This series of short stories was inspired by a Soul Food Cafe Project
this particular story was based on a reported storm that didn’t happen.
Since then when we have storm warnings I post it again
and think how pleased Mr. Nightfall must be.
So today I brought this story back out because of this:
Puget Sound Weather Outlook
Updated Monday December 3, 2007 7:20 a.m.
Current Headlines: Winds clocked over 90 mph along the Washington coast, and over 100 mph on Oregon coast. Almost all major roads along coast are blocked by down trees and power lines. Several local mudslides and urban flooding problems. Flood Warnings continue for several rivers. Freezing rain is falling at Snoqualmie Pass. Heavy rain continues to fall across Puget Sound — Seattle well over 2″ of rain since midnight.
In my hometown, which is a place called Faraway, a man named Mr. Nightfall stands under a pear tree full of light green poisonous fruit and waits for the Sun to set.
Mr. Nightfall is my neighbor and our streets, like all the other streets in Faraway are lined with deadly fruit trees and deadly gardens. All these dark shady places are kept and tended by people with pale faces and empty eyes and here in our town Faraway no one is Sane and no one really lives because no one is really alive in Faraway.
When Mr. Nightfall comes from Faraway sometimes he brings storms and in that wildness all you’ll see, all you’ll hear is Mr. Nightfall.
When Mr. Nightfall crosses your path and he settles over your town you’ll know he’s there because your skin will start to feel to tight and you won’t be able to pull air into your lungs.
Everything will seem… Faraway.
That’ when you’ll know Mr. Nightfall is close enough to put out his cold, dark hand and lay it over your shoulder.
Once I followed Mr. Nightfall to a city with stores and cars and a coffee stand where the woman who served me wore a picture on her chest of a creature with stars in her hair.
I asked if the creature in the picture was from the Well of Angra Lei and the Woman squeezed the cup of coffee so tight at the sound of my voice that the top popped off and the scalding hot coffee filled her eyes and mouth and she didn’t cry out.
Not even a little.
The woman had turned to stone, her face was frozen into a mask and her eyes had rolled up into her head and I could hear her someplace deep inside screaming and screaming and screaming and she will never stop.
They never do when they are taken Faraway.
Mr. Nightfall didn’ come back for me, he never turns back but he did call out to me and I followed him through the town and the entire time he cursed and spat and hissed like one of the cats that’ not really a cat from back home in Faraway and he said, “They know I’m coming.”
“Of course they know you’re coming Mr. Nightfall, don’t they always?”
“No, not like this they haven’t known me like this for centuries I don’t like this Miss Praecox. No I don’t like it at all.”
This time the people in this little town by the sea knew Mr. Nightfall was coming.
There were candles in windows and there wasn’t a soul on the street. They were locked behind doors and the curtains where drawn and they knew they were very aware Nightfall was coming.
As Mr. Nightfall crossed the city I stopped here and there and looked in windows and when I could I found people and I touched them, carefully, quietly with my left hand and I told them my name and their minds stopped liked old clocks.
I could hear it loud as thunder as gears and cogs and wheels that turn their minds
ground to a halt and I could hear what they took with them to Faraway.
My name.
” Enjoying your visit Miss Praecox?”
” I always do Mr. Nightfall.”
He reached out to pat me on the head and thought better of it, ” Just like you’re Mother, we were a team in our day to. We worked well together.
The Praecox have always done their best work with Nightfall.”
” So what’s happened here Mr. Nightfall, where is everyone?”
He held a newspaper up and showed it to me. I couldn’t read it of course and he ran a cold dark finger under the headline and read it to me.
” Hurricane Force Winds expected to Strike Seattle, Power Outages State Wide, locals ready for Nightfall and freezing temperatures.
They were ready for me this time. Lord I hate the press”
” Killjoys” I said with feeling.
” Well, there’s always tomorrow, isn’t there Miss Demetia Praecox?”
I agreed because everyone knows Nightfall comes from Faraway and sometimes it brings madness with it.
read more adventures from Faraway
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