Somewhere Out There

She told him stories of her favorite constellations, pointed out the stars that he could not see. After they married, he came to be successful in his work. Rarely did they venture out there, and when they did, it was only briefly, and ended in turmoil.

The cancer had changed all of that. But by then, she was unable to make the journey, and had become confined to the troublesome white bed. And when she died, he often ventured out there, alone upon the hill, wondering... wondering if he hadn't been wrong. He had always laughed at the legends of the constellations. The stars were burning masses, nothing more, and their placement in the sky was ultimately a coincidence of creation. But she had such a passion for their stories, that sometimes he wondered if she hadn't been truly crazed enough to believe in them. As though she wanted to be amongst them.

He searched the sky then, looking for her, searching for her figure amongst the many stars. Searching, searching, and finding nothing that compared to her. Without her he could see nothing but burning masses. He would never find her, even with all of the time in the world.

All he had was time now. He had decided to give up his job, to come out here, and just look. But morning would come soon, and then he would never be able to find her. Morning... a new day. He didn't wish for such a thing. His purpose was to find her, to find her in these stars and silently, swearing to himself that he tried, he really tried, he pulled the weapon of his destruction.

The man watches himself close his eyes as though he is watching a movie, fear pulsing through him. He hears himself whisper, "I know you're out there somewhere," and then a shot rings through the air.

The man jumps back from the scene, tugging the apparition of his wife with him. But now he is terrified, and he throws his hand from her, backing away as she makers hopeful movements towards him.

"Please," she begs in a tone as pitiful as a fallen angel who begs God for forgiveness, "You're dead..." But by now, it's too late. He cries out, and as she shrieks one last time he wakes himself from this terrible nightmare.

A man. He always stands atop a hill, late at night when all of the world has laid down to sleep.

Tonight, he is free of his work and chooses to remain as long as he will. He has been standing atop of this hill every night for the last five years, dead to the world.

On this night, like all the rest, he lies down, and whispers, "I know you're out there somewhere," as he gives way to a nightly dream, one that he never remembers....