The Gas Station Man

    The man, he hummed a quiet tune.

The world was young, the mountains green.

    No one around him to hear, just the moon. The moon at which no strain was lain until the stars above sat like a crown around the Earth. No words were brought from his mouth to the earth, but the humming continued all through the night.

    You see, that night was the last of his work. No business the old place had and no money, yet he was content with that in which he had achieved there in the past forty years.

    Dawn reached the earth so beautiful and rich with color that made the earth glow with pride and satisfaction. And it came with a new hum, more like a whistle. This one from the many glorious birds in the dense forest around.

    “Goodbye,” he said to the pumps and the store and the Pegasus. For a new journey in his life begun. An adventure. A spirit. A hope.

    With a satchel wrapped around his waist, he set off, into the forest and into the world. No place he needs to go, but everywhere he must.

    By light of sun and star and moon he walked, never daring to halt, never ceasing, and never looking back. And still, he hummed.

The world was fair, the mountains tall,

    And it was there he named the nameless hills and drank the untasted wells of deep, where he ventured far and wide and long. Not stopping until the Lord dare take him.

    Atop a hill, he peered in the great distance. The moon gleamed of red. And that morning came, in which dusk brought a red sunrise.

The blood of men was spilled that night.

    A shadow came upon the earth and lightning and thunder came with it, slashing through the sky above with a fierce and tempestuous attitude.  Fire and flame only started by a strike of lightning became its own person, causing anarchy in the forest.

    But still, the man hummed. He hummed with a new tone in his voice, those lyrics of hard and of dark powers that surrounded the earth in which people call home.

The world is grey, the mountains old

The forge’s fire is ashen-cold

And darkness dwells upon the earth.

    There comes a time when one has to end his journey upon the earth and begin a new one. Everyone reaches this point, including he. He lay on the mountain tall and closed his eyes for the last time and hummed.

But still the sunken stars appear 

Till I awake no more from sleep.

Found inspiration from Edward Hoppers painting 

And from JRR Tolkien's song, The Song of Durin