Conjuring Companions

The green fields seemed like a carpet and the wind was fresh, you could feel the freshness in the air. The driver suddenly pressed the brakes really hard and the jerk from the seat belt made him un-recline his seat. He looked at the reason as to why they had stopped, it was just some kid with his flock of goats and sheep that were crossing the road, as he got out of the jeep his shoes landed in the mud and got all messy instantly, this diverted his attention and he forgot about the seat belt or the jerk, cursing his luck he sat on a stone next to the road and started cleaning the shoes with some tissues in his pocket, took a deep breath and headed towards the car.

They arrived at the station around evening, he headed straight towards the office, the commander was right he had been sent to nowhere, his team a group of college dropouts who didn't even have the courtesy of matching their uniforms let alone wearing them in the proper manner. To them the uniform was just a cloth to cover their skin.

Looking at the bunch of 9 recruits he knew he would have a tough time ahead but he was motivated to change them and show them the value and responsibility of what they were wearing.

He started by visiting the hometowns of all the recent felons who had gotten out of jail and analyzing how they were settling in the society, his aim was to ensure if the people around them were safe or too horrified to report anything to them, so instead of them coming to us he went to them.

It was a routine back check; he was on the front seat when the driver came to tell him that this was the furthest the jeep went. The next hour was a big walk; he got out of the car, told the driver to head back and decided to continue the rest of the journey on his own.

The next hour was a big walk, just as a precaution he grabbed some extra ammo for his weapon and made his way towards the track. It was around midday and yet everything seemed so quiet. After walking for good half hour he heard the clinking of metal against something, he had heard that specific sound a long while back but couldn't recall where, each step he took made the sound grew more distinct but he still couldn't figure out where he had heard it earlier.

And then he saw it, there was a man sitting on the corner of the road and he was trying to mold something. The man was too engrossed in his work that he hadn't looked up at him. He put his hand on his shoulder, the old man looked at him and dropped his tools, his hands started trembling and he started crying, he looked at him and his eyes were weird. The eyes were reflecting horror, fear and death, the old man wanted to talk but no words came out, then suddenly he whispered something about heading back and not continuing on the path.

He should have trusted this old man with the weird eyes but then how would he have known it if he hadn’t tried it himself, this was the reason that he had embarked on the journey. He left the old man and continued his walk to find where the path led to.

He suddenly stopped, the sand was the only thing he could see ahead, nothing but piles and piles of it. What had stopped him? Someone was following him he just knew it; he looked around but didn’t see anyone.

He just smiled and started walking again, a slow walk, a walk that led him to a path buried deep in his memory lane, he was in the middle of nowhere with a smile lingering on his lips. He looked back and shouted out aloud, "You are the only one I have..."

He knew if he continued on like this he would go insane but then there was no purpose in being sane, still he loved his stalker. He could talk to it, say whatever he felt to it because he knew he would keep his darkest secrets, he could trust it, he looked at it and smiled again.

Walking seemed like an eternity, just as he was about to slow down he looked at the horizon, the sun was about to set, the dark clouds in the sky meant a rainfall and the first drop that felt on his face made him look up at the sky. At once he looked back but his stalker his only companion had gone. It started to drizzle, his face was wet but one couldn’t tell if they were tears or just raindrops, the rain had hid his tears.

His only companion his stalker had gone and then he realized that no one will always be there with him.

Walking alone on a path, looking at the horizon and seeing no light was the reason that made him stop, he grabbed a twig lying on the road started swishing it in the air fighting invisible enemies and then the smile came back on his face, an idea had just crossed his mind.

He could get everything back, he had to make a plan, he grabbed some more twigs, two stones and started rubbing them. Alas there was a spark, a spark that made a small puff of smoke rise in the air. He started to blow at it and after a while there was a small fire, he grabbed more twigs threw them into the fire and the flames got bigger, the first twig that had burned was his desire, the second twig was his first memory, the third was his effort, the fourth was his commitment and the list went on.

After some time the fire was big enough, he took a step towards it, as he had thrown everything he had in it but he still felt that his soul had more to give away, not thinking about anything he was moving towards the fire to be engulfed in it.

The heat awakened him from his trance; he turned back and fell on the ground laughing his head off. His plan had worked his lost companion, his shadow was back, he kept staring at it and laughing uncontrollably and then he realized that he didn’t have to look at the horizon for something or someone.

He can survive any journey alone and when need be; he can conjure up his companion whenever he felt alone.