It was night.

Finally, night with the sky an inky black and devoid of any twinkling stars.

It wasn't completely silent, of course. I could hear a stray cat's soft paws padding from one place to another, letting out a bored purr every once in a while to ring softly into the cool air of night. Cars wandered the near-empty streets, driving smoothly and leisurely as if enjoying the quietness they thought they had.

My fingers tapped on the old ceramic roof tiles underneath, bringing the familiar clicking sound of nails into existence.

After another few minutes passed by just as slowly as the minute before, I sighed and picked up my phone. Dialing the number I knew so well, I lifted the dimmed screen up to my ear.

At the third ring, he picked up but didn't say anything.

I smiled to myself, knowing that he almost never spoke. It was like he existed solely to listen to me and nothing more.

"The night sky," I started, lifting my eyes just a bit to gaze at the sight above, "Why is it always so dark? Why is it always smothering the stars and taking any natural light from us? And I know that there's the moon up there, shining like the face of a dime, but I just wish that it could still be blue like the color of daytime only perhaps just a shade darker. I wish I could at least look up at it and see that tinge of blue."

I paused, lips parted as I continued to stare up at the sky, eyes not leaving the endless black before me. "Well, maybe it is. Maybe the sky is a shade of blue so dark it only looks black but is actually blue." I stayed like that for a long time, even when my arm began to tire from holding the phone up to my ear.

"Perhaps even figuratively," I whispered, lowering myself down until I can feel the unevenness of the rooftop below me. It was an uncomfortable position to be in, but my body was beginning to ache with exhaustion. I almost wanted to lay down on my bed and succumb to the dreamy arms of Morpheus.

Almost.

"You know, the more I stay in this city, the more I feel the layers of dust settling on top of me. I know I came here to wipe away the soot and dirt, but I can't help but think that it's just the opposite of what I've been hoping. You would think that in a city filled with so many people, there would be no way that loneliness could find someone, but it can."

There was one simple answer to everything, but I never acknowledged it until he told me.

"Then come back."

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.