Entry #47

Moon’s Shadow
by Nicky Schmidt


Edmond stretched, lifting himself to the sky. The sight of the moon and the clouds intoxicated him, left him alive yet filled with wanting. He pushed aside old memories and focussed his gaze on the path.

It wound through the churchyard passing pitted, moss-covered headstones. He read the names as he passed. He remembered some of them. Long gone, mostly forgotten, but not by him. He was like that, he remembered people, especially those who had mattered to him.

A bat skittered down and hovered before him. He brushed at it, chasing it away.

The clouds parted allowing moonlight to brighten the path. The night came alive.

Edmond trembled. He should not have come out.

Then he saw her, crouched at an ancient tombstone, laying a bunch of scented lilies. Her dark hair fell across her face, hiding her features. Sensing him, she glanced up.

He moved towards her, smiling. She was so beautiful.

“It’s peaceful here at night, isn’t it,” he said.

She nodded, a nervous half-smile on her face.

She moved to get up. Edmond extended a hand. She took it.

The clouds drifted over the face of the moon.

Edmond sighed as he watched the shadows flit across her face. Yearning rose within him.

Yes, he should have stayed at home. He knew he couldn’t resist his instincts, especially not at full moon. He licked away the last traces of blood from his lips, kissed the girl’s still-warm neck and laid her against the tombstone.


[Nicky is an unpublished author and freelance writer. She writes lifestyle feature articles for magazines and newspapers and fiction (fantasy) for children and young adults.]