Headspace // Joshler

ʟᴀᴛᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ

Josh lies awake, cuddled up under the covers. His blanket covering his chin as his legs curl more and more till the boy is basically in a fetal position. The wind from outside is ruthless. It howls like a hurricane, hurling the nearby tree branches against his window. It's almost three a.m, Josh wishes he could just sleep but the pitter-pattering of the rain won't let his brain fall asleep. Every time Josh closes his eyes he hears the water droplets splatter against his bedroom window, making it sound like someone's fingertips are tapping against the glass.

Josh's eyes shoot open for the hundredth time, he stares at his dark window hoping to see two yellow dots but there's nothing there, obviously. Monster's don't exist, humans made them up to cover up their own destructive nature. The wind splatters the rain in every direction, no pattern, nothing. It makes Josh anxious, his whole house creaks from the slightest of winds. Even now, the boy can hear his kitchen floor creak as if someone's careful footsteps slip across the flooring. Josh is used to that but it's still unsettling. He often thinks about how he should save up some money to repair his old house, which was almost falling apart. But then, he remembered that it wouldn't feel like home if he got rid of the old, antique railings and the beat-down floors, the clutter of old vintage photos and books. The cheesy floral wallpapers made it feel special and replacing it would not only take away some money from his bank account but also emotional value which the brunet cherished very much. It was his grandma's house after all.

The only room that had a different vibe was of course, Josh's bedroom. It reflected the boy's dorky, nerdy personality like a mirror. It was almost childlike with the Avengers and Star Wars posters on the walls, a Lego death star on his desk that he was proud of, funko pop figurines of his favourite superheroes and a ton of comics stacked in the shelves and in the boxes on the floor. Josh thought of getting Spider-Man sheets but then realized that that would be a bit too much.

Josh keeps lying under the sheets, a sleepless night ahead. Noises from the downstairs would come and go as the wind passed. Josh listens to the sound of coming thunder. It rattles the sky as it approaches, forcing Josh to cover his entire body with his blanket. The boy breathes heavily, listening to the wind roar, tree branches whipping the glass of his bedroom window. Each second it gets worse and worse till the only sound Josh could hear is the heavy rain, accompanied by distant thunder. Josh fears for his window, the branches are beating against it so hard that the window might break or at least crack.

Five in the morning, Josh is still wide awake. He shouldn't have gotten to sleep in the first place. An eerie feeling stings his gut when he feels the creaking downstairs ripple across his whole house, as if someone is walking back and forth, starting from the hall, ending with the living room. Josh tries closing his eyes, they won't stay closed. The pressure in the bottom of his stomach forces the boy to climb out of the bed and out of the safety of his bed. Lightning strikes unexpectedly, the small night lamp by Josh's bed suddenly goes out removing the room from the pleasant glow, drowning it in darkness. Josh's breath hitches, the power went out. All it took, was that one lightning strike nowhere near his house. The brunet guesses it had hit a power line or something, maybe a tree had fallen down and broke it. Josh shivers from the thought of having to walk to the bathroom when there was no light. Even though his bathroom is right next to him, connected to his room, the boy decided to use the guest's bathroom remembering that he might've left some candles there.

The wind had stopped, there's only rain now, calmly sprinkling down. Josh hears slight creaking from downstairs.

As soon as the boy opens his bedroom door, stinging cold greets him from the hall. The boy shivers violently, his teeth involuntarily clatter. Josh is confused, he grabs his fluffy robe and quickly wraps it around himself. He can't walk around in such cold only in his underwear. Josh closes his bedroom door and steps fully into the cold hall.