Raisa
***
The stars look beautiful on this warm, cozy night. It’s been calculated there’s a shooting star to be seen on this clear starry night. It’s only a prediction but I believe it to be true. So, I dedicated the entire day to hiking to the highest landscape possible. This way I can get a glimpse of the stars at their brightest. The mountaintop is certainly the best view you can find to explore the Earth beyond what meets the eye.
I’ve allowed myself to just breathe in the cold, foggy evening air and get lost in my thoughts. It’s more chaotic than you might think, it’s like a battlefield of voices and ideas in my head, but for now, it’s time to put those thoughts aside and gaze at the stars above. I’ll let the beauty of the world take me away, and the starry night makes me as light as the clouds.
Nights like these take me back to simpler times when I was a kid. I’d lay on the grass in the garden of our suburban cottage looking up at the sky in the middle of the day. It wouldn’t really matter if I was alone or with company, I’d be completely peaceful. At least, as long as the sky is there for me.
My favorite game would be to guess the shapes of the clouds. We had all the time in the world just to be one with nature and appreciate everything about it to its fullest.
I pop open a bottle of beer, rest my arms behind my head and take long, slow sips. The temperature cools all around me. I snuggle up with my long brown coat and listen to the whistling wind roar away.
Even the sounds I hear are so different from the usual, cars on the busy city road and people chattering away in their various directions. I can almost feel the pollution drifting out of me, cleansing me like I’m dirty.
The time just passes midnight and the shooting star should be here by at any moment now. I try my best not to drift off to sleep, although it wouldn’t hurt to rest my eyes for a moment after the long hike up.
It’s so still and serene around me that hearing a twig snapping somewhere nearby alerts me back to the present. I’m at the edge of the mountain and below there’s nothing much that’s going to break my fall. I get up to look over the cliff and immediately draw back at the height. Nope, that won’t be happening anytime soon. There’s little chance of surviving if I jump.
My senses suddenly come to life and I take a look around, but I don’t see anyone or anything. A chill creeps up my neck and I suspect the presence of someone watching me. They’re definitely close.
At this rate, I’ll end up missing the shooting star, but my safety is more important than star gazing. This concern should really be the last thing on my mind right now. The paranoia begins.
It’s been a few minutes and I haven’t heard any other abrupt sounds or seen anything beyond the ordinary. I wait for a little moment longer and then get back to my beer, ignoring the initial sound entirely.
I keep my ears keen for any other suspicious sounds as I rest lazily. It takes me a few more moments to focus my eyes on the skies again. I watch for a while, and no shooting star arrives. I wonder if I missed it while looking back into the forest.
Nope, I’m not going to let it affect me even if I didn’t get to see the star soar through the skies. It would be frustrating given that I did walk up the mountain, and that took me an entire day. For what? For one damn star…
I drink my beer to help me ward off the negative energy clouding around my senses. The chances are the star wouldn’t have passed by just yet.
I wait a little longer and wait as time passes by and I’m halfway through my second beer now. My senses are dulling, but it still like there’s still someone or something rustling out there in the darkness, watching my every move. I hear another sound that sounds unnatural and I tuen around instantly.
“Whoever you are, come out!” I shout, annoyed at the feeling of someone stalking me. The alcohol flows through my veins, intoxicating me, otherwise I’d never be this bold. I gulp down the rest of the beer and fling the empty bottle behind me into the darkness of the forest.
Everything falls still for a moment, maybe I scared them away with my loud voice and my can of intoxication. And then someone suddenly emerges from the shadows. I expected a human, probably a stalker or a murderer at this time of night, but oh was I wrong. This was no person at all. It was still hard to see what kind of beast stalked towards me in a slow cautious manner.
I realize there’s nowhere to run if I had to and I’m hardly in any shape either with the beer flowing through my veins. I take out the lighter in my pocket to give me a little foresight.
As it approaches, getting nearer with each step, right in front of my lighter, I’m sure it’s a wolf. Well, I think so anyway…
This is so not cool… there’s practically nowhere for me to run. I’m on the edge of the mountain quite literally, and no way I was going to jump. What great luck I have. I stay very still, hoping the wolf goes away, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The wolf glares at me with such intensity. Its green eyes glow in the dark in contrast to its thick, brown fur. I’ve always found it weird that some animals can do that. Ears pointing up high up, as if alert, too. And it doesn’t help that it has sharp teeth that could devour me so fast I wouldn’t even be able to react. Am I going to get mauled? Oh that’s just lovely, it’s my time to die…
I turn to look towards the mountain edge, and an urge to jump is looking much more likely as the wolf comes closer. I would guess the land below is around two stories down, but even then I can’t be sure because it’s so dark. The only problem is, I’m not willing to break any of my bones tonight or you know, die.
Okay, so jumping isn’t an option anymore, and there’s nothing left to do but glare back at the wolf. It comes to a stop but keeps a low predatory stance like it will pounce on me and shred me into pieces at any given moment. I dare not to take the next move.
The green-eyed wolf growls. That does not sound so good for me. I take a deep breath and freeze. I might end up as its midnight snack, but the growl wasn’t loud enough for the rest of the forest to hear.
And the only thing I really know about wolves are that they travel in packs. And since I don’t know much about them, apart from the werewolf myths and some fantasy stories I’ve read as a teenager, and those obviously aren’t true. So, my knowledge about these creatures are practically useless.
I notice a unique sense of intensity, yet there’s no form of anger emanating from this animal, just a keen observation of my presence. Looking at me top to bottom. I hold my empty beer bottle in case it suddenly decides to attack. Then, out of nowhere, the wolf leaps in front of me and transforms into a human. My can falls to the ground beside me.
Wait, what just happened? I am sure I’ve drunk enough for tonight, I’m seeing things. I expected to be ripped half to shreds at this point, but I still have no scratch on me. Yup, I’ve definitely had one too many bottles of beer tonight.