Faceless and unmoving, it remained in the shadows of the night. Its face bore that of tree bark, no humanoid features distinguishable in the dark oak mask. The only light around it was the lamp it held dutifully in its grasp, never letting go. Never letting it extinguish.
Tiny dots of light sometimes would surround it, giving it an aura almost peaceful like. Like nature had deemed the creature docile and comfortable to be around. Other times, the trees appeared to have shifted, leaning away from the creature lest a leaf of theirs fall onto it, angering it. These were the times the shadows grew large, sinisterly reaching out to grasp at anything light didn’t keep ahold of.
Many remembered seeing it on camping trips. It’d stand there, by the trees, just on the edge of their camp. Then, in the blink of an eye, it disappeared, not a trace left.
It blended in well with the forest, especially at night and should one be fortunate enough to catch it in the daylight, they’d find the most interesting of creatures. Its back hunched over, tree branches sticking out of its back as if it pained it. At night, it seemed to be standing straight up, the branches most likely blending in with the dark. In the morning would be the hardest time to try to find it, but as the day wore on and you had just enough motivation, you’d be able to spot him a little after noon.
Most spectacularly about it was just how tired it looked in the day. Its skin almost shrank in, as if malnourished. Nothing about him suggested it’d be tired at all when at night it practically grew in size and stood like an ancient guardian. Not quite larger than life, but still surreal.
“I want to find him, mommy!” She tugged on the older woman’s hand, desperate to go and explore.
“Alright, alright. Let’s go find it.” The woman laughed as her daughter skipped ahead, happily staying in sight but roaming freely.
They continued deeper and deeper, the little girl not finding a trace but never giving up in her search. The sun rose high in the sky before beginning to sink, still, they marched on. Searching.
About the time the shadows began to move, they came across a little shrine that had been weathered over the ages, stone dirty and cracked. The little girl eagerly explored it, removing vines and leaves to get a better look. Her mother even helped to right it, indifferent to the structure but entertaining her child.
“Hmmm… It is getting late. Why don’t we try again tomorrow?”
“Okay!” Without a doubt in her mind, she brushed the shrine one more time with her hand before skipping back. Her mother remained close by, all the while smiling.
It never cared much for humanity, finding nature much more peaceful and subdued to its whims. While the light faded, it straightened its back, the mask it wore never changing.
Something about the pair had been amusing. Entertaining. Much like baby birds learning to fly or bear cubs tussling in the dirt with their mother nearby. The joy that they created remained in the small area as if sticking its self to the shrine through pure memory alone.
The shrine did look better when it looked at it. Neither didn’t it sit quite straight up nor had it been returned to its former glory though. In fact, it looked like someone had finally come by, remembering it after centuries of neglect and did their best to right the misfortune of the past.
It supposed humanity wasn’t all that bad. They were a part of nature. They could bring good things to the world. Such as the joy and peace that surrounded it now, even though the sun had finally disappeared from the sky, leaving room for the rock in the sky to shine.
It looked once more at the shrine, its light beginning to flicker to life.
Humanity could bring many bad things. The anger that controlled them made them beasts of nature. The kind that didn’t discriminate or have boundaries. The forgetfulness that had led to the shrine dissolving into the earth, a hurtful reminder of its uselessness. The pain they brought. The list was endless.
No matter, it would continue to stand, even if it had nothing to stand for. It would wait and wait, watching and simply being in the universe until the end of time came.
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