At Night

      Stirred up by the north wind, leaves of newly faded lime trees and young oaks rustled like thunderclaps. Their thin, immature trunks swayed rhythmically from side to side, spreading an incessant whisper through the empty park, echoing the chirping of cicadas and the single cries of sleepy birds.       A heavy tread shook the uneven cracked asphalt. A faded gray shadow crawled along the path from one streetlight to another and froze near a metal bench. The man sank into the cold seat with a sigh and froze.       He didn’t come here that often, maybe a couple of times a season, only when everything got really unbearable.       Hiding in the night, he made his way through the noisy streets of the city, walked like a ghost past nightclubs, restaurants, ran like a rabbit from growling cars and motorcycles and finally got to the park.       Silence.       He leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes. Slowly, minute by minute, time dragged on, and the dead of night turned into his silent aria, supported by nature itself. The world that had faded during the day slowly came to life; filling with colors, he chose the most muted shades, and the twilight suddenly transformed.       Through his eyelashes, the man carefully watched how his shadow, a faint dim spot, took shape, color and size.       Deep blue tints with an admixture of mother-of-pearl green and marshy olive crept into its neat, even figure. The roughness of the asphalt disappeared along with the road dust, and the shadow was clothed in velvet. Its previously blurry face took on recognizable outlines: nose, thin pursed lips, thick eyebrows and tousled hair emerged at once.       Not believing his eyes, the man turned away, but at the same moment delight and surprise touched his wind-browned cheeks. The world, like an endless ocean, sparkled in the light of a streetlight, and the reflections of a fragile and inaccessible creature filled the entire space.       The man opened his mouth slightly. A small blue cloud flew out along with a drop of hope and dreams.       He watched in fascination as the translucent miniature silhouettes desperately grabbed the shaky steam and rushed into the licorice-colored sky. Laughing loudly and dancing, they hoped to reach the twinkling stars, but some accidentally slipped and crashed on the dark, undulating surface of the asphalt, where spirit-binding fears circled like hungry sharks. Loneliness, misunderstanding, feeling of uselessness and understatement, loss…       Tiny piranhas popped to the surface. Their sharp teeth threatened to bite into any bright undertaking and infect with uncertainty.       In the depths, far from anxiety and empty emotions, a flock of whales lazily dragged along. They, personifying bitter humility and insipid indifference, carried away black clots formed in place of faded memories and lost hopes. The man blinked and leaned down to get a better look at the ship with a purposeful captain at the helm. Despite the storm, he, driven by a cherished dream, rushed stubbornly forward, overcoming the adversities encountered on the way. His eyes, tiny embers, smoldered in the night and resembled two lanterns, two guiding stars that attracted moths with emerald wings.       Having barely caught one, a person saw what he often looked for in good company, a run in the early morning through the woods and a hearty lunch in the afternoon. It was an inspiration. Shimmering and sparkling, it briefly touched his palms, and then again sought to break free. Light, airy, as ephemeral and beautiful as the first love or the touch of someone dear to the heart.       The fingers wrapped themselves around the collapsible body, and the hand clenched in an attempt to leave a piece of blessing from above to itself. A sloppy blob of a crooked note was imprinted on the skin.        The man gasped. Shame, a strange, unsightly creature with long wryd twig handles, jumped out from under his shoe and trotted to the streetlight. Approaching the man closely, it howled like a hungry wolf and, clutching its bald head, quickly aged. Shame was replaced by an all-encompassing sadness.       Looking once more at the drop of ink, the man felt gray worms of resentment crawling behind the lime tree — at himself and his restless greed. He was shaking with disgust and anger.       Clenching his hands into fists, he stamped his foot and immediately realized that the captain miraculously survived.       The excruciating pain caused the man to slouch and lower his head. The burden of responsibility fell on his shoulders along with the dreary scarlet spiders.       A big, clumsy giant, capable of destroying this amazing world with one abrupt, thoughtless movement—that’s how he felt at those moments. The power he had been striving for so many years had a downside.       A soft sob momentarily eclipsed the cicadas. Regret and confusion, gaping like a huge pit, hung on leaves sticky with juice and disappeared into cocoons of remorse.       A tear dripped onto the asphalt, and the man looked hopefully at the captain. The latter, holding an oil lamp in his hands, was looking at the shore of the mainland with a smile on his face. He saw before him only dense, impenetrable jungles, fraught with dangers and adventures going hand in hand with them, but the man already knew that a huge city lay very close, where desperate travelers were loved for their tall tales.       Peace and joy spread through the body with a pleasant shiver. The man threw back his head, trying to capture the stars and the growing month in his memory. A thunderstorm front was approaching from the north, and carved lightning here and there lit up the sky.       In the distance, in a residential area, a dog barked.       The man patted his knees, once again looked around the world dissolving before his eyes and got up from the bench.       The Shadow obediently followed him. Blurred and faded again, she clutched at every streetlight as if unwilling to leave.       The man looked at her thoughtfully and, hesitating, whispered:       “You are absolutely free. Be always where your heart sings.”       The Shadow hesitated.