The windows shook violently, owing to the gales that blew outside. A flash of lightning illuminated the purple sky. Raindrops fiercely hit the glass panes which shielded Adam from the ferocities of the thunderstorm.

“I wonder how long mum and dad are going to take,” said the seven-year-old boy to his elder sister.

“Do you miss them, Adam?” asked Isla sadly, who wasn’t more than 11 years herself.

“Did they have to go to auntie’s house in such horrid weather?”

“It was of the utmost importance, Adam. It was quite an emergency, you know auntie is old and helpless on her own. Mum and dad had to go to her aid. But don’t worry, they’ll be back by morning,” Isla tried to console him.

“By morning! That’s so far away and I really feel uncomfortable.”

“Here, why don’t you play the flute to me? I’ve always find thunderstorms captivating,” Isla said as she handed her brother his flute. She thought it would help distract Adam and they won’t feel so lonely.

But it was not long before both the children lost interest, so Adam stopped playing. The children sat in silence for some minutes before Isla suggested eating the sandwiches their mother had hurriedly made before leaving.

Adam and Isla took dinner in silence, cleared the dishes and prepared to sleep.

In half an hour, all lights in the house were off, all doors shut, and all curtains drawn. Only the door of the master bedroom was open, where Isla had already started snoring while Adam lay awake, staring at a little gap between the curtains. He wanted to set the curtains right, but he felt too lazy to get out of bed.

While he was still gathering the determination to get up, his ears caught the sound of a flute playing somewhere far off. The sound was too faint in all the noise of the rain, but Adam’s trained ears did not fail to catch it. He hadn’t heard anyone play the flute so skilfully before.

He lay motionless, mesmerised by the sweetest sound ever to have entered his ears… but not for long! He remembered his own flute, which he had placed on a table in the TV lounge. He knew he was the only person on his street to own the instrument.

Could there be burglars in the house? How did they come to know that there were no elders at home?

Adam felt he would suffocate with fear. He looked at Isla, who was fast asleep. What was he to do? He got up on his elbows. The bed creaked very loudly and Adam felt his heart had stopped beating. He waited for Isla to stir, but her soft snoring continued.

Adam strained his eyes and looked outside the bedroom door. He detected no movement there. He looked at Isla once again, took a deep breath, sprang out of bed, and lightly landed on the carpeted floor.

He could still hear the flute playing. He cautiously exited the bedroom, being on his guard all the time. He paused to ascertain which direction the music came from.

“It’s definitely coming from the TV lounge,” he whispered to himself and tiptoed to that room. The door was tightly shut. Adam clasped the doorknob and turned it. Slowly, he pushed the door open a little and the first thing his eyes fell on was his flute lying where he had placed it!

He took a sigh of relief. There were no intruders in the house and the flute that was being played was not his own.

Adam opened the door ajar and entered the lounge. He drew back the curtains from the windows. It was pouring outside. Everything looked dark grey in colour. The falling raindrops and blowing winds made the herbaceous plants dance to the melody of the flute. There was a continuous low rumble of thunder, but the music could be clearly heard. Adam looked at the sky and enjoyed the serenity which the flute possessed in the violence of the storm.

The little boy wondered if he could venture out into the rain. He thought he could, so he unlatched one of the windows, slid back the glass and stepped outside.

A blast of freshness hit him and immediately lifted his spirits. He breathed deeply a couple of times. Then he became attentive and immediately pin-pointed the sound of the flute to be coming from a particular place outside the gates of his house.

Now that he had come so close to such delightful music, Adam resolved to see the person who played so remarkably. He crossed the lawn and reached the gate. He unbolted it and swung it open. The road outside looked like a river in the darkness.

Adam descended two of the front steps and mechanically looked towards his right where the origin of the music was stationed. With a wrinkled nose and narrowed eyes, he tried to see what stood in front of him.

Two gigantic circles of light suddenly appeared and blinded the boy. Dazed, he stepped back and almost tripped on the stairs. He had shut his eyes the moment they were hit by the bright light. His head spun, but his instincts made him run up the front steps, bang the gate shut, slide the bolt, and dash across the muddy lawn to reach the safety of his TV lounge.

Once inside, Adam took some moments to regain his breath and steady his senses. He focused and realised that the sound of the flute could no longer be heard. He looked out of the windows: the white gate stood out in the darkness that surrounded it. Adam waited for a few minutes to see if something untoward happened, but all was still. Then he looked down at the carpet: his muddy shoes had ruined a patch of it. He knew his parents would be angry when they saw it and that they would be more upset when they will come to know of his dangerous adventure. Nevertheless, he was too concerned with what might still be present just outside the gates of his house to worry about the future.

What had the music been? What were the bright circles of light? Was it some kind of trap for him?

The little boy looked at the carpet under his feet again and decided not to walk to the bedroom and cause more ruin. He sat down on the carpet and rested his back against a sofa. He felt indescribably calm after the shocking incident and was soon overcome by peaceful sleep.

Adam opened his eyes. The sun was out and the TV lounge was all bright. Birds were chirping and the atmosphere was laden with the optimism which day brings. The memory of what had happened the previous night came back to him.

He felt shocked at his own curiosity which might have led him to who knows what. The preceding night, before going on his adventure, Adam had believed he was performing an act of bravery by going out in the dark; however, he now knew that what he had been considering bravery was actually foolishness.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 6th, 2023