A Midnight Stroll

There's something about the magic of Night, that Day can never hope to capture. The cool still air, the serene silence, the infinite beauty of the stars, and the slow lament of the pallid moon. It was as if the whole world had stopped moving, falling asleep in its warm pyjamas that seemed to radiate a million minuscule suns shimmering against a backdrop of the darkest hue.

The only sounds that punctuated the silence of the still night were two soft sets of footsteps leisurely making their way along the deserted footpath. The only movements that perturbed the tranquility of the timeless scenery were the shadows of two solitary figures fluidly floating along the lifeless concrete. As they emerged into the comfortable orange glow of a streetlamp, the distinct silhouettes of a boy and a girl could be made out. In a world that seemed to have been frozen in time by a cast spell, they were the only gratifying signs of life. Yet from afar, even their existence did not appear wholly tangible as they became lost in the shadows of the trees, only to reemerge, unscathed, into the consolidating cocoon of a lamppost, only to disappear again seconds later. Like two space travelers, they flitted in and out of the material world.

As they walked, the boy inched closer towards the girl, at 5 centimetres per second. For a brief moment, their arms touched, and a supernova of exhilaration exploded up his arm. Gazing up at the starry sky, feeling the reassuring presence of the girl next to him, a nebulae of euphoria began to spread across his chest. For the first time in a long time, the boy was at ease. He let out a drawn breath, a constellation of tiny gaseous particles diffusing into the infinite space of the universe. He could walk like this forever.

At that very moment, he did not give a care for the rest of the world. His whole world was standing right in front of him. The instant he stared into her eyes, he was as good as lost. Her eyes were a galaxy of their own. Brooding, ever shifting, full of untapped secrets. The boy was hopelessly drawn by their gravitational pull. Not even light could escape the black hole of her pupils. The battle was as good as lost. He belonged to her now.