flipped :: lh [UNDER REVISION]

o5.11:11

The stars ignited the sky with burning shaded silvers and white light. The late night breeze tugging desperately at the edge of Luke’s shirt, and the bitter air turning his nose pink from the chill. He exhales softly, cigarette-like smoke dispersing into the night, his fingers hidden inside his jacket. The left pocket in his hoodie is torn, he realizes a moment too late, as the few coins he’d stashed there fall onto the roofing – the noise muffled by the asphalt shingles, lost in the void with the passing gust.

The stars were easier to see furthest from the city, the brightest stars brighter, and the dimmest stars illuminated beneath the moonlight. Luke knows it’s the lack of city lights that allow the stars to breathe; there are no neon signs to steal the skyline with their vibrant reds, greens, and yellows. No noise to fill the empty spaces – to drown out the 4am thoughts that seep in through the blinds, taking every last piece of his sanity with it.

He likes it, likes it because of the peaceful atmosphere, the way the landscape continues on for miles, he being the center point of it all. The distance doesn’t seem as big of a leap from where he now sits, his back leaned against the roof, his legs stretched to the point they’re almost dangling over the edge. The gutter a mere two inches from the tip of his feet, his hands lazily resting against his stomach. The soft rise and fall as he breathes the only interruption in the night, the pale lighting dusting his hair washed-out blue.

The sky wraps around Luke in inky blots, painted white freckles meshing together, falling away, and resembling small sparks in the dark – like that of a lighter burning against the pitch black, their flames dancing in stark contrast to the shadows that mimic them. There are a few dogs he can hear barking in the distance, what they’re excited about Luke doesn’t care to know. He simply closes his eyes, and immerses himself beneath the starry night sky, each individual sound a melody in its own right.

When Luke was in his tenth year – the same year in which everything fell around him – he’d, in a fit of rage, found the spot on his roof in which was secluded enough to not be seen, yet had the best view of his small neighborhood and the city lights from the distance. The way they seemed to flicker like fireflies in a jar, the moon and the stars glimmering softly above, and each unique static sound that eased the feeling of emptiness.

He didn’t mind spending so much time up there, he loved the present silence. Luke wasn’t an insomniac, wasn’t a daydreamer, and sometimes he lacked the perseverance to beat the sunrise. Though Luke wished he was an insomniac, was a daydreamer, wasn’t afraid to watch the sun awaken, so that he could spend the long restless nights up there, stars shining, moon beaming down from overhead, and sky darkened and inky against the wispy clouds. That was, if there were clouds during that time of night (which there usually were), it didn’t stop him from relaxing, writing a few lyrics, and just enjoying it all. Taking it in minute by minute.

Luke admired the night, even the lasting silence it brought.

He found himself humming along to a song he quite liked, he’d heard it on the radio once and it stuck. The song running through his mind on endless repeat, the lyrics blurred together and lazy – he hadn’t figured out the name of the song, hadn’t heard it since. It seemed to fit where he was either way, underneath the stars, blanketed by the night skyline and the ongoing indigo ocean above him. He simply smiled at that.

A few hours passed before Luke realized he was slipping in and out of consciousness, his breathing slowing to a point that, when he realized it, he began to feel like he wasn’t breathing enough. He hated that feeling. Instead he decided it was time to turn in for the night, it wasn’t like his parents would notice either way, (well maybe his mum but she was a different story) with a huff he stood atop the roof, the sky even darker than before. He wondered just how long he was actually out there.