Dark Weekend

They shut the streetlights off even earlier tonight. Entire blocks were plunged into total darkness by 4 PM. When the light goes, the town changes. You can hear things moving in the shadows that you can’t see—the rhythmic drag of a foot, the scraping of a hand against a brick wall. It’s a psychological tactic as much as a tactical one. By keeping us in the dark, the authorities ensure we stay inside, huddled in our homes, too afraid to venture out. It’s deliberate isolation. The dark isn’t an accident; it’s a cage. I sat by the window for three hours, listening to the sounds of a town I no longer recognize.