Angel of the Night

As the wolves’ howl at the sea, by the moonlight, we move quietly from our resting place. She silently shifts her weight from one foot to the next, counting the strides, feeling the space in between. Sensing the midnight air on her face, feeling the depth of the risk that falls in front of her, she begins to crouch, brace and wait. Cowering in the long grass, just for a moment longer, not yet ready to run.

I see her, I smell her. I sense her with all of my being. She throws her hair back then cowers into the long grass, waiting in the silence of the night.

Underneath the lush white long hair lays the face of what I consider to be an angel. For me, the term Angel has a varied and messy meaning. From literature of all types spanning lifetimes, colonies and species. I feel the word slip from my tongue and burst into the present moment like a frog leaping from a lily pad. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. She is the Angel of my dreams, she is the Angel of the night.

As the sea breeze pushes towards us from the bay, bells call out, searching for a reply. Lights begin to move towards the water’s edge, dancing like fireflies in the wind. They look peaceful, graceful and somewhat charming as they get closer and closer to the shore. The theatrical movement could be a joyful celebration, but this evening seems to hold a sense of rushed concern. The people are calling out to one another, yelling at the shore to give them what they came for. Yelling at the sea to provide them with answers to questions they wish they never had to ask. They communicate in a foreign tongue that is quite impossible for me to understand. So, we wait, silently in the grass for the commotion to cease.

One by one the people by the shore stop moving and their lights turn out. One by one the people start turning away from the shoreline and move back toward the dunes. The calls change tone and the sounds begin to fade, they seem defeated. I sense the people and they sense us, here in the grass. They are still a length away, there is still much open space between us.

With their torches held high, they seem afraid of the midnight skies, afraid of the cool dark sea breeze. They seem afraid of that which lies in front of them, this new world they have arrived upon.

As they see us here in the silent night, they begin to walk toward us. She stands and raises her body out of the long grass showing the people that she is calm and ready for their approach. She braces herself and throws her hair into the wind. She stands mighty, and strong and willing to help the people understand the silence of the dark skies. I am in awe of her bravery, I am in awe of my angel of the night.

The people are muttering, calm and quietly to themselves. Maybe one day, we might understand their language, maybe one day we will understand why they arrived at our shore in the darkest of winter nights. But tonight, we stand with them as they navigate this land, as they build their shelters and light their warm bright fires. Tonight, we are as intrigued with them as they are with us.

As we stood tall and grand by the beachside dunes, the wind blew and swirled. The sand churned and something caught my eye in a split-second flash of light. In the dunes, on the sand was a cold, smooth strange object and as we got closer a light began to pulse. The people can see it too, I sense they are concerned. I push the object with my foot and try to figure out what it is. If only we had hands like the people’s hands.

The people grab the object and hold it high in the night sky, a heart shaped locket with an ominous, red pulsing light. I feel her gaze on me, waiting for my input on what this might be. As we begin to move backwards, away from the people, I feel her brace and command me to take flight. With all our might, we raise our hooves into the winter’s night, brace and heave ourselves into the air. Our wings surge and our bodies lift into the sea breeze. As I look for her lead, she calls out to the heavens. Up and up we surge, away from the shoreline of the afraid people. Up and up we fly into the night sky.