A setting sun, the death of a day. And after night comes to perish, the sun sets out again. A rebirth of sorts…
Some stars were bright and luminous, some just a flickering light on a dark canvas. A few clouds stretched thinly here and there through the vast dark sky while a breeze wheeled them around. Sounds of the forest weren’t as loud as in the daytime, still, a slight rustle, a low tap, all of those were a part of the forest shrouded in darkness.
She kept staring into the night, hoping moon would show itself on the side of the horizon seen from her window. But it didn’t. The moon wouldn’t flash its blemished face today. While connecting the stars almost like dots, something flickered in the periphery of her vision.
Movement. She turned her head towards the motion, squinting into murkiness, trying to locate whatever it was. There! On the old macadam road. A man or a boy, lugging an archaic cart? Why would anyone haul something so old? It seemed he didn’t care the cart was bigger and obviously heavier than him, he kept pulling it incessantly almost like he had to do it. It was weird, seeing it in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere where her house stood.
He would pull, then stop. Pull, stop. And again.
Moonlight shone right on him from somewhere behind her house. Such brightness gave him a glow among shadows. Almost as if he was an apparition. His head turned towards the moon, consequently towards her, she finally saw his face. A young face. Not much older than hers, if not younger. But the look in his eyes seemed older, much older than anything she had ever seen to this day. He stopped. No more pulling. Totally motionless, observing that white splotch in the sky as if he was waiting for something. She was lulled by his appearance, watching him shining nearly as the moon itself.
And that was when it happened. A beast. A beast appearing in the night, jumping from his blind spot.
“Watch out!” She heard a shout, then realized it was her who yelled.
It was a female voice that prompted him to move, leaving the cart and slamming into the beast, hitting it with his right hand.
All the time the beast was present, it didn’t release even the slightest sound. Like it didn’t exist at all. Even when he hit it when the beast started fading away from the moonlight. No reverberation.
After the beast disappeared, he turned to look directly at her. Standing motionless again, just looking. Uncomfortable would be the right description. She felt uncomfortable while pinned by his stare. It seemed like an hour passed. But in reality, it was just 10 seconds before he smiled.
“Thank you.” With that, he turned away and grabbed his cart.
Pull. Stop. Pull. Stop….
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