Le Cirque de la Lumière - Phan

One

Dan’s eyes snapped open, his heart pounding in his chest. He was suddenly and absolutely wide awake. Had he been dreaming? Or had something woken him up? He listened hard, holding his breath. The night was still and silent. Had someone broken in - was it the crash of breaking glass that had broken into his sleep? Dan didn’t want to make any noise, just in case there was a very good reason his body had stirred him from his slumber so abruptly.

He sat unmoving in his bed, listening to the ticking clock on the mantle. He wondered how long he’d have to wait before he had calmed down enough to deem it safe to investigate. The air in his bedroom was stale and still, and Dan wished he’d opened the window a crack before he’d gone to sleep. Maybe he could do that now. He could be quiet, he’d barely have to move.

Slowly, Dan twisted round in his bed and fumbled for the catch on the old sash window. It scraped noisily as Dan slid it round, and he winced. He liked the noise the window made when he unstuck it from its frame and pushed it outwards. It was a very satisfying sound. Like a dry squelch. Dan sniggered to himself, then clamped his hand quickly over his mouth. He’d almost forgotten to be scared. He took another breath to steady himself, breathing in the cool night air. It felt good on his face. Crisp and cold. Refreshing after the comfortable warmth of his bed.

Dan squinted out into the dark night, his nose pressed up against the glass. There was no one outside, and by now he was starting to think it likely that his body had just played a trick on him. He glanced at the clock. It was gone midnight; he really shouldn’t be feeling so alert. His bed didn’t look very appealing at all. It must have been quite an adrenalin rush to leave him feeling this awake. He scratched his chin absent mindedly, staring out into the night.

The trees were purple, and the sky was velvety. A few stars twinkled and a large crescent moon hung over the rooftops. Dan had always liked the way the moonlight reflected off the small pond in the middle of the garden. The bushes were rustling against the fence, and Dan watched the wind glide through the long grass.

He drummed absent mindedly on the window pane. The fish pond was reflecting especially brightly tonight. So much so that there almost seemed to be lights dancing through the grass and the foliage. In fact, he was almost sure he could see a glowing blue orb right by the gap in the fence. That was odd.

It would be a long time before he felt sleepy enough to lie down again, and he shifted restlessly atop his pillow perch. The garden looked so peaceful under the stars, and without any conscious decision Dan was slipping out of bed and pulling on a pair of jeans. He would just go sit outside for a bit, and in doing so he could check for axe murderers. Then he could go back to sleep.

The ground was cold on his bare feet. Socks were a necessity, and maybe a jumper too. The stairs creaked under his weight. He pulled his sleeves down over his hands and tucked his feet into a pair of shoes, before stepping out into the darkness.

There was definitely a twinkling light at the end of the garden. Was there something on the other side of the fence? He slipped through a gap in the wooden panels. The light was there for sure. He padded softly through the grass, squinting into the darkness. It spun in circles, spraying blue and white light all round it, and it bobbed as if floating on a calm sea.

As the moon slid briefly behind a cloud, Dan realised he had forgotten his keys. He cursed under his breath. He didn’t really have a choice now, and that little light was still there: spinning and dancing and twinkling through the trees.

~

He didn’t precisely know how long he had wandered for, nor did he remember thinking to himself that it was a good idea to start following a tiny light into the dark woods. He had just done it, probably out of curiosity. For whatever reason, that little light had seemed to be there especially for him. It had twirled around furiously in his front garden and did not stop until he had come downstairs and outside. It was determined for Dan to follow it, because everytime he’d stopped, the little light would start twirling again (and afterwards it seemed to have some difficulty flying straight).