Words to the Wise (III)

Time had been trying to play its tricks on him from the moment he’d entered the territories, but he was still wise enough to recall his teachings. And thus while the cycles of darkness and the hints of dawn came and went with maddening randomness, he consciously chose not to worry as he silently sat with the creature.

A single attempt at conversation was all he wasted, but the strange animal’s trance was not to be broken. It was hard to tell if anything was happening at all, but keeping the faith seemed like a good bet. It was too dark to see far into the distance, yet the smell that travelled across the plains suggested something so foul he welcomed the time it took the creature to do its business.

Passage (II)

Clutching the white rock in his pocket he stood, staring at the gates. There was no sense of urgency, no need to make haste. He would either succeed at his task eventually, or not at all, and in that case nothing would change. The world would continue as it was – as children were being raised to believe it always had been.

As he was about to set off again, he spotted a large animal swiftly hopping towards him in the distance. He couldn’t tell what it was from afar, but even as it drew closer he was no more able to determine its nature. The creature was jumping on two legs like a kangaroo, but looked more like an oversized chicken, leaving black feathers in its trail.

Lonesome Traveller

She gave him a drink and her blessing before she kissed him on the forehead and guided him out. She locked the bolts on the door carefully, knowing she wouldn’t be opening them again for years to come.

Something about the drink had lifted his spirits, making the night more palpable and the road ahead a little less daunting. He was grateful for that. Everything he saw looked different from what he remembered, so much so that it might as well have been all new territory, but she had fed him with a sense of familiarity that gave him the courage he needed to continue.