literature

Endless Night - Second Version

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Night had fallen across the sands, and her footsteps were growing slower by the moment.

Still, she trod onward, the goal of her heart ever-present, an entity of its own within her spirit.  She knew it lay not far ahead now; her week-long journey was nearly complete.

Does it await me, still, she asked herself, and, expecting no answer, recieved none.  She knew she would find out soon the truth of the matter.  For good or ill, she was in it until the end, and was glad of it.

An endless eternity, it seemed, had passed since her feet had last traced their way here.  The winds had been blowing that time; though they were calm at the moment, she knew they could start again at any given time.  This barren waste knew no rules but its own, and those it followed only grudgingly.

Days upon days, time upon time... passing slowly while the air she breathed became blighted with the desire she knew would be coming.  The need she would feel.  The desperation that she would undergo, until this moment would come.  The time of her return.

Scars she bore, now, and bore them proudly.  Her face marked, softly, by the blades, as her blood sacrifice had been given, to allow her body's strength to ebb, while that of her spirit grew, until she knew that she was ready.  Ready to face the one that she once loved... and loved still.

Will he remember me? she wondered.  Will he bear a grudge for my leaving him so long? I want so desperately to hold him in my arms, once again...

How many times had her mind circled those questions? How many times had she awakened from a nightmare, sweat pouring from her body in sheets, almost feeling his presence near.  Countless, it seemed.  And though he felt so close that she could touch him, smell his skin, feel his breath upon her face, and knew that he loved her still, she knew as well that he was leagues away.  The dry sands of the blasted plains stood between them both.

And there was no way for him to leave his dirty cage, hidden in the heart of darkness.

To tell herself that in the bright of day was one thing...  another thing it was to feel him in the dread of night.

She stumbled as she walked, now, and realized that the lay of the land was starting to dip ever lower, sinking slowly down.  The sands rubbed against the sore skin of the soles of her feet.  So long she had walked, now, that the sandals she started her journey in had worn away... eaten away by the grit, the sheer volume, of drifting and blowing sand.  She no longer cared, however; her goal was even now coming within sight.

In the light of the full moon, she could make out its shape, as it sat wihin the center of the depression of land; a spider within its own domain.  The sands held no dominion here.  No matter the winds, no matter the drift, the sand here was almost locked into place.  Subtle changes occurred at random, but the touch was delicate, not destructive, as it was all other places of this dry, dessicated realm.

Her breathing increased in rhythm, slowly at first, and building to an almost hyperactive pace by the time she finally came to the pillars which marked the entry to the darkness inside.  Light-headed, a little dizzy, she knew she must calm, must slow, her pace, else she pass out.  Short on food and water for the journey's duration, she had rationed herself to the point of near-starvation.  The pack on her back was nearly empty, now, and she knew she would not have enough to make it back to the nearest village.

No matter, she thought.  I know things will work out for us.  The gods will provide.  

She hesitated at the first pillar, listening for any sound which might come.  She could hear the wind softly whispering over the dunes, hear as particles of sand came through the area she stood in; she was mostly sheltered from the light wind that blew, but the dusting stuff came in anyhow.  It seemed to coat everything within her limited sight.

Nut from the inside of this darkeneed creature that she had journeyed so long to reach?

Nothing.

The wind outside began to pick up.  There was not much to it, at first, but within moments it started a keening whistling sound as it whipped through the entry area; the five stone pillars, huge and seemingly built to stand the test of time, decayed slightly more as the grating sand beat upon them.  In the dimming light, she could see that parts of them had been rendered faceless.  Still other sections had been so obscured over the endless waves that the markings upon them, though visible, were no longer readable.  But this was not what she had come to see.

"Oh, misery," she spoke softly, too softly for she herself to hear above the whining of the moving air.  "Why have I waited so long, leaving you here?"

A sigh seeped from her lips, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to overwhelm the boiling pot of sadness she held deep inside herself, she opened them once again, and, steeling herself against the tears, hesitated no longer.  A long way she had come, to be here on this night of nights; this one night in which all things became possible... for a price.

She wished once again, as she had so many times before, that this night would become endless.

Stepping forward, within the darkness she seemed to float.  Though years had passed since her last time within these tall walls, she knew them still.  Knew that the chamber in which he lay was just ahead.

The sounds of the winds outside became dull with each step she took, until they were all but gone.  The silence, after the caterwauling outside, clawed at her ears with a vengeance...

... until he spoke her name.

Her head whipped around, her body swiftly following, and she saw him there, framed within the doorway of a forgotten chamber.  A soft glow surrounded him, and his features beamed out at her from beneath the light wrapping, and she knew immediately that the time was truly at hand.  The time of complete torment... or unbridled joy.

"My love," she whispered, and this time it almost echoed from her in a wave.  She knew that the love she had felt from the first moment seeing him in her youth had not diminished an iota.  She was once again held helpless within the strength of his spirit, the passion of his power.  She knew that no matter what happened on this nght, she would never leave his side again.

He came forward, then, until his body, dessicated as the desert outside, was within inches of hers, and when he reached up to touch her face, softly, she felt the magic of his endless spirit, as well as the feeling that, however long she had been astray from him, all would be forgiven.

His fingers traced the lines that now softly etched the skin of her face, and she said, "Look, my love.  I have become as scarred as you."

The nones of his face, surrounded in broken skin and tissue, spread slowly into a smile, and his deep, voice brushed into her ears, saying, "No.  But you will be."




And as that night of nights continued on, for one woman and the one that she had loved for so long, it became truly endless.

As the torment of her forgiveness droned, the sound of the wailing wind from without the blackened walls mixed with her own... and she knew she would never be alone again.
This is 2 things new.. First.. it is an update of an image I created, located here : Wishing For An Endless Night.

The image you see here is, to me, MUCH better, and, indeed, much closer to what I originally intended, but lacked the skills at the time to complete it.

The stocks are stockfones and Stock Xchange.


Second.. When i posted the original image, I wrote a short description for it, and, well, this is the story that resulted from that brief blurb. For those of you who have watched me for a while, you know that writing for me now is VERY difficult. I have a disorder in my bod that's ongoing, and causes my concentration to break VERY quickly.. . which can be pretty detrimental to writing well.

Anyhow.. I really do like how it turned out, and I really hope you do too.


I would love your feedback here, on both the image, and the words.. it's not long, and I'd love it if you could take a couple moments to enjoy what I have offered here.

:rose:
© 2004 - 2024 Jomina
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