With the night comes darkness, but also stars.

As life comes with death.

As tears come with joy, but also sadness.

There is a balance.

The scale, it never tips.

My thoughts keep running I can’t seem to let go of this feeling I know what it takes to move forward But, am I strong enough?

I want to be whole again I want to create and find beauty in things that I love

It will take time It will take sacrifice

I want to fall in love again I’ll fall in love again

I struggle to open my eyes as my obnoxious alarm goes off. The time on my phone reads 5:00 a.m. That’s too early to be up, so I click the snooze button and try to get a bit more time to sleep. Unfortunately the snooze only works for about five minutes before it goes off again, but I don’t think about that when I click it. I just want it to stop. After sleeping another hour and getting through what felt like countless snoozing cycles, I decide it’s time to get up. A timid long yawn exits my mouth and I stretch my arms up as far as I possibly can. I sit up in bed and take a few seconds to really wake up and get my thoughts in order to start my day. A couple of small rays if sunlight creep into my darkened room and I can see small particles of dust floating freely through my room. Usually by this time I can hear the morning birds chirping and singing away. All there is, is silence. No birds. Something doesn’t feel right. I feel, alone. My stomach suddenly aches and I curl up into a ball on the floor of my room. It’s not pain. It feels empty. Why do I feel this way?My foreheads begins to sweat and I get, cold. After a few minutes of laying on the floor, I get enough energy to grab my phone from under the sheets. Theres no signal on it and it looks like the wifi might be out. I start to wonder if I forgot to pay the internet bill. I should’ve. It’s almost the end of the month. Somehow I gain enough energy to get up off the floor and make my way out into the living room. I stop and stare at the furniture in the living room one by one for a few seconds trying to remember if I I forgot to do something last night. Everything looks the same. It all feels so different. Theres barely any light coming in from the outside so I then go spread the drapes apart to let more of it in. From my living room window I can see the courtyard filled with red, brown, and yellow leaves covering most of its surface. There’s something missing. There’s no movement. No wind. No life. I grab my worn out denim jacket and pair of slippers from the living room closet and head on out into the courtyard. There’s usually quite a bit of activity at this time around the complex. I have yet to see or even slightly hear a neighbor since I woke up. What’s going on? I walk towards the leasing office which is a few feet away from the courtyard and away from the tall trees blocking the morning sky. There’s no noise coming from the main street that passes in front of the complex. No cars. No people. Nothing. I walk onto the middle of the street to look down it both ways. Nothing. Where is everyone? Am I dreaming? I can’t be. I know I’m awake. This is real. This has to be real. My anxiety instantly hits me and I collapse onto my knees. I start to cry and weep. Where is everyone? Why am I alone? Why me? As I clean my face with the bottom part of my shirt I notice someone on the other side of the street across the complex where the cemetery is. I jump up onto my feet and run towards them as fast as I can. As I get closer I notice it’s a man. He’s wearing a black suit and bright red dressing shoes. He’s just standing there with his arms behind his back looking up at the sky. I slowly approach him and as soon as I open my mouth to ask what’s going on, he speaks. “It is time.” He turns around and looks at me. His eyes as blue as the morning sky. He looks deeply into my eyes and speaks in a gentle manner, “For centuries humankind has been on the path of destruction. Your leaders have caused nothing but pain and harm to the world. Now, we will start a new beginning in hopes of saving this planet. You have been chosen to lead the new world. Make life thrive as it should. We will be back for judgement.” The man looks up to the sky and disappears instantly. I look up and see what can be easily over twenty starships blast their way out of the atmosphere. I sit down where I stand and cry. Life will thrive again. It has to.

In the outskirts of the city, Harold drives down the lonely empty highway like he does every morning on his way to work. Although, it’s no ordinary morning. It’s Monday morning. To many it may seem like any ordinary day of the week, but Monday mornings are special for Harold. As he pulls into the lot at work he takes a sip of coffee and can’t help but to let out a big smile. It’s finally happening. Mika, the lovely girl who’s been stopping by every Monday morning at the bakery has agreed to join him for a pastry and coffee. As Harold walks into the bakery he can smell the delicious morning bread being prepared in the back room ovens. How delightful that aroma is. Harold has been working at the bakery for almost a year and to this day the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries never seems to get old. Harold quickly clocks in and throws on an apron while greeting his co-workers by asking how their nights have been. After having a small chat with his work friends he strolls to the back room to grab a tray filled with a number of different delicious pastries to put out for display. Carefully with the tray in his hands, Harold walks to the front of the bakery and notices a bear claw sticking out from under a croissant on the tray. A bear claw, the very pastry Mika enjoys every Monday morning. As Harold begins to display the pastry’s from the tray he starts to think about Mika. She’s all he’s been thinking about since last Monday when she joyfully said yes to his kind question. Never in his life has he ever felt this way about someone. The first time he saw her walk in, something inside him has never been the same. They locked eyes and gave each other a warm smile without saying a word. That very memory will always make him smile and feel noticed when all he ever though was him as invisible. As he gently places a danish on the bottom display window near the register, he hears the front door bells jingle. Harold comes up off his knees and there Mika is, smiling as bright as the sun.

Monday mornings have always been a struggle for Mika. It’s a beginning to a new week and Mondays just overall feel long and dreadful most of the time. Until one day she decided to make a stop on her way to class. School had been taking a toll on her and life just kind of felt like it was a never ending loop of class, work, and chores. Most of the time she spent out, she was by herself or taking her dog Buster out for a walk. This particular Monday morning Mika pulled into a parking lot due to roadwork on the highway. This unfortunately made her miss her morning lecture so she decided to park and read a bit of poetry before her next class began. After flipping through a few pages in her book, Mika decided to go take a walk and ease her busy mind. She opened the car door and as soon as she stepped out, the smell of freshly baked bread hit her unexpectedly. Her stomach growled and she was instantly set on tracking down that glorious scent. She made her way to the front of a cozy rustic bakery and pulled the door open. The little bells hanging down from the doorframe jingled and she locked eyes with the young man in front of the register. Mika’s eyes twinkled and she felt her cheeks warm and blush in seconds. She walked up to the counter and asked for the only pastry she could think of in that brief moment, a bear claw. After visiting the bakery Mika was unable to stop thinking about that young man that helped her with her order. Harold. On her second visit, she was able to read his name stitched onto his white uniform top. She began to wonder if Harold remembered her name. He had to write it down on her paper coffee cup the week prior, so she would hope he must’ve remembered. Weeks went by and every Monday they would have a bit of small talk while Harold took her order. Nothing big, just a bit of chit chat. Then one day Harold had her cup of coffee and her pastry ready right as she walked through the door. Mika blushed and smiled as he delivered it and asked her if she’d like to one day sit and have a cup of coffee with him, and a bear claw of course.

“I love you darling, have a good shift tonight.” I hug and kiss my wife goodbye as she leaves for her shift at the hospital. “Don’t forget to leave the faucet dripping, otherwise the pipes will freeze” she says. “Thank you, I would have forgotten completely.” “I know darling” she says as she gently touches my face. “Kiss Sam goodnight for me, I feel bad that I’ve had to work late every night this week and haven’t been able to tuck him in” “I’m sure he understands” I reply to her. She smiles warmly at me and steps out of the doorway into the cloudy winter night. I wait there staring at the rear red lights of our car disappear into the night as she makes her way out of the neighborhood. I close the door behind me and a couple of oak leaves manage to sneak their way in onto the welcome mat. I decide to go to the kitchen and make myself a nice hot cup of coffee before I head to bed. I grab a pot, fill it up with water and lay it on the stove top. I twist the gas knob, it clicks three times and a flame sparks up. As the water begins to simmer I decide to make my way down the hallway into Sam’s room. I quietly turn the handle on the door and peek my head in to check on him. I look in and see him sitting there, in the middle of the room. “Is everything alright Sam?” I ask. Sam turns around quickly with surprise and exclaims with a smile. “Daddy! You scared me!” “I’m sorry buddy, what are you up to? It’s almost bed time.” I say. “I’m almost done!” He shouts with a giggle. I look closely to see what he was working on and it looked like some kind of drawing. I couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but the object Sam was drawing looked familiar to me. “Make sure you brush your teeth before going to bed, bud. I love you. I’ll be back in a little bit to tuck you in.” Sam continues drawing and I head back down the hallway and into the kitchen to check on the water. I look inside the pot and the water was still at a simmer, not the same as before but not at a boil either. I take the ground coffee out of the cupboard and scoop about two and a half tablespoons of it into a pour over coffee strainer. As I open up the cabinet to grab a mug I hear Sam’s little footsteps on the hardwood floor run across the hallway and into the bathroom. I hear the water from the faucet run and Sam begin to hum a tune while he brushes his teeth. As he continues to brush I turn the gas off from the stove and pour the water over the coffee. As I slowly pour the water I can’t help but think about the object from his drawing. I know I’ve seen it somewhere, but I can’t seem to put my finger on where. It was a a brown cane with a black feather hanging from the handle. An odd thing to draw for a kid. I hear Sam scatter to his room and slam the door shut. An unusual thing for him to do. He always leaves the door open at night. He waits for either my wife or I to tuck him in and close it afterwards. I head down the hallway again and towards his room. I open the door and see him sitting there again, only this time the room is dark and cold. I walk towards him and notice the drawing on his bed. I pick it up and take a closer look this time. The cane. It belonged to Thomas. That’s where Ive seen it before. How did I not remember? Thomas owned the house for many years before he passed. He was old, blind, and lost his wife years ago from cancer. Thomas took his own life after she passed. But, this was years ago. Sam wasn’t born yet. How does he know about the cane? I fold the drawing and put it in my pocket. I walk towards Sam and sit by him. “It’s time to go to bed bud. Lets tuck you in.” I speak softly. “But I don’t want to go to bed, the man with no eyes is waiting for me in the closet.” I look up and see an old hand reach out from the closet. The door slams shut and darkness overcomes me.