Jose Martin

Maelstrom
2002-08-06 20:58:14 (UTC)

On That Black Night

It was dark outside. The night covered the ground,
turning into a seemingly endless void. A charcoal cat sat in
the window, staring at the blackness that made up the world
outside. Bobby was sitting in his chair, his elbow resting
on the windowsill next to his cat. He watched a deep clammy
mist creep along over the treetops towards him. Or at least,
he thought that he did. He couldn't be certain in the pitch
blackness. He thought that he could make out shapes in the
night, but as with the mist he wasn't sure. The murkiness
made things seem to be, then erased all memory of them.
Bobby hearda pattering sound as rain began to fall. The
pattering rose from a steady drip to a violent drumroll. It
increased speed and raised volume until it was a deep whine,
like the engine of some old forgotten car struggling to catch
then starting up with a power hidden by its rusty frame.
Suddenly the crash of thunder broke through the wall of rain.
The might of it rocked the house and Bobby sprang back into
his bed. Then the thunder stopped and he came back out to
stare once again. There was something about the shadowy
world outside that drew him over to the window. THere was
something in the obscurity of what was outside that he
couldn't resist looking at. The darkness was infinite and
unchanging, every time it seemed to move it would break down
but within seconds rearrange itself back into its original
shape.
The roar of rain was constant in the background, and
again the crashing sound of thunder broke through. It was
just a compliment to the rain's music, Bobby thought, like a
symbol's clash in a parade marching down the street. As he
thought something caught his eye. It was a band walking down
the road. But Bobby's musicians soon dissapeared and
nothingness filled their place once again. The darkness was
suddenly shattered into pieces as a streak of lightning cut
through the air, illuminating the world. Threads of light
came down to kiss the ground while others stayes up on the
Earth's ceiling forming a roof of terrifying light. The
flash only lasted for a second, but in the eternal night that
was the only thing Bobby could remember it was a break that
seemed to last for hours. The fierce beauty of it was a
thankful change from the dull shadows that had been his world
before. But as the lightning hit the ground the shadows
jumped upon it, smothering it and establishing their dominant
position over the night once again.
Then another streak cut through the air. This one came
in twin forks, striking at the mists like two fists, bam!
bam! This brutal energy filled the window once more. As
Bobby stared he realized that he was afraid of this light,
that its power terrified him. In places he saw the light dim
and then come back again as the dusk battled for control of
the earth, fighting to contain the lightning with its soot-
like embrace. Bobby watched this battle and as he did he
realized that as much as he was scared of the lightning he
didnt want the dark to win either. He dreaded the dark as
well. He longed for the sun to come back out and establish
control, to kiss everything with its gentle touch. But the
sun was being overpowered by these two more powerful forces,
two titans, battling to reign supreme. Bobby ran back to his
bed, jumped in, and threw his covers over his head, hiding
from the war raging outside.




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