THE TRUE MEANING OF NIGHT

AVA

I remember when everything was perfect and peaceful. It was a year or two ago, I don't remember when exactly—I was maybe four and a half. No one knows what went wrong. It started when the power went out for days. Everything was dark and the sun went away earlier than usual. There wasn't any information getting through to any of us. We didn't know what was going on. 

A few days later it got a lot worse. It couldn't have been later than one in the afternoon, because I hadn't eaten lunch yet. The sky went black for a few minutes, and I couldn't hear anything. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything in the house. When the light came back, I didn't think anything of it. I just ate my lunch. 

My friend Melinda was supposed to come over after lunch to play, but she never showed up. It made me sad. My mom drove past her house later—only gasoline-fueled cars didn't work anymore, but there weren't many of them left—but her house was gone. There were only bits of it left. Most of the entire block was like that, too. And that was when we knew this wasn't just a power outage. The electricity never got fixed. Now we only get flickers of it every few hours. It's enough, barely, but people stopped showing up for school and work. We're all scared, so we stay at home. 

My aunt says that some guy named Bob is mad at us. My mother always asks why we all aren't dead yet. Then my aunt tells her that Bob has a plan for us all, and that no one ever knows what it is. I think that's complete nonsense. How does a guy with a name like Bob know everything about everyone? I never liked that name. It's my brother's name, and I don't really like my brother. Why would this 'Bob' guy care anyway? He doesn't sound very nice.

I wake up quickly from a dream. It's light outside, so there is nothing to worry me until I remember what the nightmare is about. I hug my stuffed animal close to me for comfort. His name is Mr. Fluffy Cat, and he is my favorite. But I glance around my room to make sure the monsters have gone away, just in case. 

My room is plain and ordinary, with a dresser in the corner and a rocking chair next to the closet with a little green pillow in it. The window is open next to my bed, and the light coming through the curtains is warm, even from here. There is a desk along the opposite wall, which I never use because there is nothing for me to write. I've never been good at writing, but I can read really well. 

Mommy walks in my room a moment later, smiling at me. "Still asleep, Ava?" she asks me. "It's getting late."

"I know, Mommy, I was just about to get dressed." I tell her. "My door closed in the middle of the night again," I add. "It scared me."

"That's because you left your window open during the night, sweetie." She tells me, walking over to shut it.

"No!" I protest, running to beat her to the window. "I like having the window open. The birdies have nice things to say."

Mommy kneels down so I don't have to look up at her so much. "Well, all right. There are some clothes folded for you on the trunk by your door. You go on and get dressed and then come into the kitchen to eat something, okay?" I sit down in the rocking chair and nod at her, and she smiles and gives me a hug before leaving, keeping the door opened a crack behind her.

I walk over to the windowsill and rest my elbows on it, looking in the tree right outside my window. I love hearing the birdies sing while I go to sleep because it helps me forget about the monsters at night.