Photo by Fabio Fistarol on Unsplash

Well after 3 a.m. on what used to be a Tuesday night, I raise my eyes and look out my window. In the far distance, a galaxy of city lights blends into the night sky. Lighted signs above street lights above traffic lights, all restless, all shining down on empty streets and empty sidewalks.

Like in a real galaxy, the lights become fewer and farther between as you look away from the center, and in this part of the city, darkness has already taken over.

There are not many of us tonight—besides mine, only three lights still blaze in the apartment buildings within my view. But unlike the others, each of these lights is telling a story, each flashing our weaknesses, advertising our fear of going to bed only to lie awake until dawn, our deepest worries exposed. Whatever our burdens are, they are binding us together tonight, banding us together against the rest of the world. Well after 3 a.m. on what will soon be a Wednesday morning, we keep each other company in the night.