The Choice

The wind parted the branches of trees, as though it was looking for something hidden amongst them. As though some unknown conscience willed the wind to search. The wind might as well have been searching for something. Since there was a man just below the canopy of leaves that the trees had made. I had spotted him earlier that day and after seeing his strange behavior decided to follow him. This man I had been following, in turn appeared to be looking for something, something that he was having a very hard time finding. The man continued his search as he headed deeper into the forest, I following closely in his footsteps. The canopy of leaves, the trees themselves, and the noise from the wind being my only cover. The moving branches almost seemed to be beaconing to him. At one point I even imagined I saw a hand come out from behind a branch in front of him. The very landscape as I knew it changing before my very eyes as I traveled with him deeper and deeper into the forest. Long ago having lost sight of the village that we came from.

The wind persisted on, the same as the man's persistence to find the answer to some mystery, known only to him. Deeper he went until he came across an old building, in desperate need of repair. It was no ordinary building however. It was an old shrine, whatever religion it used to belong was hard to distinguish after so many years of disrepair. Even so anyone could see that the building had some religious purpose hidden in the rotting timbers. With the main gate's pillars fallen away and decaying off to the side, proving the place was of some significance to even the firm doubter. The man walked past these into the main courtyard, then sat down on the first step entering into the shrine. With a look on his face that showed only half satisfaction, he sat for quite some time. It was though he was waiting for something. First he was searching then he was waiting, but for what? If any common bystander such as myself had seen this scenario they would be quite confused about the whole affair. However I, being a member of the town's guard, had to try and find out why this old man insisted on coming to this desolate place.

I could not do this properly if the old man had seen me, as he would grow resilient if he did. So instead of walking up to him to ask what was going on, I hid in the shadows of the towering trees to hide. If I waited long enough he would hopefully reveal what was going on. So hiding in the trees I watched him for quite some time. The old man stirred from his seat. Heart thumping so loud in my chest that I thought I would get caught because of its noise, I watched intently. He walked inside the shrine for a few moments only to come back outside. He was holding on to what appeared to be an old teakettle. This he put on the 7 foot ledge around the shrine. Then he walked over to back of the shrine. Trying not to lose him I followed him, always hiding in the shadows of the trees. He walked over to what appeared to be an old warehouse, and went inside. Once he came he was holding a small box, and then headed back to the front of the shrine. While they seem like innocent actions on their own, they did not explain why the old man had come to this desolate place.

If it were not for the fact that the old man was on the watch list for us guards, I would have dismissed these actions that he made as minor. However this was the first time he had done anything truly suspicious, namely the fact that he came all the way into the back of the woods. So I had to watch his every move. At that moment it appeared as though he was setting up a fire. This obviously meant the old man was making some tea. This was still suspicious, since it is very strange to make tea in the middle of nowhere. Especially since he appeared to be waiting. Also it was getting very late. With the last remains of the sun almost gone, and moon creeping its way out of bed. With the amount of time it took to walk here, combined with the almost endless waiting, nine hours had passed at most, making it around seven o'clock. The old man's patience bordering on what would be considered impossible for most. I was getting impatient myself, and since the old man was just sitting there, I desired to leave. However if I went back to the village, the chief of the guard would reprimand me, so staying put was the better option. So I decided to have a nap instead since the old man was obviously not going anywhere. Sleep heavily coating my eyelids, I dozed off.

I finally awoke around two hours later, and the moon was shining, just above the treeline. The old man was now huddled in front of the fire on his place on the steps, and he was barely moving. The tea undrunk and un-poured, sitting just beside the fire in order to keep it warm. Then I noticed there beside him sat not one but two teacups, confirming my suspicion that he was waiting for someone. After another hour had passed he finally moved again. With such little movement, combined with the cold night air I had almost thought the old man had passed on. After a very long time he had finally decided to pour the tea. After pouring the tea he had picked his own cup up for a drink, leaving the other full cup on the step beside him. Then quite suddenly a lady who looked way younger than the man stepped out of the shrine's main door. She sat down beside the man as he nodded hello.

I could hardly think at that moment, there was no way any person would wish to associate with her. There almost appeared to be a shadowy aura surrounding her entire being. Not only that but her entire existence seemed unnatural. The most unnatural thing about her was her striking violet eyes. It is impossible for anyone to have eyes of that colour. I wish I could say I was being biased on my assertion that she was sinister, however I could not shake the feeling for some reason. Despite this I could see her violet eyes that almost seemed to glow in the firelight. The two of them sat there for a while, slowly watching the fire die and drinking their tea. Finally after some more time had passed the lady spoke, "Are you sure you want to leave your home?" The old man, who had obviously though about this matter for quite some time responded right away, "I'm certain, there is nothing this old body of mine could do to help my village anyway." The woman now smirking, gave just as quick a response, "That doesn't help convince me. After all it is those who are strong that live the longest in the place you wish to go. My homeland does have a reputation for killing off many who cannot survive." The old man, gave his mysterious guest a look that showed he thought she was joking. "Even though there are many dangers, I still intend to go. Despite the fact I met you when I was just a child doesn't mean I have changed my mind."

At this point my mind went blank, they had to be joking. He was way older than her, and yet he said he had met her when he was child. The only other possibility is if she were older than him, yet that was impossible. Apparently I had remained in a state of shock for some time because the words that jolted me back into reality came from the lady, "Well it would appear as though we have company." Her deep purple eyes glowing fiercer than before as she stared right at me. My heart had practically stopped at this point, but I quickly recovered, since it was now my duty to arrest the both of them for suspicious behavior. I deftly jumped out of my hiding place and made my way towards them as quick as I could. As I was doing this I was about to tell them to stay put. But the lady cut me off with an ever present smirk on her face. "That's too bad we were just leaving." Faster than I thought was possible the pair vanished into the shine into what appeared to be a hole suspended in mid-air, its entrance horizontal instead of vertical. By the time I had gotten to where they had vanished, the hole and those who escaped though it were gone.