Under the Stars

The full moon peaked gently through the window wondering if the old man was awake. The old man responding to the moons warm glow stirred himself from bed slipping off the oxygen mask. He dressed and searched for the small bottle of brandy hidden under his socks in the dresser. Slipping the bottle into his pocket as he exited the room he shuffled down the corridor towards the main entrance. The night warden was snoring gently at his desk as the old man stole quietly past, exiting the nursing home by the front door. Breathing harshly he labored to complete the half mile to the field at the entrance to the woods and dropped exhausted to the ground propping his back against the trunk of a giant oak.

Away from the lights of the…