“Dream Mine” First Page:

“The Keeper ”

The moon hung low over the western hills: red, muted, unique. The old man rocked in the wooden chair. The weathered floor of the porch below groaned submissively in mild affirmation. The cooling winds of the mountain slopes chilled his bones as they wended their way to the valley below. His eyes perused the valley floor. His mind reflected on days gone by. A sea of infinity blinked down from above, directives of light from the one true God.

Responsibility, like a familiar cloak, rested on the old man's shoulders. The burden weighed heavily on his conforming frame, recounting too-many years of his diligent watch. He was comforted in some small degree by his record of service. But now, after all this time, he earnestly waited the season of glory that lay imminently ahead.

There was something, however, this particular year that was different from the rest. There was something peculiar, something not quite right. The brightness of the lights in the valley below was irregular and erratic, not consistent with the patterns of previous times.