Nightshift

"For 17 years I have walked with but the co.pany of my shadow. A certain length of time taught me how to become the shade. They know to fear me, and they know that when nighttime descends upon the realm of Man, I am expected at any moment, at any corner, or so they would tell themselves. They look above their shoulders, they peel their eyes to every dim and dark, dreading my presence. But they tend to obliterate the inevitable. For it is not I who takes shelter as they wander, but it is they who are stretched thin within my line of sight. One would make of this a remarkable work of one man, but it is a mere futile attempt of lay closure to something that extends beyond the limitations of a single man. I struggle, but I fail even when I close the job. I am alone, but so long that the night rests its case still, I will continue to be the night." Two hours after sunset, the illuminating sight of the moon is imprisoned by a gathering of clouds burdened with obscurity, as with passers-by burdened with worries, to give them abundant rain sufficient to release and relief the weight beared upon the weary shoulders. It may be so, or else it may be that what lands from the sky is but more tears on the unfortified hearts. As it rains, all are released from their concerns, some chin up with eyes closed as they allow for the sky to wash their faces and endeavors, whilst some seek cover and increase speed away from the exposed streets. And then there is this one man in a long black coat and hat, who takes slow steps down the street, as water showers his long blonde hair and beard. Some glare at him with wonder as to what it is that fuels his desire to walk under this weather, whether it is washing away his misfortune or breeding yet more tears that he keeps hidden deep within. Regardless, he proceeds to march down the street and all the distance until he reaches his house, where, unlike the many unified families, no lover awaits his arrival. This is Elijah, the man who constantly feels pain. 17 years ago, Elijah faced a fatal heart attack that threw him into coma for over a year, after losing his wife on the day following the birth of their sole daughter, Leyla. 17 years later, he fails to overcome the trauma and its aftermath. For a man like him, losing Athena was the one thing he always disbelieved. They went through thick and thin ever since they laid eye on each other during early college days. During the whole period in which they knew each other, they fought and bled back to back, and exchanged secrets and experiences. They devoted their lives to one another and to all who required aid. Together they withstood the worst that was thrown towards them, but the nature of the mortal realm always prevails eventually. And for Athena, it was during her glimmering youth, at the age of 25. The damage dealt to Elijah is beyond comprehension unless experienced. Nevertheless, the nature intended for this mortal realm by its Maker does not depart without traces of light in the shades of gloom and darkness. He lost the love of his life, but his own flesh and blood, his daughter remains by his side, shielding him from eternal loss and despair. The man barely finds room to close his eyes, but has all the more reason to open them yet more. He found joy in all the caretaking acts even when she was in the cradle. He baked her breakfast and cooked her meals and managed her laundry on every opportunity until she grew up and decided to take over for her father. No words describe the manner in which they grab firm hold of each other. All of this is credit to the life he leads as a father a resident who resumes his life at the age of 42, but the other "special someone" who resides within him is a tale on a different scale. Elijah is, for over 20 years, a man with extraordinary abilities that go beyond those of an ordinary human being. Born put of a long pursuit of any possible cure to his deteriorating health condition, he acquired unique strength as of his early days in college. Challenge after challenge, venture after venture, his power continued to defy the boundaries of his imagination, until he was acknowledged by his brethren and companions as a supreme fighter. By the standard of dominion, war against crime and revolutionary regimes, Elijah is a pioneer amongst the rebels of his era. But the decease of his wife broke his spine. Her death and his long sleep in coma rendered life dimmer and darker for Elijah on both scales and sides. He reached a level of strength that nominates him the most powerful, but on the price of loss and inner torture. This story reverts time backwards and commences from time prior to the passing of his wife, and extends to his days of adulthood and parenthood, and his alteration from a powerful servant with hope to Midnight's Guest.