A flash woke Ingrid from her sleep.
As she opened her eyes, the window towards the forest spilled with a bright glow among the trees, palpitating, as if alive. She brushed her eyes violently hoping to wake herself further convinced she was still in the dreamworld but the glow didn’t go anywhere else. Her dog Sheila, a beautiful golden retriever, started barking strongly confirming the dread vision.
The old woman came down the stairs wearing a black and red square jacket for the cold as well as jeans over security boots. Despite her age, she was sturdy and willful. She had to after her husband passed away years ago. The farm beside the woods was all she had left, and if she could survive the draughts and even the banks, a menacing random glow in the treeline was child’s play.
Her hands softly clenched. Waking in the middle of the night always made her feel painfully rusty. The silent glow let the wiggling sound of Sheila’s tail fill the room as she managed to reach the shotgun beside the door and, taking a deep breath Ingrid opened the door feeling the cold breeze caress the wrinkles on her face. Her steps echoed on the wooden porch while making sure the green cartridges on her shotgun were there.
“It's only you and me again, girl.” Ingrid said, brushing the fur on Sheila’s loin with her fingertips.
She could see her own reflection in those big eyes of hers like she always could since she was a puppy. Every time Ingrid needed courage she would remember her husband. The time they beat the banks at court when they tried to take the farm from them without acknowledging their payments, he gave her a dog. A beautiful puppy called Sheila. He said the farm was too far away from town, and she needed another girlfriend to talk to. That was very much his style, comparing animals to people, distrustful as he always was.
Time would prove him wise.
And so they both went, opening their way through the cornfield while the tall maize weaved on the night breeze like a green and golden sea, reflecting wave after wave of bright explosions.
Could it be a meteor of some kind? She softly shook her head to herself. A thing of that size, capable of turning the whole sky like a day in a flash, would make some serious noise. It was almost like it stopped midair before crashing. As she drew closer and closer, she could feel a faint buzz with each light wave, vibrating into her chest like the bass in some silent music. Sheila wouldn’t have any of it and started barking furiously at the light which source kept itself hidden in blinding white.
“Easy now girl, stay behind me” Ingrid said, but to no avail. Sheila went running ahead and straight into the light.
“Sheila!”
Ingrid increased pace, but it was terribly hard to keep track. She had to pull her arm over her face to advance. Being so close to the object the waves of light hit her retina crudely until, as she approached, it started increasing the rhythm of its light weaves so quickly that in a matter of seconds, everything was white, and to her surprise, she could see straight into it only to find she was standing in a completely white canvas. The sky, the floor, the trees. Everything was gone in white everlasting absolute.
“Did I die?” Ingrid thought, starting to breathe intensively. Just what in the world was going on?. Searching for something in the unlimited white she turned around. There she found Sheila, waving her tail while barking as if trying to prevent her from something. Ingrid was relieved, at least she wasn’t alone in that weird turn of events.
“She has grown since the last time we met” A voice echoed in the whiteness. Ingrid recognized it.
“George?” She turned to the voice. There was her husband wearing the very same jacket she had and jeans. He just loved that lumberjack cliché clothing. “What… what are you…”
“I have come to get you home” He said with a gentle smile. His deep voice, softly scratched by the years, triggered a familiar warmth sensation.
On the field, after finding a lost horse or at the end of tending the crops he would call the day with these very same words and that very same smile. She wanted to hold him close so bad after all these years. It was like the cold in her old bones would only go away if he embraced her but Sheila’s barks took her out of her daydreaming. She blinked, startled. All of that was so surreal… but was it really? Maybe she was already in the final line. Ingrid had already made peace with it.
Ending number 1
“I don’t know what you are, or what are you doing here… but thank you. I had almost forgotten my George’s face…” Ingrid smiled at it. The visage of her husband nodded gently and she followed Sheila’s lead until suddenly, in a blink of an eye they were again at the corn field below the night sky. When she turned to see the strange object she witnessed how it just launched itself back into the sky at a speed so incredible it felt like watching the birth of a shooting star.
Sheila whined softly pushing her head towards Ingrid's knee, feeling her nostalgic longing.
“Just wait for me there, dear. I am going to take care of our precious farm to the very end”
And as she absorbed the night cold air filled with the reap corn scent, she walked home with a smile on her face.
Ending number 2
“You really took your time” Ingrid approached slowly to her husband. The smile on his face grew.
“Old habits die hard, I am afraid” Gently, he surrounded her with his strong arms, to her chest. It's true. He always had that habit of being late to pretty much everything because he always had a last-minute thing or failed to calculate the time to shower or bathe. These were such trivial things to him so he never accounted for them.
“Is it going to hurt?...” Ingrid whispered. Her eyes moistened in a silent fear.
“It’s like riding a bicycle. You’ll get the hang of it, I promise”
She nodded, hugging her beloved husband back tight. They both chuckled when Sheila pushed playfully her way between them.
“Hey girl, don’t think I forgot about you!” He softly patted the dog’s loin.
Meanwhile, somewhere outdoors, a child saw a shooting star traveling across the sky from her window. Excited, she closed her eyes and wished for peace in the world… and a new Barbie doll.
Images from pixabay
