I stirred from my side of the bed when I heard a noise from the outside. I took a deep breath and gave a thought on what could that be, I think it's just past midnight, and everybody's taking the night out. I sat and took my phone from my side table. It's just two in the morning and that means to say I only had like three hours yet of sleep.
I took a glance to my left then up to the ceiling. The lights in the room are a bit dimmer than I thought it would be. Right on both sides of the bed are faint lamps that happens to be the only source of light in the room except for an open window on the far side just before the closet. But by the looks of it, tonight was just pitch black. No stars nor moon to shed some.
I imagined this room to be a bit lighter. I never thought of a moment that we had the lights off of this room. Each time I sleep here, the lights from the ceiling would be so bright that I would put the sheets over my head. And each time I wake up, the sun would be there peeking from the window. I never really saw what this could be in between my sleep and I just thought everything that reside in this room begs for some light. But tonight really looks amazing. Everything was calm, the air is placid and the wind getting on the curtains makes everything much mellow.
I walked over the rack to get my robe when I realized I was fully awake. Our clothes were all over the room but I thought I could just pick them up tomorrow morning. I walked around the bed to the bathroom, making sure to quiet my steps, trying not to wake him.
Once I was done in the bathroom, I decided to go downstairs to warm myself some milk. I figured I couldn't go back to sleep and thought a warm cup would help me. I pulled the door quietly, slipped outside and took a quick look at him before shutting the door. He is a heavy sleeper as opposed to me who wakes up to little noises. But lately he's been sleeping lightly and he said it must be because he's having insomnia. So whenever we are not sleeping together, we just have long hours of talks on the phone, waiting 'til he sets off to sleep.
The halls looked empty without lights. I took a small step away from his door, surrendering myself to complete darkness. With the lights out, it felt like I would bump into something any time. Like somewhere in this place covered with a sheet of black, someone I can't see is waiting to attack me. The thought sent drops of sweat around my neck and on my palms, my lungs working harder than usual pushing my heartbeat to raise. I took another step then closed my eyes, picturing how this hall would look like on a Saturday morning just as when I wake up from my night with him, then I started to walk. The floor would be so shiny and smooth and the walls would be shelving sophisticated paintings his mom bought. There would be a vase of magnolias on the centre table together with a clutter of fashion magazines his sisters and cousins played with last night. I would stop each time, to smell the magnolias and fix the magazines, then go down.
I opened my eyes when I finally felt the hard cold railings of the staircase. Everything is still dark, not one thing making any noise aside from my breathing. I sighed and took another step, closing my eyes thinking of Saturday mornings again. His sisters would be waiting for me at the end of the stairs. The youngest, Carmella, would be carrying her glass of milk while smiling at me, giving me a warm morning regards. Magui, who is just years older than Carmella, would be carrying Adi, their baby cousin with big cheeks and curly hair, both of them looking at me like I am some angel going down the stairs.
I looked around when my feet reached the last step, the lights are still off but the memories of the light make me feel a lot less uncomfortable. My eyes started to slowly adjust with the darkness then I walked towards the kitchen, pulling the fridge open, feeling the creep of cold air through my silk robe. The light from inside the fridge had hurt my eyes. It was white and chilly and strong. I shut the fridge close, then opened it again with squinty eyes. The milk was easy to find, I knew where his mom always place it. I was about to close the it when a white lock-and-lock caught my eyes. Cookies. These were the cookies I baked for him and his sisters the other day. I took the cookies out, then closed the fridge.
