#304: Nighttime Stories

[[ Man sitting in an armchair in a darkened room, behind him a bookshelf and an open window. A girl is seen outside reading a book by an eerie glow]]

For a few weeks now, sometime past midnight, a girl has wandered past my apartment reading by flashlight.

[[Outside, the girl, walking down the street passing under a street lamp]]

I wonder why she’s up so late.

Maybe she’s restless

Like me.

I wonder what story she’s wrapped up in.

I wonder if she let’s anyone into that island of light.

[[ Man sitting in dark room ]]

[[ Dark room minus man ]]

[[ Man standing on his doorstep at the top of a small flight of stairs, near the bottom of which the girl has stopped, no longer reading. ]]

Man: Hi! What are you reading?

Girl: Orson Scott Card’s ‘Xenocide.’ It’s my favorite in the series!

[[ The same, only man looks more dejected ]]

Man: Wait, you like it more than Speaker for the Dead OR Ender’s Game?

Girl: Yeah!

[[ The same, only man has withdrawn ]]

[[ Man back sitting in the chair within dark apartment ]]

And to think I loved her.