I couldn't sleep. The day's events had tired me but copious amounts of sugar still kept me awake. As a breeze of night air rattled the window and ruffled my hair, enticing me to peer out at the town, I decided to take a midnight stroll. Heavy coat on, with thick polyester hat and gloves pulled over my ears and fingers, I crept past by parents" bedroom. I could feel the earthy rumble of my father's slumber, punctuated with high pitched exhalations from my mother. A piece of birthday cake for the journey stowed safely away in my coat pocket, I clicked shut the front door behind me.
I took my first breath, and watched swirls of vapour rise from my nostrils, eventually disappearing in the light of a street lamp. Past the front gate, I was greeted at the ankles by empty crisp packets and sweet wrappers on a fresh gust of wind. I felt truly at home as I made my way down the street, sheltered by the tall trees that leant over from either side of the road. Slivers of light from the moon shone through the branches, illuminating pockets of nightlife. Being only a metre tall, I was only able to see the up turned nostrils of passers by as they lumbered past. They seemed oblivious to the dancing reflections of brake lights on the wet ground, and the gentle chatter of dry leaves across the pavement. I listened to people in the distance shouting about nothing in particular, while an endless line of cars beeped and screeched in turn.
Turning around, I noticed the rugged outline of a man in the shadows, and on seeing me stop he shuffled forth into the light. He could have been any anonymous, ageless, homeless man. His bushy beard was painted with a layer of grime and merged with his unkempt, spidery hair and layers of old, torn clothing puffed out his frail appearance. He could have been any homeless man except he had one arm wrapped tightly round the neck of an inflatable woman.
