That inescapable feeling that the world is wide awake without you. You can hear the gentle breathing of a city full of dreamers, you can feel the pull of your eyelids and you are warm and cozy in your bed, but the screeching of tires on concrete pulls you towards your window. You hesitate but something pulls you towards the glass…

You look out to the city wide awake before you. A million lights sparkle and flicker between shiny mirrors and dark walls. People are laughing and crying, being born and dying, and you hold your breath just watching it all. You notice something in the sky,

A million people’s dreams are floating there; wafting from sleeper’s windows a cloud of bright, beautiful, strange dreams all whisper into the stars. Each oblivious dream dances a solo towards the sky.

You think to yourself, how could anyone be asleep? Why would anyone want to miss this?

You feel safe under the protection of the night, she is like a comforting mother and you miss her in the day, but they don’t understand that the sun is just too bright for you.

You wonder if anyone watches your dreams, and you are happy that once they have left you they do not die alone. That comforts you.

People always tell you that if you are tired you should sleep earlier. They clearly cannot see what you can, because if they could they wouldn’t sleep either.

It’s getting colder now with the window open, but the smell of the cool, rainwashed air is soothing. You gulp it in like water.

The skyscraper across the river turns the lights of each floor off one by one, the lights look like twinkling snow falling slowly before it settles. In the wind you catch the shouts, screams, giggles, and squeals of the city in whispered notes. As everything lays still you watch as the city has been transformed into a new world.

But as hard as you try, you do not belong there. Doomed to be just a watcher, you stifle a persistent yawn. You give in and admit defeat, you sigh goodbye through your window and crawl back into your crisp bed.

Snuggling between duvets you relax and soon your dreams too drift away.