Strange Solace

Located in the heart of a small, unknown village is a graveyard.

It is said that both the living and the dead find solace here.

Dusk settles, and the air becomes crisp and still.

The sky paints itself purple black and midnight blue, and the moon casts a gentle glow over the tombstones.

Stars shimmer like tiny, far away lanterns, and the sweet scent of night blooming jasmine fills the air.

A tapestry of life and death is woven here.

Ghoulish musicians serenade the moon, whilst ethereal artists capture the dancing of the stars on invisible canvas, and writers find inspiration from tales whispered by the wind. 

As dawn approaches, the ghosts retreat to their slumber to make space for the living.

There are those who seek comfort in collective grief. It is an emotion that must be shared.

Others come to remember, leave offerings, place flowers, light candles. To feel connected to those they have lost.

Some come for no one that calls the graveyard home. 

They simply find solace in the wildness of the flowers, which overgrow the no longer tended graves. 

They find comfort in the chirping of the birds and echoes of love in the offerings, the flowers, and the now spent candles.

A few come to reflect, finding a strange solace in the impermanence of life.

Copyright: image believed to be in the public domain and used for creative, non-commercial purposes. Valentine’s Moonlight Series, early 20th century.