Morning Star

Soft, and quiet flakes drifted steadily from the sky, carpeting the ground in marble white. A low draft of winter chill slipped ghostly through the air. Winter was firmly here, called in by the last falling golden brown leaf.

Rubbing his shoulders with his hands in a fragile attempt to keep warm as his breath manifested into vapor with each exhale. Steadily, he found himself enticed by the glowing lights of the city, which drew him in like a siren’s call.

There was an unusual quiet about the streets as he stepped cautiously along the icy sidewalk. His mere presence seemed to blur into the snowy surroundings, making him just another mere snowflake dotting the frozen streets. This was blatant emptiness in a once bustling atmosphere. Loneliness assaulted him once more, causing a panic to build inside of him. His mind raced to make sense of this puzzle: How could everyone in the town just vanish without a word?

The uneased serenity, broken by the sound of a scavenging city racoon, scrambling with the contents of an overflowing bin. Part of him was grateful to hear the noise of the creature's scurrying feet, yet the internal discord of the absence of people caused him to settle himself on one of the many snow-settled benches that aligned the pavement.

Letting out the only half of a deep sigh that he could muster, he gazed hopefully at the sky for some heavenly answer. His fear contorted as the night’s darkness was as void as the cobblestones beside him, except for one singular, but faint morning star.

Squinting into the shadows to the end of the cobblestone street, his eyes made out some kind of apparition, cloaked in layers of midnight sky. Trying to rationalize with his overworked mind, he decided that it must simply be a mere trick of light as he trudged towards the end of the lane.

“Hello!” he screamed, echoing a tortured souls wail from an abyss.

“Be careful with screaming into the void. You never know who will answer your call,” whispered a feminine voice into his ear as frozen fingers gripped his shoulder.

Relieved to hear a human voice, he turned around to face the visage only to find that he was still standing in the cold alone. The shadows seemed to move as if chasing his very soul. It towered a few feet from him, filling his heart with indescribable terror.

“This can’t be real,” he muttered with a shaking, whispering voice, before adding, “Do you make habit of talking to strangers on a devils cloaked night such as this.”

“I’m not the one that walked through the gates of my own Hell, Sir,” she replied with a resonating sense of curiosity emanating from her being.

A pause serenaded by the sound of the static charge of a claw skewed neon sign filled the moment as the pristine diamond drops seemed to stand motionless above.

Standing up in a flash, his eyes darting around for the source of the din. Perforated edges began to form in the midnight velvet above him. It was as if a mirror had broken, and the moon, left to reflect its shattered ruminants. Shards of glass fell from the heavens, producing a hole big enough to fit a standard vehicle into.

Sunshine beamed onto his face from the gaping world in the tapestry of life. Flowers bloomed on the other side of the fragments and their fragrance produced an inviting and long-forgotten scent. Filling his lungs with air, he gazed into the other realm beyond, discovering elegantly dressed women, happy buzzing chatter, and smiles. His mind hopelessly tried to place this idealism that he was sure once existed on this earth. Rushing towards the opening into this serine environment, he watched as his physical form evaporated into a blinding white light.

This was co-written by me and My amazingly talented co-writer, My Raven, and eternal love.