The View

The View

         It had seemed such a hare-brained idea, in fact, it bordered on insanity. That thought kept rambling through Rick’s mind as he sat there seemingly trapped. In retrospect, he thought it might not have been a really bad idea after all. The night had started so innocently, like so many others. Rick’s mind finally abandoned the insane idea and returned to the start of the night.

         “Eve, how about a small adventure tonight?”

         Eve was a woman who was always open to new adventures. “Sure Rick, what’s on your mind?”

         “Well, there are five planets in alignment tonight. You know my love of Astronomy. I thought we would go to the top of Blind Man’s hill and view them. There’s a lot less light pollution there; it should be a great view!”

         “What else do you have in mind?” Eve replied, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

         “Nothing, get your mind out of the gutter.”

         Eve’s lips formed in a pout as she realized that Rick’s only plan for the night meant looking at stars. How boring!

         “I think I’ll pass Rick. That doesn’t sound exciting to me. Melanie wants to go to club and party. She turns 30 tomorrow, and… well… you know, birds of a feather….”

         Rick just looked at her, his face set in a stony gaze. He grunted while turning away to get his stuff together. He and Eve were roommates, and that’s all it had ever been. He thought that tonight they might share a special moment, or moments together, maybe changing their situation for good.

         So here he was alone on Blind Man’s Hill, surrounded on all sides by unseen creatures. He knew the end was near, he could feel the want and need emanating from the creatures. Yet as he sat there, he suddenly saw fireflies everywhere, in fact the fireflies were everywhere you looked. Unlike the ones he had seen all his life, the fireflies tails' remained lit, never seeming to dim. As he sat there wondering when his end would come, he heard a small voice, a voice carried on the wind.

         “We can save you.”

         Rick looked around, for he knew he was alone on this hill.

         Again the voice came, “We can save you.”

         Rick realized that one of the fireflies was speaking to him, His mind almost exploded at that thought, but before he could stop it, he heard his voice say, “There’s no way you can save me. Those creatures are far too large, I’ve seen their shadows, I’ve heard them breathing. I’m doomed.”

         As he said this, Rick realized he had accepted what he knew to be his fate.

         “We can save you though.”

         “That’s the most hare-brained idea I’ve ever heard. It’s not a bad idea, I mean, I’d love to be saved. But no, you can’t save me.”

         “You can’t say we didn’t try. Goodbye Rick.”

         With that, the voice, and the fireflies that had been flitting in the air around him disappeared. Rick was alone. Alone with those creatures in the darkness.

         The next morning Eve was surprised to find that Rick had not returned home the night before….

Jim Dorrell
4/26/23