I’m hiding at the edge of a copse of trees. Behind one of the thick trunks, I watch a hulking monster shrouded in black mist stalk the grounds of a crumbling ruin.

    It stops. Slowly, it raises its large head to sniff the air occasionally with large raspy bellows. Sniff...sniff...sniff...I know I’m too far away for it to smell me, but I daren’t move. I’m waiting for my window of opportunity, and it’s not yet.

    I don’t know if it guards the ruin, or is responsible for making it what it is. I don’t even know exactly what the ruin once was before, but if I had to guess I'd say it was a huge cathedral of sorts. Nobody gathers here now, and hasn't for sometime. Some parts of its walls have fallen away completely, the roof in places have caved in, and the tower that stands at its end is vacant. I'd say nobody even knows it's here anymore; it's been forcefully forgotten perhaps. 

    The monster is alone, I think, as am I. Though I’m on my guard in case there is more; monsters are devious, malicious beings brimming with cunning and plot. From the trees I watch the monster skulk sinuously around the corner to what I know is the archway where two large oak-doors hang - one on both it's hinges and one snapped in half like a broken tree. It was the main entrance, back in it's day.

    The monster, huffing and gnashing away to itself as it scratches the flagstones with it's claws under it's cloak disappears from view. Now is my opportunity. 

    Silently, I make a dash from the trees and keep low on the grass like a rolling summer breeze. I hop over the shattered stone balustrade and make for a rusty metal ladder on the side of the building that is still intact. I have to be quick; I know the creature will be back soon.

    I begin my ascent making (sure I don’t pound my feet against the metal) feeling like an acrobat climbing up to perform some aerial feats, but there’s no time to think about such things really. I must make haste, I think to myself. 

    Thankfully, I reach the top and disappear over the edge of the roof just as out of the corner of my eye I see the long shadow of the monster arriving around the back of the ruin, making it’s way to where I once stood moments before.

    I slink back to the tiles of the roof and keep out of sight as I nimbly make my way up to the roof’s crest before it slopes to the other side; I suppose it might be the ruin’s spine. 

    This is the tricky part. Crawling on all fours so to help keep my balance, I eek my way towards the tower at the end of the spine. I try not to disrupt the remaining tiles, and certainly take extra care near the enormous holes where I would certainly meet my doom below if I fell.

    Carefully, carefully, carefully does it, I say making slow but steady progress. The days are long but I know it’s late and the Sun is sinking, tinging the abandoned green and brown landscape with a rich gold. I'm reminded that not all is lost with such light.

    Below, sniff...sniff...sniff...I halt in my tracks.

    Sniff...

    Silence. Not even birds are near anymore. The trees sway in the breeze, rustling their leaves. I wait. 

    Sniff...

    The creature can't climb. This is I'm pretty sure. Pretty sure, I convince myself one more time. 

    I exhale quietly, wiping the sweat off my forehead as I hear the monster lumber on, none-the-wiser.

    I eventually reach the tower, my haven. Much like the lower part of the building, the wall on one side has crumbled away and the glass has been smashed but the rest of it still stands firm. Defiant almost; like the ruin is willing itself to be immortal.

    Carefully, I reach a hand up and place it on the floor of the tower (it’s a bit of a hoist from the roof, see), and climb in. 

    I breathe a sigh of relief; I am here.

    It’s not perfect, but that's what makes it perfect. There’s nothing here, just broken bits of rubble. But the view - the view! I can see for miles, and miles, and miles. And it all looks so perfect in the tangerine glow of the setting Sun. 

    I have my favourite spot, a respite from the chaos, and I lay down comfortably. 

    No one and nothing knows I’m here, and won't until I leave these three and a bit walls. It's a pocket of safety. I've been here many times. So many, that I can't recall how I found it in the first place. It's just, here.

    A rewarding breeze rolls in, and I peek at the sky through the broken glass. To the hazy mountains in the very far distance. Everything is quiet. 

    And, knowing this, tucked up in my sanctuary, my hideaway; I drift soundly…and wordlessly…to sleep.