Starless And Bible Black

Chapter 1

My family did his best to comfort me on my inevitable final moments, they had lit numerous candles all over the room, there were a lot of them and I haven't been in the mood to bother counting them. I've never been a man of many fears, and naturally not of the dark, tho at my request, my dear grandson always leaves three of my nearest candles lit at night. This past week the night's seem to grow darker and colder, as if god himself is telling me that it's time, that my hours on earth are all spent and done.

Alas, here I am, bedridden onmy own place at the least , on the same bed on which my beloved wife Mary haddied six years ago. The room was overrun with the sweet scent of incense, agift from Jonah the local priest, a good man who is almost ten years youngerthan myself, he had agreed upon coming tonight to emend my sins and proclaim mysoul to Jesus Christ our lord. My two daughters came three weeks ago with fourof my grandsons with them. They've been taking care of the house since then, accommodatingto my every need. I know they both love me, however I was able to see thediscomfort in their eyes after the second week of doing the same petty choresin the house. I can tell they expected me to die within the first week or so,of course I wasn't in a hurry to oblige them.

Later tonight after Jonah left I felt a sudden quiver in my body, they've became more and more frequent in the past few days, at first I blame the cold for their abrupt appearance, mainly because my daughters let open my left adjacent window, of course at my request. My daughters had protested against that notion, to which I calmly replied to them " I am your father and I would like to see some of the exterior world for a change", there was more ranting about the idea, nevertheless the protests came to an end and the window was to kept open day and night. The view was beautiful on any hour of day, a welcoming escape from the gloomy routine I'm forced to endure. Living atop of a hill has its benefits, the view was one of them, although I've never came to appreciate such beauty as I do now, to be entrapped in this bed is what I needed to finally perceive with my own eyes this magical beauty that you had always spoken about Mary.

During the day the display of colors was a delightful scene to look at, trees and saplings were the main view down below, divided by a river which stretches itself several miles up ahead , showing off his beautiful greenish-blue color, on the surface of the calmed waters were quite a few fishing boats which at the distance looked like pebbles that slowly float along the river, all across the riverbank lights were set on high wooden stacks to help the fisherfolk fulfill his duties at dusk and nighttime. The upper side of the landscape was his favorite part however, the blue sky adorned with white clouds and the occasional flocks of birds who complemented the show were such a beautiful spectacle. Dusk always meets him right in front of his window, every day he observes with delight how the shining yellow-orange sun bestows his last rays of light as he slowly hides behind green hills at the distance, such exhibition made him feel at peace, a peace which bends with feelings of melancholy and longing. But at night, when he feels really lonely, when everyone is asleep and engulfed on the realms of dreams, it's at that time when fear starts to creep out of his lair accompanied by dark and cold, his loyal companions. These are the hours of day on which he holds onto his old white bible and clutches it against his chest. For a long time old Palmer had said that he wasn't afraid of dying, obviously that notion had changed when he felt the claws of death scratching his clothes and tearing him apart bit by bit, he wasn't going to say it aloud as the roots of pride and honor grew very deep within him, but he was not capable of fooling himself, there was no point in hiding the fact that he was afraid.

As fearsome as the night had became for him, there were still rays of calmness and peace within the dense mist of fear. One of the candles was burning with a shimmering light near an exquisitely painted picture of Jesus Christ, which allowed Palmer to hold sight of it, that painting had always transmitted a strong sense of tranquility on him. As he laid entombed within many layers of fur, and his fingers kept doing their monotonous routine of touching the white bible, almost petting it like it were a cat, his eyes were caught in the mystical splendor of the night sky. Particularly he was fond of the stars, their glimmering white light standing out from the pitch black canvas. He liked to think of the stars as a remainder that dying its ok, that there is no need to be afraid, that everyone has to die at some point, that the realm of god was expecting him in the sky. "I really hope its true, but in reality nobody knows, there could be nothing but eternal darkness awaiting for me"

I felt trapped in this room, and sometimes even in my own body, my legs were no longer responding at my commands, the last time I actually looked at them they were an atrocious sight to behold, all the way up to my knees they looked unrecognizable, they seem more like two long sticks made of coal than actual legs. Jonah did his best to try and help me, he gave my daughters lots of medicinal herbs to prepare teas, ointments and alike. But that did not help at all but for reducing the intensity of the pain(on which I was thankful). There was nothing to be done at this point, not even the most versed healer on earth can cure the disease of time.