The Nightwalker
The Nightwalker
Short Story Series
By Oiseau Distrait
Previously Published in the publication of
Write Under The Moon on Medium_2024
Embedded Files
Episode 1
The Purple Lounge
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
‘Wow! Good design, this car is cool!’
I walk alone almost every night, to where? I’m not sure, but I can’t fall asleep if I haven’t. Who am I? It’s not important!
It’s another world after midnight, if the sky is clear, I may see the beautiful moonlight walking with me side by side; although sometimes she behaves like a child, a bit shy to stay behind the cloud, she will join me when she’s happy…I’ll always wait, so ‘Take your time, no hurry!’
If it’s raining, it’s going to be more romantic, although there is only me who is walking, like a vamper in the city, I can feel the love in a melancholy way; so, please leave me alone if you see…I’m not lonely.
It may be the cool design that draws me near, a vintage vehicle of those movie stars in films…I’ve always wanted to have one, but I don’t have a driving license. Or it’s the purplish neon glow in this very dark winter night without any living creatures around, except a de-colored plant.
But there is a sign: LIVE BANDS…OPEN
It may be fun to enter, but will I interrupt when they are immersed in their moments…a circle of peers? I know nothing about music, jazz, or classics whatsoever…except blues in another way, I guess.
Will I look bizarre to join, cos my face tells me I’m a nobody just passing by, a stranger to this artistic craft?
I don’t have a penny, there is no way for my entry…I better leave by my vintage.
***
I have a dream tonight, I push the door open of a purple live bands lounge, it’s called Cadillac Lounge…I finally recognize. The purple glow inside echoes with the shopfront neon, so beautiful, but there is no one here, no bands, no music, not the laughter of any living creatures, except a purple card on the bar counter.
Open your music box…or never, you can hear your voice!
Good night, stranger.
*Original post link in Medium for members only
Episode II
One Minute Romance of...Lost In Translation
Photo by Gladys Lam on Unsplash
I better wait…till the last guy leaves, the last? Oh! there won’t be any so-called ‘The Last’, it’s a 24-hour convenient store…in…Japan?
Oops! Where am I?
Ah! I am walking, again…without boundary, I guess? I better follow.
***
I’m not familiar with this route, but I don’t think it really matters, cos I will return to my own at the end. It’s fine to walk in a strange place, where I may not come by myself when I am awake.
People said the tranquility in Japan is different…a real silence cos the Japanese are very self-aware, they won’t bother others unless they have to. That’s perfect…I hate to talk to someone who is nobody in my life when I have nothing to say. But I am hungry, should I walk in? I better wait…till he leaves.
I don’t think I can speak Japanese, even in my night walking, simply grab, pay & go…do I need to pay in this twilight zone?
***
No welcome phase, no eye contact, not a sound…it’s all silence, she just heads down doing her work at the checkout counter, hallelujah!
Hmm! Everything is so delicate, looks delicious but a bit weird, what are these? So colorful & sweet? How’s that one, seems normal to fill up my stomach…
“Sumimasen, Tetsudai-kuremasenka?”
I am shocked, what an unfortunate for her to discover me, but she’s beautiful, yeah, very…very beautiful! What a lovely girl, sweet as these…I can’t name it, haha!
“I’m…I’m looking for…what’s this?” I can’t turn my eyes away from hers, why will there be a beauty working at late night alone? Shouldn’t she supposed to be the wife of a lucky guy, in their cozy bed right now?
“Hai! Sorewa….”
She continues to explain, I wonder how she can understand what I’m saying or barely an instantaneous response to a customer. I am drowning in her tender voice…knowing nothing of what she said.
“Sayonara, mata kite kudasai!”
When I close the glass door, I am in the dark…
***
I’m not sure whether I will come again, I tell myself when I’m sleeping in bed, but I can feel a tense smile on my vampire face while I keep closing my eyes & wish to return there…if I could. Isn’t it a desire to communicate? I don’t know.
***
*Bird’s Note
Sumimasen, Tetsudai-kuremasenka (Excuse me, Can I help you?)
Hai! Sorewa….(Yes, this is…)
Sayonara, mata kite kudasai (Good bye, please come again)
*Original post link in Medium for members only
Episode III
May I...A Secret Dating With The Past
Photo by Med EDDARAMI on Unsplash
I think I am in the middle of…La Seine, right, something like that, I guess; I’ve never been here on a cruise, so late…or maybe not so late, seems there are guys on the bridge, but absolutely nothing on the water, except…
***
Someone is staring at me…not far, under the arches, ripples begin to transform from still golden dust into weaves of intertwined threads, but it’s too dark, he?…or she? why can’t I have night vision eyes, damn it!
The silhouette comes closer and closer, She! definitely! I barely see when the tiny boat passes through those fainted beams…but please, don’t come any closer, no, no, no, pleassssse…I don’t want to talk!
“Good evening!”
How do I look? I’ve never thought of this before, am I wearing my sleep tee, shorts, or naked? on my bunny slippers or torn running shoes? No glasses, for sure, not required here…I try to look at myself, feel with my hands, but I can’t tell…
“…Hi…evening…Good…midnight!”
She is a middle-aged lady, wearing her velvet night hoody in the form of those, like the 16th Century noble…Omg! I meet a glamorous, blue-blooded, lady ghost?!
“Would you mind to join me, Sir?”
“Yes, …I mean, I do mind…Umm…” I am sitting with her on her little boat while I still figure out how to finish my words, the worst out-of-control scenario in my out-of-control night walking.
***
I don’t want to look at her, a bit of impoliteness in ancient, should I?
She begins to tell her story…there are chill night breeze as we sail along the Seine, she’s always stunning whether in her melancholy blue at night or the mysterious black in the dark.
It’s a lifetime story of a widow who doesn't truly want a conversation, but a listener, I’m easing to be my role.
Her love story starts from where we were along Pont Neuf, then comes to an end when we arrive at the Eiffel Tower, where she met her true love but couldn’t get married to.
“May I ?”
I turn my face to her while she speaks, and her lip is on mine…
“Merci!” The last word I heard before she disappeared, right under the Eiffel Tower.
***
Why am I chosen to be her listener? an introverted guy from the modern world? Is it a secret deep down that couldn’t allowed to be unveiled when she was alive but after death for centuries?
Why wasn’t she crying for her sorrow or, tears already dried in her abiding fate?
My icy lip is bitterly cold still, even when I am covered by blankets with one of my bunny slippers in bed.
*Original post link in Medium for members only
Episode IV
Midnight Bus...Is Waiting
Photo by Hans Eiskonen on Unsplash
A whole week rains at midnight, even in my walking, but the reward is always pleasant. The magical reflection after rain is a painting of gouaches splashing on the murky canvas.
***
Should I stop and leave? The signal in red is telling something, I guess, but on the other side, I think…I could sit down for a rest, cos’ I’m walking a very long way, another guess.
‘Porttisuontie?’ Ahh! Somewhere far away and that has Ikea. Yes! Sweden? No, not really…I wish there was a person to tell me, without asking, needed…ah! Finland, here it is.
Why am I here? It’s not Christmas, I’m not eager to meet Mr. Santa Claus, there is Ikea in my place and I have nothing to buy right now…I don’t think there will be any bus arriving…or maybe I can dance under these dramatic backlit on the murky stage before going back?
***
Two tiny bright spots are flickering far away, growing larger and larger towards me, but nothing could be heard, so quiet…
A bus is stopping in front of me, no, no, no…a yellow bus is hovering in front of me, the door is opening mute, a driver wearing an oversized sweater is staring at me under his obscure sunglasses, “Ticket!” a naive voice.
What’s up? I have no idea…
“Ticket! Chop, chop!”
I’m a bit nervous, hoping there was a button for me to trigger, to disappear, to go back to my world…knowing there won’t be any ticket…but, there is one inside my pocket, a ticket?
***
We, the only we are fleeting in the dark towards a darker shade of…a fleshy aroma of pine tree bath in the open air, then we stop. I thought there would be at least a local guide, but it seems I must get off…I’m in the middle of a forest.
I loved the forest when I was a kid, especially after rain, wishing there were forest spirits to play with me, talk to me, protect me, and cry with me…but I don’t think it’s real, not anymore when I became a teen.
***
I’m weeping in the middle of the forest, those are my tears, I know…not rain. Not knowing how long I had been staying, a flickering tiny yellow spot appeared again, is the yellow bus returning?
One, two, three…ten, and hundreds…I am surrounded by fireflies in this magical moment…I remember the winter night when my dad was chasing these golden fairies with me when I was a kid…the last memory in me…I wish the yellow bus would never return!
I had a fever after that night, nothing I could do except sleep awake in bed for days. Wearing an ice pad on my forehead, and gazing out the window, the rain seems never wants to stop, delivering the fragrance of fresh pine to my door.
*Original post link in Medium for members only
Episode V
The Conversation...I'd Never Want To Know
Another rainy night, I thought I’d never wake up, who knows? but I feel extra lightweight, it looks like I’ve recovered so well, maybe there is still a long way to walk, I beg not so long! It’s not my choice of destiny, I know, but I guess it’s an unconscious walk, like…hmm, a map in my subconscious dream, of those artists?… a famous one, I wish, ha!
***
Where am I? A familiar place, it seems where I was hanging out there…, a long time ago before we graduated, or, after? Never mind, better move to another way, I need to be alone…
“Hey! Man! Do you have a cigarette?”
How come I will have a cigarette, uh! I shake my head, then I walk away in the opposite direction.
“Hey, can you hear me? Do you have a cigarette?” He is running towards me, Omg! I keep shaking my head and, waving my hand behind…in the dark until he approaches me.
“Sorry, man, I don’t want to bother you, but, I really need a cigarette right now.”
His face turns a bit yellowish under the lamp but clear enough to see…he is…Kelvin, my professor… Wow! He looks so grey!
“Oh! no, I don’t!”
“Okay! fine, sorry to interrupt!”
Am I looking grey, too? It seems he doesn’t recognize me.
When he returns to his pal, I sit nearby in the dark, hoping to know who those guys are gathering around there with Kelvin; this is not my usual practice, but…maybe she’s there.
I barely see their faces, but their voices are crystal clear, like a drama performing in front of the only audience.
***
“I can’t believe, are you serious, where have you heard of this ?”
“Beth told me yesterday, her voice sucks, she must be heartbroken!”
“Oh! how’s that? was he ill or something?”
“I’m not sure, he’s been a healthy guy ever since, don’t you remember how fabulous he was in the athletic years, he broke all the past running records. I’ve never heard of him having any hidden health problems.”
“He’s a good guy, so very kind and cute, always helpful, what’s happening to him in these years? do any of you know?”
Suddenly all goes silent, I can hear the rolling of fallen leaves on the water splash.
“No, he’s not good, he’s a jerk, a 200% idiot!” Hailey murmurs in her small voice, I know it’s her, her tender voice that I will never forget.
***
I’ll always love her if I could……..
She wrote touching stories like it’s real, she had insight into humanity, yes, it’s her gift, I’m sure. I read through them once but she said they had never been published, I couldn’t understand, but I loved how she acted, so peacefully as an angel.
Sometimes she was like a small girl weeping in the rain…I’d do whatever I could to protect her, to comfort her, a shoulder for her to lean on, a space for her to rest; I wish, I could make her smile again, to make her dream come true…but I left…when she needed me…Yeah! I’m a jerk, a 201% idiot!
***
“Why didn’t I look for him, how come he locked himself into his void without asking anyone to help; how can he stand for the loneliness, why didn’t he tell me, why he’s so stupid…you silly jerk!”
“Beth said nobody knew where he had been before that night, except there was mud and pine leaves found nearby; and strangely enough, he didn’t use his wheelchair but seemed to walk on his own…on foot, the remaining one!”
Who are they talking about? The wheelchair? The remaining one…leg? Beth, my sister? What’s happening to me?
Photo by Martin Stoichkov on Unsplash
*Original post link in Medium for members only
Episode VI ~ series finale
I Have A Long Way To Go
Photo by Tiberiu Popa on Unsplash
I am running, running for almost an hour or so, maybe it’s Winter, and I’m feeling cold; maybe it’s midnight, or morning before dawn, I know there is a place I want to go…I am coming…
***
It’s weird, why didn’t I return to my bed? it’s never happened before, I’m a bit dizzy, seems to be hitting something on my head…I remember, Beth, Hailey, Kelvin, and…my leg!
I was once walking on my feet, a runner, my dad was so proud of me, yeah…those medals crowded hanging on my floor lamp like a golden tree of never-fallen leaves, I wish mom were there…
I remember Beth, she hated me so much when all love slipped away from her…to me, like I was a thief, stealing everything from her, but I didn’t, Beth. It’s not my wish, it’s out of my control, you know…I love you, you knew it! I never saw her again when she banged the door behind me, the day Dad came to my race, leaving her graduation ceremony alone.
Where am I running to?
Did I gain my torn foot back or…only in my night walking?
I remember how it was lost, the accident when I chased the fireflies in a forest with Hailey…when we fell in love…I wanted to catch the brightest one for her, a shining gem hovering in the royal blue sky, a rainbow spell to my eyes…a sudden crash within seconds…
***
They said I was lucky, I didn’t lose my life, but only a foot…yeah, barely…a…foot.
The day I never wanted to talk again…the day my dad felt disappointed, I’d never have an Olympia medal on my tree…the day Beth didn’t look at me…the day Hailey cried with guilt in front of me…the night I began to walk on my own…
Fine, I get used to it, there’s no big deal cos’ I will return my bed at the end, I didn’t cause any harm or trouble to others, no one knows about it…and… not really care about it…whether there is a lamb neighbor, so…
WHAT the HELL this time !!!
LEAVE me ALONE!!! Leave me alone…
let me stay where I am, don’t follow me…
I have a long way to go…
***
Nightwalker stays in a coma, nobody knows for how long would he wake up or never?!
His silhouette gradually merges into the haze, disappearing it seems…he sees the light far beyond the trees, and finally… someone is waiting, he hopes…
*Original post link in Medium for members only
Nightwalker Serenade
If you were there...
Photo by Boran Pang on Unsplash
I’m not a nightwalker but I wish…I was.
I wish I were brave enough, to walk at late night…alone,
to places other than those I know.
I want to set up a tripod in the middle of the road,
use B-mode to capture motion of lights, leaving traces of memories of…delight.
I want to stay at the station, waiting for the mysterious train to arrive,
bring me back…to the past.
I want to hear humming, of the night bird sings,
where I can resonate…in time.
I want to lay on the mountaintop, caressed by the falling stars,
imagining you’re near…by my side.
I want to listen to the wind, while everybody is in their dream,
believing you’re whispering…to me.
I want to write my late night stories, when the moon rising high,
pretending, I am the protagonist…in real.
I want to meet the customers, in the late night shops,
listen to their stories again…once more.
I wish I could write, for those sleepless owls,
as long as my stories…last.
I wish I were a nightwalker, following my path,
to my destination…not very far.
*Original post link in Medium for members only
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