My endurance deserted me
For the second time in the night
And once again, I took flight.

As irony often adores to court disbelief,
It appeared as though
The streets were the safest bet.

The never-ending blanket of mystery loomed over,
Its over-abundance of sequins making it look
Just a tad too flashy, a bit too extravagant.

I had only donned a sweatshirt over my blouse,
My legs were solely covered with thin pyjamas
And my feet rested in slippers.

The weather wasn't chilly
But ever so often it introduced surprise draughts,
Like a mischievous hostess, chilling my very bones.

Save for the neon lighting of the all-night stores,
The scene before me was pitch black;
The street lamps had given up on the neighborhood.

A faint shiver ran down my spine
As consciousness slowly seeped into my veins:
The place was not the same.

It appeared the same,
It felt the same
And yet, it wasn't the same.

The night had transformed it into something alien
And it didn't need to perform jump-scares to let me know,
The very atmosphere felt like an unwelcome stranger.

•

maits¹⁹⁰

•