Cold Encounter

A Story by Ivor

Cold Encounter

The courtyard was light by the dim glow of the gas lamps on the entrance archway. Leaning against the wall inside the arch, half hidden by the shadows, was a young man dressed in corduroy jacket and trousers. The eerie silence was broken only by the sounds of night creatures that seemed to eat into the stillness with echoes of desperation. Suddenly, as if by intent, one of the lamps flared up to announce the arrival of a cloaked figure appearing through the archway. The young man shrank back as the figure approached, but turning to face him, then awaited his arrival. Only muttered sounds could be heard as the stranger handed a small box over to him, turned, then evaporated into the night.

Having fulfilled the purpose of his meeting, the young man crossed the courtyard and disappeared into a wooden door in the shadows at the far end of the courtyard. Total silence returned, not even the normal sounds of the night could be heard. The gas lamps seemed hardly to penetrate the darkness that now enveloped the scene. No trace of evidence was left of the exchange that had taken place.

In the cold gloom of a small living room a young man’s voice could be heard anxiously talking to his mother, “Mum, I’ve got the matches from Uncle, can you light the fire now please?”

Ivor G Davies