He looked up at the dusky lavender expanse that boasted not a single pinprick of light. No, the carefree stars hid their happy faces from the city dwellers, as they were wont to do. Even the brave few that sometimes took a peek at the slumbering metropolis stayed hidden this night.
A small car drove by, breaking the relative silence as if its loud thunking and complaining helped it limp down the road. He winced at the aberration to an otherwise peaceful night and was thankful when it turned a corner, taking the groaning with it.
He sat very still, absorbing the night, allowing the cool evening breeze to refresh him. He enjoyed the peaceful cadence of the nocturnal creatures, the soft harmony that soothed and healed. Enjoyed it immensely, that is, until the now familiar sputtering broke the silence again. And it seemed to be heading back his way.
His jaw clenched and his eyes squinted as if the reaction could block out the distasteful noise pollution. He waited, ever still, for the offending vehicle to pass and once again leave him engulfed in little more than the night. It spit black smoke from the back end even as a loud crack fired through the night. The noxious fumes poisoned the air as the car lurched, one last valiant attempt at recovery.
A small groan slipped from his lips as he realized it was not to be. The car lurched again before giving the neighborhood blessed silence. He watched warily as it sat there for a moment, a dying dragon that had only to shut its eyes for the death to be complete.
The headlights flicked off. The street was plunged once again into twilight. The air was thick with the dark stillness that would have been complete if not for the strategic streetlights overhead. The dragon was dead. Or at least slumbering mercifully.
Too bad the carcass was planted firmly in his own front lawn.
No comments:
Post a Comment