Friday, May 25, 2018

Clockwork


Slowly, the Moon emerged, casting it's light onto the deafening silence. Apart from an uncommon sight of a stray cat, not a creature twitched or stirred. Even the wind couldn't muster up the courage to provide the glimmering moonlight with the sweet melody of its whistle. The trees peacefully slumbered, while the streets lay empty and bare, begging to be driven on. The world seemingly stood still, but time kept moving on.

Minutes passed by, then hours, yet there remained no sight of liveliness. Dejected from the lack of praise, the once bright, pearly rays had turned dull and apathetic. The Moon lost the vigor and the gleam with which it had risen up. The world noticed the change, but carelessly disregarded it, causing the disheartened Moon to gradually descend and it's now dull, silvery charm to slowly fade into vibrancy.

The oncoming hue had carefully crept upon the world, spilling into people's homes, and like a palette, roused the world with the vivid blend of elegance and grandeur. It instilled in the world a new hope - a new light. With every silver sparkle that faded, a golden ray beamed in its place. The dimness was being replaced by energy, silence by song, serenity by resonance, and isolation by occurrence. To a new-born this may be unfamiliar, but to the world, this was regular. This was periodic. This was clockwork.

One the one hand, the Sun had grown accustomed to this system, and why would it not? Every time it rose, the world praised its arrival with trumpets reserved for the nobles and the royals, sang songs that would melt the harshest of icebergs, and recited sonnets that glorified its everlasting splendor.
On the other hand, the Moon had not. It saw the world celebrate its descent, like it had seen the world celebrate for millenniums, and it still hurt. It enviously gazed at the grace with which the Sun rose, at its capability to breathe life into a stagnant world, and at the admiration that the world held for it.
The Moon too desired the compliments that the Sun received and it too longed for praise and approval, but none were forthcoming. None have been ever forthcoming. Where once hope and ambition roamed, there was only resentment and defeat. As it dipped below the horizon, losing sight of the beauty it attempted to attain, the Moon prepared to shine its rays onto another street. The cycle was beginning to repeat. Under the constant resentment, the Moon realized that it too was in fact accustomed to the cycle, it just hadn't accepted it. And why wouldn't the Moon be accustomed to the cycle? After all, it was clockwork.

Objective


 I stood behind the building, peeping over the side edges, keeping an eye on my next target. Adjusting my glasses, I discreetly moved towards him keeping myself hidden amongst the shadows as the man, whom I was marking, calmly walked in the alley, approaching the door to one of the buildings. Rain poured down heavily, reducing my line of vision. The job was extremely hard and the weather made it more difficult. The building that my target was going to looked oddly similar to the rest. Plain, empty, deserted with no possible signs of anyone entering or leaving in quite a while.
              Amidst the pitter-patter of rain drops, I silently made my way up to him, my hands in my coat pockets, my gun hugging my thighs, my badge hugging my wet breasts. Somewhere in the distance I heard the honking of a horn, forcing me to hide behind the phone booth that was near me, fearing the man may turn around and see me, but he did not. I put my hand on the gun, grasping it to give my self the strength to carry out my orders. I knew I had to get to him before he went in the building, so that I could kill him, finish what I had started and finally prove my worth.
               The man, unaware of anyone around him, reached the door and began to unlock it. I took the gun out of my strap, brandished it and under the pelting rain, like a deadly wiper, slithered noiselessly across the water to where the man was.
               "Hands up in the air, or the gunshot will be the last thing you'll ever hear," I yelled trying to make myself heard over the roar of the rain. I shook as I spoke, out of thrill, excitement, cold and most of all, fear. Fear of disappointment, of being branded a failure. The man however remained unaffected and unlocked the door. "Last warning, old man, raise your hands in the air, drop the keys and step aw-" but before I could finish my sentence a stream of bullets pierced the door, penetrating the body of the man and then mine. "I failed...." I thought as I fell on the ground, taking my last breaths. "I failed....."
               "Samantha, you failed, again," sighed Jacob, my instructor, as I took off the helmet and embraced the warmth of the room. "This is the third time today!"
               "I know, I know, I'm sorry," I replied with disappointment.
               "Well, never mind now. Relax your mind and come back tomorrow, we'll continue your training then, but next time, I shall not accept failure" Jacob told me.
               "Yes sir," I replied, getting off the chair, still cursing myself.