Ghost Rider - In the flesh
The evening light of the waning sun bathed the faces of the two dark-skinned people in rosy glow , when they came out of the village church.
The old lady took the little girl by the hand and led her , as they set out for home. The last daylight accompanied them, until they reached the edge of town.
The houses stood black and menacing against the night sky and between the streets a few hissing cats chased each other.
The old lady hesitated.
It was not her usual route, but the church had came to an end later than usual and so she had to take the abbreviation through this hood .
It was one of the poorer areas of the city , one that a child and an old woman should not enter alone. However, the Little One began to be fretful and the way around the neighborhood would have taken too much time. For a while she stood in the night coolness hesitating and considered-
She should had thought about it before, which way she would be coming home again .
" ... Sorry! " Cried a friendly voice behind them.
The old lady turned around.
A young man closed up to them. "Excuse me, that I mug you like that, but I need to get to the Kensington Drive. It is so scary alone. Could I accompany you just a little perhaps, please? "
The woman was for a moment uncertain whether she should say yes , but it was a good solution.
When the young man wanted to rob them, that he might as well do it as another one. And if he did not want to do that, they would have a good accompaniment.
" That's good . " She replied, "I need to get to the Kensington Drive too. Come. "
The young man smiled and strolled along beside them, his hands thrust in his pockets . Nothing happened , except that the darkness and the silence strained the nerves of the old nanny . But they happy and unmolested reached the Kensington Drive, where everything was brightly lit.
A well-maintained road stretched before them, new, black tar lined with friendly family row houses, pretty hibiscus bushes and beech trees grew up on neatly trimmed green stripes , subtly lit by the outside lights at the front doors.
"Just a moment , please. " The young man asked politely and stopped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a marble .
"Here, little one." He said smiling and held the small glass ball towards the child.
The girls reached out with shining eyes and smiled. When her fingers touched the marble, coldness shot like lightning up her arm.
Startled she let go again and started to cry heartbreakingly.
The marble hit the floor clicking and vanished into thin air. No one noticed it.
"Oh, what is it?!" The young man asked concerned.
"Ah, she´s just very tired already. I thank you for accompanying us. Good night. Come, Salome, we´ll go in..."
The old lady nodded at the young man and carried Salome to the door.
The outside light went on automatically, but the light seemed to avoid the figure of the man, who still stand on the street, and who looked after the nanny and the infant smiling.
It wasn´t a good smile.