Gunna Masterclass Exercise – Jan Alexander

Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS writer. 

Once upon a time, beneath a sky of velvet midnight blue, a girl stood alone outside in the cold crisp air, gazing upwards into the endless darkness. Her gaze was blank and without recognition, she had forgotten why she came.  She did not see nature’s night time canvas of the magnificent sky blanketed from horizon to horizon, or the milky way so brilliant it seemed within a hands grasp, or the silhouettes of dark hills in the north and the gum trees illumined in the fields by a clear reflection from the moon.

Her vision was so clouded by a shattered heart that she no longer admired in wonder at the array of constellations in the sky, or searched for the stars that glimmered more brightly than others. She no longer welcomed dusk – to go outside and seek the evening star upon which to count her blessings, then close her eyes and slowly breathe in the beautiful scent emanating from the earth, the plants, the trees, the air, from all of which nature gave.

She felt numb, not from the cold air, but from heartbreak. Her insides hurt, her heart felt like crumpled dry paper which gave paper cuts in her chest when she inhaled. She just keep bleeding inside.

Joshua_Reynolds_-_A_Young_Girl_and_Her_DogOne day, she had thought, this pain will leave.  But the pain was embedded so deep it was an insidious companion, a constant reminder of what was gone forever.  She had lost hope, had lost faith in her self and she did not know that she was dying from a broken heart.

Her vacant reverie was broken by a warm muzzle nudging at her calf, she looked down and sighed, then slowly went into the house to fetch the lead,  her dog trotted with anticipation close to her monotonous stride.

There was one star in the sky in which an angel lived.  All the angels have people to watch over and this angel knew of the girl’s heartfelt love of nature and her evening contemplations of gratitude, he knew of her softness.  The angel also knew how much she had endured in her life and had kept a vigilant watch as the girl had rallied, strengthened and recovered in previous times.  However, the angel now felt acutely the depth of her sadness and wept tears of compassion.  Because of that, the angel chose to invoke a power to help this girl.

The moon was so bright this night the dog decided to walk the girl.  She obligingly attached the lead to his collar and he impatiently dragged her back outside to walk the tracks in the fields close by.  The dog had been walked less and less in recent times, the girl’s demeanour touched him also.   From above, it did not appear to be a walk of reciprocal enjoyment, the dog was continually lunging forward and tugging against a lead which was not keeping up with his excited pace, the girl at the other end did not share his enthusiasm.  The abundant scents overtook any skerrick of restraint the dog may have had and one tug met with no resistance – his collar had snapped and he was off!

And because of that, the girl had to run, chasing the sound of the barking dog into lightly falling snow, ascending an unfamiliar path, each breath of cold air punctuating sharp pains into her chest.  Her anxiety increased as in the distance the dog’s barking became fainter and fainter.  She strained to listen and follow his barking, now panicking that he may have fallen into any of the unused mine shafts in the hills and gullies nearby.  Her climb became more laborious and agonising, but she must find him, to lose her little dog too would be unbearable.

She called out the dog’s name again and again, and kept running, the path becoming narrower and rocky. She reached the top of the incline and though she had been running, she now stood shivering in the coldness.   She looked around and noticed that the moonlight illumined the snow on the ground around her.  Suddenly a bark pierced the air from close by and she stumbled in its direction, but tripping upon a rock hidden beneath the snow she fell heavily, collapsing, her head hit something hard on the ground.  She called out the dog’s name, then could not stop her mind from drifting, snow falling softly and prettily – yet cold upon her face as she lost consciousness.

Something warm, but rough upon her cheek, and again, on her nose, cheeks, eyes – yuk what is that? Go away! The dog kept licking her face, trying to rouse her until eventually she slowly opened her eyes and began to sit up.  Her movements halted as her eyes regained focus and she struggled to make out what stood nearby.  The dog did not leave her side and was clearly unperturbed but the unusual presence of another.

The angel stood far enough away not to frighten.  He was actually quite smug at his ability to manifest as human, but clearly this ability did not apply to his dress sense.

Though slightly disorientated, she felt no danger and her clarity returned.  It was still cold, snow no longer fell and what looked to be a timber outdoor toilet was near some bare trees.  The man smiled warmly at her, the peace and safety he radiated was palpable.  But, he was so inappropriately dressed for the weather – this she could not understand.  He wore leather boots which came up to his bare knees.  A short sleeved, long t-shirt came down to his middle thighs, which were also bare, a leather belt buckled at his waist.  Around his neck on thin strips of leather hung a drink flask and a coiled trumpet, similar to that which you would see in pictures of angels.  He held something in each hand, maybe a torch, and could that really be a grenade in the other?  He wore a pith helmet, atop the helmet sat a small black cat and it too was looking at her.

The angel smiled with knowingness – his attire was purposely chosen.  The girl stared, the unexpected sight was beyond comprehension. No words exchanged, then she realised – sometimes things happen in life that, no matter how hard she tried to understand – they were beyond any reasoning or logic, and thus needed to remain not understood.  The more effort she had applied in trying to understand the choice of another gave no resolution, just more sadness.  The dog sat patiently by her side, she gave him a hug, grateful that he was ok.  She glanced around to acknowledge the strangely dressed man – but he was nowhere to be seen.  Her gaze turned skyward – the clouds were shifting and stars appeared.

Gathering herself up she reattached collar and lead to the dog.  Now ready for home she looked around, sighed a big sigh, smiled, then slowly inhaled, breathing deeply the beautiful clean fresh air.  The sky was clear, her heart no longer hurt.

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