Here's another very long, standalone story—one with a dark, Gothic feel:---# **22. "The Emerald Eyes of Bodmin Moor"—A Story of Who Saw the Night Lights**

Bodmin Moor in Cornwall is a desolate and rugged place, where mists often hang over the moors, and the stones hold the stories of ancient peoples and rituals.

Locals claim that **emerald eyes** appear on the moors one night.

These are not the eyes of animals or humans—the gaze of something inhuman, watching anyone who dares to enter the moor after dark.

Legend says that these eyes belong to a creature that has guarded the secret of the place for hundreds of years and never leaves Bodmin.

### **I**

The story begins in 1847, when a young traveler and illustrator, Samuel Thorne, came to the moor to capture its wildness in his sketches.

He wandered the hills and valleys, captivated by the silence that seemed to swallow every sound.

One night, as he lit a small fire, he noticed a glint of light in the distance—green, pulsating, and mesmerizing.

"Who's there?" he called out, but heard no response.

Instead, eyes appeared closer, and in their glow, Samuel felt something strange: **as if someone were reading his mind**.

### **II**

The eyes followed him as he tried to move away.

They made no sound, left no marks on the ground, yet Samuel knew the creature was right behind him.

He felt a chill as he realized that these eyes belonged to no ordinary creature.

They were aware of his presence, intelligent and inscrutable.

The next morning, Samuel discovered that his sketches had changed of their own accord.

The figures he had drawn the previous day had taken on strange shapes.

The sketches of people were emptying out, leaving only silhouettes in motion, replaced by emerald points of light that pulsed and followed the artist's every move.

### **III**

Samuel spent the following days trying to understand the creature.

The eyes appeared every night, regardless of the weather, changing in intensity and shape.

Sometimes they were like two small dots in the distance, sometimes like enormous pupils hovering over the moors.

And Samuel increasingly felt that it wasn't just observation—the creature was **pulling his mind beyond the confines of his body**, making him see the moor's past and future in an instant.

One night, the eyes spoke… not in words, but in Samuel's thoughts:

> "You look, therefore you see.

> By seeing, you become part of the moor.

> There is no going back."

Samuel tried to escape, but the faster he ran, the more the eyes followed him, pulsating and mesmerizing, until he felt his own eyes begin to take on a green glow.

### **IV**

A year later, Samuel never returned to town.

Some say his body disappeared, others say he remained on the moor, merged with the light that watched the hills at night.

Locals warn tourists:

> "If you see green eyes on Bodmin Moor, don't look too long… for if you look into them, the moor will see you."

On dark nights, when mist descends on the moor, some hikers swear they see **green points of light** floating in the air.

They are not animals or reflections of light. It is a being that watches, waits, and chooses those who become part of the mystery of Bodmin Moor.

You cannot escape.

You cannot forget.

When you look into those emerald eyes, they look back at you… and the only question that remains is:

**Do you dare return?**