Gone by night

My alarm clock goes off at 4:44 am sharp. It feels like waking up to emptiness and despair every day. I immediately go to my dresser to pick out my clothes and put on the golden locket given to me for a present that I never let leave me. Then I make my way to have a bite. On the way out, I slide into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Quickly, I squeeze toothpaste on my toothbrush and brush my teeth rapidly before making it out of my low-end apartment to commute.

Slamming the door to my red firebird keeps it from popping open. I turn my key in the ignition to start my car. My oil light is on, and I know my tires are on the verge of exploding, but it doesn’t stop me from making it to the freeway. Only one exit is as far as I have to go. Then I pull into my work parking lot from there.

As the early morning darkness is evaporated by the rising sun, I drive into the building parking lot and pull into the back. I always park by a giant wall for the comfort of not drawing attention to myself. A loud squeak doesn't stop itself as I open the door. I step out of my car to drop my phone. Bending down to pick up, I realize I cracked my screen and think to myself, what a fucking day this is going to be.

As I step out onto the hard gravel, I make my way to the building elevator up to my office. I make it up to level four and immediately see my boss gathering employees to his office to converse about better work safety. Though he impresses everybody to feel like a king, the office is always buzzing on Friday.

I go ghost past it all to my desk to prepare for my day of reading, paperwork, and calling families to correct order terms. I also reassure them their money is in the right place. The older men love to hear my young happy, light voice on the phone, and it always makes their wives jealous when they get to use their masculine voices in front of them—just another day in life.

It’s Saturday, the last day of my eight-hour six-day week of regular work life. Realizing I’m daydreaming, I snap out of imagining enjoying my Saturday night and my whole Sunday off. I was pulling on my locket and probably left a mark on the back of my neck. Finally, the clock strikes 3:30 pm to freedom. Immediately I go to my car and head through the blind traffic and endless horns to my apartment number eight.

Getting in, I fall face first in the comfort of loneliness. Being an independent woman isn’t so bad after all. With a big exhale of relief and the realization of exhaustion, I hang up my golden locket and take my comfort to the next level of lit candles and a bubble bath with a glass of fine red wine. I think to myself, screw it, take the whole bottle with me, and sink in the bubble bath. Then get ready to imagine nothing.

Social media and loud meditation music, what could be better? One cup turns into two too many, so I dragged myself out of the bath to cushion myself into my bed. With my head and body wrapped in towels, I fall in my cushions. My eyes are trying to force themselves shut as I stare at my phone’s social media. Until I just blackout.

Sunday morning comes fast and bright, and I should be thinking about why I’m not going for routine church service. But just the thought isn’t going to get me to go. Waking up to no alarm feels fantastic; I close my blinds from full sunlight to shade myself from the sun; today’s the day. I might skip brushing my teeth this morning to drink coffee and maybe take a bite of my apple danish. I try to think through my morning when the first thing that pops in my head is that something is off today. Oh, my necklace. Passing the bathroom, I grabbed my wine cup from last night and put it in my sink.

I love starting my day by making coffee. Never hesitating, I always start by grinding up coffee beans straight fresh from the bag, then placing it in the coffee maker and filling it up with purified water. Then start waiting; as my homebrew coffee begins, I sit in silence as the coffee machine makes it's heating up & boiling noises. It starts to drip until it starts to pour until there’s enough for me to pour myself a cup. I open the fridge, then reach for my creamer, and the exact words out of my mouth are “Damn.” My problem is I only have enough creamer for one cup. Maybe that’s all I need.

Two cups of coffee later, I toss the creamer carton in the trash and head to my room to pull up my jogging shorts and slide in my tank top and sweats. I tuck my golden locket into my tank top and head outside for a morning run. I open the door and throw my eyes toward the floor in front of me and start jogging, thinking to myself how bright and sunny it is. It's so bright that it’s blinding but clear enough to move forward. It’s too quiet, not a single bird chirping or a car driving, so I take off as soon as I step foot on the sidewalk. I noticed a stray dog run clear across the street, and that’s when it struck me like lightning. Not a single car has passed. It makes me wonder where everybody is today? And the church bells didn’t go off.

So instead of taking my usual tracks, I start to jog towards the church. Thinking maybe I can get more answers here, I go from a jog to a complete stop in front of the Church, and I see there's not a single car there. It’s dead as a ghost. It feels like I should know something, but I’m at a loss of what’s going on and start to run back to my apartments.

Straight into my apartment, and not a single soul was out and about. So I began to think to myself if there could have been evacuations last night for some reason? I check the news to see if there’s anything, but the screen goes black. When I change the channels, it makes my heart stop. Not knowing what to do, I shut off the tv and tried to breathe. Automatically, I go into a state of panic. I could feel my chest tighten with every breath.

Extreme shock and panic ran through my mind, and I had no clue what to do or how to react. If there was a national emergency or evacuation, how could I even not know? Thinking how I could have slept through it, I’m ready for this all to stop. My phone has no service, and I have no idea what to think or do. The last thing I'm going to do is stay in the same spot. So I run out my door to start knocking on my neighbor's doors to see if anyone is home.

No one is answering up or downstairs. Completely lost and alone, I go back into my place. The last thing I can do is put my head face-first into my couch cushions and curl up and yell, “Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

My alarm starts going off, and that’s when I wake up. Still in bed, realizing I was dreaming, I go to my window and crack the blinds and hear kids playing and cars driving. This is a huge relief! I was so scared, and it was all just a nightmare. No one is missing, and I'm not all alone, and there wasn't A national emergency. Knowing I get to go back to my 9 to 5 tedious office job is still cool, and happy that it's my day off still I Thank God for life and feeling like a new person, I pop myself onto my couch to embrace my Saturday at home alone. All is well to start another day.

The end.