Field of Despair

As the light began to fade, she found herself standing in a tall grassy field with shadows looming over the horizon. The gentle breeze played with her hair as she listened to the sound of the cicadas drown out her thoughts.

She wasn’t sure why she was there. She wasn’t even sure how she had got there. It didn’t seem to matter. She was tired and dazed. The night air drugged her with a yearning for sleep. It was time to say goodbye to the light forever. She knew it was time to vanish into the shadows, to never be known again.

She turned toward the setting sun to say her goodbyes to the light, and in that instance, she saw him standing there. His eyes were hollow and his face wore no emotion. He stood there and watched her as her eyes swelled with tears.

She wanted to speak with him just one last time before she merged with the shadows. Still, the light continued to fade and his face was becoming harder to see. She called out to him and took a step towards the end of the field where he was standing. However, no matter how hard she tried, her step would not land. She could not continue that way; the way where the light still lived.

She cried out to him in hopes that he would reach out for her, but he slowly turned and started walking away without a sound, back into the light that she was never again to be a part of. Warm tears flooded her cheeks as she screamed and tried to fight the force holding her back from him. But there was no going back in that direction now.

The newly crowned pale princess of misery realized the light was growing weaker. The last sands of her hourglass had fallen. Sadness filled her heart as she watched him disappear into the mist — a sadness strong enough to silence even the song of the cicadas and bring stillness to the wind.

She could no longer hear. She could no longer feel. All that remained was the fading light. And then, as the last ounce of life left her, the field was no more. He was no more. There was nothing but darkness. And finally, the eternal sleep had claimed her.

Originally published in my book, Restless Reflections, first edition, February 2018. Also published on medium.com