The Bridge

This is the 4th Wednesday, but this isn't the Flash Fiction Exchange. We've chosen to confuse you by doing it the 2nd and the final Wednesday of this month. In September, that means the 29th.

The Bridge

It’s dark here beneath the bridge despite the bright summer sunlight in the rest of the city. I like the dark. No, it’s more than that. I crave the dark. I always have.

My parents didn’t understand, having bought me cute nightlights to ensure that I slept without fear of the dark. From the time I could crawl out of my crib, I unplugged the lights and fell asleep on the floor in the dark.

As I got older, the craving grew worse. Even the slightest light kept me from sleeping. My mother, never understanding, still did her best. She bought blackout curtains for my room. My father made sure the doors fit perfectly so no light would shine around their edges.

Luckily, the worst of the craving grew worse only after I left home for college. It wasn’t unusual to find other students who lived most of their lives at night though none were as adamant about it as I. I carefully took classes only in winter and then only classes that began once the long dusk had set in. I studied at night and slept in the day. People began calling me the vampire and I simply smiled without exposing my teeth.

And now, ten years later, here I am crouched beneath a bridge, the sun too bright for me to move. It was a series of unfortunate coincidences that brought me here from my carefully constructed light-free life. All I can do now is hope that I can live through the day and get home to the dark.

The dark is all I want.