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"How beautiful..." sighed Hysfin, pressing his nose gently against the cold glass. He peered through the window with warm, drowsy eyes as a sweet melody filled his ears. "How enchanting!" Fearing the cold, he listened to the muffled music through his sealed window. "Oh, why must you sing on such an icy night?" he cried, tearing himself away from the window with a slow spin. "Oh, the pity!" The voice seemed to grow louder as he grew distant from his window. "Her voice strengthens! Does she miss my attention?" The song drowned his mind in ecstasy and swept away his reason. With a stupid grin, he danced to the window and pried it open with a soft grunt. "My lovely singer, I hear you!" swore Hysfin proudly, placing a hand over his chest. "I hear you, and, oh, how I adore your voice!" The singing stopped for a moment, only a second. Just long enough for him to hear the low, frightened howl of the wind. The woman's voice returned. "Yes, never stop! The wind cannot match your beauteous tunes, oh!" He noticed a figure standing outside his home. She was slender, skinnier than most children yet taller than most adults. A white cloak draped over her, its ashen hood casting shadows over her face. "Is it you?" Her voice grew louder. "Oh, it is!" A pale, bony hand rose before her mechanically, as if beckoned by a marionette's string. A single finger slivered up and invited him to join her. "Me?" The hood nodded. "Oh, my! Yes, why, yes! A moment, a moment!" he squeaked, slamming the window closed and running to find a pair of shoes. The music had stopped again, and he heard only the low moan of the lonely wind.
"Trying singing beautifully." he snapped bitterly, responding to the zephyr's groans. He slid his feet deep into a pair of boots that sat beside his door. He twisted the knob and listened to the door hiss as it opened, like a cat alarmed by a shadow. She was still there, watching from behind her mask of shadows. "Oh!" Hysfin spun around and ran to a small drawer in a neighboring room. He pulled out a sagging candle and a small pack of matches. "I must see her face!" he moaned, lighting the wick delicately. Mindful of the flickering flame, he moved slowly back to the doorway. The white figure was waiting. "My apologies! Please, sing for me again! I enjoy it!"
A queer tune crawled out from within her hood. A tune that shamed even the wind's lonely cries. The flame quivered atop the candle. "A sad tune? Did you miss me that much?" he laughed, advancing cautiously, his eyes jumping from the candle to the woman with every step. The wind howled sharply behind him, its tone more frightened than lonely. The flame weakened. "Ah, I so loved your music." he said happily, nearing the hooded girl. "So magnificent! Do you dream to sing for the king?" He thought he saw a grin flash from behind the shadows that lied across her face. "You do, I saw your smile! Oh, I believe you can do it! Such a voice, anyone would die to hear it!"
The wind cried out and Hysfin's door slammed harshly behind him. "Damn wind, it must be jealous of your music!" chuckled the man. The woman's eerie tune became louder and the wind died down. "Ah, that put it to rest!" He noticed his flame was reeling back, yet he felt no breeze that could be pushing it. "Look at this, my candle shies away from you! Such a voice, even flames grow modest!" Her singing drowned out the crunch his boots made with every step. "Beautiful! I dare say that your sad tune has beaten the happy one! My, what a talent that is!" The darkness that drowned her face was slowly being peeled back by Hysfin's candle as he drew closer to her. "Wonderful...!"
"Yes, I love it-" The music died. "Oh, I did not mean to interrupt, continue! Please!" Only his heartbeat's droning tune played. "Has the beating of my heart unnerved you? I apologize, it's a lousy thing sometimes, don't you agree?" It grew louder as the silence thickened around the two. "I...Please, can you continue?" The flame grew feral and whipped about on the wick, desperately trying to free itself. "If your throat hurts, I understand. Such a beautiful song must have some price!" He narrowed his eyes as he examined her. "A look at your face, at least. Please. I must see the musician."
The hooded figure nodded its ashen cloak slowly. "Oh! Why, thank you!" The flame struggled against the candle as he raised it to her face. "You-" His eager grin melted when he saw a pale, wrinkled face meet his eyes. Two cold, black bead looked at him and a crooked grin began to part on her lips. "What-" She screamed and the flame vanished, allowing the darkness to swallow him whole. "I cannot see!" The beat of his heart shook his entire body. "I-"
Another shriek pierced his ears and slayed his words. "Please!" he begged.
She cried out again and Hysfin vomited blood. He fell to the ground and crawled messily towards his home, his shaking arms and legs weighing him down. "Please!" he coughed, his plea mingled with blood.
A screech stabbed his ears, and he felt more of his life's liquids ooze from them. The crimson water snaked down from his eyes. "Stop it, please!" he gagged.
One last scream silenced the heavy thrashing of Hysfin's heart.



My writing really isn't what it used to be. I need to practice more.