Night Eyes

March 7, 2025

Prompt by Gibberish: FFF - In The Dark

photo by: Erik Karits - Photography

The group huddled together under the canopy of trees on a dark summer night. 

“Why are we out here?” questioned Marvin. Normally he would be spending his time in front of the xbox rather than outside on a dark night where mosquitoes would attack him mercilessly, or so he said.

The camp counselor was trying to sound upbeat. “We are out here to undertake a night walk.”

“A night walk?” repeated Barbara. “I forgot my flashlight.”

The counselor chuckled. “We don’t need a flashlight,” he said as Barbara groaned. 

“Then how are we going to walk in the dark?” asked Mikey.  Won’t we bump into something?”

“Boo! Hahahaha,” said the camp comedian Peter. 

“The whole purpose of a night walk is for you to learn about your night eyes.”

“Night eyes? Wait, we have different eyes at night?” questioned Jenny.

“ I bet the counselor is glad he only has 6 people out here tonight,” thought Jimmy. 

The counselor answered,” Night eyes is about how your eyes adapt to different environments. Right now we have been out in the dark for 15 minutes. No bright light is anywhere to be seen. You should be able to start making out shadows when you look at things. Soon you will learn to see the difference in the darkness, how some things are darker than others and how the natural light helps you make some of those distinctions. 

“Cool,” the group muttered. 

“I think I see a ghost,” said Peter, his voice rising in faux scariness. 

“You need to trust your eyes and your senses,” continued the counselor, ignoring Peter. “It is better if you keep your talking to a minimum as it distracts you. You should also try to walk quietly.”

“Walk quietly?” asked Barbara. “How do you walk quietly?”

“No stomping or sliding. Lift your feet carefully. If you do this you may see some things in nature before they slip away into the darkness.”

“Like ghosts,” suggested Peter.

“Like raccoons,” replied Mikey. “There is one over there,” he said pointing off to his left. We all turned and looked where he was pointing..

“I think I see one,” said Jenny. 

“I think I see something,” muttered Marvin as he looked at Barbara’s face.

“Broo ha ha ha,” suddenly said Peter, causing the girls to jump.

“Not funny Peter,” stated Jimmy firmly. 

JImmy walked down the road quietly ahead of the group. Peter joined him. Jimmy was quite surprised at how much he could actually see in the dark. Using his senses he spotted the skunk and planned a way to avoid it as it was determined to cross his path. He did not tell Peter about  the skunk until the last minute.

“Bro, could have warned me sooner,” he said as he rushed away from the skunk.

Jimmy smiled.

Fifteen years later JImmy was out at a bush party with his friends. When he stood up his girlfriend asked,

‘Going for a walk?” 

He nodded and stepped away from the campfire. 

He had gone on night walks regularly ever since he had learned about night eyes at camp all those years ago. He was fascinated by the way he was able to see objects and discover another world after dark. The walk helped ease his stress. Walking in the dark didn’t bother him as he was aware that most animals, while curious, often avoided people.  

As he walked along the logging road on this night JImmy spotted two tiny lights off in the distance. At first he thought it might be another bush party he was stumbling across. He quickly dismissed that notion when the lights appeared to grow larger as they moved towards him. He considered them to be fireflies for a minute until they continued to grow and move at faster speeds. Jimmy looked at them with some curiosity and maybe a bit of mild concern. They were moving pretty fast for both night time and on a dirt road. 

He listened carefully. There was no sound coming from the lights. He was trying to make out what they were but nothing came to his mind. He stood still as one stopped inches from his face. He wondered about it when suddenly it backed up and started making movements that looked suspiciously like letters.  A P was formed through sweeping movements. An E. Next was a T. Jimmy’s mind had raced ahead. Another E. An R. The lights then rushed off down the road.

“Peter,”  said Jimmy with a gust of exasperation. “He really needs to let it go.” He paused thoughtfully. “Maybe he needs a replay of the skunk incident,”  he reflected as he started to plan out how to get his hands on a skunk.