Microfiction Challenge: The Gate

Henri Duhem, La Porte, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

The boy was silent, mute. He had not spoken a word since the day the world had turned dark and grey. Now he was alone, except for his dog, a large, mixed-breed with a coat of many colors. The dog needed no spoken words to know he was loved. The boy had sometimes gone hungry to make sure his companion had enough to eat. They wandered during the day; at night they slept cuddled together.

One day the boy and the dog discovered a gate. Although it seemed to be in the middle of a field, they could not see anything beyond it. The dog nudged the boy and whimpered for him to open the gate. The boy did so, leaving it open as they walked through– into a sunny meadow filled with brightly-colored wildflowers of red, blue, and yellow. From them came a melody in flute-like tones. The boy had never heard the song before, but he knew it. It was the song of peace and love. He opened his mouth and sang the words in a loud, clear, treble voice. The voice of an angel. The sound drifted through the gate, and the world awakened again.

 

This is in response to Jane Dougherty’s microfiction challenge using the painting above as a prompt. The word limit is somewhere around 200 words. Mine is 198 words.