Pale Moon.

It was dark. Not a sound could be heard. Not the sound of laughter,
of joyous singing, of crying in the night, of creature's small and
bright. I listened again. Silence as before. Then suddenly in the
distance the pale leaves of a giant tree began to sway. Softly they
moved back and forth causing shadows to dance upon the damp ground.
Again I listened for the sound of the wind howling through the misty
night. Again I heard nothing. How could that be???

Slowly I crept down the stairs and quietly opened the front door. I
stepped out into the night and felt a shiver of fear race along my
spine to settle within my heart. Such sorrow, such unbearable pain
assailed me that I almost fell with the force of my feelings. Something
was definitely wrong. But what could it be? Slowly gathering my courage
and wits about me like a blanket on a cold wintry day, I proceeded into
the misty night.

The earth was cold beneath my bare feet. I shivered with the damp and
clammy air, but carried on. I was driven by something that called to
me. From where I knew not. Why, was even more a mystery. But the call
was insistent nevertheless, beckoning me to something beyond that which
my eyes could see, or that which my senses could perceive. Faithfully I
carried on. Passed the houses, beyond the cracked pavement, pass the
eerie glow of the fading streetlight, beyond the edge of the quiet
town, out into the field of sleeping roses.

Things moved beneath my feet. I did not look down. I could not bear to
see what I had already begun to fear. The cry grew more insistent. It
seemed to drum through my head and my heart with every beat. My hands
grew cold. My feelings were in turmoil. I should go back. But I
couldn't. Not now, not when I was so close. Then in the distant I heard
it. A cry so low and frail, the bearer must be close to his or hers
end. I walked faster. Someone was in danger.

Turning to the left of the silent field, I listened once more. It came
again more sorrowful than before. I started to run as quickly as
possible, fearing that I would fall into some unseen trap at any
moment. The cry seemed directly ahead of me. "Move faster" I commanded
myself. Slowly the edge of a cliff came up before me. I slowed down. I
didn't want to fall over. Everyone knew that (Dead Horizon) was nowhere
to be night or day.

Stopping completely I walked cautiously toward the edge. "Is anyone
there?" I kept still, hoping to hear a response. Nothing. Strange. I
crept closer. "Is anyone out there?" Nothing. Slowly getting to my
hands and knees, I crawled towards the edge of the rise and looked
below.

The sharp jagged rocks of the mountain were plainly outlined all the
way down, to the wild and stormy sea. I peered over carefully searching
each crag, each crevice and corner for the elusive sound. Nothing.
Obviously I had made a grave mistake by coming here. All of my life I
have wanted to be someone. Make a difference in someone's life if not
only my own. Time just seems to keep passing my by.

Tonight I was hoping that my dream would finally come true. I would
find something or someone. And everywhere people would say- "Look at
what he did!" What a nice thought. Slowly I stood to my feet and turned
towards home. It was just as well. I had better get back before I
caught a cold or worse. Suddenly a wail so loud it almost shattered my
eardrums filled the night. I stumbled backwards and felt nothing. I
looked up. The Moon seemed to shine even more brightly than it did
before. It was beautiful. I struggled to regain my balance. Still I
felt nothing.

"Why?" I wondered to myself. I felt myself falling... Then nothing.
Softly the air floated around me. "What a nice feeling" I thought. "But
why is the mountain fading away??" I tried to turn to see before me,
but I could not move in anyway. The pain was so intense that I felt my
vision cloud over with dark shapes that danced like specters in the
night and blinding me to brilliance of the Pale Moonlight.

From above the jagged rocks something moved. "What was it?" I thought
excitedly. The face of a small girl peered down towards me. I could not
believe it. Someone was there! Oh! I finally did it. I would rescue
this innocent child and all would proclaim me a hero. Struggling I
tried to rise and could not. "Why?" I wondered? My body refused to
move. My legs and hands seemed to be numb. I had been out in the cold
too long.

And for some reason the sea seemed so close to me that I could smell
and taste the salty drops upon my face. That didn't make any sense. I
turned my head. "Why did it hurt so bad?" The sea lay in all its raging
fury just a few steps away. "Funny" I thought. "How can I be this close
to the ocean?" Things definitely didn't make any sense.

Suddenly I felt a spasm of pain that took my breath away. "No! No!"
This was not happening to me. "I'm allright. I'm okay. I just have to
go home and everything will be fine." Once again I tried to rise. Why
couldn't I get up?? I tried to yell for help. Low cries of a fading
life floated above me. I gasped for breath and tried again. "Help me
somebody. Please help". Tears flowed silently down my weathered cheek.
No one would hear me. I was too far away.

The Moon seemed to glow brighter than before. How beautiful I thought.
So beautiful. I closed my eyes. No more pain. No more sorrow. Only
endless peace. "This is nice," I thought. "Much better than being
rescued."

Note-"As quoted from The morning after- Gazette" Last night a violent
storm swept the northern shore of the Village of Sarandon in the Bay
Islands. A few homes lost their possessions as the winds threatened to
pull the very foundations from beneath them. Trees crashed and rooftops
flew. Crops were damaged and many homeowners still fear that even worse
conditions may be up ahead. However on an even sadder note- 27-year-old
Jeremy Brown was found dead this morning upon the jagged rocks of Dead
Horizon. Onlookers relate that far from being a recluse as most people
thought, he was simply starved for affection having no family at all to
support him during his difficult years.

No one knows why Jeremy was on the cliff that lead him to his untimely
end. One thing is for sure. Now, no one will ever know.

Strange as it may seen, a few onlookers could almost swear that during
the late hours of the night before the storm began, they could hear the
faint cries of a distant call&;#8230;&;#8230;.