Thomas clasped his bow and dagger as the twilight drained away and the blanket of night slid across the forest. There were gnats at his face and the scurry of small creatures in the undergrowth- his ears were still acutely tuned from his years at war, but no man was abroad in the dark wood tonight. As he watched the biggest star and the thin moon progress across the canopy over the clearing he slipped into a deep sleep;one that remains the preserve of being home . It was the sleep of a child exhuasted after a long day of play and laughter and a full belly- yet Thomas' sleep was that of a man who had found home as he once knew before the war only in part. With his father and brother buried under a foreign sky his mother had lost her mind ; that pain of loss too much for a smile or laughter to ever grace the house again. So the solace of sleep was all that allowed Thomas to travel in dreams ,back through happier times and seasons. As the stars revolved towards dawn - as he twitched and smiled in his travels across the land of Nod, a silent form emerged from the shadows of the forest.It was a figure carrying guilt of death amd fowl deeds owned by the night.
A darke cloak parted and showed a thin blade, a malevolent spike in the wan light before the sun awoke, looked eager for prey.
The cloaked figure moved over the wet grasses and new curls of fern, none had substance or brittleness enough to betray the progress of the blade towards the hamlet's first dwellings where Thomas slouched in slumber.
The first birds began to chatter high in the break of beech trees upon the ridge- the first kiss of sunshine still minutes away. This awakening sped the figure towards Thomas and then as the intruder stood within striking distance, a dog laying unseen some feet awaysmelt the air and all hell of barking broke loose!. Thomas sprang to readiness and saw something whip away from his face- and something more- he smelled a recent memory- the smell of sex and lustful satisfaction and Guilt. He smelled Her.
He ran and stumbled and saw the passage of her escape, traced in the wet grass towards the track north. He called her name again and again until disgruntled villagers protested from their doorways.
Thomas had her smell on his collar and he knew it was Ruth-but where had she gone -and where had she been that night? He grabbed his flask and cheese- then kissed his mother's sleeping brow, asked for God's protection for her, then ran off after Ruth.
