The Tints And Shades (Frerard)

Early Sunsets

My third floor apartment was a decent size. I didn't need all that much space. Not that I could afford it with my low pay job. It had one small bedroom, a little kitchen, and a tiny living space. I had access to the building's laundry room and there was a small general store down the street. It was all I really needed.

Just as I arrived in my apartment, I immediately began to rummage through my fridge. After a long day at a desk I needed dinner more than anything.

I decided on a slice of leftover cheese pizza from two days ago. I popped open the tupperware and sat down at the table, which was conveniently placed next to the window that had the perfect view of the western horizon line. Everyday when I came home from work I ate dinner at that table next to that window and watched the sun set over the town, leaving everyone in a peaceful and calm darkness.

My favorite sunsets were the ones that came earlier than they're supposed to. I loved the way the sky went from light to dark in a fading fashion with a glowing horizon as I ate my dinner over the town. The best part about the view from that particular window was the aerial view of the local cemetery in the distance. I loved to watch the people weave in between the graves, stopping at one to mourn, and then leaving in a sorrowful haze. I found it calming.

I sometimes liked to visit the graveyard after dark. I loved the peacefulness of it. It was like a whole separate world. Immediately when you would pass through the cemetery gates the air became deathly still and everything went quiet. It seemed to be like the whole world was constantly paying their respects to the people who were buried there. Whenever I would go there I got the sense that all the bad things couldn’t get past the gates and everything good followed you inside, and you just spent time with it. There was only you, and the peace and quiet of the tombs. I found it calming.

The sun decided to set early. It was slowly drifting away over the horizon, leaving the gray sky in a faded dark shade with a tint of light at the bottom. My favorite. The few clouds that were floating around in the sky seemed to dissipate into nothingness as the day turned into the night and the whole town went dim. Streetlamps were posted on every other street corner, lighting the pavement beneath it. There were just enough street lights so that it wasn’t black dark, but not enough to pollute the sky with light and obstruct everyone’s view of the twinkling stars.

The dots of tint in the sky glowed and glistened and gentle breezes blew the swaying tree branches back and forth, as if playing a game. I was able to see the river in the distance, which was about a mile away. In its crystal waters sparkled the reflection of the stars and the moon, which was a glowing crescent in the black sky.

The night glowed as I padded over to the sink and turned on the water, empty tupperware in hand. I took the sponge that was sitting in the corner of the sink and began to scrub the pizza crumbs and sauce out of it.

By the time I had finished scrubbing, I decided it was time for bed. It was only 8:30, so I would have time to draw a bit before going to sleep. Dragged my tired feet to my room and to my dresser, where I picked out a plain medium tone tee shirt and dark pants. I stripped myself of the clothes I had worn to work and put on the comfy, fresh clothes that I was going to sleep in. They still smelled like laundry detergent from the last time I washed them, which was two days ago.

The pants were cozy and soft against my skin, which relaxed me as I snuggled into the cool blankets that had been awaiting me since work had ended. I looked at the light ceiling and ran a hand through my hair as I yawned.

There would be no point in drawing that late at night, so I decided to just go to sleep. So that’s what I did. I nodded off into an exhausted sleep that had been quite needed.