There are times when I cannot sleep.
When I awake, it is not from a physical need or a nightmare that has suddenly ended. I simply open my eyes and I am fully awake. It is like this most mornings.
It’s dark outside, but for all I know, it might as well be six in the morning. The nights in winter a long and the days short, although lately the days are getting longer ever so.
For now though, I reach over to my phone, and look at the screen. It reads ten fifteen, but when I finally unlock it, I find that roughly two hours have passed. It is the stroke of midnight, and I have been asleep for perhaps an hour. It’s happening again.
Falling asleep is no mystery to me. Whenever I am up past a certain time, my body demands it. I just shut down.
Staying asleep on the other hand, that’s a more difficult task than I can handle on some nights.