In the Darkness

A short story I wrote for the Unreal Reality contest, I'll submit it later because I haven't edited it yet.

            The soft warm yellow light warmed her skin as she sat outside the coffee shop patiently waiting for her husband.

            “Lior, how are you?” he said approaching behind her, admiring the way her waist length brown hair swayed in the gentle breeze. She turned, a bright smile placed on her bright red lips, a smile that didn’t quite reach her angled hazel eyes. Their eyes met, and for a moment, so quick she could have imagined it, there was a flash of fear in his baby blue eyes.

            “I’m well Doyle, how was your trip?” she replied, the polite answer causing another flash of emotion in his stoic face. They continued on with paltry conversation and details of the last few weeks he had been away. She watched every movement, studying her lover with an intensity that could be form longing after not seeing him for so long.  He in return barely meet her eyes looking avidly everywhere but her heart-shaped face.

He progressively moved closer to looking at her though, starting on the bright awning that protected them from the harsh rays of the sun, though she sat further back relishing in said light. Then he looked to the cobblestones below their feet, studding the wear patterns in the grout and the dandelions encroaching on the well manicured edges. Moving along he studied the table and her neatly folded hands, the well manicured nails giving insight to how she spent her time without him. She cleared her thought, a harsh sound that caused his eyes to snap up and look her in the face.  

            “Not catching a summer cold are you, Lior?” he asked, concern was something he had always been good at, she shook her head in the negative. He nodded, looking relieved but it was a practiced look one that only varied on the severity of what he should be relieved about. She sighed looking at the large clock beside the coffee shops loud sign, happily proclaiming ‘Samuel’s Coffee’ in large green and pink letters, it was late. Half past seven, the sun would set soon. She gave him a bright smile,

            “May we attend one other place before retiring to our abode?” she asked, he frowned. Her manor of speaking often left him behind for a few moments. She could almost see the thoughts flitting through his head, all questions to be answered, but only if the answer to her own question was yes. If not then she was fretting for nothing.

            “Where would you like to go?” He asked finally, glancing up at the clock as well and then down at his watch. She smiled and took his hand, his hands still made her laugh. Soft as a newborn child’s, yet he claimed his work was tedious and backbreaking, her hands held more calluses from such a simple act of gardening then his did. Pulling him along they walked the short distance to her destination, weaving their way between parked cars and tall trees, the grass green and alive playing with their feet.

            They arrived at the public section of the reservoir, standing on the dam that keeps all the people in the city alive by providing their water. He made a face,

            “Why here Lior?” he asked, his distaste for the place obvious. She smiled softly at him, his dislike of things he cannot control was well known to her.

            “You can see the sunset best here.” She said softly, noting the positive look of fear in his eyes this time. Before he could protest she cut in,

            “Just a little while? I promise we’ll be gone well before it’s truly dark.” She begged, cling to his arm. He sighed but relented, watching the sinking red orb with growing horror. As the light faded a most interesting thing began to happen around them, everything brightened. The grass was becoming a steady healthy green that would make any plant in the day look sickly. The trees, being the more resolute and steady plants were a subdued mixture of greens, blues, and browns, yet the colors were true. Nothing like the mutes sights they were in the light. She watched as even the water showed its true self, moving swiftly and beautifully sparking and whispering to the stars. She turned to him, a satisfied smile on her face; both of them were glowing faintly. Nothing compared to the world around them, they were inferior after all, but enough. He was bathed in a light yellow, the color of fear, while she was a light purple, the color of curiosity. Others who risked lingering to see this glowed with so many colors, on for each and every thought and feeling. He looked at her, the blue in his eyes brighter, almost true.

            “Doyle, I’m tired of this, did you cheat on me?” she asked, plain and true. No fancy words and complications to hide her distain. He paled significantly,

            “Lior, I would nev…” but before he could finish a pale brown orange color bathed him, the disgusting color of a lie. She moved back and slapped him, furry shining through her eyes, mixing with the true greens, browns and gold in them.

            “Goodbye Doyle.” She whispered the silver glow of her tears staining her sun-tanned skin. He looked after her a look of confusion and anger, yet they were still watered down. I moved foreword, advancing on him, all the other people had left, after all no one wants to be caught out after dark.

            “You’re a …soul savior.” He whispered the fear and awe evident and deliciously pure. I looked at him, my tinted gaze making him even paler, and exposing his tainted soul.

            “Doyle Knight, you have been deemed tainted. Therefore you will be removed.” I state cold and un-caring. Not that I am truly, I care very much for these children, we all do. That is why we charge ourselves to remove the tainted, those who would cause harm to their peers. They fear us and curse us, un-aware that we are saving them. It is our duty and we uphold it with pride, even though we lost our last earthspeaker several hundred years ago we carry out our sacred duty. The man looked at me fearfully, he was still so young. I picked him up in my one giant silver arm, the sharp claws curling harmlessly around him. He watched in with a harsh horror,

            “What is going to happen to me?” he asked, they always do. I turned my single eye back to him, cocking my large head, as if I didn’t understand but he fell silent. I waited a moment longer, he still had time, he could be saved but I was only the object of fear to instill the desire to change, I could not tell him. For a moment he was so pale I feared he would pass out, but he looked away from me back to the dam.

            “Lior, I’m sorry.” He whispered. In that moment in the pitch black of night he shone pure.

            “Congratulations Doyle Carey, you have redeemed yourself, keep your soul pure.” I said releasing him, and he stared amazed. So few of them managed to redeem themselves these days, but I there was hope, the number of those with tainted souls has taken a drastic plummet. With luck there will be none in the next few thousand years, we are after all nothing if not patient. The elders fear that they are simply hiding from the night, but I think that the human curiosity will bring them all out at least once. While they fear it, the indisputable evidence of their disgusting souls they are unable to deny it. The finality of having your soul laid bare, for all to see, and proving in a split second who and what you are.

Author's Note

I haven't edited this yet, at the moment I haven't even re-read it yet, so please while I don't mind comments on grammar don't be harsh about it. Like I said I haven't gotten around to editing it yet. This is pretty much straight from my head, with about two hours of though. =P