He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep, but he knew it wasn’t long enough. The effects of the drink made him slightly dazed, and it took a moment to realise where he was. The bed was large, comfortable and clearly well used by previous guests, but he didn’t want to dwell on that too long. He was happy to leave its history undiscovered. The night was warm, and as he sat up, there was a breeze through the open window that stirred the lace curtains like a dancer’s skirt. There was little noise from the town below, so he knew it was late, but not so late that the clubs spilled their revellers out at the start of the new day.

He looked at his wristwatch and the luminous hands gave their dim radioactive fallout message. It was three-twenty. He sighed inwardly. What the hell was he doing waking at this time of night? It certainly wasn’t stress. He had spent five days doing nothing but relaxing, drinking, but not, unfortunately, womanising. Still, he lived in hope. Nine days of the holiday still to come, so he reigned optimistic.

There was a thin film of sweat on his brow. Sod it, he thought, and he threw off the sheet and stood on the tiled bedroom floor. Back at home, the cold shock would have bitten into his feet, but here it was a warm caress, smooth and feminine. He walked over to the open sliding door and eased the curtains aside, and stepped out onto the balcony. The moon was high and almost full. It lit the town below in its gentle light in monochrome beauty. There was the sound of the waves breaking, and strangely, they came from in front and from behind him. It truly was calming.

All about, he could see apartment blocks: tall, functional and somehow mysterious. Behind each window were people with complex lives and the drama was on pause whilst they slept the night away. At least the lucky ones did. For some, mainly the young and the not yet cynical, they were out partying. The discos on the fronts were still throbbing with the music, the passion and the sex. Even the young tire eventually, and the successful would leave together, sleep still distant, whilst the unsuccessful returned to their homes, hotels or apartments to recoup, and prepare to try again the next evening.

Not quite sure whether he was awake or sleepwalking, he wandered to the back of the apartment, pausing to pour a glass of water, and then slid open the door. The sound of the waves increased with their lulling swish.