Silvery June Evenings
There were no stars yet but the night wouldn’t come into reign until late in the evening. Late June evenings are always the longest to rule before darkness spreads across the earth.
A pleasantly warm evening cautiously descended upon the mountainside. A light sea breeze picked up a handful of thyme aroma and let it spread in the air. Another weak gust and Nita could smell it, inhaling deeply the sweetness of the mountains. The little girl’s shoulder-length brown hair moved gently around her as the wind caressed her face.
She loved this little corner of the Black Sea land. She loved those evenings full of mystery with their quietness and peace. Her home was just at the feet of a mountain range resting in a little hollow that was formed before the rise steepened to form the mountain side.
Soft silver bell ring were faintly heard in the middle of the summer. There seemed to be a steady ringing as if indeed some kid was playing with little bells making them fill the air with the slightest noise, like a hummed lullaby.
Nita was outside immersed in the sounds smells and silver colors of a soft lingering evening. She and her sister, Katie, would go out on such nights get up from the hollow where their little village house was hiding and let the descending night envelop them. The girls would hush their voices as not to disturb the stillness in the air. The peace was not broken but sustained by distant bark of a dog, or cows mooing. They would slowly go down the mountain side to sit at the warm stone steps of the unfinished shop that stood on the edge of the village as if on a pedestal overlooking the road below. The sisters would go out to wait for their father to come home from work.
This evening as the stars started to twinkle in the tired sky the time stood silver, glistening softly as the night approached its reign but was held away by light still trying desperately to hang on. The tension created silvery evenings. Once the moon was in view more silvery tones were shed upon the still warm earth. The night’s soft lullaby would not be sung but shown with glistening colors fading and appearing again in a slightly different tone.
The lullaby would draw the girls as they watched the sky with awe. A star there would be bluish and still another, on the other side of the town resting peacefully below was be the brightest white. Still they were all in silvery tones, reflecting each other, complementing, and calming gazing souls. The awe would still be there with the girls when their father would arrive guided by the stars. The sky would still be light even though night had descended upon the city. Mountains were always closer to the sky, closer to that place where darkness doesn’t take over but light and dark intermingle to create the soft silver lullabies.
As the father smiled at his girls and lead them home to rest he unexpectedly pulled out their favorite chocolate bar “Krepysh” wrapped in a colorful paper. As Nita and Katie cautiously tore the wrapping, something glistened in the night – a silver wrapping paper reflected the stars. The sweet mild chocolate smell filled the air with a new hint of peace, adding to the aromas of the quiet summer night. The silver moon glow showed the threesome the way to their home in the hollow. The night would reign but not with grey or black but silvery white.