The Scarlet Wind

It was a pitch black night In the middle of nowhere. Alongside the road a car was parked. Its hood was up. A man was bent low over the engine. He was trying to fix it. He was a strong looking man. A bit shorter than average. He had a sun-burnt skin. His hands were greasy up to his elbows. He kept cursing under his breath, with each blow he took to the car engine. A few feet away, a woman was sitting on a rock. Wearing a silk crimson dress, with a black shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her sleek black hair was tied into a tight coil at the back of her neck. Her unfocused gaze was fixed on something invisible in the distance. They were surrounded by wheat-fields for miles and miles around them. The only sounds that could be heard were the constant clinging and banging coming from the engine… and the breeze that blew gently through the field. The woman closed her eyes. She held her head up for the wind to gently stroke her cherry red cheeks. The man didn’t lift his head. He continued to bang harder on the engine.

 The wind blew stronger. The woman stood up. She was almost knee deep in the wheat grass. She listened with her eyes closed to the wind. She could hear the wind calling her name. She walked a few paces opposite the wind, with her arms wide open, as though welcoming it, as though embracing it. Her head held high. A vague smile on her lips, as if the wind were whispering a secret gently in her ear. The man didn’t see.

 The wind gave her a nudge, almost lifting her feet off the ground. She chuckled playfully. He didn’t hear that either. He kept on banging. This time the wind blew so hard it took her shawl away. She didn’t protest. She didn’t go after it. She just opened her arms wider. Smiling broadly. It flew over and hit the man on the face. He threw it away forcefully without looking at it. And continued with his work.

 The wind was beating savagely against her face and hair. Her hair came loose lashing wildly against her cheeks. The scarlet laces of her dress were dancing passionately around her body. It made her look like an angel of fire. She twirled around several times, dancing with the wind. The man didn’t feel the wind blowing away. He kept banging none stop.

 The wind howled stronger and louder. The sound of banging was almost drowned in the strong whistles of the wind. She walked a few more steps towards the wind on tip-toe, then…she was lifted off her feet and into the air. Rising gracefully away from the ground. She was smiling peacefully as the wind took her away. She flew higher and higher into the sky. Then she was gone. The banging didn’t end.