One second I’m asleep, the next I’m wide awake. What, for the love of God, woke me up? Sure, the radio is still droning on…some program discussing the role of Christian missionaries among Islamic peoples. Nope, that can’t be it…I’m sure if anything it should’ve put me back to sleep. Why else would it be on the radio in the dead of night. So, I roll over and close my eyes forcing myself back to sleep. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, I still can’t get into a comfortable position to warrant the egress back to the Land of Nod. I sigh. Levering myself onto my elbow, I glance over the prone, sleeping figure of my lover to the alarm clock. In bold red digital numbers, the time reads 2:26am. UUGGHH!! I flop back down and will myself to return to a state of nocturnal bliss. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…although there is no traditional clock, I can hear time ticking away. My mind turns over like the engine of a car on a cold, winter’s morning. Gggrrr….Gggrrr…Gggrrr….VROOM! That’s it…no stopping it now!
Suddenly a light bulb goes off in the recesses of my mind – “Duh! I’m thirsty.” Ok, I’ll give this one a go. Tossing off the duvet and swinging my feet to the floor, I make my way across the room to the closed-door guided by the eerie blue light emanating from the radio. Without any thought to my partner, I open the door as if its full morning and stumble into a severely darkened hallway. Instead of going into the kitchen or bathroom, my feet lead me to our living room to where I left a started bottle of water earlier in the day. Again, I’m confronted by an eerily lit room all thanks in part to the electronics in the corner. Giving it no further thought, I grab the bottle and take a large gulp. Replacing the cap, I return the bottle to coffee table and trace my steps back to the bedroom. Once inside, I move to my partner’s side of the bed and proceed to turn off the radio. The soft blue glow immediately disappears. As I turn to make my way to my side, I nearly trip on his sandals. I curse under my breath about his attempting to kill himself should he get up and fall over them. I bend to pick up the offending footwear and move them to the foot of the bed as I continue my journey to regain sleep. I stretch out on the bed and close my eyes once again. Minutes tick by and I can’t help but become aware of the silence permeating the room both from within it and from outside. It invades my mind, causing me to continue my struggle. Turning toward my lover, I rest my hand upon his warm body seeking succor and a chance to focus my thoughts elsewhere. I lay with my eyes closed and my hand on his back for several minutes…until I feel a tingling surging through my hand and white flashes pulsating in my mind’s eye. This is utterly useless. I’m not going to fall back asleep. It’s over! The battle is over and I am clearly not the winner. And that’s when the words start to form…yes, these words and many more. Alright, might as well make it productive or at least try.
Once again, I toss off the covers, pick up my nightgown, grab my glasses and make my way back to the living room. I immediately walk to the closed curtains and open them a fraction. I reach my hand through and push the window open as well. Moving over to the sofa, I reach behind it, turn on the light, sit down and take up my computer. As I press the power button, it whirrs to life with its familiar chime. Thank God I plugged in the headphones before turning it on since the chime alone could wake the dead during a thunderstorm. As I have a clock on my desktop, I notice it is only 3:25am. OMG!!!…It’s only been an hour since this whole episode has started. UNBELIEVABLE! Does time stand still in the middle of the night? It must, I conclude. Before I opt to pen anything worthy in my book, I jump into the popular music software of the day and choose some calming music to better help with the flow of the creative ideas. Ok, time to get started…but instead I pop onto the internet to check if anything is going on. Fine, it will give me a chance to collect my thoughts. I soon realize I’ve been on my favorite social network site for over an hour…damn is it addictive. Ok, ok…time to get cracking. I open up a new word document and start typing. Periodically, I glance up and look through the slight opening in the curtains…to gauge how long I’ve been in my waking state. Although the clock on the computer reads 5:00am, outside is already light with the sky a pale blue. It looks like it’s going to be a fine day. However, as I stifle a yawn, I have a funny feeling I’m going to miss most of it. Too ironic, isn’t it. Anyway, pleasant dreams everyone…
Cerridwyn Tiponi's Musings & Meanderings 