Beyond the Evening Twilight

Chapter 10

         The brisk wind whipped against my figure as I walked through the seemingly empty town.  It was getting colder out.  There was a cigarette loosely lodged in between my fingers as feeling slowly faded from them.  I took a drag and pulled my trench coat closed.  My feet grew cold as well.  I moved my toes, but could no longer feel them.  Home was not a place that I could go to for a while, and there was no place that would take me in.  Then, one soul white, crystal emerged from the sky and landed gently on the ground in front of me.  I stepped on it purposely and looked to the sky, cursing it as it grew darker.  How was I going to survive on my own?  My body moved unconsciously despite my will to give up.  I found myself at the entrance of the cemetery, the rusted black gates squeaked in front of me.  Finding the faded footpath under frosted grass; I walked to the one place that I could trust.  Standing in front of the mausoleum, I thought to myself for a while.  Legalities no longer meant anything to me as I thrust my heavy boot into the pad-locked gridiron gate for a door.  It rattled loudly, but did not budge.  I repeated my action and the lock broke off and fell to the ground.  The door flew open and crashed against the stone wall inside.  Bowing slightly, I apologized for intruding on this person’s final resting-place and proceeded in.  My numb fingers grasped the door and returned it to it’s closed position.  I turned around and realized that there was very little visibility.  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my lighter.  Lighting it did not produce much light, but just enough so I could make out silhouettes of objects.  From what I could tell, there was a single casket in the center of the cold, damp room.  I stood for a while and tried to take everything in.  At that moment another sharp pain had dropped me to my knees.  I cried out to an empty room, no one was there to respond to my plea.  Tears warmed my face as they fell.  I lay down on the cold rock and hugged myself, using the trench coat as a blanket.  Crying, shaking violently, starved and in pain, I drifted to sleep.  I missed my home, my mother, friends and my old life.  I never wanted to wake up again.