Thirteenth

A very long way in the distance, the city is exhaling
At times indistinguishable from the air in the wind itself
The sun seems to make a sound at the boundary of the shadows
Hard edges of tone and texture
As the Beast’s feet lift
Move
Land and carry gliding weight
Then push off again
They make no sound
He carries in his hand a part of a tree
Brushing against the bitumen and concrete
A sound in cadence with his steps
Walking over an intersection
Through a jagged hole in a wall
Into the foyer of a moderate building
Part of the roof gone
Stops
Settles
Air through the corridor
Dimness contrasting from the light of day
He drags the tree forward
The sound of scraping
Pause
Nothing
Back
The sound of scraping
Stop
Nothing
The eyes blink once
Slow, slight turn of the head
Blink
A motion like an inhale
Arm reaching up to the edge of the broken ceiling and roof
He lifts his body up and out
Climbs slowly over the building
Lowers himself to the ground
Walks

Empty streets
The air like whispers softly at the edges of hearing
The brushing of the tree
Leaves irregular against the road
Footpath
Car-park
Grass
Road
Concrete
Stop
Amber light
Pause
Red light
Stare
The wind in the foliage of the tree
Leaf striking lightly against leaf
Walk

Flanked on either side by buildings with many storeys
Offices
Complexes
Factories
Factory
Head turned to the side
A gaping and regular shape of darkness against the light
Rectangular
Hollow
Exhale from the space within
He turns his body to face it
Stare
Releases the tree
Walks
Slowly towards the factory
The tree discarded on the road
Its flowing irregular shadow

The factory emits a hollow note
Neither inhale nor exhale
Dust
Emptiness
Random objects large and small
Concrete and brick
Darkness
Eyes slowly moving
Looking up at the cavernous and regular space
Extending up through mezzanines and iron frames
Feet lifting
Setting down
Dust silently shifting
Floating slowly up
Down back onto the floor
The Beast walks to a hall
Enters
Walks slowly through the building
Punctuated by light
Glassless windows
Single shutters attached to one side, their opposing partners gone
Small rooms with floors irregular with clutter
Large rooms containing only dust
Stillness
Coming back to the edge of the large space
Looking down at the floor
The rectangle of light where he entered
The sound of the endless breath
Pause
Stare
Pan
Blink
Stop
Shift weight

In a dim corridor he stops
Sees scoring on the floor
Bends at the knees
Settles down on haunches
Examines the hard artificial covering
Small etchings score the surface
Cutting down into the concrete beneath
Curves and lines
Tiny holes and minimal shapes
Stare
The glow of the eyes on the marked surface
Small blue shadows
Reaches down with a palm
Places it over the shapes
Moves
Smoothness punctuated by roughness
Stops
Tilts the head to look forward
Down the corridor
The marks spread before him
Some recurring
Until they are obscured by distance
Stare
Lifts himself up
Moves forward
Feet over the etchings in the floor

More rooms
Corridors
Large halls
Marks on the floor
Inconsistent in spacing and grouping
Areas left untouched
Some few marks on walls
Doors
Scored into dirty glass
Moving to another large space
Square
Extending down to the floor below
Then the sound of scraping
As a stone against stone
Tiny and reverberating from far below in the gloom
Patches of shape huddle there on the concrete
Tiny movements from such a distance
The Beast stares
Then moves
Slowly along the exposed edge of the storey
Looking inward and down at the emptiness of the factory
Stairs
Shafts
Lowering himself down another floor
Silently
Disturbing the dust
The floor marked by etched symbols
The small, pitchless sound growing slightly louder
Scrape
Stop
Scrape
Stop
Tap
Stop
Reverberating through the space in a long sighing trail
The Beast sets his feet on the floor of the factory
The wide floor covered in irregular markings
Walks forward
Listening to the scraping
Tapping
In the low light bleeding from the walls and ceiling
A shape emerges as the Beast approaches
Kneeling on the concrete, a small boy
Back bent forward
Face hanging over the floor-space before him
One hand palm-down, supporting his weight
The other extended
Fingers curled bar one
He presses it against the stone
Tap
A shifting of fragmented cement and dust
Lifts
Presses again and drags
The sound of stone against stone
Material removed from the scoring litters the etching
The boy sets the hand down
Lifts the other
Brushes his palm slowly over the symbols
Dispersing the fragments
Shifts his weight slowly
Crouches down again
Rests on his palm
Touches the floor
Etching another symbol