Waiting For The Light Novels & Stories

Waiting for the city to become brave enough to ask what lay beyond the horizon. Waiting for someone to answer. The expedition suddenly felt real. Not someday. Not eventually. Soon. And somewhere beyond every known world— another light waited in the darkness. Waiting for a ship called the Wayfinder. Waiting for a story to arrive.

Weapons in hand. Waiting. The lights flickered again. And again. And again. Getting worse. More frequent. Thirty minutes between flickers now. Then twenty. Then fifteen. The pattern was breaking. The generators were in death throes. "Soon," I said. Em nodded. We stood by the door. Both of us ready. Both of us focused. Waiting for the moment everything went dark. Waiting for our chance. Waiting to run. To fight. To escape or die trying. The lights flickered.

The building's silhouettes suddenly became the dark night sky and the lights from their windows suddenly were twinkling. "Isn't that beautiful?" I asked when I saw a broken stoplight, the red light was blinking and the green and yellow once didn't seem to work. I thought it was aesthetically pleasing, under the gloom of the night, along the empty streets and silently passing cars. The slow blinking of that stop light seemed to harmonize with the quietness of the evening. I looked at Edgar and he was frowning at the stop light. "Pretty much could cause traffic, goodness, that should be fixed," he said and I rolled my eyes at him.

The fluorescent lights of the hospital’s quiet waiting room hummed with a low, steady drone, casting a pale glow over the rows of plastic chairs and the vending machine in the corner. It was late—past midnight—and the only other sound was the soft ticking of a clock on the wall and the distant rustle of nurses moving through the halls. Taylor sat in one of the chairs, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes fixed on the floor. She’d been waiting for twenty minutes, her heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and hope, unsure if Himy would actually show up.

And then, the ice floats on the surface of the cup. When today is over whether I make it or not, I deserve a milk tea. 5:20 PM, the traffic light changed to green again for the nth time. The traffic light will change color from red to green, and vice versa. And different crowds would cross the pedestrian line. Vehicles from cars, motorcycles, and mountain bikes will pass by the pedestrian line. The city itself moved fast and slow, and I am still here waiting alone. It is not working. I’m not traveling back in time. Few more minutes until it turned dark and I went back home.

But Peanut nodded anyway. Then the lighthouse appeared again through the rain. Closer now. Much closer. Its dark shape stood against the storm. Waiting. Then Walter pointed. "There!" Everyone looked. A light. Inside the lighthouse. A real light. Moving. Someone was there. God. Someone was waiting. Fair. Please let them be friendly. Reasonable honestly. Then another scream echoed across the island. Closer this time. Much closer. The thing was gaining on them. Then Ava looked back.

"Show me something." There was a moment of silence like an eternity. Lyda's eyes were burning in anticipation. Just then, she heard another series of voices coming from behind her. Lyda turned around to see a faint light appearing in the dark distance. It grew until it formed a pillar of light that was almost too bright to look at, and yet, it was still stifled by the heavy darkness. It looked almost like an opening doorway.

Calla’s POV The sun had fully set, and darkness took over from there. Only the lights from streetlights cut through its thick blanket, I stood by the side of the road, waiting for a cab to drive by. I stood there for about 10 minutes but there was no sign of any vehicle coming my way. Most of the people that were in the park came with their cars, and the rest that did not drive moved on their feet to their destination. I saw no need waiting so I joined the others who were going in my direction. I will turn back occasionally to see if a cab is coming.

The information Albert gathered was a potent tool, and I reveled in the power it bestowed upon me. ****************************************************************************** My room is cloaked in darkness, the only illumination coming from the dim glow of city lights filtering through the lamp. It was a bright day, but I loved the dark. I pace, my polished shoes tapping a rhythmic pattern on the hardwood floor. The anticipation is palpable, the weight of an impending call lingering in the air. The sleek smartphone on the mahogany desk beckons, and I can’t escape the electric tension that courses through my veins. If I wait any longer, I might just die.

The days that followed, I went to that alley every single day. The alley looked just like it had years ago. The graffiti on the walls had changed a few times, but the streetlamp was still the same dim yellow. I'd sit on the steps beneath it, hugging my knees, waiting from dusk till dark—watching silhouettes come and go at the mouth of the alley, shadows stretching long and then shrinking short.