Oasis of Light
by Winter

There was nothing outside. That, was the only thing the puppy was certain of. He no longer remembered where he had come from, or how he had ended up there.

But he was thankful for the light.

Because where it ended, the Dark waited. Waited for him. The puppy shivered as he sat there, pressing his little body against the tree. The strange tree, that had no branches and no leaves, and didn't smell like a tree. It gave no protection from the cold rain, but at least it had the light.

The Dark didn't like the light. Every now and then anger flashed inside it, followed by its scary voice. When the Dark growled, the puppy wished he had somewhere to hide. A safe place where he could cower until it was all over. But there was nothing. Just him, and the tree with its light. And the ground, of course, but it was grey and dead and smelled weird and was hard to lie on.

And no more than a bounce or two from where the puppy sat, even the ground succumbed to the Dark.

There were glimpses of other things inside his head. Of green places, of people who would play with him or pet him. Of a big, nice bowl filled with yummy food. If they were dreams, or memories he had once lived, he couldn't know. No more than he could know how the Dark came to take all that away.

The rain pelted him harder, and in the Dark he saw another angry flash. The puppy whimpered, and lay down even though it was uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, hoping to maybe find shelter inside a dream. But the loudest growl yet made him spring up, and he ran around the tree a couple of times.

It took a long while for him to calm down, and in the end it was fatigue that overcame panic. He sat again, and listened to the hiss of the rain, hoping that the scares had ended, for now at least. They hadn't. Because just then, the light went out. The puppy yipped, as the Dark rushed in to claim its prize.

There was nothing. All was gone.

And the Dark growled, victoriously.