all things made new

Here is a piece I wrote last year and was published on another blog. It is a place to begin. I have not looked at this piece in quite a while but I plan to re-read it, if for no other reason than to discover for myself what I am doing right (which is probably very little) and where I need to improve.

Alex hastily rose from the dinner table striding for the nearest exit, leaving his fellow dinner companions to their meal and their interminably boring conversation about local politics. Rachael was the only person at the table to note his absence, her eyes tracking him as he left the expansive room, obviously heading for the buildings exit. After a few more seconds she turned her attention to the conversation, occasionally glancing at the exit Alex used for his escape.

Alex wandered aimless down the darkened hallway outside the dining room until he came to the lobby of the large building. He noted the security guards behind the main desk, one seated and staring intently at something just out of Alex’s eyesight. He assumed it was some kind of camera. The other two guards were standing behind him, engaged in an animated conversation. The word “football” and some nearly unintelligible names escaped their lips as Alex stood passed their desk and walked out into the crisp, night air. Immediately Alex regretted his speedy egress as the January air assaulted his bared arms. He considered retreating to his room in the hotel, but opted to let his feet lead him down a darkened path.

He was not aware until he reached a rather tall fence that he was near the edge of the grounds of the complex, and close to the rocky crags overlooking the beach. Alex had just arrived in Greece and had not yet had the chance to see any of the local scenery. The ride from the Turkey border had been shrouded in darkness, and even now he could not make out much of the local scenery. The sound of the ocean lapping against the sandy beach drew his attention and Alex scrambled over the fence, landing ungracefully on the moist grass. He found a well worn path leading down to the beach. It reminded him of roads boats might use to reach a landing and upon his arrival at the base of the cliff he realized that it was indeed a place where locals could put to sea.

Alex wrapped his arms tightly around himself, trying to preserve whatever little body heat he could. The proximity to the water had caused the local temperature to drop several degrees and he was about to leave to seek warmer climes when his eyes glanced from the entrancing depths of the sea to the eternal mystery of the sky. As a boy, Alex had gone camping a few times with the Boy Scouts, and it was in those rare trips far away from the lights of the city that he would truly grasp the beauty of the stars. The 10 meter drop from the craggy heights above was enough of a block to the hotel and convention center’s lights to shield him from their unwelcome illumination. Alex was in rapture as he stared at the night sky so much like the one he remembered from his childhood, and yet so different. It was not merely the brightness of the stars, nor was it how they occasionally pulsated as he slowly craned his neck to see beyond the uneven shoreline. The sky looked “wrong.” There was no other way for him to describe it. The stars were not in the right place. Alex quickly identified the great Hunter of the sky, Orion but its position in the sky, his closeness to the sea felt wrong to him. And yet, it was oddly comforting to him because he was able to recognize most of the constellations in the sky. As he stared at the night sky he forgot about how cold his body was, and he was completely unaware of the tears streaming down his face. His eyes fixated on a faint bluish star just above the horizon. It was several minutes before he realized a hand was gently entwined with his left hand. Glancing up, blinking a couple times, he found his lips inches away from Racheal’s face. The tears that had lined his face had hardened on his cheeks, leaving a light sheen, faintly reflecting the starlight.