As he ran, his throat burned. It wasn’t quite fire; the icy wind sent chilly needles down his open mouth in perfect, agonizing synchronicity.
Kavi wasn’t sure what he was running from. Something had moved in the darkness, a slight rustling of leaves; shadows that moved as the river glittered in the moonlight. A mad giggle threatened to burst past his lips; he mashed his teeth to hold it in.
His legs felt strong as he pushed off one rock to the next, nimbly avoiding the scree and dry leaves. They felt disconnected from his body, cast iron pistons cranking away, trying to power a huffing, wheezing, engine. That feeling of strength lasted till his left foot slipped, and he almost went tumbling back down the hillside.
There! That rustling again! Dusting off his palms, he clambered the last dozen steps to the mountain path. His dark eyes darted from shadow to shadow, desperately trying to pierce the gloom.
After a minute of frantic searching—by which time his heart was no longer leaping out of his mouth—he spotted a bit of red and ochre a few yards away. It was behind a waist-high branch, lit up by a stray moonbeam.
Curiosity piqued, he crept towards the branch. This is a bad idea, he thought. This is a twelve on a scale of one to five.
As he got closer, the splash of color rippled. He stopped. It stopped. Kavi slowly raised a hand. One solitary ripple. He stopped again. So did the rippling.
Suddenly, there was a rustle, and before he could react, the color darted towards him, fanning out into shades of grey, black, bits of white—until it wrapped around him.
He screamed with every ounce of air in his lungs—but it was muffled.
Smothered by the blanket that now covered his face. “It’s a blanket,” he sobbed, “dear Lord, it’s a blanket!” He sank to his haunches in relief, his head cupped in his hands. Some color seemed to be leaching back into the hillside.
The blanket fluttered again. It seemed to slide down his arms, and nestle comfortably around his shoulders. It felt like Ma’s touch on cold winter nights like this one, when she tucked him into bed, and ran her fingers through his hair.