Midnight Sun

Insomnia had reared it's ugly head once again. Was it just her or did others have this same issue.

Lately it seemed to be happening more often. It was getting old and very annoying. Was no fun losing sleep as her doctor kept telling her how important it was to get a good night's sleep for your health.

If that was true he should have prescribed a sleeping aid for her. Instead here she was once again. The clock is ticking at midnight and she finds herself sitting at her window looking out into the dark of night at her sleeping neighorhood. She was jealous.

Something seemed different about this night. It wasn't just looking at the moon and stars. The shadows were not still. They seemed to be moving.

Then her eyes had done a doubletake. They told her that the apparent shadows were not shadows at all. It alleared that someone in the apartment across the parking lot was moving out. But why move in the middle of the night.

This night the moon seemed to be hiding so she could not tell who was leaving. Guess she would find out in the morning.

Thank goodness she was retired and did not have to be at work. So if she ever fell asleep she would be able to sleep in. After watching for a while she decided to try to sleep again. Thankfully she went to sleep quickly.

For some reason when she awakened the next day she went right to the window to look out. To her surprise there were four police cruisers across the parking lot.

After she fixed herself a cup of coffee she returned to her window to see what was happening. For almost an hour she watched. Suddenly it struck her that it was at the same apartment she had watched last night. Was there a connection? Should she walk over and check or mind her own business?

She had opted for minding her own business.

Just about noon her friend Lois arrived for their daily coffee and game show.

"Hey! Did you hear what happened across the way?"

"What do you mean what happened?"

"The Johnsons have been on vacation. Their grandson has been feeding their fish every other day. When he came this morning he found the apartment trashed and the balcony door wide open."

"Wow. When did it happen?"

"Had to have been one of the past two nights."

Her mouth dropped open in shock. Had she seen it without knowing?

"Last night I thought I was someone mmoving out over there."

"What? That could have been the rats ripping off the Johnsons. Did you tell anyone?"

"Tell them what. I am not really sure what I saw."

"I know but it is entirely possible you are a witness."

"Don't these apartments have security cameras? Can't they just roll the tape?"

"Any criminal case benefits if there are witnesses. You might be needed if they ever catch these guys."

"Lois, you watch too many CSI reruns."

"Seriously. You should let the police know what you might have seen."

"The coffee is ready. I'll get you a cup while get the tv tuned to The Price Is Right."

Nothing more was said about the previous night's event until her friend was on her way out the door.

"You really should let the police know the time at least. It could be important."

All she could think of was if the police needed any help they would ask.

When bedtime rolled around again she could not sleep. She kept thinking about the night before. Needless to say, after glancing at her clock which glowed midnight, she once again found heerself looking out her window. Everything seemed pretty quiet.

Then she saw what looked like the same u-haul van from the previous night slowly moving across the parking lot with no headlights on. Could it be the same one? Maybe she should call the police just to be on the safe side.

This time she decided that is what she should do. Within ten minutes police cruisers had the van surrounded. One officer came to her apartment to thank her for being so alert. Seems it was a group that had been breaking into apartments where the occupants were away. Nobody had been able to catch them until now.

That made her feel pretty good. She had helped stop a small crime wave. It made her want to sit up at night to keep an eye on her neighbors.

For two nights in a row nothing extraordinary seemed to happen. She did see the Becton boys sitting at the community picnic table smoking. She wondered if their parents knew.

During the next few days she felt like this had become her new regular routine. Rather than even try to go to sleep at bedtime she would sit in her darkened room in front of her window and watch.

She began to notice that there was other activity. The usual, except for the fact that it was the middle of the night, taking trash to the dumpster and those Becton boys out smoking.

Then Mister Acton began leaving his apartment just before midnight. The older couple, the Klines, seemed to like taking their walks in the dark.

Another night she saw the college boys across from the Johnsons throwing a party. She thought it was going to last all night but it wound down shortly after midnight.

She learned who had a dog that needed to go out during the night. She saw who stayed up after midnight and did not turn out their light. But it seemed odd to her that nobody left an outside light on all night.

After almost two weeks with no unusual activity she decided to go to sleep at a normal hour.

Which worked. She fell asleep shortly after retiring for the night. It did not last long as just before midnight she was awakened by the sound of sirens. They seemed to be getting pretty close.

She found herself looking out her window at midnight again as the EMS stopped at the apartment below the college boys. If she remembered right, that was old man Parker's place. His heart must be giving him issues again.

For the three years she had lived in her apartment she had thought it was in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood. There was more action under the Midnight Sun then she ever imagined.