The Keening March

The child walked around in the darkness. Not once did she speak in her own voice since that first time. Masayuki couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

Are you okay?

No answer again. She kept her hand to her chest. Almost like she was trying to keep him from falling out.

You don’t have to do that. I’m not going anywhere. I’m okay in case you’re wondering. Thank you for asking.

The child slowed down her walking as she looked over an edge.

What is it?

She pointed over the hill. He tried to look out where.

What am I looking at? His non-existent eyes couldn’t see a thing. That child wouldn’t budge. Her eyes and finger followed what looked like a small light down below. Another light followed behind. And then another. And then another.

What is this?

A string of lights floated by slowly. They weren’t moving around like they were fireflies. Instead, they moved in a single file line. Masayuki couldn’t figure out what this was. His ears caught a low wailing noise.

Are they crying?

“Yes.”

Huh?

Suddenly, they were in the line. Masayuki looked and found himself closer to the lights. He started to see a clearer picture. The backs of the people faced them. They kept their heads down. Each had lights in their hands. Murmurs and sobbing were on either side of them. Masayuki started to speak but she shushed him. He closed his mouth. All he had was the wailing to drown out the silence. The child kept her eyes down to blend in.

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It was a good thing that they hid among the lights. Two of the hounds were sniffing along the trail. They were always one mile behind. However, they were closing the gap fast. They made it over to the edge. They looked through the river of lights. Are they down there? The hounds couldn’t smell anything from where they stood. However, they had to be down there.

The hounds looked at each other as if they were thinking the same thing. Since they couldn’t go down, they could trail them. The bigger hound turned and walked down the path. His companion followed behind. They sniffed as they listened to the low humming below.

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Masayuki lifted his head. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it or not, but he thought that they were being watched and followed. The boy started to try and get his host’s attention when she stopped.

What’s wrong?

The child didn’t speak. Instead, she looked around. The shadows with their lights were moving around them. Masayuki took a glance for himself. There was only one question that came out of his mouth.

Is it time to go? He wasn’t looking for an answer because he already knew what it was. The boy’s thoughts were confirmed when his host turned to the sky as a small wispy light floated downward. She reached up as it got closer. When the light touched her skin, she and he vanished from the line of shadows. Not a single figure took notice of them.

And so the Hail Mary pass began.