The Encounter
Glooming down the blackened cobbled
streets, Michael had noticed the darkened alleyways that plagued the "Capital". In a drunken daze he overlooked a few strays that wandered the compact dirty backstreets of the city. Something rustling in the trash pile caught his attention. He stepped closer as another wave of depression flooded over him. He takes a breath as the nausea of the alcohol, the dinge of the alley , and the destain of emotions erupt out of him. Another breath a moment of solemn contemplation tainted by the booze, he begins to look up at his lone counselor, the moon. As his head tilts up instead of his eyes meeting that familiar silver disc in the sky, a pair of sorrowful pools of azur meet his gaze. Out of his own disorder he begins to make out a slim sickly silhouette aganst a darkend silvery sky. Shaking off the haze of a nauseated drunk, he began to make out more of the frame and the blue eyes that cast adrift in a dimmed moon light.
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The Day Before
In a foggy foreset amidst the light beaming through, he had spent many hours watching his traps from behind the hunters blind. Michael felt a prickely touch of the mid-harvest air on his neck, he had been patient all morning but was getting less so as the day gerw older. Just then he noticed out of the corner of his well trained eye some rustling in the bushes next to one of his traps. He began to prepare his knife, as he began to draw it from his hip a winter hare jumped out of the bushes. As soon as the hare touched the ground his trap snagged its back leg and drew it to the sky. Just as the hare had it's leg caught it began to panick and thrash, it began to bite at the snagged leg but this was to no avail. Michael had seen the hare caught, and he jumped from the blind and quickly dispatched it with one well trained cut from his knife. With the catch for the day dressed he had began to hike back home to prepare his dinner.
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Methodically
It was mid-eve by the time Michael had gotten to his old rundown home. He placed a small red stone he had found on a large pile of identical stones then headed to the door. As he opens the door to the old sturdy home in the forest, he places the rabbit down as he unstraps his rugged shoes worn by the many years of tracking through the surrounding forests and mountains. Michael picks up his prey and places it on the table and begins to process the hare for all of its usefull parts. Placing all of the meat and organs in a pot filled with water to cook it. The hide after treating it will be sold in town along with the other pelts from that month, this being his only source of income. The bones are set aside to be boiled for a light breakfast. After the soup was cooked he began to set the table for two places. The two chairs facing each other, one bowl of hot soup, a slice of bread that he had bought the previous day, and a worn spoon. He sat and began to eat in silence as he stared at the vacant seat. Once again the table set for two sat only one.
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Drowned Sorrows
Just as he had finished eating he heard a pounding on the door, he put back on his shoes and answered the door, it was a lean man with gray hair and brown eyes that stood before him. His self proclaimed friend Benjamin whom he had saved when they were both kids was here to get Michael again to go drink, "My friend we'll still get a drink together on me, you could stand to get out of this house once in awhile and have some fun." He had done this every other day since dad passed. Michael didn't know if it was because Benjamin felt like he owed him or felt sorry for him, but just like every time instead of waiting for his answer instead, he just pulled him along. After knocking back a pint and a half and many protests from Benjamin he left the pub, he began to walk the streets to cool his head before he headed home. Unknown to Benjamin every time they went out to drink it normally remind him of his dad. Michael didn't quite know the reason either. This still caused a pool of sadness to fill his heart.
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Seas of Azure
The silhouette was that of a frail and sickly girl rustling through the refuse of others. As they stood there for a time just staring into each other's eyes for some unbenounced reason, the girls belly made a loud rumbling sound that thundered through the alley. Michael watched as she lost all strength and fell to the floor without thinking he rushed to the strangers side to check on her. As he began to look over her he noticed that she was not much more than skin, bones and rags. She clearly hadn't eaten in awhile and passed out due to it. Looking over her he jolted a memory of the past where he and his dad had found a kitten badly hurt. He had pleaded with his dad to take the kitten home and feed it. His father then said, "You remind me of your mother gentle and kind.". His dad then picked up the kitten and brought it home where it never really got better and they had to burry it in the back. Michael cried for days till his father explained to him that he did save the cat. Because he gave it love and care before it passed where as if he had left the kitten it wouldn't have had that. Michael's father then asked him "Michael would you do it again even if the same outcome is destined? Could you still give your love and hope to have something like this again?". Michael never really gave the answer to his father. Looking upon this sickly girl he thought to himself I guess it's finally time to give my answer and proceeded to pick her up and carry her to his home. She was much lighter than he had expected and much more delicate.