The North Window Pt.1

The sun was setting. The light through the stone crack that looked to the west lit the opposite wall with a long, thin, slither. Edward was lying on his mat, drifting in and out of sleep. Benjamin paced slowly around the circular room, pausing at each of the four cracks that led to the outside world. The two men took turns to sleep for a few hours while the other kept watch. Benjamin came to the window to the west and stood watching the sun disappear beyond the horizon. He took a long breath in through his nose as the light faded on the hills that looked over Halifax. There was a calm in the air on these sunset shifts, before the biting cold of the night set in. 

Despite there being two men in the tower at any one time, it was a lonely place to be. The relentless sleep schedule meant that there was little time for conversation, and although Edward and Benjamin were in such close proximity for a week at a time, they knew very little about each other. The two had volunteered at the village meeting, along with another two men; the two duos taking alternate weeks. 

Their task was simple. To watch. Half a mile to the north of the tower was the spot where five paths and lanes met, each having snaked their way through the surrounding hills and valleys. This crossroads was the main point of observation for the tower, though there was a good view from all directions. The circular, stone room had a stove in the middle, with a chimney that led up to the sloped roof. This stove was the room’s main lifeline, it kept them warm during the baltic nights, it also allowed the men to cook bread and eggs and heat up their coffee. 

They were not permitted to leave the tower for their allocated week, unless there was an emergency. Every Wednesday a boy of around 16 would come with a small mule and cart to deliver food and fuel from the village. A stone’s throw away from the tiny wooden entrance to the tower was a plinth where a ready-made mound of wood stood, ready to be set alight. 

Neither Edward or Benjamin knew exactly what they were watching for, they just knew that it would be obvious when it came. Occasionally a solitary traveller would appear at the crossroads, sometimes with a horse and cart. It was dusk when Edward woke Benjamin by frantically shaking him.

“You need to come and look at this,” said Edward.

Benjamin squinted, sat up and then closed his eyes again.

“Come on, I don’t know what’s going on,” said Edward

Benjamin begrudgingly got to his feet and made his way to the window. 

“Look, up there,” Edward pointed towards the crossroads, “what is he doing?”.

At the crest of the hill was a man with a large black horse that pulled a cart so big that it barely fit down the lane. The man had stopped and appeared to be adjusting his cargo. What had alarmed Edward was that the cargo seemed to be resisting and fidgeting. The man was struggling to keep the cargo restrained beneath the tarpaulin that covered it. He could be heard shouting but the words were lost on the wind.

“What do you think is under the tarp?” said Edward.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem to be very happy,” said Benjamin. 

The two men stood motionless, peering through the crack in the wall. Their breath heavy in the evening air. 

“Should we light the alarm?” said Edward.

“What are you on about? We don’t even know what he’s doing,” said Benjamin, “he’s probably just got some dogs under there or something.”

“Why would he have dogs underneath a tarp?”

“I don’t know, to keep them warm? We can’t just assume he’s up to no good because something on his cart moves,” said Benjamin.

“What if he’s one of the people we were warned about?” said Edward.

“He’s just a traveller with some dogs, relax. I’m going back to sleep.” Benjamin went and laid back on his mat.

“I don’t know, we’ve not seen anything like this before.” Edward shifted from side to side, trying to find a way to get a better view.

“We’ve not seen much of anything before, it’s saying something when you want to panic  everyone in the village because we’ve seen one man, we would be a laughing stock when it turned out he’s just here to see his aunty. Besides, if we burn all the wood, we’ve got to haul a load more up the hill.” said Benjamin, with his eyes closed. He rolled over. The man was finally satisfied his cargo was secure and drove his horse on towards the village. 

Edward was relieved when he got back to the village at the end of the week to find it still standing, and its inhabitants still alive. He told his wife, Alice, about the man with the mysterious cargo. Alice agreed with Benjamin that it would have been quite hasty to light the alarm, when Edward protested that the man might have had a group of soldiers under on the cart, Alice pointed out that no soldiers had appeared in the village and that Edward did have a habit of creating problems in his own head.

A week in the village seemed to pass in no time and before Edward had settled back into his normal routine, it was time to return to the tower. He would meet Benjamin at first light on a Saturday and the two would start out up the hill to relieve their counterparts. It was around an hour’s walk up the steep hill. Just as with most of their time together, the two exchanged few words. They reached the tower as the morning’s mist began to lift from the valley. The two men they were taking over from stepped out of the tower, they looked tired. 

“Anything to report?” said Benjamin.

“No, nothing really,” said the first man.

“Well, there was a man with a big cart, he stopped just at the top of the path and spent a good ten minutes messing with what was on the cart, it looked to be moving,” said the second man.

“Oh come on, we talked about this, that was nothing, he was just making sure he wasn’t losing anything.” The first man then turned to Benjamin and Edward, “He’s not stopped panicking about this for three days, he wanted to light the beacon, absolutely ridiculous.” 

Benjamin looked at Edward and raised his eyebrows.

Edward took the first watch, while Benjamin prepared his sleeping area and tended to the stove. The first shift went by very quickly. Benjamin laid on his mat, listening to the birds singing outside. Edward, in the usual way, paced slowly around from window to window. Benjamin noticed that every time Edward got to the North window, he bit the nails on his left hand and paused a little longer than necessary.

The two men noticed a lot about each other. They became accustomed to each other’s gait, the way the other exhaled, they could recognise signs of tiredness or boredom. Edward noticed how Benjamin always grunted when the coffee was too hot. Benjamin noticed how Edward never finished his coffee, and the remnants in the cup were usually left to him to discard. Benjamin was confused the first time he saw Edward squirming and clenching his knees together. It turned out that Edward had a habit of not going outside to use the toilet until it was almost an emergency. Benjamin found this mildly amusing the first time.

“For the love of God just go outside,” Benjamin snapped on the first day of their second week together, “why on earth do you leave it so long?”.

“What difference does it make to you?” said Edward.

“It makes no difference, I just don’t like being able to sense when you need the toilet, even my daughter doesn’t make such a fuss” said Benjamin.

“Well, I don’t like your grunting when you are too impatient to let your coffee cool down,” said Edward. 

“I like to drink it when it’s hot! it’s always freezing in here.”

“It’s freezing out there! Hence why I don’t like going outside and baring all!” said Edward, by this time he was fidgeting around so much he looked like he might explode.

“Yes I have to go out there too! For God’s sake, go!”

Edward marched off down the stairs. The pair didn’t speak for the rest of the day.

Saturday turned into Sunday and Edward was woken up by the sound of the church bells from the village. He stretched and rolled over to see Benjamin asleep slumped against the wall.

“What are you doing?!” shouted Edward, “you’re supposed to be on watch!”

“Oh calm down, I only shut my eyes for a second,” said Benjamin.

“Well that’s not good is it? What if someone came by in the middle of the night, who knows what might be going on in the village!” Edward frantically ran around the four windows, looking for signs of catastrophe.

“Listen, the bells are still ringing, do you think they would be calling people to church if some mad-man had come and burnt the village down? No, just boil the coffee.”

Edward sat down next to the stove, Benjamin had never noticed Edward had such deep frown lines before. Edward folded his arms and stared intently at the pot.

“You know a watched pot never boils,” said Benjamin.

Edward stared at Benjamin, inside his mouth he ran his tongue along the back of his teeth. The two men locked eyes with each other for a long minute, before the pot started whistling. 

Benjamin rushed his coffee and Edward closed his eyes when the grunting came. Another day went by with each man making an effort to stay out of the other’s way.

It was the early hours of Monday morning, the birds were just starting their chorus. Edward was on watch. He was very tired but he would not give Benjamin the satisfaction of admitting it, or asking to swap shifts earlier than planned. As morning slowly began to light the stone walls, Edward sat on the bench. He looked at Benjamin while he was asleep. Benjamin rolled onto his back and began to snore. With every rumble from Benjamin’s throat, Edward clenched his teeth. He envisioned boiling the kettle then knocking it onto his sleeping partner. He could hear the hiss as the steam rose from Benjamin’s skin, he could see the flesh instantly bubble and burst as Benjamin screamed and clawed at his face.

“Hey!” shouted Benjamin,  “I guess I’m not the only one sleeping on duty, eh?”.

It was now daylight and Edward was still sitting on the bench, he must have drifted off.

“It happens to the best of us. Here, have some coffee,” said Benjamin.

As Benjamin handed Edward the mug, Edward had a monetary flash of Benjamin’s scolded face. He drank his coffee.