High excursionists. It's me Narri. I know, I said. We had
gone down the last twisted path before the Christmas special, but Caroline came up
with one more for us tonight, on the eve of the New Year.
We usually look forward to new beginnings, or at least putting the old year
behind us. But what would happen if we couldn't do that? What would
happen if the new year filled us with dread instead of with hope. Let's
follow Donovan Carlyle and see why New Year's Eve is his least favorite holiday.
Join me now for a midnight walk. Welcome to Endo the night. I'm
Narri, your guide on today's excursion down a twisted path. Be careful not
to get lost. Be it dark or light, it's easy to lose your
way. Are you ready, then let's begin a midnight walk Inhaling. The
cold, crisp air of early winter heightened his senses. Fresh snow crunched beneath
his boots. As Donovan Carlyle paused to take in the beauty of the night,
snowflakes fell like ticker tape, but he enjoyed the placid stillness over any
ruckous party. The holiday might bring peace and solitude suited him nicely, and
moments such as these were the ones he intended to commit to memory. He
hated this time of year, more so than those who simply complained about the
cold or the drudgery of shoveling snow. Donovan wished he had such petty reasons
to dread nights like this. The moonlight hitting the snow on the hillsides cast
a blue glow. The moon peeked in and out of the clouds that softly
dropped another round of light snow on the area. Adding to the view were
cedar trees that stood like sentries looking over the majesty of the landscape. Donovan
knew he must remember this scene. Nothing stays the same for long. Tomorrow
the world might not look like this at all. Tomorrow I might view the
world a little differently. That's the magic of new days. That was a
lesson he'd learned the hard way, and he learned it many times in a
variety of ways. Nothing stayed the same, and no day is exactly the
same as the next. Sometimes he kicked himself for not understanding that earlier,
but that was part of the burden of youth. One must find out through
trial and error. As he walked through the dark evening with snowflakes swirling around
him in the gentle breeze, his loneliness weighed heavily upon him. He'd always
hoped he would have some one he could walk hand in hand with on nights
like this. Now Donovan had given up on the thought of finding true love.
It's not in the cards for you, Donovan. You had your chance,
but you didn't take it, and now you must carry on and make
the most of every moment. He stopped and looked up at the sky.
The snow rained down on him, and it reminded him of how space looked
on television shows where the spacecraft hit warp drive. He could imagine himself flying
upward, and the flakes were streaks of stars whizzing past him as he traveled
to the heavens. He continued plodding through the snow, taking occasional breaks to
view the beauty of the night. This was a special night, and he
wanted to remember the majesty of the world. Some day he might need a
memory like this to give him hope that goodness was just around the corner.
Donovan shook his head, remember or not this night would change him, but
he did his best to only dwell on the present, live in the moment.
He looked at the time. Yes, it was becoming late and he
still had a long walk ahead of him. The blue of the snow,
however, reminded him of the night when he'd held hands with the woman he
loved, Lilah Reddington, and they'd watch the moon dip in and out of
the clouds. He loved her, so he still loved her, so that
night he gathered the courage to tell her how he felt. He'd never forget
the look on her face. Donovan's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink as
a sense of embarrassment washed over him. Even after all these years, Oh
Donovan, you can't be serious. There's no way I can return your love.
Even if I felt the same way toward you. I could never marry
any one who couldn't give me a future. I see no future with you.
You can't hold down a job, and you have bouts of depression that
cripple you for weeks. I can't live like that. I won't live like
that. I want stability, and each time I start to believe that I
can count on you, you crumble before me like ashes. Maybe she was
right. Perhaps I was selfish for expecting her to feel the same, or
to risk her opportunities for someone like me. She deserved better. He tired,
and the weight of his snow boots became cumbersome. In spots where the
snow was deep, he'd sunk in to his knees, and snow had slipped
inside his boots from the top. His feet were wet and cold, and
he wondered how long it took for frostbite to take hold. He winced he'd
seen photos of people whose fingers and toes had frozen black and fragile. The
appendages served no useful purpose now, and the injured people had to face a
life of deformity. No, I can't think about that. My feet have
become so cold though that I can't feel anything except a tingling ache. Everything
will be different soon, this will be no more than a memory, and
I can't concentrate on the discomfort. I wish, I wish I could close
my eyes and wake up in my bed. But I know this isn't a
dream. It's all real. Few animals were about at this time of night.
He heard the hooting of an owl, and he saw a fox scamper
through a pasture in search of whatever he could find to eat. On a
night like this, in the stillness of the night, he heard every sound
but little stirred at this hour. As he walked, his mind crept back
to regrets that he'd held. He realized that he had not used his time
wisely, and he pledged to do better. He didn't want to make the
same mistakes over and over. Regret was a terrible burden to carry, and
the thought of remaining stuck in old habits frightened him. The woods beside him
crashed as he stumbled upon two deer that had betted down for the night at
the edge of the tree line. The sudden noise caused Donovan to jump,
and then he laughed at himself for being so on edge. Lighten up.
You can't let a few deer throw you into a heart attack. He listened
to the sound of breaking twigs that grew fainter as the deer ran farther over
away from him. He felt a twinge of guilt for putting such a fright
into two forest animals. He had no interest or intention of harming them.
They don't know that. Though Donovan knew what it was like to be frightened,
he knew tonight that he should be frightened once more. But he'd reached
the point of accepting his fate. They will find me no matter where I
go, So I wanted to be out here tonight, in the tranquility of
the woods. He looked at his watch one minute to midnight. He heard
no sound, but he looked upward and saw a bright light shining through the
clouds. The snowflakes were illuminated by the glow that now surrounded Donovan. He
stood motionless at first, clenching his eyes shut, but then he opened them.
I want to remember the beauty of this snowfall. I want to hold
on to this memory. I don't want this night to only fill my nightmares.
At the stroke of midnight, he felt himself lifted higher and higher into
the air. It was time for his appointment, the Grand Science Experiment he
became part of when he was just a boy. The first time they visited
him was when he was five. He heard his parents and their friends singing
ald lang Syne, and the light beamed through his bedroom window. He tried
to scream, but no sound came out. The wide eyed aliens with sickly
pale skin, floated him through his open window and pulled him into the night
sky. The experiments left him weak and in pain, as they did every
year when New Year's Day arrived for thirty four years. He endured the abductions
and experiments, and he knew what awaited him. As the light pulled him
towards the craft as others cheered and celebrated elsewhere, his soul screamed for someone
to rescue him. Yes, New Year's Eve was Donovan car Carlyle's least favorite
holiday. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Into the Night
Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nari Quak, Theme music
by Nico Rodriguez, all other original music, sound design and editing by Omenhawk
Studios. You can find our links in the show notes. Into the Night
is on your favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe and leave
a five star review to help other excursionists to join us. I'll see you
next time, and remember, whether in the shadows or in the daylight,
all twisted paths lead you into the night. Into the Night Anthology is a
Creative Typo Entertainment Production,