Night Beverages

It's an unusually warm evening for October stirring memories of summer fun. I check the clock and return to reality as night has fallen and it is just 7pm. The owl has been hunting and screeching. Traffic is heavy but moving. Once, all I heard were the leaves rustling in the trees and insects. Now, it's the screeching of the owl and traffic. Traffic all night long.

Ordinary sounds and sights become eerie when walking alone at night. Lost in my thoughts, as I have taken to leaving the iPod at home, a runner's steps are upon me before I hear them. Startled, I jump a bit. Walking the Wonderdog, enjoying the warm air... and out of nowhere, screech. It makes us both tense and puts her on edge until I release the breath I didn't know I was holding.

My mind wanders to places and books I've read and of those things that go bump in the night. Screech.... walking under the trees, something seems to jump from the shadows. I swallow nervously, straining to see what it is. Yes, it's that time of year, when bats and ghosts dangle from the trees and lurk in the shadows. It's not like I need any encouragement, you know. My imagination is far scarier than your huge spider, skeletons and creepy monsters. Well, maybe not those gruesome, creepy monsters.

I come home to a relaxing latte and later, when the caffeine and my imagination bring those creepy monsters to life,  and I find myself unable to sleep, a glass of wine. It's for medicinal purposes, you know.