October Moon

(photo credit: Griffin Wooldridge, Unsplash)

23:51 – A tap of a silver teaspoon against the stained mug tore into the silent air of the kitchen. He placed down the mug, wiping his mouth of the last drop of tea. 

An accidental cup of tea sat beside his. A skin of congealed milk began to form on the surface – acting as an unkind reminder of what had been lost. With a gentle shake of his head, he picked up the untouched mug walking it over to the kitchen sink. As he ran the mug under the lukewarm water, he studied his hand’s age spots. He wished he could wash them away, as easy as cleansing a tea-stained mug. A spider crept past a dog’s water bowl, filled with inches of dust.

23:59 – With an urgency he unlocked the back door. His focus was on a patch of raised dirt beside the apple tree at the bottom of the garden. Nothing. 

Wringing his wrists, he began to head back to the house. An apple playfully knocked into the back of his heel. Behind him was a small dog rolling around in a pile of leaves. But rather than a coat of fur, the dog was made of pure bone. 

With the last October moon as their confidant, the pair strolled through the town. Rows of carved pumpkin’s tealights softened out into crisp embers. The skeleton dog began to emptily bark at a skeletal cat cleansing itself on a brick wall. The cat hissed swiping at the dog, who retreated to the safety of its owner’s shadow. 

 

Hours floated by as they walked further into the night. A murmur of a distant Halloween party was carried by the wind. 

 

On the outskirts of the town, a hill overlooked the townscape. The dog bounded up to the top, patiently waiting for its owner. The elderly man shakily inhaled, stopping halfway up the hill. The skeleton dog tilted its head, looking back at its owner. With a rattle of bones, the dog made its way down the hill, brushing into its owner’s legs. Together, they climbed.

Hues of purple and orange began to break up the night’s sky, creating a welcoming November patchwork. The man bent down petting the cool bones curled up against his feet. As they made their way down the hill, visions of a young man with a terrier strode fifteen steps ahead, “Until next year, old friend.”