DARKNESS paints the clear sky with its dark color. The sky is absolutely dark and clear without even a single star shining, neither brightly nor dimly. The moon – it’s new moon. The sky is entirely dark as if nothing could ever pierce through the darkness.
Crossed-leg, he sits on one of the chairs in the backyard. The surrounding neighbours have all switched off the lights except for their bedrooms, dimly lit with faint glowing lamp. His family is snoring away soundly yet little he knows the night is not the time for him to toss himself into the bed. He flips and flops, turns and turns all around the bed but the drowsiness seem never to pay him a visit that night.
The water feature is still running as usual but the fishes are cast with sleeping spells. He is the only breathing soul sitting there, doing nil. He knows that. He is neither freaked out by the quiet and calm surrounding. He fears nothing but he sits there, looking at the sky. Slowly, he decides to let out a sigh, a long sigh.
The night is simply so special. He could not think much about the present nor the future. Certain unforgettable memories of his past are just playing around his mind. He reminisces his friends, the chills and thrills they encountered before together, the pains and the cheers they share before. A breeze sweeps through and it is like a pause button which pauses all the flashback.
He smirks and laughs to himself. Repeating the same sentences, he speaks to himself, “Of such wonderful memories I have with all my friends.“
The wind stops and it resumes the playback. He keeps on thinking but somehow they are so many things he tries to recall but yet to no avail. Overlooking at the clear sky, he wonders if the stars are the guides to aid him to recall things. He does not know. Perhaps that is just a leverage people believes – blindly believes for ages. He shrugs his shoulders and off he continues, swapping of the position of his crossed legs.
The sky is still dark and lonely. He feels like he is the sole breathing soul communicating, not talking but rather the heart-to-heart type. The memories he treasures resume and he smirks and laughs while reminiscing them. He is rather carried away until he forgets the sleeping coat he puts on becomes loose. The midnight autumn breeze chills him up. Stimulated by the cold weather, he realises his loose coat and quickly ties the coat closely together.
He gently raises the cup of coffee in front of him and takes a seep. The caffeine in it is not the factor that keeps him alert, for he knows so sure. He could just throw himself into bed easily even though after cups of coffee after dinner. As alert as a preying fox, he sits still on the chair.
Somehow he seems to miss something. Something so abstract and so complicated or hard to put them in words. He wishes to express his thought but could he? It is not the problem with the language, neither with the surrounding he is in now. Out of a sudden, the dark sky seems to be like a lost galaxy. He is like a lone astronaut lost in the galaxy, hoping to find his way home.
Confused and puzzled, he is in quest of searching something he craves and desires to hunt down. He choose a new moon night and a night of silence and tranquility. He craves the insouciance of night, not disturbed or annoyed by howling engine noise nor irksome motorcycles’ screech. He has everything he gets, yet something is definitely missing. Yes, it is so uncanny and he could not track it down.
He starts to count his blessings. He has almost every thing he desires. Spiritually he is faithful and says his prayers on time. He knows he lacks of something but deep inside himself he feels like jerking out “What in the world am I missing?“
He knows he could not figure out the missing item or perhaps even more. He makes a wild guess, perhaps the thing he has been waiting could neither be purchased by money nor religious practice. It could have been something beyond what we know or perhaps even minute stuff we overlook in every single thing in life.
Impatient though, he still let out a long sigh. He breathes in and out deeply and slowly to restore his tranquility. He knows the treasure is so challenging to unearth. He wishes to crack the mystery by now, as efficient as Sherlock Homes or Nancy Drew or Hercules Poirot. He wishes that too. The cerebrum is overworking perhaps as the breeze is so refreshing, oxygen debt is not accepted as an excuse.
Suddenly, a star just shines dimly in the midst of the darkness. He sees that, the little star, so helpless and lonely, yet it shines as what it supposes to do. He sees through the star, he knows that the star is putting its effort to shine despite the darkness. Despite the moon is missing in action the night, it is still there.
He is such a headstrong. He clenches onto his principle. He rejects the leverage people say. He holds firmly to his own principle and argues to himself that it is the midnight sun. He continues to overlook at it but now from the little parlour outside his room.
Little does he know the answer he wishes to search is about to unearth, little does his sixth sense tells him that. He knows that for he has faith in his instinct.
Yet, he wishes to continue to explore the lonely dark night with a dim midnight sun. He is adamant with his thoughts and actions.
He stands there, laying his hands over the parlour and overlooking the sky with a pair of eyes, filled with hope and faith. Silently, he tells himself, “Someday, I’ll find my way and I’ll find it“.
He knows that… He is sure of that he will find it. It is time that matters.
He knows that…
“I know that…“
Unearthing the mysteries that packs his mind under the lonely midnight sun, he stands at the parlour overlooking the dark sky, again he lets out a long sigh.
“If and only if…” and he never continues after that.
The dark and lonely night drags on and so as the mystery prolongs and remains unsolved. He keeps quiet and speechless after the phrase.
Like a mess, he sighs. This time, as long as the night is. How many night he has gone through this situation, no one knows and neither bother him…
And so he stares at the sky until its twilight again……
::LEON HA::
