The Weeping Mountain

There it is again.

That howling sound. A low moaning groan that rattles the ground and shakes the trees.
I can feel it in my bones.
It starts at Sundown every night and goes on for hours. It's been happening for nearly a fortnight now.

It's frightening and not like anything that I've ever hear or read about that walks the earth. It makes the whole of the forest go into hiding...and even the wind seems to fall still out of fear.
It's unnatural.

I can see the creature far off among the mountains. It's like one of them...towering high into the north sky. It looks and moves like a man, though it's hard to see the features when it's so far away and shrouded in clouds half the time. Sometimes it even blots out the sun when it stands and the whole town quakes when it steps.

The townspeople are afraid. They keep talking about the wrath of the gods in paranoid whispers...even the priest is beginning to proclaim that this is punishment for the town's wrongdoings and sins. He says the gods are disgusted with us and have sent the monster to come down and crush us all beneath its feet so that it might wipe us from the earth.
Of course that's easy for him to say when he's already packed up and set to leave the village at first light tomorrow. Probably to go and hide in the halls of the Grand Chapel.

He is a coward. And a fool.

I think the entire town is.

If that “monster” was sent here to destroy us...I believe it would have done so already. After all, to cross the mountains and reach us would surely only take it a few measly steps, I would guess. It would take no effort at all...and yet I've seen no effort yet given in anything even remotely close to destruction.

The townspeople spend their days in hiding...but I've ventured out. I've climbed the trees and hills nearby to watch it...I've studied it for the good part of this week, and it does much of nothing aside from simply sitting there.

I don't think it's a monster.

I want to prove it too. I'll leave in the morning for the mountains...I want to get closer to it and I want to see what it really looks like. I want to know all that I can about the creature.

I've not spoken a word of my plans to my family, but I'll leave them a note. If I told them, they'd surely believe me to be mad and forbid it. My father has been siding with the priest anyway.

The townsfolk can say what they will about the gods and punishment, they can claim that these sounds at night are the roars of a bloodthirsty beast.

But I don't think it's roaring.

I think it's weeping.