Night in The Nefari Town (part 1)

From atop the clock tower, a bell was toiling. A bell that slowly sounding, signaling the time was at 00:00. The sound that felt eerie yet serene to the ear of who listened. It kept resounding one time, twice, and thrice, as the night slowly blanketed the town of Nefari.

Not far from where the clock tower resided, a creature of four legged was spotted sneaking around under the illumination of the streetlight. Her movement that delicate yet nimble resembled to one of the feline animals. While, her black fur that resembled the night itself brushed against the wind, revealing how soft and glisten her fur was.

The feet that carried her petite stature tapped against the paved surface as she moved, making no audible to the surroundings, however a silver tiny bell that strapped on her neck seemed to want to tell different.

Jingle, Jingle.

Sure, it was a little out of the place at this hour. But, the noise itself was so low, only those who really paid attention to it that can hear it. The noise interval was soon decreased as the cat suddenly picked up her pace. Then, by the time the sound of the bell was stopped, she had arrived in the square of the town.

She quickly jumped onto one of the bench in the square with one graceful leap. One time onto the seat, and once again onto the top of the backrest. While the top of the backrest had little space for moving around, it poses no problem for a cat of her caliber. And, in no time, she’d already established her place, standing high on her four slender feet.

From where she stood, she can see the whole square clearly, even with little light that coming from the streetlights nearby. She scanned the area in front of her. As, seemingly satisfied with the result, she prepared to leave. But then, out of her peripheral vision, a human was spotted. A single human, no, not only one but two humans.

“...Mrhhrmmm.”

The cat grumbled in a catly noise, seemingly unsatisfied.

In the town square, where the place was quiet as a library. In the south of it, two men were resting on one of the benches. One of the men’s name was Mark. His body, that already slouched down on the bench, sank deeper as his ears perked up upon the sound of the bell in the distance.

The sound that he knew so well, or perhaps knew too well. In fact, ever since he was born to until this day, he’d heard it regularly. The sound that he kept hearing at a certain time, never even missed his beat. A sound that came from the tower clock in the west side of the town, where a lone giant bell resided. Most called it, the Mechanized Bell.

Even though, the sound was clearly perked up his ears. His attention was on somewhere else. It was in the night sky above that painted in midnight blue, where in the center of it was a pair of moons standing side by side, holding hands like what a friend does.

His gaze was completely stolen by the very scene of it. A million or maybe billion of stars that scattered in the vastness of the sky. Although, just yesterday, he’d no interest toward it. But, just for today, for him the very scene of it was just hit different.

It was beautiful, Mark muttered those word without him even realized.

Mark extended his hand toward the sky, trying to grasp one of the stars into his own palm. It was the prettiest, and brightest that he can found. Even though, he knew it, it was an impossible act to do. But he still did it. Was it because of the booze messing up with his own thought. Perhaps. Even so, he cannot completely deny the idea. The voice that calling toward him.

The treasure that cannot be found by anyone except himself.

The idea that’d been running in his mind, the first time he laid his eyes toward the sky. His heart beating went faster. His eyes shining like a child does. The smile that’d long gone as he grew old coming back to him.

Not even the most powerful and mightiest king can hold his star.

Why?

To the other, his star wasn’t something special.

For one person can each have their own star, not limited to one but many.

And, that’s why the sky itself was vast and limitless, just like human’s potential. Anyone can be anything he desired as long they put their heart into it. Grinding day by day. Standing, falling, and standing and falling over and over. As long as their heart didn’t waver, their effort will surely pay off.

If so, what stopped him.

His own ability, his environment, his weakness. No, not it was nothing sort of that. It was his mind. The moment his mind trapped himself of thinking he cannot do this or that is the moment he threw his own potential out of the door.

His outstretched hand became heavier, the longer it goes. And eventually, a palm that once grasping something just came out empty.

“… How stupid.”

Mark sighed, and cursed himself for becoming so weak. He slowly drowned himself in the booze that he saved earlier. Even so, the spirit that he lit a moment earlier wasn’t going to simply fade away. In the corner of his mouth, a slight curve smile was appeared, even if he was not aware of it yet.

Looking a bit dejected, Mark lightly shook the bottle of booze in his hand to check the content. His gaze wandered toward his friend that still looking at the same state as minutes ago. He drank his booze as he enjoyed the view in front of him. A bland scene of empty square, with the center of it was a fountain with a statue atop of it.

He dropped his posture lower than before, looking at the glimmering water due to light from the nearby. Mark looked at it, sipping his drink quietly. Where in the distance, a chime of a bell can be heard. The sound was so low, in fact, if Mark wasn’t bored he probably will miss it. It has a bit of silvery tingling, quite different from the giant bell that he’d heard earlier.

Mark looking around to find the source of the sound. To his surprise, the sound led him to a creature of four legged, looking at him, with her big rounded eyes. A pair of eyes that looked too beautiful for a mere mortal to have, shining in this boring dark night.

A beautiful and charming eyes that fit the small frame of her face, with a pupil of a vertical crescent moon, that so contrast with the iris which, resemble the phenomenon he once read called eclipse. Black and yellow intertwined in a one single tiny, and simple thing. Yet, it was beautiful. Beautiful may not be the word, but it was certainly beautiful. Like a magic spell hit him hard, it unconsciously drew Mark toward the owner of the eyes.

Without him even realized, He’d already stood up, and reached his hand out toward her. The distance between him and her were only 5–6 steps away. But, before he can even take a single step. The cat let out a little meow, skittered away.

“…meeow.”

Mark can only see her back getting far, and far away. Before long her black small stature had already gone into the darkness of the night. With the only remaining sound of a chime bell in the distance. Like he has been freed from a spell, Mark blinked his eyes several times in utter confusion. Still posing in the same manner as before, he was looking at his palm, opening and closing it over and over.

And at the same time, asking himself in a loud and clear voice.

“... Huh, What was that??”