The faint pale rays of the sun's light spilled into the apartment window, giving a resemblance of life to the empty rooms. The cream colored walls were bare, void of any decoration. The dark hardwood floor reflected the white light in all directions. The furniture was arranged perfectly as if it had never been touched. The kitchen counter was spotless, no sign of any mess or stains of any kind. The low hum of the stainless steel refrigerator was the only audible sound in the abode. An eerie calm permeated the air, the apartment seemed alive yet frozen in time with everything perfectly in order.
The bedroom door was shut tight, its pale color matching that of the walls. Behind it was the only resident, the one person to call this place his home. His deep sleep had carried him through the slow hours of the night. He laid in bed completely still moving not even a muscle while his breathing was near silent. One would be forgiven for mistaking him for a corpse at first glance. His bedside nightstand held nothing but a lamp and his alarm clock which read 5:29 AM. Exactly one minute before he would begin his morning.
The alarm blared throughout the entire apartment as the clock read 5:30 AM. Luke's eyelids slowly began to part ways, casting away the darkness and revealing the white sunlight seeping in through his bedside window. He inhaled deeply before shutting his eyes, once again surrounding him in a world of pitch black. The young man placed the palms of his hands over his face and began to slowly slide them down, pulling his eyes open in the process. With all the energy he could muster, his muscles pulled him upwards and into a slouched over position. His spine popped and cracked like bubble wrap as he straightened his back. A subtle groan of pain slipped from his mouth. His legs moved like two snakes from under his covers, lunging out and extending to their full length as he stood up from his slumber.
Luke's fingers interlocked with each other while he stretched his arms to their full extent above his head. His fingers caressed the ceiling as his hands parted and fell back down to his sides. The carpeted floor subtly gave way and creaked under his weight as he paced over to the bathroom.
The natural light of the sun illuminated and reflected off the white tile of the bathroom floor, making it rather easy to find the light switch. Luke's hand pressed against the switch and in a single instant the room went from a lowly lit enclosure to a pure blinding white light. His eyes immediately shut out of instinct, filling his vision with the deep crimson of the blood in his eyelids.
Once his vision had finally adjusted and the blinding light had become tolerable once again, Luke could finally lay his eyes upon his own reflection gazing directly back at him. On the opposite end of this large glass pane stood a young man, twenty eight years of age. His eyelids hung low with noticeable light grey bags underneath. His hair completely in shambles reaching out in every possible direction imaginable. The man's back straightened once again as he stood to his full height of six foot four inches.
Luke's gaze fell to the ground near his feet as he dropped his underpants around his ankles. He reached over and pulled the smooth metallic handle of the shower, causing a sudden burst of water to erupt from the faucet with a deafening sound. Luke had become a statue, unmoving for a complete minute as the ice cold water warmed to a bearable temperature. Luke took his first steps into the shower and immediately was embraced by the soothing warm water falling on his bare skin.
Luke savoured this feeling, he slid the glass door shut and allowed himself to feel multiple streams of steaming hot water caress his face and neck. He knew that in this moment he could allow himself to let go of any struggles or cares and simply just be. For approximately fifteen minutes every single morning Luke was not Luke, he did not feel as though anything on the outside was important. The only thing that mattered to him was that he just was.
As he inhaled the fresh steam of the hot shower, he began humming to himself and applying soap all over his body. Luke rinsed away any grime and filth from the previous day leaving behind nothing but a fresh coat of citrus scented chemicals lacing his skin. He tilted his head downward and let the water rush through his hair before pulling the handle back to the middle, causing the water to cease flowing.
The glass door slid open once again, now foggy and impossible to see through. Luke stepped out onto a plush memory foam floor mat. Reaching over, he plucked a dry towel off the rack and buried his face into it wiping his face of any lingering water droplets. After drying his face, he wrapped the towel around his waist and picked up his toothbrush and a half used tube of spearmint flavored toothpaste. He made sure to squeeze out just enough to cover the top of the bristles on the brush before brushing.
In his head, Luke made a mental count of each passing second making sure to not brush for more than two complete minutes.
Four, five, six, seven.
The greenish foam of the toothpaste began leaking out of his mouth and into the sink as Luke brushed slightly firmer, he continued his count.
Fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty.
Luke pulled the toothbrush from his mouth and spat out the toothpaste into the sink. He turned on the faucet to wash it down the drain and cupped some water with his hands to rinse his mouth out before shutting the water off and pacing back to his bedroom.
There, he unwrapped the towel and allowed it to drop to the floor. He then began dressing himself in the clothes he had prepared for himself the night before. A white pair of underpants, a white long sleeve button down shirt, sleek black pants with a leather belt around his waist, and a pair of black dress socks. He almost looked well dressed enough to attend a wedding.
He made his way out of his bedroom and into the living room which led into the kitchen. He grabbed hold of the wooden door of the pantry and pulled it open with a loud squeak coming from its hinges. There wasn't much inside, one loaf of bread and a few canned goods. Luke grabbed two slices of bread from the plastic wrapping of the loaf and placed them in the toaster before he poured water into his coffee machine. The scent of roasted beans filled the air as the coffee brewed. Luke took the time to grab a butter knife and a plate from his cupboard just as the fresh toast sprung out of the toaster. He grabbed each piece and placed them on the plate, smearing them with exactly one teaspoon of butter each. The toast crunched loudly as he took a bite into it, filling his mouth with the salty and savory taste of the butter.
While he enjoyed his breakfast, his freshly brewed coffee began pouring into the white mug he'd left beneath the machine. As soon as the coffee finished pouring, he grabbed the mug by its handle and took a small sip of the steaming black liquid. The coffee burned the inside of his mouth, yet Luke showed no visible reaction and continued to eat his toast. Once he had finished the savory taste of the buttered toast was all but gone, replaced with the piping hot bitterness of his black coffee which had stained his breath.
After placing his dirty dishes in the kitchen sink planning to clean them later, Luke paced back to the bathroom to take one last glimpse of himself in the mirror. He grabbed a small comb from the bathroom counter and fixed up his hair, making it perfectly straight and flowing. He tightened the collar of his shirt slightly before nodding to his own reflection and walking out. Making sure to grab his bag on the way out of his bedroom. Luke took one final look over his apartment, stopping only briefly to acknowledge a telescope next to a closed window with its blinds down. He sighed and walked over to it. It had laid in this corner for some time now, collecting dust and being no different than another piece of furniture scattered through his living room. He placed a single hand on top of it, only adjusting it slightly. His hand had brushed away part of the thick layer of dust coating its lens, giving him a small glimpse of its inside. His eyes rose to the closed blinds in front of the window. His hand moved from the lens of the telescope to the string controlling the blinds. A single pull is what separated this device from the outside world, yet Luke released the string. Instead, he simply turned around and walked out the front door of his apartment without looking back.
After locking his front door, Luke took a deep breath of the fresh cool morning air. A visible cloud of his breath escaped from his mouth as he exhaled. The wooden stairs leading down from his apartment creaked as he paced down them. The sky was just beginning to turn its natural blue as the sun had finally fully crept over the horizon. Its pale white light slowly turned to the brilliant golden rays everyone was familiar with.
As Luke reached his car, he opened the driver's side door and placed his bag in the passenger seat. As he sat down and closed the car door, Luke glanced at his rear view mirror and adjusted it slightly before taking one last look up at his apartment's blinded window. He closed his eyes and took in another deep breath, shifting his car into drive.
Tonight.
He thought to himself.
I'll do it tonight.
He opened his eyes and began to drive away from his apartment. With only the sound of the car's engine accompanying him. As soon as he reached the road, he pulled down the car's sun visor and kept his eyes completely locked on the road in front of him. He barely even blinked as he stared at the outside world through his windshield. The few other drivers he encountered on the road would pass him by everyday as he drove at exactly the speed limit. For thirty whole minutes, Luke watched the world around him speed by as his destination grew closer and closer.
As he made one more turn, The building finally came into his view. An incredibly large all white building with a huge round dome for a roof. A large sign on the side of the road read in bold black letters, "Stargazer Observatory". This was it, this is what Luke's morning had been building to. He took one final left turn and pulled into the parking lot. Luke took a glimpse at the large domed building as he unfastened his seatbelt and stepped out of his car, grabbing his bag in the process.
The dome of the building had been closed and would not open again for some time. Luke stared at where the telescope would be pointing if it was being operated. The cloudless light blue sky was vast, it encircled the whole planet. Luke closed his eyes and attempted to picture everything that lies beyond the large thin blue blanket surrounding him. Darkness was all that came to mind, nothing more and nothing less. He opened his eyes and saw the sky once again.
Tonight.
He thought to himself once again.
Tonight is when I'll see it.