Monarch of the Night

There I stand. Some point between 2 and 3 am, Tuesday night, Wednedsay morning. That lonely time between two days. The once busy streets of the city belong to me, and me alone.

I breathe in the cold winter’s wind, it fills my lungs and leaves again. The heat of my body slowly fades into the night air. I take a drag of my cigarette. Warmth fills my lungs and diffuses into the air again.

Somewhere in the corner of my eye a light turns on. An unseen presence is awake in a house somewhere else in the street. Together we rule the city by night. We own this street and no one to challenge our sovereingty.

A solitary vehicle drives by. It’s a Volvo. It enters upon our territory and quickly passes through again. Its direction unkown to all but itself. A brief encroachment and the moment has passed. Never again will I see this vehicle, or the passengers within. Gone. Like the warmth of my breath and the ash of my cigarette, it fades into the realm of nothingness.

The world has gone dark, it will be a few hours before I find myself getting out of bed and embarking upon another day, but for now I am king and I look out upon my realm from the balcony on which I stand and smile at all that I rule. In this moment I am Monarch of the Night.