It’s 11:17pm and I’m about to turn in for the night. It’s chilly out tonight, just a little too chilly to sleep with my windows open. I heard people next door earlier, talking and laughing as they said good-bye on their big front porch. Sometimes, it seems like I live in this house alone.
It’s 11:22pm, and I’m texting a friend for a few more minutes I let my mind and body close up shop for the night. Today, I’ve felt lonesome; the sort of lonesome that sits heavy in my chest and tightens itself up around my brain. But it’s the easy sort that lifts and loosens at a smile, or a text message. These easy kinds of loneliness aren’t so bad.
It’s 11:30pm, and I’m ready to sleep. I wish there was someone to share this bed with me tonight. But there’s no such person now, and so I’ll make do with the company of a freight train whistle and the hope of a kinder day tomorrow.




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