The clouds flashed silver in the failing light and seemed to slash through the hazy orange sky leaving in their wake what seemed to be streaming red. At first it was a quick burst of red light that broke into view, but slowly the red trickled and then merely oozed on to the rest of the sky. Staining as it went, the red would make nothing of that sunset the same.
The silver clouds had persistently sliced the late afternoon horizon. Again and again. Slicing and marking the sky forever to be changed.
There is no stopping a sunset. You can only watch. Sunsets allow for a reflection. A moment or two to ponder the day, to sigh and smile, to curse and wonder "what if". However the sunset has begun. No going back. You become resigned to it and the end of the day.
Then the blackness comes and the edges fade away. Slowly creeping and swirling across the sky. The cool numbness of nightfall feels good. The balm of a long sleep filled night is exactly what you crave. No thinking. No worries. No fighting. No pain. Relax. The night overtakes and you let it. Peace. Silence caves in from above; collapsing hurt and loss in a last gasp of daylight. No struggle. Peace. The day has finally ebbed away into nothing.
A few will mourn the lost day. Some will have wished they had cherished some precious hours more closely of that day. Some will simply mark the passing of the day as a day like any other. Formulaic and nothing to be missed. Others will proclaim it as the best day they had ever known, but even for those the years will fade and distort their memories of that day.
Eventually the day will be forgotten. All wounds are eventually healed.
