S H I L O H (a short story)

| N I G H T O N E / T W O |

On the first night, Shiloh met her. He said he had nyctophilia and that's why he couldn't sleep.

"What's that mean?" her voice was weak and tired, like she hadn't slept for days, and in a way, she hadn't. The bags under her eyes were slightly visible under the pale moonlight - but only slightly.

Shiloh hadn't answered her question because he hadn't heard it. He was too busy admiring her, because something about the night made her look like an angel - a dream.

"Hm?"

"You said you had nyctophilia, what does that mean?" he had heard her this time, but only hardly. It was like a whisper and he had almost mistaken it for the wind.

Her knees were pulled to her chest on the small bench they shared and her arms rested on her knees. She was kind of the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, in the most simplistic way.

"It's like..." his words died in the air as he thought of a way to explain. A way that she'd fully understand.

"It's like, people love the day, right? because of the sunshine and the birds and light, stuff like that, right? Well, I love the dark. Just...all of it is so beautiful. There's something about it. An unspoken, misunderstood beauty that darkness holds."

She didn't say anything for awhile, just stared ahead.

"So you're saying, you don't sleep because you like the dark?" it wasn't judgmental, merely curiosity.

"Kind of. I mean, I do sleep. Just during the day, so I won't be tired at night." He could hear how weird his words were, coming from his own mouth.

"So...you're like a vampire." it was a statement, a question, and a joke all in one.

"Not really, but yeah." He didn't know what else he could say.

She looked at him with tired eyes and a lazy smile.

"Cool."

"Cool?"

"Yeah, cool."

She had thought it was cool. Not many people did, but she did. And Shiloh found that pretty cool.

•

On the second night, Shiloh had asked her what was keeping her from sleeping.

" I have insomnia. Trust me, it sucks." She muttered it lowly and Shiloh was starting to think that her voice couldn't get any louder.

"Well, what's so bad about it?" it was a question that he hadn't meant to come out, but did.

She chuckled humorlessly and her eyes drooped.

"Unlike you, I hate the night. I hate not being able to sleep. Always being tired, always being exhausted, being subjected to darkness. But I can't help it." And Shiloh kind of understood but he kind of didn't.

How could she hate the night? what was there to hate?

"The night isn't so bad when you find the beauty in it. You just have to look in the right places at the right time."

"Like where?" curiosity was laced in the words. She wanted to know.

"I'll show you."

Dedicated to @MoreBooksMoreJoy for the amazing cover.