Greetings
my dears and welcome once again to Wednesday Briefs. Wednesday Briefs are a
group of authors that write fiction based on a weekly prompt. This week I chose
the following picture prompt as inspiration:
My initial
intention was for this to be much longer, but I’ve been in bed with a cold and a fever since Sunday. Therefore, if the following flash doesn't make too much sense, please forgive me. I promise I'll try to solve it next week. *smile*
Light of Time
Taking as
much of a deep breath as the tight stays of her corset would allow, Bethany
straightened her spine and shoved her hands into the pockets of her wide skirt.
Her fingers brushed the note that had brought her here. She wasn’t sure why she still carried it
around for she’d read it so many times she knew the words by heart.
A soft wind
blew a few stray curls over her eyes, but she didn’t bother to push them away.
The time had almost come. Nerves fluttered deep in her belly and her heart
seemed to race faster than the tick-tack of the pocket watch she carried
nestled between her breasts.
The church
bells began to ring, announcing the late hour and the end of the last mass of
the day. She stood to a side as the faithful followers of the Nuold religion
walked out the old grey cathedral chatting quietly. Was he among them?
A loud
clanging noise caused her to break her composure for an instant but with practiced
nonchalance, she observed her surroundings, the corner of her lips lifting as
she caught sight of the source: the lamp lighter was about. It was almost time.
She watched
the old man lift his heavy staircase and drag it to another lamppost. Clang. He rested his ladder against the
bar at the top of the lamp and carefully climbed the wobbly structure,
balancing his lamplighter pole. Upon reaching the top, the man tipped the lever
and touched the gas. A soft glow grew into a warm ball of fire that illuminated
the Church’s paved walkway with an eerie glow that reminded Bethany of her
Grandfather studio. Her heart constricted with the memory of the old man that
had brought her up with fantastical stories of a different world.
“There was once a world, Beth, a world in which
light wasn’t this tame glow, but a fire ball that illuminated entire cities as
if it were day, almost as if the sun had come to walk among us.”
Bethany
fisted the paper in her pocket, recalling the last words of the encrypted
message. In the place where old and new meet when the shadows fall and the sun
walks among us.
Pulling her
hands from her pocket, Bethany finally pulled out her watch to glance at the
time. What if she’d been wrong and this wasn’t the place at all? She glanced about, watching as the first shadows
of dusk mingled with the light from the lampposts and the final rays of the
sun, which spilled from the sky and across the Church’s tainted glass, creating
a bright glow, different from anything in the city.
“As id the
sun walks among us.”
Bethany
turned around. Goosebumps covered her arms and her heart sped up as a man
emerged from the shadows. Raising her chin defiantly, she braced herself for
what was to come.
“General
Hodgins, I presume?”
To be
continued…
And now go check out the rest of this week Briefers!
Hope you are feeling better. Love the description of the lamplighter doing his job. I could so visualize it.
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon. This sounds promising! SL aka BLMorticia
ReplyDeleteOooh how intriguing. I'm really looking forward to reading more. I hope you're feeling better soon. fevers are utterly miserable
ReplyDelete