Challenge #32

He woke up and didn't realize that he had until he blinked. Whether he had his eyes closed before or had been staring at the ceiling the entire night, nothing had changed.

The darkness remained the same.

Questions eased into his tired mind like warm butter. Why was he awake?

Noct turned to his side uninterested to let such thoughts get to him at a time like this. He closed his eyes and stared hard into the back of his eyelids. Seconds ticked by without a sound but the focus of his conscious did not waver. Swearing under his breath, he pulled the blanket over his head, determined to fall victim under the spell of imaginings that spared him from the reality right in front of him. He laid there in the suffocating cocoon waiting. He caressed the soft sheets and inhaled the comforting scent that lingered in the hot air. Despite the obscurity that encased him with its heat and smell, sleep still evaded though his fingers like water. With a frustrated breath, he folded back the covers and felt cold air burn his face. He placed his hand over his eyes and smoothed back the bangs that fell over his forehead. His fingers ran through his hair and massaged his scalp.

Another sleepless night…Noct thought. He pushed the covers away and placed both feet on the ground. A shiver crawled up his spine causing him to shake. Cold. The image of his room was clear in his mind. With such a map in his mind, he wandered through his room like a blind man with his hands stretched out. At the touch of silk, his fingers latched on to the object like claws and Noctis flung the curtains back.

Silver light, bright light, illuminated his face and burned his eyes with its brilliance. Behind him, his shadow stretched out long on the floor and against the wall. Other shadows fled into the corners, cowering and clinging like their existents depended on it. The furniture became black silhouettes against the gray walls. He was trapped in a colorless world. Noct looked at his hands, studying the skin tone of his arms that looked colorless in the moon's glow. He flipped his palms to his eyes, tracing the lines that marked them before he curled his fingers over them, hiding them.

Noct stared out beyond his window and into the city. At first he did not see it. Only a stranger who stared back. The irises of his eyes—beautiful as raw sapphires—gleamed bright amidst the shades that crossed over his face. Noctis noticed how tired he looked. Even though his gaze appeared strong at a first glance, the longer he stared into them, the wearier they became as if they begged for sleep's embrace. A smile touched his lips, in sympathy, and pressed a hand to the cold glass where the stranger in the glass mimicked him. Despite that it stung his skin like ice; Noctis thought it was burning the flesh away from his bones like fire. Yet he didn't rip his hand away as he suddenly enjoyed this sensation of pain. As if he was making sure he wasn't dreaming. Noct returned his gaze back to the see through window but past the stranger and beyond.

The buildings were bright as they shone with their own light, causing the windows in the far distance to twinkle and glimmer like stars that dotted the abyss over their heads. Flashy billboards captured his attention, showing images of things he never heard of, never seen. Picture of strangers smiling at him but looked past him. The skyscrapers stretched out as if to touch those stars. They stood out mighty and strong, like kings who reigned from their thrones. Noctis lowered his gaze to the ground where colors illuminated and transformed. He watched the headlights of the traffic rush by in blurred streaks as if they were stuck in a different world. Very faintly, as though it were a whisper, he heard horns blaring somewhere he could not pinpoint its flashing lights whether of an accident or a crime.

It was an odd comfort for him to see the movement of the city's cars and its people. The lights that shone also shared that piece of unusual ease.

Maybe it was because it reminded him that he wasn't alone at a time like this.

And isn't it a comfort to know that you're not alone?

Yes, Noctis thought. He looked at the stranger in the glass—his reflection—who met his gaze. He was smiling at him even with those tired eyes. And from the glass—the ice that froze his skin or consumed him in flames—Noctis felt…warm.