Midnight Walk

Photosource: Alfred Stieglitz

I recently told someone that when the sun stops shining he should dance in the rain.
The sun can't shine all the time…
Neither will the grey clouds last out forever.
Little did I know that only hours afterwards, I'd be taking my own advice.

I can't sleep.
My mind plagues me with the thoughts I avoid within dreams I can't control.
Dreams too real… too intense…
The exhausting kind.
And so I avoid closing my eyes
I avoid the place where I lay my head down to sleep
And when the time comes to climb up the stairs onto the second floor… I pump up the volume on my Ipod and we take each other for the midnight walk.

My midnight walks have become a nightly routine.
I love Lisbon at midnight…
She's like a mother that embraces her children at a vulnerable hour;
She protects the prostitute on the corner,
Kisses goodbye the faithful from the church after late mass,
She accompanies the old man walking his Great Dane…
Listens attentively to the two students discussing the abortion referendum underneath the pale light from the lamppost.
She watches the foreigner…
Walking past the gas station with the orange fluorescent lights;
The nursery school with the empty swings;
The church with the cold cement;
Macdonalds… There just seems to be one everywhere!

I contemplated my successes of the day:
Today I made someone smile…
Today I made someone laugh…
Today I made someone feel special…
Today I restored someone's faith in themselves…
I told my little brother that I loved him… I told my dad the same and sent my mom a message telling her I miss her.
Today I hugged a friend…

Tonight… I can't sleep.

Time to go… home.
With my Ipod on my left and time on my right, I turned towards the place I'd once again spend the night tossing and turning…
That's when I felt it…
It wasn't rain…
It wasn't drizzle…
It was the delicate touch of dew…
On my face, in my hair… on my lips…
Like a gentle kiss from the heavens…
The kind that causes that tingling feeling of absolute satisfaction.
Taking a deep breath and my sweet time down the road;
I once again realized that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.

Wet and content;
I lay my head down to a peaceful sleep that lasted through to the morning.