The Prompt I was thinking of, is a brief description: Vast darkness, a lone light on a pole, and a rumbling sound. I got out of work super late at night, last week, and had a surreal moment in the parking lot, where it seemed like the night, a parking lot light in the near distance, and the sound of a freight train on the nearby tracks were the only things in existence. The cool thing about the light was you could actually see the cone of light it cast, looking almost like an oasis. I liked the impression so much, I honestly wanted to see how other authors would run with it.

I make occasional forays into the world of audio theater (re-enacting radio scripts, adapting stories and so forth).

A few years ago, the production was "Dracula", and I played the Narrator (doing my best Paul Frees/Bobby Pickett/Boris Karloff imitation).

Our rehearsal hall was a block or so from the main line of the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad, and rehearsals let out around 9 PM.

One evening, we let out just as the northbound evening freight passed Emma Street, and the engineer blasted the vintage Alco's horns at the grade crossing. I grinned and switched gears to Bela Lugosi.

"Ah, the children of the night! What beautiful music they make!"



Image courtesy of https://unsplash.com/photos/-fBX5XgOhIA