The setting is this: A wooded valley between the mountains. Thousand-year-old monastery ruins with a cemetery where ancient headstones, overgrown with blackberry and ivy, lean eerily in the silence of deep midnight. The shriek of some nocturnal animal far away echoing through the valley. An enormous, starry autumn sky overhead. It's straight out of a Gothic novel or a classic horror movie. It's stunningly beautiful.
In the middle of the cemetery, the tiny Priest's House is a roofless ruin dating back to the 12th century. There are ancient headstones in here as well. We place a candle on the dirt floor and huddle up within the narrow stone walls, sharing whiskey, stories and jokes. We are new friends from countries far apart who feel a connection and have bonded as an adventurous, easy-going gang. We have shared a fun-filled summer and know that this summer has come to an end and soon there will be good-byes - probably forever. As the autumn night grows colder and the stars wander across the sky we curl up even closer to each other under a pile of wool blankets. One falls asleep, another worries quietly about ghosts, and I lie awake looking at the stars. It's a perfect night. Beauty, adventure, friends from faraway countries. Midnight in the cemetery, completely safe and at peace.
2 comments:
that sounded like a Gothy brilliant time (and place) to spend with friends. That sudden connection with new friends that makes them 'old friends' in about a nanosecond is something rare and precious and to be cherished.
And incidentally, did you three meet again (in thunder, lightning or in rain)?
Kind of did meet again. Not that FaceBook really counts though...
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