Moonlight Night
It is a peaceful night, the air was cool and breeze gently pushing and pulling the long grass in a tender swaying motion. Stars twinkle filling the dark sky with light. If anyone were gazing up at them, would believe the stars were competing for the on-lookers' attention. Yet, the moon outshined them all; its pale glow illuminating the world beneath it with a ghostly light. In the nearly endless expanse of field fireflies blink into light and slowly back into darkness, at first small in number then steadily growing to dance in the evening air.
There are no towns or people for miles, just empty fields as far as the eye can see, except one tall ancient tree. It stands taller than any normal house, its trunk large and strong, and its branches thick and full of lush leaves creating a shadowed canopy beneath it.
A lithe figure suddenly appears, casually making its way toward the tree; the grass parting after step through the sea of green. The sound of crickets fills the night, giving the fireflies music to dance to by the light of the moon. Slowly the figure stops and stands upon the hill with the tree. As the clouds part the moon to illuminates the form of a young woman. Her long dark tresses cascade down her back which blow gently in the wind. Her figure is powerful but delicate; her features soft, almost ethereal, her eyes seeming to glow between a woodsy brown to rich red from the light of the fireflies. Tired from her journey she seats herself upon the hill gazing at the diamond filled sky.
Out of the night a strong breeze blows, rustling the woman's hair. Turning her head away from the wind, a smile graces her lips as she tucks the loose tresses behind her ear. When it finally dies, she turns to gaze back up to sky, the moon shining for her it seems, and her alone. Another gust picks up, rustling the tall grass and the leaves of the tree, causing the woman to close her eyes and turn away.
Suddenly the sky darkens. Surprised by the immediate darkness she looks up to find clouds blocking the evanescent moon. Her face creases a little in thought, for the sky had been a clear only moments ago.
From the base of the tree a strange dark shadow appears, its presence seems to envelop all the sounds of the night. The shadow slowly extends just to the edges of the ancients trees, a few feet from the shadow of the woman's. The sound of footsteps, alerts her to the presence close by.
Out of the corner of her eye she sees the outline of a man appearing at the base of the trunk. The unknown silhouette mimics the woman's position while staying hidden in the shadows of the tree. For long hours of the night they sit in silence.
Slowly the woman rolls her head to the side, trying to relieve the ache of staring up into the sky for too long. As she does so she catches a better glimpse of the silhouette and grins. At this the clouds slowly part to reveal the moon. Just as if the sun were rising, the moon's light creeps across fields racing toward the tree.
The woman is bathed is faint white light while the shadow of the tree is darkened by that of shrouded figure. She sighs in content and stretches ever so much, her shadow reaching that of the tree's. At this the darker shadow melds with hers enveloping her shadow as well. A warm passes over body and she shivers slightly at the invisible contact.
Once again the crickets return to their song, a gentle breeze passes over the fields and the fireflies glint into existence. The woman and her shadow remain for the entire night as the sky slowly fades into coming dawn.
Noticing the lighting colors of the sky, both the woman and her shadow stand, gazing at the first glints of sun's rays over the horizon.
The woman turns to face the figure still hidden by the tree, their shadows no longer touching.
Both raise their hands as if to touch each other as the sun peaks over the horizon, bathing the land in its warm orange light. Slowly it races across the fields towards the woman. She looks to her hand almost ready to touch figure, then looks up to stare into glinting red eyes being revealed as the sun rises. The form slowly solidifies from the shadows into broad shoulders and shoulder length dark hair. A pale face appearing beneath thick dark lashes.
In an instant as the shadow's hand solidifies their hands touch for the briefest of moments. The woman smiles as a tear escapes down her cheek.
The sun flashes just above the horizon causing the shadow to shut his eyes. The dark shadows of night fade away leaving a handsome pale man in its wake. A red cape pooling from his shoulders, slightly tattered at the ends. Peaking through his lids he lowers his arm which shielded his eyes from the coming light. The woman that stood there now gone. A whisper of a breeze passes over him.
The sun rises higher leaving the man standing beneath the tree. Behind him a shadow, darker than the trees appears enveloping the man in a cool caress. A smile graces his lips as he closes his eyes taking in a deep breath of morning air. He raises a hand above his heart, feeling something tugging the area there; slowly the feeling recedes and he opens his eyes. He turns around to face the much smaller shadow, a pair of warm brown eyes shining back at him.
The shadow retreats slowly from the man, back towards the tree. He can only stand there looking at her. Knowing she must leave. He follows her to the base of the trunk, lifting a hand to touch her once more.
Just as he's about to make contact with the shadow he lunges forward to grasp her outstretched hand but is instead rewarded with dark crumbling bark. He hangs his head, missing the contact of the one he loves so dearly, slamming a fist into the tree's trunk in frustration. He turns and leans back upon the trunk, sliding down to the ground dejectedly.
The sun rose higher into the sky, bathing the world in light. The sky in its brightest blue, lazy clouds rolling across is vast expanse. The grassy field blew, almost joyfully, one could say in and out of the breeze pushing through the area. A bird or two could be heard chirping happily above in the tree.
The man's eyes slowly drift close, his head rolling back to be supported by the trunk of the tree. He fights against the impending sleep but can no sooner keep his eyes open. With a final conscious breathe he drifts off into slumber.
Suddenly the wind picks up, rustling the leaves in the tree above causing the older and more brittle leaves to fly off into the field. A few strands of the man's dark hair sways with the breeze, lightly tickling his cheeks, but still he slumbers in a sleep as deep as the dead.
The shadow of the tree grows a little darker, a part of it moving to stroke the cheek of the man. Slowly it slides his loose black tendrils behind an ear and falls to his chest. The gentle thump of his heart is felt before the shadow removes itself.
Another wind blows, the shadow's soft brown eyes crinkling at the edges. If anyone saw it could say the shadow was smiling as it vanished with the breeze. A flower blows in from the field and softly lands upon the man's thigh. Crimson eyes open in a blur, nothing but the warm summer day filling his vision. Just as they start to drift close once more his eyes fall to white flower upon his thigh. Knowing that there were no flowers for miles around, a tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth before slumber took him once more.
My attempt at a one-shot. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please R&R. Trying to get back into the groove of writing again. Hopefully I can post some more stories that have been rolling around for some time.