Night Sanctuary

As she pushes open the door, the cold night air kisses her blushing hot cheeks, cooling the blood rushing there from all over her body.

She glances up. City lights, unusually high pollution levels and a blanket of clouds mask the stars, painting the sky a smooth midnight purple which fades to a light orangish-lavender at the horizon.

She walks into the courtyard and past the trees, whose bright green summits form perfect triangles against the cold night sky. She continues on past the prim, manicured bushes, huddling in bunches on the ground.

Finally she has reached her destination. Sitting down on the cool concrete wall, she allows the cold to seep through her dark blue jeans and bite her. Even though her cheeks still burn, her ears have already gone numb, this process quickened by the metal hanging from them. She relishes the cold and way it caresses every inch of her body, wrapping her up in its incorporeal fingers. It is one of the few manifestations of nature left to her in this concrete maze. She savors the struggle between the night air and her own body heat, knowing that the night with its relentless passivity will eventually force her body to succumb.

Here she can come the closest to silence as is possible in the whole place. The rattling, grey hum of the air conditioner is only occasionally interrupted by an airplane’s grumble. Here she can escape in spirit, if not in the flesh. Here she is away from that seething mass of humanity which is always pressing in on her.

This is a magical place, only able to be reached in the lifeless light of the street lamps. As the sun disappears, these giant sentinels slowly awaken, and even more slowly, drive away the rush of human beings flitting about like moths. Once their spell is cast, the reminders of civilization are reduced to cold concrete walls and the immaculate clearing.

As the heat slowly seeps from her body, she allows the embarrassment, confusion and pain which drove her to her sanctuary to fade as well, till only peace is left.

She stares at the silent sky, his bright colors telling her a lie of twilight, and she almost believes him. But not quite; she knows this game and has not been fooled by his trick in a long time. Gazing upon that limited expanse, she wishes upon the night air for just a single star to twinkle down at her. After a moment, her gaze lowers and, as if for the first time, she notices the grass. Half-hypnotized, she rises and shuffles towards it.

Upon sitting down, she touches the grass with one hand, enjoying the rough, rubbery texture of this almost natural carpet. She lays back upon the expanse of green, cushiony plant and lazily peers up at the sky.

A momentary eternity passes, and she sees, not just a star but the moon herself. The maiden of the night sky is modestly hiding some, and then all of her half-invisible face behind a fluffy curtain of cloud.

Suddenly, the clouds part completely around the moon, revealing a single, bright speck of light in her wake. The girl suddenly sits up, allows her body to concede defeat, and heads inside.

Her wish has been granted.