Night

I remember that night although to most people, every night is the same as the one before. I was sitting on my bed, reading a novel when I realized it was dark, and the lamp in my room seemed to be the only source of light on Earth. I opened a window and looked at the night sky, clean and pure, filled with stars. I was surprised at the starry night because the smog of civilization has gradually built a wall between the human eye and the stars above. I decided to go for a walk, and explore the darkness I had discovered through my bedroom window. When I stepped outside, I could immediately feel the fresh night air filling my lungs; the chilly air had fully embraced me. I was feeling safe although I was completely alone as the streets were empty. I kept walking and looking at the sky from time to time, for fear that the stars would suddenly disappear. Images started to flood my mind; my brain seemed completely open, and I was neither inhibited nor worried about anything for the first time in ages. It must have been that absence of visual stimuli which characterizes the night: everything was still, and for a moment in time, I was one with my surroundings and in total harmony with my own thoughts.

The same pattern every single day, light follows darkness, and vice versa, I quietly thought to myself. Now everything was pitch black, quiet and still. I could not help but get the feeling that someone was following me, so I kept looking over my shoulder hoping to make eye contact with my stalker, forgetting that human eyes could not pierce through darkness. The quiet of the night was overwhelming at first, and breathing sounded almost like a symphony. As Robert Frost wrote in his back in 1923, I have been acquainted with the night. If you think about it, very few things have remained the same over the centuries, or even the decades. The night is still a source of fascination for both regular people, as well as artists. In many ways, I think that the mysteries of the night will never be uncovered because when darkness covers the Earth, secrets are safe, and imagination remains the only tool of exploration.