To Love a Shadow
A beautiful, cool, Autumn morning breaks into being. The sun slides gracefully across the pale blue of the dawn sky, soaring to the heavens dominating all that is in view, reaching it's peak high above your head, until it once again descends slowly toward the west, taking with it all of the light in your world, an orange and purple tempest bursts into existence as that shining, golden, orb drops out of view. The inky black of night creeps into the world, stars peek through the veil of shadow, the moon hovers like a phantom out of reach and time, a soft breeze blows gently across the landscape, it feels so peaceful yet so lonely, the sound of creatures in the night your only company, you grasp desperately for some warmth in the world, you feel as if you are being watched, two silver eyes pierce the darkness, you cry out, but it is already to late, you have been found by the nights watcher, the Shepard of the shadows, looming in front of you seeming to suck hope from the air, he extends his hand to you and waits, you hesitate but then reach out and grasp his extended fingers, he pulls you close and stares into your eyes as if reading your soul, you feel cold, nearly as if you had been turned to ice, his gaze softens, he embraces you in a hug, you feel your body fall away ,he lets you go and, for a moment, you feel sick, you look to the ground to see your body lying there, a content but sad smile spread softly across your lips, the watcher takes your hand once more, guiding you to the stars, you float by his side, across the world, he shows you the wonders of the planet, the depths of its deepest oceans, and the heights of its tallest mountains, happiness finds its way into your mind as you follow his lead, near the end of your journey the watcher lets you go and slips away into the dark, you drift alone for a moment before realizing he is not returning, your happiness falters, questions race through your head"where am I? Where is my body? where did he go? Why did he leave me?",you begin to panic, your heart sinks farther into despair, tears stream down your ethereal cheeks, you try to find your way back but you are lost in the night, suddenly you hear a solitary voice speak ,as if from nowhere, you cannot understand the words, you ask what the voice means, no reply, you ask again, still no reply, you open your mouth to speak once more but before the words can escape your lips, you suddenly feel yourself being pulled, you resist but to no avail, you spiral out of control through time, and space, and thought, you hear thousands of peoples hopes and dreams scattered across an eternity, you stop abruptly finding yourself face to face once again with the watcher, you now see his face, expressionless, mere inches from your own, he puts a finger to your forehead and pushes you backward, you fall for what seems forever, you are consumed by the darkness, you cannot move, you cannot see, hear, or feel anything, you suddenly feel warmth on your body, you open your eyes to see the sun peeking over the edge of the world, you look around confused, you see the watchman slowly melting away into the frosty autumn air as day breaks, a deep laugh pierces the morning sky as his body disappears leaving only his shining eyes which close silently, you are alone once more, you feel inexplicably sad, you sit quietly thinking about the events which have taken place, you try to dismiss it as a dream, but you know that is a lie, you go about your day unable to keep the night from your mind, near sunset, you return to the place you were and wait, you know not for what you wait, but you do, you wait impatiently as the sun dies in the distance, night falls slowly, you wait for the watchman, after some time you begin to grow sad, you turn to leave, as you begin to walk away you once again hear the voice, you turn to see the watchman, his hand extended, waiting for you once more, you run to him, embracing him and holding him close to you, you feel joy as your body falls away and you begin your journey with the watchman once more, your journey ends much differently this time, the watchman simply returns you to yourself, you look at your body but dare not approach, the watchman shoves you toward your body, you resist him, you stands still as a stone staring into his cold eyes, he shakes his head and lets out a sigh, the sun begins to rise behind you, he takes your hand and leads you away into the fading gloom ,you watch as your body grows pale, dieing in the grass,you smile happily as once again the watchman embraces you this time pressing his lips to yours in a kiss, you know you cannot return to your life, but you do not care, you have what you wanted most, the nights love and that is all that matters.
