It’s One of Those Nights

It’s 1 AM—time for bed. So I go to bed and wait for sleep.

I awaken in darkness. I look at the clock beside my bed. It reads 2 AM. That’s a little disappointing. Eventually I fall asleep again.

I awaken in darkness. I look at the clock beside my bed. It reads 3 AM. This is going to be one of those nights. But I get back to sleep.

I awaken in darkness. I look at the clock beside my bed. It reads 4 AM. Well, this sucks. I get up and go to the kitchen.

The house is utterly quiet. I don’t even hear the whine of my tinnitus—the constant B₇ note that seems ever present in my head. The battery-powered clock on the wall makes a soft click every second. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before.

It’s too damn quiet. I open the refrigerator door and close it. A half minute passes and then the refrigerator turns on.

There’s probably a place I could go on the Internet and meet up with other people having insomnia, but I have nothing to say. “Couldn’t sleep,” isn’t much of a conversation starter.

So what am I doing about it? I’m sipping a rocks glass full of vodka, lemon-lime soda, and ice. After a sufficient number of shots I’ll get back to sleep, I bloody well hope. Till next time.