Modest dreams – a sneak preview

The endless black highway stretched out forebodingly in the ghostly night, its desolate lanes bathed in enlarged shadows and wisps of foggy clouds. No light graced this highway, save the few twinkling specks of dust that had descended upon the black skies. The air was serenely still with only a brief wind that came strolling along every so often, fluttering the leaves of the lush roadside trees in its wake.

Though dead it may be believed, this black eerie night was alive with the sounds of creatures that had garnered enough courage to keep it company. Shirking from the light of day, they crept out of hiding upon the settling of the darkness, free to be with no indication of their whereabouts, except the elusive noises they gave off announcing their presence. The hollow hooting of the owls, the crisp chirping of the crickets, the shrill screeching of the distant bats were among the cacophony of sounds ever present in the night here, and this ghostly night was no different, but for the lone figure stumbling tiredly alongside the right lane of the highway amidst them.

She was of small built, young but frail looking, her shoulders bent with not just the weight of the backpack loosely slung over them.

It wasn’t everyday that the creatures of the night had a human companion; it was a rare occurrence, in fact. Curiosity aroused, they gravitated towards her and followed her, step for step, until she was cloaked in the strange sounds of the night and seemed almost a part of it, as if she had always been here, always belonged here – as if home lay in the blackness of the night.

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Modest dreams, coming soon (hopefully) to a blog near you.