Rabbits in Time

[Javed Baloch]

[An excerpt from a short story currently under progress]

1.

How does a man, standing on the brink of oblivion, decide to abandon his life, his memories, and in which order - Does he toss a coin - because every day of your life is another page turned, making the past inerasable; and do you flip a coin to your bidding, and how?

Colton stood among the leaves in the quiet motion of their own, and looked deep into the bleak woods, in silent understanding of the invitation at hand, his only means for escape. With three days of running in the wild, somewhere by the river he has left behind hordes of huntsmen hard at work, ambitious, wild and with eyes gone crazy, ravenous for all the stray souls of this world, with their badges shinning from a distant.

“Rain is comin”, says the old man next to him, the fear in his voice pressing down on Colton, to convince him to take the way to the woods, “and it will be hard, it always is in the wild, and we will be nothin’ but couple of wasted rags with all that downpour.”

Deep in the woods there is a mystery, a humming of the universe, a habitation of things older than Colton, than the old man in constant fear of death, or the crazy huntsmen with shiny badges and dead eyes.

 

 

2.

“No God will whisper through those trees old man,” he said, “no falling to your knees, souls ravin’ and crying out loud to the Heaven,” paused, “you up for that, because there ain’t no comin’ back once we are in that primate zone.”

The old man had been a preacher of some sort in the old days, the days before the chain and the sentence that comes with it, the heavy laden metal on your conscience for that one moment of criminal intent punishable by life or noose.

The old man nodded and said, “You askin’ too many questions of a man at a cards table with nothing to wager save his life, and I tell you I am done being a preacher, I am done killin’ and am sure as hell done savin’ them souls”.

Colton nodded, without words, understanding the significance of every word that he just uttered, knowing that in the end, given enough time, we all go down that lonely corner, to embrace the darkness, and wishing to be cured of our sentiments.

[Javed Baloch]

@Edward Dean: Hey there, long time. And thank you so much for your feedback. Means a lot, as always.

@Abhi: Lolz Abhi. That sounds like a compliment. Thanks.

[Edward Dean]

Lots and lots of flavor in this Javed. Intriguing descriptors.

[Abhi Kantamneni]

"humming of the universe" to me sounds so distinctly Stephen King-like, that it sent a chill down my spine

[Javed Baloch]

@Teresa: Thanks a lot Teresa. It's a passage from a longer work which I thought could work as a standalone, in a way. Kinda glad it did.

[Teresa]

Nice rhythm in this.  Lots of truth.

[Javed Baloch]

@Janice Kay Langham: Thanks a lot Janice.

[J. K. Langham]

Intreguing, I enjoyed how you used your words.