A Curiously Average Night

I cannot personally imagine a better sensation then stepping out upon my roof during the night. A day will slowly dissipate, and the night is gradually born . Daily activities come an end, and the nightly enterprise comes to life. The combination of scents, sights, and sounds are almost as if they are perfectly orchestrated by the experienced conductor: night.

As soon as I step out, there is a wondrous sense of cleansing. The chilled air slowly creeps down my throat, and I can feel it fill throughout my entire body. It replaces the warm and stressed air of the day, and slyly slips itself in its place. The aroma carried through the air is a bouquet composed of a plethora of individual scents. Sirloin steak being sizzled down the street finds its way to my face, as if it intended on taunting. The neighbor is outside, smoking his occasional cigar. The foliage over by the stream to the left a couple hundred paces has a strong, fresh, and reinvigorating scent that is a wonderful touch to all of the others.

Off in the distance, the frogs croak as if they have not been able to make a sound in years. A loud car occasionally whizzes by and they stop, but only briefly before presuming with this vociferous task. Eventually, this noise turns into a subtle background tune. A friend a couple doors down beats away on his Kongo's, which compliments the frogs perfectly. The man who fancy’s smoking his cigar talks quietly on the telephone, but occasionally, he releases a tremendous cackle of laughter, that pierces the night sky like a bullet would rip through its target. Though the sound is somewhat short, its presence lingers about the night sky for some time. The wind stirs the leaves, and that sound is quite comparable, regarding volume, to the cackle, but unlike the roar of laughter, the trees and wind have a certain eloquence about them that works harmoniously with the other night sounds.

The sights of the after hours are most astounding, and perhaps, what you can’t see is even more wondrous. I can look up, and gaze into the heavens; they shine quite dimly, yet they still carry an absolute brilliance about them. Trees and leaves become a blur as the wind pushes them aside. Right below me, lays a swirl of concrete and grass, waiting to be walked on once again when the day is reborn. In the distance is a lamp lit street with tired looking houses; some still have lights on, but most rest. The artificial orange light that has torn through the blackness of night barely hits the ground, and create an utmost strange display of light and color.

A variety of people pass through the streets of this neighborhood. Some have a family by their side, and some are navigating through the darkness solo. The people with family generally are smiling, laughing, whites of about four in number. Children laugh and play, while parents are a making failed attempts to keep up. Not so often, a parent will spot me upon my roof. A solemn look is put upon their faces, almost as if the smile was robbed. Whispers are exchanged, and the parents start to walk quicker. It truly reflects on how much of an epidemic paranoia has become in the century. There are many people alone, but most have similar expressions: They either look like they lost something to find, or are trying to find something lose. Though faces are shrouded by the darkness, a quizzical, or lost sense about them is always present. Some wisp away swifter then the wind, while others carry a minuscule velocity. Most look mystified as to where they are wandering in the omnipotent night, but still drift off curiously into the blackness.

At times, it seems as if the commotion is higher then others seems to be higher then others. The drumming increases in tempo, the frogs croak’s become abundant, and the leaves become restless. Despite these obstreperous moments, a sense of peace and order is still maintained. This is brilliantly achieved through nights thick covering of darkness, that mutes it all, almost as if it covers the noise of the day purposefully. This night is no different from the others, but the the perspective from a roof changes the experience completely. The new view forges an entirely new set of sensations, making this average night a euphonic display of sounds, views, and feelings that meld together and form grandiloquent evening.

-John