Cobbs Electronic Library of Literacy

The Light That Burns

[Frank]Chapter 1: Brightness

The Calendar told me it was January 25th and it was time to cross the 24th off as it was dead and gone. The redness of the marker used to mark the bygone day with an X. The pure chagrin of another day just creeping by, the novel was running behind and the passage of days just rubbed it in. Instead of writing my novel I had decided to go on a hike and hunt some Deer. Even though my shotgun was fired, no Deer were harmed in the process. It was me and me alone to blame for the piss poor accuracy as my glasses had stayed behind in my quaint wooden cottage. It was coffee time so I sauntered over to my overpriced espresso machine. But before the coffee could be made it was time for some tunes. My trusty old record player who I’d given the loving nickname ‘Old Timer’ to. And Gustav Holst’s album ‘The Planets’ recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra always helped the creative juices flow.

“Do-Do-Doo. Time to put the music on. And make some coffee.”

The sweetest orange boy came and bopped my leg.

“Ahh hello there sweetie. Who's the bestest cat around town?”

Nicky just came and started crawling onto my leg. The record finally played and my ears were hit with such beautiful melodies. Vape in one hand and was hitting it occasionally. Ahh the sweet taste and the cloud, that didn't smell like cigarettes to begin with. I was dancing around my living room yet was still somewhat melancholic. My wife had tragically lost her life due to Stage 4 Liver Cancer at the age of 25. She was the most beautiful person I'd ever met with striking blonde hair. It was a nice contrast to my Auburn hair. Cancer had killed her within a year of the diagnosis. I caught a glimpse of our wedding photo, she looked immaculate with that charming sly smile. Being a widower wasn't easy, especially since we'd only been married 2 years. My birthday was yesterday, and my neighbor Randall had given me a bottle of Scotch. Yay! Being 30 felt so boring. But anyways, there was coffee to make. So I made my way back towards my espresso machine. As I rifled through my drawer to find the right coffee, it was found. As the bag came closer the scents of chocolate and citrus hit my nostrils. Ahh that's gonna to be strong, just what was needed. The snow was falling heavily outside the window. Made sense, since where I lived and all. You could barely see the outline of Mount Oly in the storm. As I looked around my kitchen a small high pitched whine started to sound off. It only grew stronger over a minute or two. Then colors started to appear out the window, on the falling snow and clouds. It was blue, green and purple on the clouds. The Northern Lights had finally made their way to Massachusetts, just like the radio said they would. Although I also noticed what appeared to be orange spots in the snow, further up the Mountain. I just sipped my coffee watching the Northern Lights and it was quite nice.