There is something divinely eerie in the sound of church bells echoing out at a time when there is not a person in sight. The scatter of birds on the first or perhaps the second chime make it all the more ominous and for sure they feel it too. There is an essence of the end of the world about it, or at least the end of all humanity. Or something even of an aftermath.

There was life on Earth before Humans arrived, and there can be no guarantee that there will be any kind of life left after Humanity vacates the premises either by their own accord or by their own hand.

The divinity of the church bell moment too, if it is not of the rapture, then perhaps there is the sense of creation, a belonging to the Garden of Eden, minus the warmth the small hours of a Sunday morning in December is ever likely to see.

December ... ah yes ... a time of joy, of celebration, a time for giving and receiving ... no rapture here no matter what the moment may look like, and no second coming either. And when the weather does react accordingly ... well, it is not so much of a Hell freezing over, rather it is something which can enhance the festive feeling the month brings, ten-fold.

An outdoor location covered in a blanket of snow can be a peaceful and pleasant sight despite the natural coldness it brings. It can be the perfect picture post card though what it can also hide is something terrifyingly horrid within its silence that not many, if any, would suspect any wrongdoing unless they were privy to it.

But the dreams ... the dreams ... why do they exist if they aren't to be followed? Follow the Lord with all your heart and lean not into your own understanding ... these dreams are hardly the work of the Lord ... if anything they are derivative of his counterpart.

***

There is comfort in knowing that someone special to you will never be forgotten. The creation of a Murial or statue in honour of this person firmly centred and planted post departure from this world would be one thing though when you know their story has become something of legend, well ... it is certain to be carried forwards for some time to come, and yeah, that thought can be ... comforting.

Sometimes, however, comfort alone is not enough ... and the means of such ... that can be a heck of thing. The girl who connected with a future and those who either were always a part of that future or were either brought into it or went willingly. If you dream a dream with which you believe is meant for you, so much so that you are sure its contents are meant to occur in reality. Oh, taking such things on and going in search of it can either be a wonderful blessing or a horrible disaster just waiting to happen.

Yeah, the whole thing is extremely difficult to believe. It is bat shit crazy, a croc-pot stew of out there novels, - a steamy romance with a paranormal element which much be followed, a horror story being more towards the upper level of horrific, a mystery needing to be decoded, and a thriller where the ending, good or bad, is unknown until it occurs.

Did she really bear witness to something meant to be? Did something else intervene and get in her way? And was that something an element which was always meant to be? If it weren't for her or the interaction of others ... then ... an ending could still be something very far away.

The darkest night

our blackened sky,

A hidden truth

in our brightest lie.

We've scorched the Earth.

you and I,

Trudged through its ruin,

yet still we try,

To live a life

the best we can,

beyond that darkest night

through the blackened sky.

It is said that it is darkest right before the dawn, but what if I were to tell you that the dawn is not coming? Besides, if the darkest night is what you know best, would the possibility of an arriving dawn ever mean anything to you?

There is no betrayal equal to that which allows you to forget yourself.

***

The body of a woman, believed to be that of missing twenty-two-year-old Wilma Tate was discovered in a shallow grave this morning on the outskirts of town by local joggers. Details as to the condition of the remains are sketchy due to refusal of comment on such. It is believed that hands and feet were removed pre-mortem with a location on the current whereabouts of the victim's eyeballs being unknown. This find brings the count of discovered dead to three in the past month. Police continue to advise all, especially young ladies, not to take unnecessary trip and if you need to be out after dark then do so in groups ...

Be careful with what you wish for. When you mean good and exude a kindness, when you display positivity, confidence and possibly even availability, especially towards but not exclusive to strangers, you may unwittingly attract something else, something not all so good, no matter how it first may appear. What is fun for one is not entirely fun for another, such activity or attitude could be even deemed as filth, perversion of immense distaste, a complete invasion of privacy, or public peace. Be careful what you say. You never know who may be listening or of how an interpretation of one's words may come to fruition.

One who attracts such attention and to a certain degree, at least initially, allows it to occur could be deemed as being a witch, said to have the Devil within her, and a road to persecution may be stepped upon at best, as for at worst, well perhaps that could be beyond all imagination.

Numbers – three into one does not go, no matter how you try to equate time, energy, and judgement. No one knows for sure what is around any corner, let alone the next one. It may not be limited to three, there could be one other. We shouldn't have to live in fear though a little caution every day can go a long way.

***

Rei Ngata is exactly as her name suggests. If a day was suggested to be a Rei Day, then you better believe that it was. She had always been a ray of sunshine, a ball of fun, a wandering soul not belonging to any one place despite the strong sense of heritage those who come before her have felt and do feel. She is full on, a mile a minute and a burst of energy and fun. She is also a pocket rocket, an explosion just waiting to happen, and when it does ... do you really wanna be anywhere near her?

Of course, I do. We have been friends since kindergarten, just because she has got something stuck in her head and is going gung-ho after it doesn't mean I should go running. We are as close as sisters confiding in me is something I am glad of, otherwise who would and could stop her from being herself?

Her behaviour is out of control but to understand it, I must try to at least see it from her point of view. I guess I can understand it, but I cannot approve. She wouldn't listen to reason, so determined she has always been. It got out of control and could only end badly. I knew it, we have time, so I am told but not much. Hell, this is torture.

***

A shadow, a spook, he who can both be seen and unseen. Hiding in plain sight, in the corners light hides away from. A practise run which will become so much more than that if successful, a disaster if it goes flat faced. It could all be over before it begins.

She has seen this shadow before. The silhouette that knows where she lives. It knows where she works, it knows where she likes to frequent and there has been nothing with which she could do about it, she can't report it ... there is nothing to report. She can't even be sure of gender. There had been no real reason to report anything. There may be nothing more than an admirer, an observer scared of making contact.

As it is, she never believed this. It is just a matter of time, and she can either beat it or fail and she does not want to know what failure would entail. Certain death, most likely, though it is the what else which is ever more frightening.

It is coming, this is it, the day has come, or rather the evening has come. She can sense it, she feels it in the air and it is more than the arriving shorter days and colder temperatures. He has been getting closer, been around more frequently and it is just darn quiet of an evening, travelling home by herself with a full darkness having well and truly settled.

There is not a total darkness in effect of course, there is street lighting, just not so many people out and about, and neither should she simply be out and about. Darn car trouble. It will be out of commission for a while. Funds aren't as strong as she'd like them to be and some things will just have to wait, still, it is more than a bit coincidental.

First evening without her vehicle and she feels vulnerable. The awareness had been around for some time thought she had yet to feel the vulnerability, until now that it. And there is something far too convenient in that. It may be just in her head given the change in circumstance, but no, there is something else happening here.

She can't help but be aware of her surroundings. She is fully equipped, mace and alarm at the ready, but will that be enough. For a first time, shadows are not static. They are irregular. Can she hinder irregularity with the regular? She sticks to a route home she would take on foot if this were any other day on foot.

The weather, the time of year. There is an odd certain feel, a spark in the sky, as if the universe is working away, looking to either open up and bring a moment of magic to someone who needs it, or perhaps swallow the world whole, leaving it vulnerable to those who would take advantage of it. Yeah, either one or the other is about to occur.

There is history in such a thing, something which has gone on for eons and will keep on returning, neither favouring one promise or the other and such a thing is of no good to a young lady trying to get home safely unless she can be assured that her safety can and will be a done deal. If a deal is available, it is out of reach, she has no say in the placement of an agreement.

Maybe she has, for she comes to a petrol station, a place she had forgotten exists, despite the fact she has been in here before. It can bring her refuge, and she doesn't delay with entering. What odd game is being played here? In here is as quiet and empty as out there, almost as cold too, even the protective counter doesn't seem manned.

He is here, just outside the light, once again, staying to the shadows. He'll hardly come in here and reveal himself, will he? She wouldn't put it past him. Her breath shortens, her heartbeat quickens. She's trapped should he decide to enter. He may want for nothing, but how likely is that? And if it should come, he is no more than a secret admirer so a defence may argue.

A member of staff soon appears, and enough time passes to give her confidence that all is well, and she is safe. Indeed, she is safe. This was a trial run, and he will not return to the well twice. Somewhere down the line, she will realise her luck and will worry to the point it will drive her far away from this place, a place to which she will never return.

***

Looking for a special kind of connection, one she believes is meant to come her way, Rei attracts the attention of three men, all of whom she interacts with, though there is one she feels a certain something for, with the exception she does not know which one that certain something is supposed to be with or even if it should be one of the three at all. She does not and never had intended to draw the attention of all three at once either, it was something which happened by happenstance to the extend she wasn't fully aware of her own actions.

For Rei, her dreams do tell of a connection, one she is sure is meant to be to the point she is sure it already exists. She just needs to place it, allow it in, allow it the freedom she believes it deserves. An awareness exists, a connection has indeed been attained but with who? She does not know, and she needs to know for it feels as if life itself is at work here. There is no consideration that there might be something else entirely going on.

When reason gives her cause to abandon all hope, a stalker then begins to lurk in the shadows. She now has a shadow. Is this stalker one of the three, not willing to say goodbye? Is he looking to cause harm or is he possibly looking for a protective role? Or is he the someone else or the something else she had not considered? Perhaps he is the one she feels an odd connection with? Is three in actuality ... four?

Then when she is reported missing, the questions really come. Has her stalker abductor her? Or is something else entirely going on?