One Sleepless Night

The little apartment was dark as the night outside, while its occupant sat up in bed. The clock radio projected 3:00 AM in blue light on the ceiling. She sat there, running her hands through her long, dark hair, removing her night mask and laying it aside as she got up from the bed with an aggravated sigh.

She turned on the side table lamp and made her way to the kitchen, wrapping herself in a warm, cotton bathrobe over her pajamas.  

“It’s okay,” she whispered to herself while starting the kettle to boil. “Just words, that's all. Just words.”

Her mind continued to spin as she paced around the kitchen and dining area of the little apartment, her head hanging down as she kept her eyes on the floor while she paced. She lifted her eyes to the door to the outside and walked towards it, testing the knob, making sure that it was locked.  

Satisfied with that, she then moved to the living room, and peered through blinds. “Trees, the other buildings,swimming pool which is locked, Office, laundry room..”

Soon the kettle whistled and she turned, letting the blind go and headed back to the kitchen to get some tea to settle her nerves, or at least she hoped. She poured the water into the waiting cup which held a single tea bag. The steam rose from the cup and filled her nostrils with a hint of eucalyptus.

She took it to the little table and sat down with the cup and breathed. Her hands shook as she set the cup down, almost spilling the contents, but only almost. She kept her back to the kitchen, facing the front door and the living room window.

“That’s the thing about this apartment. Only two ways to get in.” she mused.

Her cellphone buzzed.

She picked it up and noticed that she had just missed a call from Susan, a close friend, so she pressed redial.

“Susan?” she said “You called me? What’s up?”

From the other end of the phone, Susan’s voice came out in a raspy alto voice. “Lily, I couldn’t sleep.”

Lily gave a wry grin. “You too, huh? Me neither. I just made a little tea. You wanna come over?”

“Oh, thanx! I could really use the company”

“Me too, See you soon!”, she said, disconnecting the call.  

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. Lily got up, walked to the door and looked through the peep hole, then opened the door to let Susan inside.

Susan had curly blonde locks that draped over her shoulders and soft blue eyes that were both piercing and welcoming at the same time. Though she and Lily were the same age, Susan had a more matronly disposition. She was dressed in a soft cotton robe as well and was wearing pink bunny slippers too.  

“The water is still hot. What’s your pleasure?”,

Susan shivered and sat down at the little table with her back facing the door. “Right now, I would take a brandy..”

“Aaand… you know I don’t have that”, Lily chided with a smirk. “Nighttime tea?”

Susan waved her hand. “Eh”

Soon, the two of them were sitting together at the table sipping on tea. The wall clock read 3:30 AM.  

“So.. what’s keepin’ you up, Suz?”

Susan took a sip before replying.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. I don’t know if I told you this, but sometimes, I have these…dreams”

Lily raised her eyes. “Dreams? Like bad dreams?”

“Bad dreams… that come true.”

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Psychc dreams or something?”

Susan gave a slight nod, her hands still quivering. “I dreamt of you. I remember wandering in this whole complex alone..looking for you.. You were calling out to me, but I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t find anyone.”

She looked down at the table for a moment then looked back to Lily, pleadingly.

“You’re not thinking of leaving are you?”

Lily blushed and looked away from her gaze and took a breath.

“Suz, I couldn’t even get any sleep. I would shut my eyes and try. I would say a prayer. I would walk around the apartment a bit, then return to my bedroom. I would try to go back to sleep and still..” she sniffled, her brown eyes brimming with tears.

Susan stood and moved closer to her, kneeling down, and gently stroking her hand as her sobs started racking her body. "I’m right here, honey. Go on.”

”Still, all I could hear was his voice in my head.” Lily raged. “ It’s like I can’t get it to shut up! He just stays in my head! He lives in my head! I can’t get rid of him”

“Who is it, Lily?”, Susan said gently.

Lily lifted her tear stained face and looked at Susan 

“That’s just it”

“What do you mean, you don’t know who he is?”

Lily shook her head. “I don’t even think we met. I don’t even remember seeing him anywhere -ever.

Susan’s hands drifted to her mouth, looking genuinely frightened. “And yet, he comes in your dreams. Does he say anything in the dreams?

Lily shakily took another sip of the cold tea and set it down. “Oh yeah. He says one thing over and over again”  

“What”?

Lily looked upwards to Susan and narrowed her eyes as her voice came out in a whisper.. “He smiles “

“And then?”

“And then he says “

Lily looked to the front door “I know where you live”

The two women jumped as the refrigerator motor hummed to life They sighed for a moment, until somewhere outside, a car door slammed. 

:

Lily hung her head down, tears still falling softly.

“Will I ever sleep?” she pleaded.

Susan reached around and held her tightly in her arms. ”I’ll stay here with you tonight, Lily. As long as I’m here, you will be fine, okay?’

Lily looked up, her eyes seemed to brighten as a warm feeling rushed to her face. “You,...you’ll stay with me? Even now?”

“Especially now, love. Especially now.”

Lily hugged her friend, clinging to her like she was a life line, great shuddering sobs racking her body as she murmured “thank you” a dozen times. 

Susan was as good as her word, staying with Lily until she finally fell asleep in her bed while Susan slept on the living room couch the rest of the night.

***********

Five hours later, Lily awoke with a wide yawn and then looked saw a sliver of sunlight coming through the bottom of the door. The clock read 9:00 AM

A slow smile crossed her face and a little giggle escaped her mouth. "He's gone!" she whispered, tears in eyes. "He's gone!"

Like a little kid on Christmas morning, she jump out of bed, and opened her bedroom door, shouting "He's gone! He's gone! Susan! He's gone!"

It was then she noticed that the couch was empty and so was the table. Her face fell as she walked towards the kitchen and noticed that the dishwasher was running.

Lily smiled. "She must've cleaned up a little while I was asleep," she mused. "I'll bet she had to go in for another shift or something. I can tell her the good news when I see her again."

As she passed the fridge, she saw a folded note with her name written in fancy calligraphy waiting for her. Curiously, she took the note in her hand and opened it up.

"As she passed the fridge, she saw a folded note with her name written in fancy calligraphy waiting for her. Curiously, she took the note in her hand and opened it up and a single white feather fell into her hands.

"Lily ,

                My dearest friend, the demon that has been plaguing you for the last few nights has finally fled after our long battle. He will not come to you again. Unfortunately, it means that I must leave now,  

If it is permitted, I will come back to you again and we can have tea again. Until then, sleep well.

                 Love

Your friend, Susan”

Lily set the feather down, took a deep breath and opened the front door and walked outside, still wearing the same bathrobe and watched the sun as it rose over the complex.