( vi )

It was past five in the afternoon and the sun was hovering above the horizon. The agents were sparring with each other to pass the time. Red was impatiently looking at his phone. All of a sudden, the whooshing noise of the autumn wind on the barren field was eclipsed by the loud noise of an approaching jet, which ejected a black box on its trail. Within moments, a series of parachutes deployed, breaking its free-fall, controlling its descent towards the beacon. Within moments, a black armoured box, secured with air cushions, dropped from the sky, followed by its parachutes. 

Red’s phone buzzed.

“You’re a bit early.” Red looked at the horizon. “It’s still about fifteen minutes until sundown.”

“You told me to hurry. So here I am.” Said the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

Red took a moment to gaze at the sun setting on the horizon. “It’s quite unfortunate that you can’t see what I can see right now.”, Red said with sincerity. “I mean, I don’t mean to make you feel bad. But there is something special about this sunset.”

“Why don’t you describe it?” Leila asked. “If you don’t mind?”

“It’s like, a golden veil on the field that is slowly drifting away. The sky looks as if you scattered all the pink in the world and started pouring down the horizon.”

Red kept looking at the horizon, enthralled by its beauty in silence. It became even more spectacular in Leila’s imagination as she closed her eyes. 

Red approached the box once the very last flicker of sunlight disappeared from the horizon. He knocked on the box rhythmically. “You can come out now!” The box opened with an audible hiss. The warmer air escaping from inside the box turned cold upon contact with the air outside and formed a fog around the opening. From the mist, a young woman emerged, clad in black, her skin pale as snow. She took a deep breath and took a lung full of fresh cold November air. She opened her eyes, exposing her red pupils to observe the stillness of the world around her. Her eyes glowed under the pale moonlight. She took out a pair of shades from the inner pocket of her long coat and put it on to conceal her strange pupils. 

“Let’s go. The car is ready.”, Red said while holding a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. “I already tapped it for you.”

Leila smiled before leaping out of the box. She took out a cigarette and lit it up gracefully despite the roaring winds.