Winds of Darkness

by Lee Alexander

  Words are not for it. Words cannot describe it. But words I will use, as pale as they are. It says just three words, in every language to ever exist, but in just one language, one that never should have existed.

  It says, “Who are you?”

  –

  I woke on my property, covered in dirt and grime. The sun was high, the grass brown. Heat prickled my skin. Darla was licking me, and she was scrawny and matted. I struggled to my feet, feeling the dust of ages fall from me.

  The hike back to my house was long. I completed it in half an hour. Dust was on everything. Mail was piled on the front stoop, dating back months. The newest newspaper sat fresh on top of the pile. It seemed the mailman didn’t care that I hadn’t picked up the mail in all that time.

  The newspaper was hard to read in the failing light. A cold breeze ruffled the pages. I had been missing for three months. The date read ‘July 13, 2033’.