Child of the night...

The bells ring twice. It is a strange, hypnotic sound...a reminder of how deep is the night.

It is 2 AM. I walk to my kitchen window...and stare into nothingness. Outside it is dark and deliciously warm. I can see the workers from a nearby construction site sleeping on the pavement...the taxi-men sleeping with their feet up. It was a long day...and is a long night for me.

Why am I awake at this unearthly hour? Ya, sure, they say Mumbai never sleeps but from my window I can see the city smothered by darkness, enveloped in slumber. Surely people must be sleeping...but sleep will elude me.

I try and listen to the sounds of the night...it is a very silent night. An occasional car goes screeching past, the hoot of an owl and the shuffling of the feet of the night watchman...slowly these sounds blend into the silence. Then, a calmness descends that I can never feel during the day.

They say insomnia is an oasis in which those who have to think or suffer darkly take refuge...but I don't fall in this category (not entirely true but more of this some other time). I believe I simply am at peace during the long hours of the night...a true child of the night.

I think what I have written is crap...Diamond would surely agree (but she would also agree that it is refreshing change from all those Manchester United posts...won't you Diamond??)