literature

One sky...

Deviation Actions

dragon-angel-knight's avatar
Published:
231 Views

Literature Text

There once was a small village on the edge of a huge forest. In this village lived a kind young man. This man gave off every appearance of being happy to those he knew, however, this was a mask he wore day after day. One day, during his weekly hunting trip through the forest, he stumbled upon a beautiful glade. In this glade was a merrily burning fire. Around the fire were fierce and feral looking people. But one of these people in particular stood out to the man. She danced around the fire in a fervor that held the man like Death grasps the souls of the dead. Her raven black hair fell to her shoulders and flew around as she danced, making a halo around her head. Her eyes were a simple chestnut brown, but they were shaped like almonds. The man noticed that her body was slim and fit as she danced closer to him, following the beat of the music flowing from the lips of the people. The beat of the music went faster and faster until the woman who had captured the man's attention leapt through the fire, parting it like the Red Sea in her wake. When the woman landed on the other side, everyone went silent. The man feared to even breathe so deep was the silence. Eventually, the people started to pack up what little they had around them, a flute here, some cooking utensils there. The last to leave was the woman. She doused the fire, leaving the glade to shine in the moon light, then, before she left, she turned and directly at the man. He couldn't see her face, so he couldn't tell what her expression was, but he could hear her voice. To him it sounded as melodious as the music that was playing earlier.

"If you wish, you may come and sit around our fire on the next full moon," the woman said, "It will be far more pleasant than crouching in the bush."

After she said this, she turned and disappeared into the trees, leaving the man utterly stunned. A few minuets later, he roused himself from his stupor and went home.

Days passed and still, the man could not forget what he had seen in the forest. As a boy he had heard of   the people of the forest and how they could play tricks with a person's mind, how they would eat the men and women that they had ensnared in their web of beautiful bodies and music, food and drink. The man paid no heed to the stories, thinking that nothing as beautiful as what he had seen that night could be evil.

During the next full moon, the man retraced his steps to the glade. He arrived a bit early, to make sure he did not miss the events of the night. When he arrived, he noticed that the wood for the fire was already neatly stacked in the center of the glade and the fierce and feral people busy preparing for the night. As he approached, many heads turned towards him and watched curiously. A child even ran up to him, only to stop a few feet away, turn around and flee, giggling back to his friends. The men and women were both hard at work, tending to the needs of the festivities. This didn't strike the man as odd, but what did was that men and women were carrying in wood for the cooking fires. Men and women were clearing the area of dry leaves and other things that may catch fire from any stray embers. Men and women were tending to the children.

The man wandered around, wanting to ask if he could help in anyway, when he saw the woman he saw the month before. She was busy tending to a cooking fire as he approached, but looked up and smiled warmly when the man came near. He noticed things about her that he hadn't the first time he saw her. Her ears were pointed and her scent was like a pine tree. Her hands looked calloused, like she was familiar with weapons.

"I see you took my offer, friend," she said warmly in the same melodious tone as before.

"How could I not?" the man asked, finally finding his voice, "That night has been burned into my memory."
The woman smiled again and asked, "Would you like to help us prepare for the Festival?"

The man nodded and asked what he needed to do. The woman told him that there were people all over the glade, which was far larger than it appeared, who needed fire wood and certain herbs from a small tent near the fire pit. He readily went and got whatever people needed, grateful that he could help bring the festivities together.

After the man helped gather the firewood and herbs, he returned to the woman, saying, "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Now," the woman said, "We prepare the food."

The man watched the woman prepare the food. She worked with the skill of a master chef, making every movement she made fluid, graceful, and precise. After a few hours, the food was ready and the man helped others move the food around the fire pit, which had recently been lit and was crackling merrily. The people moved around the food after it had been brought in and began to gather portions for themselves and their children. The man was about to get his food, but was stopped by the woman. She motioned him to follow her, and he did. They eventually came to an empty spot, near the fire where two helpings of food were set up. The man sat down next to the woman and began to eat to his hearts content.

"The Festival of Light is a sacred event to my people," the woman explained, "Through it, we honor our gods and the life they give us."

"If it's called the Festival of Light," the man said, wiping his mouth with a kerchief he had brought with him, "Why is it celebrated during the full moon, at night?"

The woman laughed at the question, saying, "It is a little ironic, to be sure, but I think that the reason behind it is that you can see more light at night in the sky than you can during the day."

She raised her hand and pointed at the sky, "You see? In the sky are millions of points of light. It's hard to even think that there is so much light in the world, because of some of the things that are happening in the it."

The man followed her arm and looked up. Sure enough, there were millions of stars in the sky, all lighting up the evening. The moon shone brighter than those stars, but that didn't matter to him.

"We all live under one sky," the man started, "One sky, sharing one world, and one thing to tie us together."

"Oh?" the woman said, looking at the man, "What would that tie between us be, exactly?"

"Love," the man said, "Love is the thing that ties together every being, no matter how small they are."

The woman looked at the man with renewed interest as he resumed eating. He was a plain looking man, with a fit, though a little lean, body. His ragged brown hair, which fell to his back, was tied at the base of his skull, to help keep it out of his eyes, which were a pale green. His face was clean shaven and was nearly as pale as the moonlight.

After the feast was over, the woman stood up and offered her hand to the man. He took her hand and got to his feet. Then the music started. At first it started out in a slow, almost mournful, pace. Then it picked up and the dancing started. The man danced with the woman, trying his best to keep up with her as the music got faster and faster. At the crescendo, he and the woman jumped through the fire and the man's whole world flashed before his eyes. He saw everything that had happened to him in that one instant and he fully understood why this festival was so important to these people. Not only was it to pay tribute to their gods, but it also helped them understand one another. That final leap through the fire, granted these people an understanding of themselves so profound that they had been changed by the gods into something as feral, fierce, and beautiful as the fire itself.

As he landed on the other side, the man felt both a profound sense of self, and a profound sense of loss. Both emotions were so great that he could barely stand. He eventually regained a bit of composure and absentmindedly lifted his hand to his ears. He felt points on them. He looked at the woman for an explanation.

"You have done the one thing that most people find so much difficulty in," she said.

"What would that be?" the man asked, his voice now as melodic as hers.

"You understood," she said, moving closer, "Most people cannot understand a single thing beyond what they see in front of themselves. But you did. That is why you changed."

"I see," the man said simply.

The woman held the man in an embrace and kissed him on the cheek before turning to the crowd and shouting, "We have a new brother!!"

There were cheers as this was said. However, the man could barely stand, and he almost fell during the announcement. The woman caught him and helped him over to a tree. The tree was close enough to the fire that the man wouldn't get cold in the night, but far enough away that the heat and light wouldn't bother him.

"Sleep now, my love," the woman said in the man's ear, "We shall come and get you before the night gets old, but for now, sleep. And dream of the new life that awaits..."

The woman kissed the man on the cheek as he slept against the trunk of the tree. She looked at him one final time, then returned to the fire to revel once more in the festivities.
Just a short story I wrote a few days ago. I wrote it for a friend of mine for Christmas, considering I couldn't be with her in person.
© 2011 - 2024 dragon-angel-knight
Comments2
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
pokemonpie's avatar
that was nice and a very interesting short story