Velveteen

 

The velveteen blackness engulfed me in its folds, as a sudden breeze sprung up, chilling the night skies. The silence awoke, with a loud shriek, as an owl hooted with its kill.  Growing into a gust, the wind hissed; then moaned in the gloom. Something moved to my right, chilling me with fright. Just the wind, I thought when it moved again. Just the wind, stirring the bushes and trees in its gales. I squinted to see, though the velveteen. “Who’s there,” I yelled in the night. However, no sound in response, except the howl of the wind. Yet, the night moved again. A shiver ran my spine, at the sight of the unnatural thing, as it revealed its self to me. What I saw chilled my blood. This thing, a purple black smudge for skin, stood tall against the blue black of the night. My scalp seemed to crawl, then tighten, as it held me in its hollow stare. I don’t know how long it held me frozen in its coal gaze; but when it released me, I felt liquid and sated. I watched amazed, as it crouch, before scurrying away. As it disappeared in the night, it called out my name in the moaning of the wind.  “Velveteen” Copyright © 2013 Safire