd stop nagging.

About 4 hours until my destination.

I looked up at the sky. The warm bronze sunlight was swallowed by the horizon. The bright sunny day engulfed in darkness. A beautiful darkness. A darkness where my laughter lines illuminated and seemed to turn from creaks to craters as I smiled at the scintillating moon. The cold night tired me and I closed my eyes. Somewhere in the distance an owl sounded, awakening the nocturnal nature. The lustrous, dancing stars glinted in the sky, brightening it even more. I feel there is no such thing as darkness, as long as the moon is iridescently shining and the stars gleam above me, I am never completely in darkness.

Nighttime is my favorite time of day. Anyone who considers night to be a silent, brooding, and dark hour has never really became friends with it.

It was more alive than ever. The sounds of nocturnal animals, and crickets singing their repetitive melody throughout the night never left me feeling alone. It was like music to my ears. The only thing better than my music playlist was the nature's playlist.

The moon and stars shone bright, every night, to join me and listen to the heavenly sounds nature offered. The moon's cold white rays illuminated my path, as if to remind me that even in the darkness there is light.

From the midst of stars, I noticed something strange. One of them was falling.

But what was strange was that it didn't fade like the rest of the shooting stars, but got brighter.

It came closer, and closer to earth, until I realized it wasn't any star, it looked more like an asteroid.

I squinted my eyes. This was very peculiar. It didn't quite look like an asteroid.

Soon I came to another realization, it was landing at the exact place I was headed to.

Suddenly, from the deep shadows of the forest, I heard voices.

I'm probably hallucinating. I haven't seen any human in months.

I decided to ignore it kept walking ahead.

I heard them again. A jabber of voices.

This time I was sure I heard them.

I quickly bent down to scrape some mud of the ground and add it to the dry layer already present on my face.

My plan was to not let them see me if they are just passing travelers.

Using the technique I learned from the Ginchi warriors, I crept without exerting any additional sound. This trick was taught to me by the master of the Ginchi. Names there weren't mentioned. Nothing concerning anyone was known. It was just me, and my training. Having a name was not necessary.

The master taught me that to be silent, I needed to be in sync with my surroundings. 'Listen to the sounds, feel them, feel their rhythm, and allow yourself to flow with them'

I walked, not on my tiptoes, as I expected he would teach me, but with my feet planted firmly on the ground. I blended with the sounds around me. This was a thousand times easier done in the forest than in a quiet room. But both of those ways held the same secret behind them.