Petrichor
Petrichor (pet-try-core): a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
Morgan
The morning was gloomy yet warm, no more than a light breeze in the air. A drought has held the land for the last month.
A tall, well built man with raven colored hair and greenish eyes, returns to whats left of his home. Half of it reduced to cooled ash and charcoal.
It had gone up in flames last night. The whole town had spent the night scrambling to save it, and once the fire had been snuffed, he took shelter with a friend.
The man stood there for a moment, looking at the ruins, believing life a cruel hoaxer- having no family, no money, and now no house.
"Morgan!" A familiar voice rang through the air, startling him out of his thoughts.
He turned to see his friend Cyrus running towards him. " Morgan!" He yelled again as he closed the space between them.
"I chopped some wood the other day for a shed, we can use it to start the rebuild once we've had a bite to eat yea?." Cyrus put a hand on Morgan's shoulder and gave a smile that looked more full of worry than joy.
Morgan sighed deeply "before that, I dont supposed you'd like to help me clear out the debris?" He turned to look and Cyrus expecting a no.
Cyrus had always been the type to put fun over any real work. It was already impressive he'd offered to help build. But today was different.
Cyrus chuckled at the expression on Morgan's face. "Of course I'll help. I'll get my boys too. Many hands make light work!"
Slighty shocked, morgan laughed "Thanks, I owe you."
Cyrus gave Morgan's shoulder a rough pat "you can pay me back with a good meal!" He joked starting to stear Morgan towards town, their destination being a cook-shop called 'The Stockpot'.
The Stockpot is relatively new, and a strange concept for most people. But the town of Thurlone is quite accepting.
Normally cooking is a family effort done at home, growing, killing, and preparing it yourselves. But Mr. And Mrs. Becker have an incandescent love for cooking and decided to share it with the town as a means to earn money.
The family spends their days making meals from a select menu of dishes that rotates through out the week. With ingredients provided by a few of the many farmers that Thurlone homes. It is the only cook-shop within this side of the country and is dearly adored by the inhabitants of Thurlone.
After Morgan and Cyrus finish their breakfast Cyrus sent word to his sons, whom were working at the house, via a friend heading that direction.
The two of them then made their way back to Morgan's plot of blackened rubble and begin to clear away the char and ash. They use saws to cut away the unusable wood from the intact portion of the building. And brooms and rakes to scrape away the ash and loose chunks of lumber.
Cyrus' four sons arriving not long after they finish, dragging along carts full of logs. By sunset they had most of the walls rebuilt, but with no roof or working fireplace, it was clear that Morgan had to seek refuge elsewhere.
"Do you wanna come stay with us tonight?" Cyrus asked as he go to sit on the porch to rest.
"Sure-" Morgan groaned as he dropped one last log in place. "I wanna gather the rest of the wood before I leave the area though. You and the boys can get a head start home. I'm sure they're exhuasted by now.
Cyrus gave a chuckle as all four boys synchronized with ardent agreement. "Alright then, I'll get a bed set up for you."
Cyrus paused as if trying to remember something, then spoke again. "Dont be too long, I think its a new moon tonight. I wouldn't want you getting too lost in the dark."
Morgan let out a low laugh as if the idea of getting lost was utterly ridiculous. "What has gotten into you Cyrus. My house burns down and suddenly you're a fusspot!"
Cyrus gave him a look. "I'll be fine. Now go on." Morgan assured, as he climbed down his ladder to look for an axe.
Cryus and the boys left, waving goodbye and joking with each other. Morgan, after finding his axe and bidding them a "see you later" set off into the woods behind his plot of land.
It was unowned forest that stretched for miles, serving as wood supply for many on this side of town. Morgan began chopping trees and not twenty minutes into his work he thought he heard a faint melody being hummed in the distance.
He stopped moving, but it ceased, so he began chopping again. Then once more the tune brushed his ears, the voice of a woman flowing through the air, swirling in his head, clearing away all other thoughts.
He wandered deeper into the woods searching for the source. 'Maybe someone is lost out here.' he thought to himself.
The humming grew louder the deeper he traveled, until he stopped to see a clearing up ahead. "Has this always been here?" He mumbled, under the impression he knew these woods better than most could claim.
Determined to understand the source of the song, he walked into the clearing to find a long open pathway.
He squinted looking down it, the sky had grown dark enough that it was getting hard to see. But he could swear that it looked like that path lead to a building planted in the distance.
Morgan took a breath and decided he'd better get this done quickly before the darkness fully engulfed the earth. He sprinted down the pathway with great speed, though his breathe remained steady, Morgan had always been athletic.
The building grew larger as the distance closed. The song louder, clearer, and more beautiful than anything he'd ever heard before. As he rounded the curve of the path he could see clearer and as the realization dawned on him, he slowed.
A castle stand before him.
Black stone forming pointed arched windows, towering pillars and steep points at the roofs peak. Intricate carvings line the windows, doorway and each buttress which connects the outer to the inner walls.
Grotesques of a bat-like face sit above both pillars that frame the doorway. The doors, fallen off their hinges, lay askew behind the door way as if they had been forced off by someone who'd tried (and succeeded) to get in.
The windows were paned with dusty stained glass. To Morgan's surprise, they were a deep shade of green, not too saturated and almost black, yet pleasing to look at.
One window, sat on the third floor above the door way, was different however. Instead of green is was a blood red hue, in the shape of a circle.
After examining the strange architecture, Morgan remembered the womans melody. It had continued sounding through his astonishment and seemed to be coming from within the castle.
Morgan stepped up to the door way and the tune stopped abruptly.
"Hello?" He called out. "Who's in here? I know the way back to town!" His voice echoed through the empty room, traveling to every corner, up the grand staircase stationed in the center of the back wall, and through the hallways conecting the room to the rest of the castle.
Silence was the only response given.
Morgan looked around, restling with himself whether or not to exlpore deeper into the space. As his eyes crossed over the dark opening of a hallway to his left, he noticed a quick jolt of movement. Morgan took a step forward, straining to see into the darkness.
"Hey!" He shouted, trying to keep his tone kind.
A pair of ruby eyes apeared in the darkness, almost glowing. The intensity made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Gold flickered through the red for a quick moment.
Mesmerized by the beauty and fiercness of the eyes, Morgan held his breath, frozen in place.
The darkness then swallowed the eyes in a swift motion, leaving Morgan in a state of yearning.
Snapping out of his trance, a sense of fear and confusion washed over him. 'What was that? Was it human? That can't have been real. I've been hallucinating.' His thoughts racing.
A loud boom pounded, as light flashed through the sky. Morgan jumped, rain had started to drizzle down without his notice.
Realizing a storm was about to pass over, he turned to leave. Looking back towards the dark wallway for a short moment before darting down the pathway once more. As he reached the trees, the rain transformed into a downpour of warm water.
It felt almost foreign to his skin, he hadnt felt rain in too long.
lightning flickered over the sky again, the accompanying thunder felt as if it shook the ground. A seed of urgency sprouted in his mind.
Morgan hurried through branches, leaving thin cuts on his arms, he didnt care. His focus on the foliage blocking his view of the forest floor, he didnt want to trip and twist something.
The darkness had already overwhelmed the earth, leaving the flashes lighting to guide him. He found this disorienting, losing track of his mental map.
The forest seemed to warp as he moved, the large drops of rain, further skewing his view. He couldn't believe it. He was lost! Undeniably, and stupidly lost.
He stopped running, panting, he tried to clear his mind. Another strike of lightning illuminated the forest and he saw a woman ahead of him, facing away. With long hair, white as snow.
Morgan, fully convinced now that he's gone insane, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. 'These hallucinations are gonna get me killed' he thought to himself.
But when his eyes opened again, she was still there.
This time her head angled to the side, giving him a side prophile view of her face. She was looking at him, her red eye peircing his chest.
His eyes widened. She raised her hand towards him, just enough to motion to follow her. Morgan hesitated, but reasoned with himself, 'im already lost anyway.' He thought, already stepping forward to follow.
The woman was like fox, her movements quick and fluid, the grace in her step seemed inhuman.
As he followed, Morgan noticed she was wearing a dress. It was black with an open back and the hem of the skirt ripped, reaching her mid calf, it looked as if it was once a floor length gown.
The material flowed and danced in the air with every motion. She had a sheer black shaul draped over her arms, the contrast of the dark cloth against her porcelain skin made it seem as if her skin was illuminated.
Before he knew it Morgan could see his home through the trees. He heard a voice calling his name, growing louder as he walked.
It was Cyrus, preparing himself to enter the woods, until he saw Morgans frame through a flash of lightning. "Morgan! What are you doing! Its pouring!" Cyrus scolded, his voice filtering through the pattering sound of rain.
Morgan ran towards Cyrus, but as he caught up to him, he realized the woman had dissapeared. He looked around, worried, until Cyrus grabbed him by the shoulders. Snapping him out of it, and rambling on about being right earlier.
"Did you see her?" Morgan interrupted.
"See who?" Cyrus stamered, in disbelief at Morgan's spacey attitude. "You're the only maniac crazy enough to be out in this weather." He remarked as he grabbed Morgan's arm to lead him towards home.
The both of them made their way to Cyrus' home, rushing to get indoors. The rain lasted all night, the sounds lulling everyone into a deep sleep.
Morgan dreamt of those red eyes that had trapped his attention so effortlessly.
By sunrise the rain had subsided, the sun sent soft rays of light through the windows. The wet grass twinkled in its light, petichor filling the air as the water evaporated.
A new day had begun.
