100 Years Life in Solitude and Happiness

Chapter 6

By Karan w. Published 2 years ago • 2 min read

This night was very dark, and for Benjamin, it would have been better to spend a comfortable night in that house, but he had decided to leave immediately. He held a torch in his hand, and the old gun hung from his shoulder as he walked. He took one last look at the house. 'There is no darkness there anymore,' he muttered. The flame of the torch trembled in the light breeze, its faint, golden light struggling to pierce through the dense darkness. He moved forward slowly, with every step making the crunching sound of dry leaves. A cold, chill wind was blowing, but there was an odd peace in it, a coldness that seemed to seep not just into the body, but into the soul. The branches of the trees swayed gently, their whispers breaking the deep silence of the forest. Somewhere far away, a bird let out a muffled cry, which was lost in the deep darkness. As soon as the sound faded, everything sank back into an even deeper silence. Suddenly, a horse came running toward him. Benjamin raised the torch slightly to see it; it was a white horse, and it stopped right in front of him. For a moment, he was startled and very surprised to see a horse appear so suddenly. But as the horse came closer, a peaceful aura surrounded everything, and the mysterious attraction of the horse made all of Benjamin’s fear vanish. He slowly extended his hand and gently stroked the horse’s neck. The white fur shimmered like gold in the yellow light of the torch, but in its eyes, Benjamin saw a deep sadness that shook his soul. Benjamin silently mounted the horse’s back, and the horse began walking. It took him along the same path that was shown on the map. After a while, the horse brought him right to the edge of the sea, and suddenly it stopped. Benjamin dismounted and stroked the horse’s neck once more, and the horse then turned and walked back into the forest, disappearing into the deep darkness. Benjamin stood there, still in surprise, staring at the spot where the horse had gone. 'What a strange horse!' he thought to himself." He walked toward the shore, where the only sound was the soft crashing of the waves, and everything else was wrapped in a cold silence. A few fishermen’s boats were anchored by the shore. Benjamin examined the map once more with a firm determination in his eyes. He then boarded a boat, possibly one of the fishermen’s, that he was about to steal. He untied the rope that had secured it to the shore and pushed it into the sea with all his strength. After much effort, he succeeded. Slowly, he began steering the boat toward the south. Suddenly, his eyes froze on a boy lying in the corner of the boat. The boy’s fair skin contrasted with his long brown hair, which lay tangled across his face. He wore a long leather coat, his shoes soaked with seawater. He looked like an innocent young man. The moment Benjamin saw him, his heart skipped a beat. A strange wave of anxiety surged through him, tightening his chest. He stared at the boy, bewildered. And then, an unsettling thought crept into his mind. He should pick the boy up and throw him into the sea.