Moonlit: Chapters 1-2

) ~Moonlit~ (

Chapter 1
He was on his knees head tilted skyward. "The sky is growling, Lupita; Tlaloc and Xolotl could surface at any moment now." "Thunderbirds," exclaimed Lupita with a grin. "Tlaloc was one of the Aztec's main gods, along with Huitzilopochtli." "They sacrificed babies and little boys and girls for Tlaloc, he's not a good god," she said in an angry tone. Now, now…do not dishonor the god for what man has done in his name. Do not forget that without the rains there'd be no life," he said lifting his finger into the air. "Aaaagh, I don't like Tlaloc, he's an ugly thing," she exclaimed lifting her head and spitting into the air as if she were spitting at the sky. Then suddenly the sky gave off a cracking sound, followed by a loud boom of lightning hitting the ground, in such a loud ear-ringing burst. She screamed at the sudden unexpectedness of the strike. He then laughed at her and said "See?!?! You have angered Tlaloc!" She frowned and held a worried look on her face. "Nah, don't worry, hahaha that was only Xolotl," he said with a warm smile as he placed his hand upon her head. "So did you bring it?" "Si!" She pulled out a green glass bottle. "Aaaah you opened it already, he said shaking his head. "I only took a sip," she said laughing. He took a sip from the bottle and lifted it into the air looking at the bubbles float away toward the surface of the water. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out two small pebbles
one black and the other red. He tossed them into his mouth then chewed on them and drank them down with the mineral water. It began to rain. She placed her hands on his shoulder and lowered her head showing half her face. He turned to her with a curious look. "What?" She then opened her eyes real wide and asked, " So?" He turned away. "Tomorrow our rituals will recommence," he said in a serious tone. "In the bosques," she asked. "In the bosques," he repeated.He stepped outside into the cold morning air. The grass was moist with dew. The moon
beamed straight down upon him. He looked at his watch. 3:25am it read. He kept on walking down the alley until he reached a dead tree. There she was sitting Indian style on
the grass just gazing at the tree. "Let's go," he said with a fierce grin upon his face. She quickly got up and they both started running down hill into the wooded area deeper and
deeper. They arrived at an area that was encircled by big stones and branches. He stopped outside of the circle and turned to her, who looked excited and anxious at the moment. "Okay, now is the day to perform your cleansing." "Tlazolteotl right," she asked smiling. "That's right, Tlazolteotl the eater of filth, goddess of birth. And we will summon her with Maria Pastora," he said with a big grin as he pulled out a joint from his coat. "Salvia," she asked as she took a closer inspection of the joint with amazement. "That's right haha, Salvia divinorum, the diviner's sage," he said again with a big grin on his face. "You ready," he asked with a nod. "Let's do it." They both departed opposite directions and walked around the circle four times. After that they both got on one knee and said in unison, "Lakin, Chikin, Nohol, Xaman." Lupita remained on her knee with her head lowered. He walked up towards a tree with a cage full of ducks beside it. He opened it up and pulled one out. Beside the cage was a wooden box. He opened the box and pulled out two fairly large garter snakes. He then reached up and broke off two
branches from the tree and walked back towards the circle. He stopped at the edge of the circle and got on his knees. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two nails. He grabbed the snake and swirled it around the branch then grabbed one of the rocks in the circle and hammered the nail through the snake's head and tail into the branch. He did the same for the other snake and branch. He then pulled out a string from his pocket and
tied the duck's legs together then tied the string to his waist, then exclaimed, "Chac!" he entered the circle. She then did the same. He pulled out the joint again and lit it. He gave it to her and told her to inhale it and breathe it in. "One, breath will be enough for you." She sucked on the joint and breathed it in deeply. Her eyes widened, as her mouth fell agape. He took in a long drag from the joint and breathed it in. He looked side to side with eyes opened wide as the paranoia began to settle in. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jar and handed it to her saying, "Here drink this up." She opened the jar with
shaking hands exclaiming, "What is this?" "Honey and ashes." "Why is it moving," she yelled out in fear. "Ollin of filth, don't worry this will call her to you," he said with a reassuring nod. "Drink it all down." She held the jar with both hands and started drinking it. She started coughing. She removed the jar from her lips lifting her head up swallowing more down. "I can't drink all of this," she exclaimed. "It's too much!" "You have to Lupita, you must be filled with it otherwise she won't come to you and the cleansing won't take place." She quickly lifted the jar and started drinking it down as fast as she could. She began coughing loudly yelling, "It's too much to swallow!" "Come on your half way finished. Angrily she tilted her head back and drank up the rest of the honey. "Done," she said, her voice gargling with honey. "It's time," he said with a grin. "Now step back." She quickly ran towards the inner edge of the circle. He reached into his coat and pulled out a green bottle with a string of cloth flowing out from the mouth of the bottle then brought out a lighter and lit the cloth ablaze violently hurling it towards the center of
the circle which was piled with dry branches and logs as he yelled, " Xiuhtecuhtli, breathe!" Boom! The glass bottle burst into a loud explosion. The flames rapidly climbed
upon the wood and shot upward licking the sky. Lupita stood in shock; an expression of awe befell her as she saw the fire come alive. "Xiuhcoatl," she quietly whispered to herself, as her sight was pulled tightly onto the flames. The fire snapped and hissed. The air above quivered, numbing her eyes. Neon orange burning so brightly it stiffened her gaze in its glow. The crackling was as if miniscule combustions of sound were going off in her ears gently bursting. And the fire itself sounded like that of a waterfall set aflame. Waves of warmth washed across her flesh. An aura of flickering yellow, orange, red, and white sprinting around in the air. The smoke rolled off in plumes embracing her, clinging tenderly, holding onto her arms, legs, and face. She looked up into the sky and stared deep into the moon. As the clouds strolled gently across the sky, it all then suddenly flickered. The moon glowed brighter as the clouds began to distort and twitch. The sudden feeling of fear pierced her thoughts. The oncoming mists of panic filled her soul with fright. She looked back down onto the fire. It was giving off screams of horror as it deeply roared. The quivering air was strangling her eyes, making her tense. The glowing timber was overwhelming in luminosity disturbed her sight. Each crackling snap of the fire frightened her spontaneously. As the waves of heat licked her skin wet with humid. The violently twitching colors of the flames perplexed her mind drifting into confusion. The smoke rapidly rushed like steam,constricting her, suffocating, and tightening its grip onto her like a parasite feeding off of its host. Her eyes were violently twitching. "Lupita come!" She came forth in a slow stride. He held the bowl in his hands and lowered it in front of her. She cupped her hands together and splashed it onto her face, then rubbed it all over her hands and knelt down, lowering her head. He started plucking the white feathers off of the duck, and sprinkled them across the stone. Lifting the bowl he poured the rest of the blood all over the snakes that were nailed into the branch then swept them across the stone as the feathers stuck upon them. "I offer you this so that you may feast, Xiuhtecuhtli," he said as he tossed the bloody naked bird into the fire. She felt the earth rumbling beneath her knees as her shadow jerked and trembled underneath the fires light. He lifted his leg and pulled out a flask from his boot saying, "Stand, here drink this; this be blood from the roots of filth." She stood up grabbing the flask and drank it. "It tastes like water." "Haha, tastes like it, but that it most certainly is not." She finished the drink and placed the flask upon the stone. He handed one of the sticks and told her, "Here, hold this in your left hand and spin around the circle." She then immediately took off spinning rapidly with her arms extended outward. He then did the same in the opposite direction. As he spun he began to see the stick bend and wriggle as if it were becoming a snake. "Lift your arms and head skyward, don't stop spinning," he suddenly yelled out. She saw the branch begin to slither upward extending farther and farther. And the moonlight grew dimmer then brighter, then dimmer and brighter. The plumed serpentine branch began to spiral upward endlessly as she began to feel as if she were twisting rapidly in midair. Then a sudden strong gust of wind swept across the air. "Stop!" they then both stopped dead with their arms and heads still pointed skyward. Her knees began to feel weak as they began to wobble. Her knees then slammed straight downward into the dirt. Her heart was racing. She then looked up and saw him standing behind her. He looked down at her gasping out of breath and said, "Tlazolteotl, come eat what lies within," as he placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back downward till her head touched the ground. She suddenly tasted a rancid flavor in her mouth. The taste was putrid and vile; as she opened her mouth she felt her tongue go numb. And as she felt a sudden pressure from the pit of her gut, it all came rushing out of her mouth. She saw in terror the repulsive contents of her innards, squirming alive. The vomit soaked soil began to boil, emitting sickening vapors into the air; a face emerged from the bubbling tar-like liquid, its eyes open and mouth agape bearing an expression so morbidly miserable. It molded itself onto her face as she quickly threw her back upward, with such an ungodly, inhuman muffled cry coming from her mouth. Her mind filtered out as she fell upon her back and faded off and she heard the sounds of moaning and babies crying far off in the distance.Slowly the sounds began to fade away. She felt something faintly tickling her palms and ears. Her body felt as if it was half swallowed in something. She opened her eyes and saw the sun beaming brightly down upon her. She was lying in a creek. He sat there upon a fallen mesquite tree looking at her with a serious look on his face. She lifted her back up and turned to him curiously. "You're cleansed," he said lowering his head looking to the ground. She smiled and replied, "I'm wet," as she giggled. "That indeed you are, hahaha. Hungry," he asked as he lifted what appeared to be a charred branch. "Haha, no thanks."
He bit down into the burnt snake and chewed it slowly. "You saw her……didn't you," he asked as he swallowed down the piece of meat. Her eyes lowered and she looked back at the creek and she nodded. "Amazing isn't it," he asked slightly smiling. "Divine," she replied raising her eyebrows, watching the water stream through her fingers.


Moonlit-chapter2
He awoke being shaken as he saw a black blurry face in front of him yelling, “Hey man how’s it going,” as the person was laughing. “Huh,” he faintly said. “It’s me man, it’s Jarome, I just got back from my trip to Africa.” His vision slowly began to clear up. “Oooh, hey Jarome!” “Damn, you look wasted, hahaha,” said Jarome laughing as he shook his shoulders. “Yeah, did me some salvia a while ago; oh hey how was it over there?” “Well I visited some of my relatives and I met up with some fellow vodun practitioners, I learned lots of new stuff.” That’s good,” he replied nodding. “So what you been up to lately?” “I’ve been engaging my sombra through the phases of séance,” he said calmly. “You have a student in place now,” he said out loud with a tone of aching curiousity. “Who is it?” “Some girl.” “Oooh, I see now, hahaha; so you’re teaching her much more then just Aztec craft huh,” Jarome said as he was smiling and laughing. He tilted his head back against the wall and closed his eyes saying nothing. A knocking sound echoed into the room. He lifted himself up from his bed and walked towards the door. It was Lupita, and she was wearing a loosed ragged brown sweater, white shorts and white tennis shoes with black socks. She said nothing while she just stood there looking at him as if waiting for an answer. “What is it, some lil gal selling cookies,” he said laughing. “Ah, Jarome this is Lupita, Lupita this is Jarome; she is the one I am teaching my wisdom to.” He lowered his eyebrows looking at him as if he just said something odd. “Lupita, I need you to gather me some more mushrooms if you would,” he said as he pulled out a black pouch from his picket. “Okay,” she said as she took off running outside. “What the fuck, are you serious, that little girl is your student,” he asked bewildered. “Yeah, I think she is the one; in my dreams I saw this little girl standing upon a massive temple and wrapped around her face I saw the twin-headed serpent. I’m sure she is the one,” he said in a serious tone. “You’re fucking crazy man, she’s just a little girl” he said laughing at him. He then looked at his watch. “Well I’m going to head out with some friends. You want to come?” “Nah, not right now, I’m not really feeling up to it,” he said as he rubbed his forehead. “Alright, catch you later then,” Jarome said as he walked out the door. He walked towards the doorsteps and saw Lupita sitting outside beside the door. He sighed. “You didn’t get the mushrooms did you,” he asked rolling his eyes at her. “Why did he make it sound like what your doing is crazy,” she asked as if she didn’t understand. “Well in all honesty, they all think I’m crazy,” he said yawning. She looked at him, still confused. “Well, you are just a little girl, Lupita.” “Soo,” she replied in a questioning manner. “The knowledge I have handed down onto you is an ancient sacred form of divine arts, such things that most men come to know once they’ve become senescent by age. The elderly whom have had the long experience that is their life mostly practice this. But you are very young and your life has only recently begun; so you see now why it is that Jarome thought me insane, for it is very much the opposite of what it is I should be doing. And as you know I myself am perhaps quite too young to be teaching. This is why it is so.” “Then why are you teaching me,” she asked with an even more confused expression. “Because, I’m crazy,” he said smiling then burst into laughter. She looked at him seriously and asked again, “Why?” “Because I saw you in my dreams as I’ve said before; and you were bearing a symbol of Ometeotl upon your face as you stood upon a great temple that was thirteen stories high. And I’ve told you before the significant meaning behind this dream,” he said. “And how do you know that this is me and how do you know that you’re the guide,” she asked. “Because you the only little girl I know of and because the dream came to me.” She looked upward and quietly whispered, “Omeyocan.” “I don’t understand thought, you never told me what was there,” she said looking to him with a questioning gaze. “Well I have my opposing theories. I believe what is within Omeyocan is pretty much the same as what is within pre-birth. And because you are quite young I believe you have a greater chance of reaching that thirteenth heaven. But if I am correct, this means you will have a very weak chance of entering Mictlan, since this is the opposite of pre-birth is it post-death. So your greatest struggle won’t come in attempting to reach Ometeotl, it will come in trying to reach Mictlantecuhtli.” He then laughed saying, “then I guess the proper person to attempt both, would had to be a middle aged man,” he said rubbing his jaw. “Pre-birth….is that a good thing,” she asked. He looked into her eyes with a dead serious look. “Pre-birth is when you were most complete in being, they say once you’ve reached Omeyocan, it’s as if you yourself have become a god. They say that you can summon and see the gods under your own will; you are then above them and them below you. If you think happiness feels good, wait till you experience it up there. It truly is overwhelming. This is what awaits you in Omeyocan.” She smiled at him saying, “You really make it sound a lot more better then heaven itself. He snickered. “A LOT more better then heaven. Believe me it WILL be worth the entire struggle you’ve gone through. “Then let’s get started onto the next god,” she exclaimed excitedly. “Hahaha, hold your horses there; calmado, summoning gods isn’t just something you do daily. You must progress slowly; the gods aren’t there for you at any time for you convenience. Besides summoning another divine power so soon is dangerous both for you and me.” “Why is it dangerous,” she asked. “Because her presence still lingers there, you don’t want to summon another god while another one is still present; because you will only make those forces contradict themselves and that will put an end to the ritual,” he said. “Ooooh, then what will we do today,” she asked as she pulled out the black bag from her pocket and handed it to him. “Hmmm, I’m not really sure I didn’t make any plans.” “Why did you want me to get some mushrooms anyways,” she asked squinting her eyes. “We never have used mushrooms in any of our rituals. “Oh…there’s a mushroom that bleeds, I found it long ago, but I’ve never seen it again since that one time. I was hoping perhaps you’d be able to find it.” “Really, a mushroom that bleeds, hmmm,” she said looking at the grass contemplating. “Well, it doesn’t really bleed I was just collecting mushrooms one time and I happened to put one inside some tin container filled with water. And after a few days I looked at it and saw that the water had turned red to my amazement.” “So then it’s a mushroom that makes red tea, huh,” she said laughing. “Pretty much.” “Then let’s start looking,” she said with a big smile.

They were in the woods crouched over and scanning the grass, picking up any mushrooms they found. “Can we eat any of these,” she asked inspecting the gills beneath the mushroom cap. “Nah, wouldn’t be wise, identifying them is not an easy task, it takes an expert to know; so it’s best not to eat any,” he said sweeping his hand against the grass. “Uh, oh,” she suddenly said. “Don’t tell me you ate one,” he yelled out as he quickly turned towards her. She looked at him seriously and said nothing. “Damn Lupita,” he exclaimed with a worried in his eyes. Instantly he was smacked on the face with a mushroom as Lupita fell down in laughter. “Hahaha, I fooled you,” she screamed as she laughed uncontrollably. “….that wasn’t funny Lupita,” he said tossing the mushroom back at her bouncing off her head. She then began to mock his expression, “Damn Lupita,” exaggerating his tone of voice then bursting out into laughter. “I’ll get you back for pulling that prank on me eh,” he said in an annoyed tone. “Awww, are you so worried about me getting hurt,” she said in a demeaning voice frowning at him then bursting out in laughter again. He sighed and rolled his eyes. He walked towards the creek and followed its length with his eyes. He saw a coyote at the edge of the river looking back at him with a glaring look. He laughed and quietly said to the coyote, “I see now, up to your little games again huh, haha.” The coyote then began to sneak towards the circle of stones, with its head lowered and a mischievous looking grin bearing his teeth. His lips parted, as he knew what the coyote was going to do, he quickly darted towards the circle and picked up a rock flinging it at the coyote hitting its head. The coyote gave out a loud yelp and darted off away. Lupita lifted her head to see what was happening and saw him crouched over as the coyote was running away from him. “What happened,” she asked running towards him. “An omen, it was a coyote and it was about to enter our ritual circle,” he replied angrily. “Why did it cry,” she asked looking at him. “I hit is with a stone, he said angrily looking at the coyote disappear into the distance. “Why did you do that,” she asked confused. He turned towards her with a serious look saying nothing. He stood up and said, “Apparently he was dancing around you, that was Huehuecoyotl and don’t want him anywhere near our sacred ground or even around us at all.” ”You never told me about any Huehuecoyotl before,” she said. He is a joker and a prankster, I never mentioned it because Huehuecoyotl is a god unworthy of acknowledgment, but must always be on the look out for him because he is not a good god.” “I see,” she said. “No this isn’t good we’ll have to lookout now.

They both walked into his room. It was a mess, full of stacked papers, scattered papers and crumpled papers. She looked up at the ceiling and noticed a paper stuck upon it above his bed. She climbed up onto his bed which was filled with disheveled blankets and inscribed papers. She read the paper, as it read:

The giver of life mock of us
only a dream we chase
oh my friend
our hearth trust
But he really mock of us
but with emotion we enjoy
in the green things and in the paintings
The giver of life make us live
he knows, he rules
how we, the men, will die
nobody, nobody, nobody
really lives on earth.

“You wrote this,” she asked still looking at the paper. “Oh, no; actually that was written by an Aztec, it was found written in a manuscript,” he said as he pulled out a large brown duffle bag from his closet. “Bring me the substance box,” he said pointing to a box at the corner of his room. She ran and slowly picked it up then rushed towards him with her hands wrapped around the box. He opened it and pulled out a jar filled with white dust. “What’s that for she asked as she placed her face closer to the jar examining its contents. “Unveiling dust, at times Huehuecoyotl can become a shape-shifter making it harder to spot him, we will need this to see where he is,” he said. He then pulled out a jar filled with black dust saying, “And this is boundary dust, you know sort of like those fools who use salt to protect them within a confined circle to keep evil spirits away, well this is designed to keep gods away.” “Wow, does it really work,” she asked out loud in surprise. “Well, it can’t keep all gods away, you have to focalize the boundary upon only one god.” “Oooh, okay,” she said smiling. He then turned to her seriously and said boldly, “Eh, don’t get the wrong idea here Lupita; we’re not going on a camping trip, this isn’t for kicks and fun and to enjoy; this is a task that has been given onto us to carry out, we are to set up those borders and be on high guard and watch.” “I know, I know,” she said rolling her eyes. He then pulled out a red string with small bells attached to each end of the string, rolled it up and placed it within the bag. He then pulled out a jar filled with dark brownish water and leaves inside of it. “Aguas repelantes,” he said as he placed it into the bag. “Your not going to have me drink that are you,” she asked in an almost worried tone. “Ha, no you’re safe from drinking this; this one’s strictly for Huehuecoyotl. He then plucked a small vial that had a miniature siphon inside it with his thumb and middle finger and placed it in his pocket. “Well the, alright I guess we’re pretty much set to go now,” he said as he rubbed his hands together.

They started walking down the alley at a slow pace as the sun began to fall towards the west and the moon start to ascend from the east. “So we’re going to be doing this at night,” she asked him in a quiet tone. “Yeah, we’re going to be keeping guard late till we know for certain that he is gone for good,” he replied. “So, tell me more about Huehuecoyotl,” she said turning to him. “Okay then, Huehuecoyotl, his name means old coyote, he is a trickster god; the god of music, dance, and song too. He resides on the side of Tezcatlipoca, he is as well a god of parties.” “He sounds like a god that likes to have fun,” she said slightly laughing. “That he is indeed, but he is also a fool in my personal opinion, so we must banish him from tainting our sacred grounds with his inane games and trickeries,” he said with a serious expression. They had reached the old dead tree and began running into the woodland. They arrived at the spot; he walked towards the tree and picked up the cage full of ducks then walked into the stone built circle. He grabbed one of the ducks from the caged and tied it to the stone slab near the center of the circle. He pulled out the jar filled with leaves and brown water, opened it and poured it all over the duck. “What will that do,” she asked looking at the duck attempting to shake off the water from its feathers. “This is bait, and the waters should repel him once he’s had a taste of it,” he said pulled out the jar filled with black dust. He walked towards the edge of the circle and started pouring the dust all around the edges. “Ashes, black stones, burnt bones, charcoal, and rotted wood; this is what makes bound dust,” he said as he sealed the jar back up. He handed the jar of white dust to her and said, “Grab handfuls of it and throw it all around the outside of the circle.” “And what makes this dust,” she asked as she tossed handfuls of the dust far outside of the circle. “Grinded bone, grinded glass, white stones, calcium, and grinded shells, that makes unveiling dust,” he said pulling out the small vial from his pocket. “The bound dust will make us veiled and hidden while the white dust will make him completely seen and exposed.” He sucked up some water from the vial with the siphon and poured drops of the liquid into his eyes, ears, nostrils, tongue, and hands. “What is that,” she asked looking at him with eyes wide open. “Opening waters, it will make me more keen and aware, this will heighten my senses,” he said. “Do I need some too,” she asked. “No, I’ll keep watch on the distance, you keep watch on what’s close by,” he said placing the vial back into his pocket. He then sat down. She walked towards him then sat beside him asking, “So, what do we do now?” he reached into the duffel bag and pulled out a small guitar and handed it to her saying, “Here, play some music very softly this will call him to us.” She then started flickering the strings very gently. He kept turning his head side-to-side looking far off into he distance. His head quickly jerked as he heard a rustle from afar. He squinted his eyes as he saw a white snout peak out from behind one of the trees. “This is it, he’s coming just keep quiet and keep on playing the guitar.” He quickly grabbed the duck and pulled out an obsidian blade from his coat and slit the ducks neck open spewing his hand wet. He then threw the duck outside of the circle. The rustling sounds grew closer and closer. He then placed his hand onto the guitar and said, “Okay, stop playing.” A coyote crawled out from behind an oak tree with its head lowered creeping slowly towards the dead duck. He reached into the bag one more time and pulled out the stringed bells. “Are you going to kill it,” Lupita softly whispered to him. He lowered his head and whispered back, “No, it’s not smart to do that, you see the gods can tend to appear in physical form from time to time, because if a god were to appear in its true from the natural balance of this world would distort and become malformed; simply put if we were to kill it we would be releasing his soul into these grounds and if we were to do that we’d have no control over what he does then.” Reluctantly the coyote crawled towards the duck snatching it and quickly darting off behind a tree. He then started swinging the bells as suddenly the coyote howled. The coyote then bit down onto the ducks neck then quickly let go of it as it shook its head and started pawing at its mouth. It then fell on it back rolling side-to-side still pawing at its mouth with its eyes tightly closed. It then began to rub its snout against the ground, as the coyote whimpered. It opened and closed its mouth sticking its tongue out. It then quickly bit down again on the ducks back then instantly fell to the ground wrestling with its snout. It stood back up and violently shook its head repeatedly. “Coyote biejo larga se de aqui,” he shouted out as he swung the bells faster. “Corre, corre lejos de aqui!” The coyote started snarling and barking as it began to hesitantly retreat from the duck. It bumped into a tree and gave out a loud yelp as if it had been stuck with a whip. It then took off running yelping and barking turning its head back as if it were frightened of being chased by something. It then ran to the creek scraping its snout against the creek rocks as it then clawed at its mouth. Its ears flinched at every time it heard the bells ring. The coyote then vehemently clawed at its ears attempting to deafen the sound as it then weakly stumbled beside the creek bed bleeding profusely from its mouth, ears, and nose. The coyote then fell down and gnawed at its front legs and paws snarling and whimpering. “Do we go look for him now,” she asked him, not knowing what was going on. “No, most certainly not; for sure he is a mess by now, we must let him suffer alone so that he will learn his lesson,” he said placing the bells back inside the bag. He pulled out a thick blanket from the bag and wrapped it around her. “This should keep you warm through the night. Although we have sent him away it’s best that we keep out guard throughout tonight, just in case,” he said looking all around him. “Okay,” she said lowering her head and closing her eyes. He reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He held it in his hands and looked at it for a long while, and twisted the cap off; he started drinking it down. He threw his back down onto the ground and gazed at the moon high in the sky. She then lied down sideways and just stared at him. “How much longer do I have to wait until I finally get there,” she whispered to him. He closed his eyes and said, “You have a long way to go, still until you get there.” She sighed and looked up into the sky staring into the moon embraced by many stars. “You want a sip,” he asked smiling and showing her the bottle of whiskey. She frowned and closed her eyes again. “Aren’t you cold,” she asked offering to share the blanket. “Not at all, my
liquor keeps me warm,” he said then laughed.