Sunrise - Absolute Write Blog Chain

Another month, another Absolute Write Blog Chain. This month's prompt was pretty loose - pick three words from a list. I tried to fit them into the feeling I have for April weather at the moment: optimism in bleak times. Enjoy the Spring and make sure to check out the other posts, linked below.

Sunrise

The old man emerged from the cave, greeted by a pale sky softly illuminating the rocks that formed his abode. The morning chill seeped through his raggedy furs and settled deep into his bones. He took no notice. Life was a constant ache, one pain followed another, and none of them deserved his attention. With a hunchbacked shuffle he weaved through the boulders until he found a patch of grass, shimmering in the soft light.

He knelt there, a slow process that brought the pain to the forefront, but he focused on his goal. He picked up the rock he had dropped the day before, the one with a shallow depression in the middle. Slowly. Carefully. Lovingly, he shook the individual blades of grass over the rock to collect the evening's dew. One drop fell, moistening the stone. Another fell, and beaded at the bottom.

It had been too long since the rain had come, fitful showers soon chased away by the ever-growing sun. The heat melted away the rest of humanity, and soon it would be too much for him as well, even up in his mountaintop palace. But he went from one blade of grass to the next until the makeshift cup in his hand held all it could.

Rising to his feet took more effort than kneeling and threatened to spill his precious cargo. When he stood, still bent with age, he gathered himself and faced up the slope. It was not an easy climb, but he knew every foothold, every nub of stone he could grab, every place he could sit and rest. Time held no meaning for him anymore. Eventually he reached the summit where his prize awaited him.

The flower drooped more than it had yesterday, but to his eyes it perked up at his approach, and he greeted it with a toothless smile. His hand shook as he poured his precious cargo onto the white petals radiating from a golden center, a gentle sun to contrast the angry one soon to crest the neighboring peaks. He saved half the water; the little plant couldn't take it all at once. He set the stone on the barren earth and sat on his usual slab.

The sky was red now. Not a welcome tone, but a fierce one, a harbinger the fools below would not heed. The old man waited on his seat; waited for the end to come. Soon enough. But at least was not alone.

***

And the rest of the links:
Angyl78 jelyzabeth.com (link to post)
MJRevell http://mikerevell.com/blog/ (link to post)
Interfaced http://www.futureconscience.com (link to post)
BBBurke http://awritersprogression.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Syrup http://asimplesyrup.com (link to post)
Springs2 Www.jozebwrites.blogspot.com (link to post)
Forbidden Snowflake http://www.vinjii.ch (link to post)