Song of the Night

The rain crashes down on the roof of the old house. The storm beat at the old structure like an angry mob clawing to get inside. A man sits alone at a typewriter typing at a feverish pace. His fingers straight down rapidly at the keys almost as fast the rain falls from the sky. The typing and clicking of the keys starts to sync up with the rhythm of the storm. The writer starts to sway to a tune that only he can hear. His fingers dance across the keys of the typewriter the same way a Pianist would play the piano. His innermost thoughts become physical on paper. The tune plays on, it is the song made by unusual instruments. The flowing and creativity of the human spirit, the typewriter keys the wind and rain striking the outside of the house and an added bit of music that only the writer can hear. The Beat Goes On and the writer sways faster has his typing speed increases. Nights like this were meant for stories and dreams. For imagination and songs that no one else can hear. 

I can hear the rain so clearly, i hear the typewriter and i even hear the music. Listen for it as the sound of rain starts in the back of your mind. I look up from my writing and realize, there is no rain, there is no music playing and the keys to my phone don't make a sound, but for a moment I truly heard it all. And I hope that when the night is quiet and still others are able to dream and they too can hear the song of the night 

The Window Tree

A gentle breeze blows in through the open window. The old-fashioned windowpane opened inward, it opened like a small door and the wind was causing the windowpane to tap gently against a kitchen chair. Small gusts of wind rustled the sheer silk curtain and caused the wooden windowpane to sway. The windowpane and the lining was painted white and the wall color resembled a cup of coffee with only a dab of cream in it.

 

            The window was part of an old, country house, it was well maintained but had been built over a hundred years ago. The land was peaceful and folks never locked their doors and on a nice night, would leave their windows open, windows free to sway in the breeze. The breeze rustled the curtains like leaves on a tree, the window pain swayed like branches and the cool spring air could be felt inside the house just as easily as it could outside. The wood that built the house and the wood from the window used to be a tree, multiple trees made up the house. Trees that all had a history of their own before being cut down and since the day that the trees were used to build a house, the wood of these trees gathered even more history. Time leaves its mark on everything in this world, alive or not. When the window was still a tree, it had one of its branches fall off in a storm. The Window tree was the home for a family of birds, a group of squirrels and more bugs than any human would care to think about. The tree had life of its own, but was also apart of the great web of life, woven together with all things.

 

            Now the tree is a window, this is not good or bad, it just is. The wood is not considered alive anymore but it still served a purpose within the woven web of life. The window had been built, painted, fixed, repainted, slammed shut and left open to blow in the wind. The window had a notch on the bottom corner where a young boy was testing how sharp his knife was. It was a little knife meant for whittling and cutting tangled fishing line and apparently also used for cutting a little slice into the wood of a window when no one was looking.

 

            A window doesn’t have memories and wood isn’t alive but the history of the house and the trees that came before it should give you pause. It is important to stop, even for just a moment, and think about where things came from and ponder the stories that a window or house might have ‘seen’.

 

            When going to an old house many people might think, “I wonder if anyone died here”. Instead it is important to ask yourself “Who lived here?”.

Rain Rain

Rain rain come today, wash all my cares away. Let me forget the sins of yesterday, Rain rain come today.

The rain pours down upon my face, comforting me with its cool embrace.

            Rain poured down from the heavens and wind whipped through the trees. Sam sat by the large window in the living room, staring outside, mesmerized by the rain. To him, rain was dramatic, it changed the way the neighborhood looked, it changed the smell in the air and it always brought a refreshing cool breeze with it. Sam stared out at the rain, wishing he could go outside. He wanted nothing more than to be right there in the middle of it all every time it rained.

            Sam was always sick, at least as long as he could remember. So not only did he have to deal with normal parental restrictions of not going out in the rain or playing in the mud, he also had the extra worry that kept him from doing other fun things, like running around, or playing outside all day. Sam started into a coughing fit. Pain struck through his head and chest. His cat Kuro ran to his side and began to purr frantically to comfort the small boy. Sam stared out at the rain, loving the sound, smell and sight of it all. The gentle sound of raindrops falling on the roof mixed with Kuro purring lulled Sam into a relaxed state.

            So many people complain about the rain. It makes driving difficult sometimes and if your clothes get soaked it can ruin the rest of your day, but to a small child staring outside at the majesty of nature, none of that mattered. On his worst days and sickest nights Sam would hold onto Kuro and imagine the sound of rain outside. Even as Sam grew older, he loved rain. He couldn’t describe it and many people didn’t understand, but that wasn’t important. It didn’t change his love for rain or the glee he felt every time he heard a crackle of thunder or a sprinkling of raindrops.

Viewing day

Under a beautiful dark purple night sky full of stars and a glowing green moon sat Dylena. She lay sprawled out on the ground. The purple shade flowers and pale blue grass was soft and smelled sweet as always. Dylena was excited tonight because it was the one day a year that the window would appear outside of town. In the rather average land filled with boring spirits and shadow creatures, one day a year a magical window would open and show another world. A place that looked wonderful and scary all at the same time.

Dylena stood up and stretched, he mind unable to think of anything else besides seeing the magical window again. Others knew about this window and there was a yearly celebration that counted down to midnight. Then in front of all the villagers magical images would flash before them bringing wonder and excitement. Dylena was odd though, she loved the holiday more than anything else. She would decorate her home and even dress up in her best cloths for the occasion. And when it was over, she thought about how wonderful it would be next year. The day was celebrated as “viewing day” the day to view the unknown and try to learn the secrets of it all. Dylena’s interest or even obsession in the window came mostly because of how she looked. Unlike the other attractive glowing spirits or the sleek shadows. She was pale, taller and made of a more solid material. Some villagers would boast that they were so light they could float, but Dylena was more like a skinny tree, solid and bound to the ground, cursed to only travel by walking with her legs. So since she felt like an outcast she hoped that during Viewing day she might eventually spot someone or something that looked like her. Each year she hoped, but each year she was disappointed.

This was a new year though and Dylena raced down the hill to town. In only a few hours the Viewing would begin and she wanted to be ready. She quickly went to her house and changed her clothes. She changed from the typical linen body wrappings that most people wore to a lovely black dress with small glowing lights she would put in her long black hair. The dress was to make her look elegant like the shadows and she hoped the soft lights made her more attractive to the spirits and wisps of the town.

Then she heard the horn and music started to play. Dylena’s red eyes flashed with excitement. Then she ran from the house and into the town square to meet up with everyone else. From there the town would march out to the viewing spot, singing songs about the mystery of the window and playing their little holiday drums. Dylena sang at the top of her lungs and smiled as they all marched. Once on the outskirts of town the town’s people gathered in a circle around the spot they expected the window to appear. They talked and ate various holiday foods. Some creatures could only ingest mists or vapors but more enjoyed solid foods, various meats and cake would be served that night for everyone to enjoy. Despite being a bit of an outcast, Dylena had a few people to talk to and was friendly to everyone. She enjoyed her various colored deserts and a sweet meat of a forest dweller. Which looked like fat monkeys.

As the night grew late the people sat eagerly waiting for the Viewing. There was a rumble, then suddenly a flash of light. The villagers made happy squealing noises as the window began to form. Dylena looked in wonder through the portal. It showed images of a dark blue night sky, the pale white moon, green ‘grass’. Large trees made of wood, colored in bright orange, red and yellow leaves. Everything was solid, like her. The people were strange though. They almost resembled Dylena’s shape, but they wore cloaks and hoods, strange colorful clothes and some even carried weapons. The creatures of the window not only looked different than the people of her world, but they also looked different from eachother. How odd it was to see a group of creatures and no two looked alike. One had a large orange head with hollow eyes, some were covered in white cloth. Some had faces of pink skin others had rubbery demon faces. It was terrifying and fun all at the same time.

After a few hours the window started to fade. The villagers sighed and began to walk off. Dylena stayed though. She usually stayed until every last trace of the window was gone for good. This night though after everyone left, the window stayed open, half faded but still visible. Since the crowd was gone Dylena could get as close as she wanted for the remaining time she had with the window. She even tried to touch it, hoping that one day it would be more than just an image.  Others have tried to interact with it, but none have been able to touch. As if it didn’t exist. No sound, smell, taste or touch, just the sight of another world through a hole in the air. Dylena put her hand up to it, wishing she could visit this land, wishing the night lasted a little longer. Her hand passed through the window as always, she closed her eyes and sighed.

When she opened them though, the world looked different. The Sky was dark blue not purple, the stars didn’t scream into the night and the moon was a pale white or yellow. Dylena’s mind raced, as it became a possibility that she had crossed over into the window world.

John Nasher was getting too old for Halloween, or at least that’s what his friends and even parents said. He was sixteen now but loved Halloween and tried to get the most out of it every year. He would still do parties and dress up but this was his last night to trick or treat. Even at sixteen he felt too old to be trick or treating. His friends agreed to go with him though and the free candy was nice. So here it was, his last Halloween as a ‘kid’. John walked out of his house wearing a vampire costume, Pale skin, a cloak, red eye contacts and fangs. He looked pretty great. He walked down the street of the little suburban neighborhood and was going to meet up with his friends when he saw a strange glow. The glow faded then suddenly there was a quick flash. John could see again he saw a beautiful girl standing in the street wearing a gothic black dress, shiny stuff in her hair, pale skin and the same red contacts that he had. “Nice costume” he said to her. He was startled but didn’t know what else to say. “Whats your name?” John asked. The girl looked around as if seeing the world for the first time, when she looked at John she smiled. “My name is Dylena, nice to meet you”