When the City’s Asleep

In the middle of a city that has forgotten her name, she stands. Like a language she recognizes but can’t quite understand, the bustle and commotion that suffuses the air slowly muffles as the moon climbs over the horizon. The silhouettes of tall tree branches reach out like fingers, tracing every constellation in the night sky. A street lamp casts a beam of light on her dimly. The spotlight burns her with rays of shame and humiliation. She remembers the onigiri her mom used to pack for her. The way voices used to call her. How while her grandpa’s frail hands held hers, he would recite stories about when he was young, his fearlessness and bravery never ceasing to leave her in awe. Ungratefulness. The way she foolishly left, driving until the streets were unrecognizable. Memories of her past life here consume her; she wonders if she could have learned to appreciate these small gestures faster if she had just stayed. A chilling shiver of regret runs down her spine. Closer than ever to her old neighborhood, further than ever from the forgiveness she thought she could finally find by returning. 

A gentle breeze drives her into the park. Pushed by the laughter that once filled their solitude, two empty swings sway. As she sits down, the sudden shift in weight causes the rusted metal chains to creak. 

Suddenly, she hears the creaks of the swing again as someone sits next to her. Even in the darkness, she can discern his distorted face. An eyeball, blue veins flowing through, sits in his left eye socket; his right is hollowed out. Light emits from his bare bones, showing through his translucent skin. His rib cage traps a pulsing sapphire heart. He smiles at her, his jagged teeth like tapered spears. Unbothered, she smiles back because, for the first time, someone here watches. Even though they’ve just met, a strange camaraderie silently grows between them. 

Eventually, she waves goodbye; their crossed paths end here. Night drapes over her like a thick blanket. She dreads sunrise because it will bring the unfamiliarity and foreign words that echo in a city where she is just like him, a monster.