Nothing could stop the darkness that invaded me. Even though the lack of light in that distant place made it seem inhospitable, I knew it. I knew exactly what I was looking for, and the stars twinkling in the distance didn't enhance or inhibit my ability to do so. As often happened while walking alone at night, I felt myself being sucked into a kind of reverie, losing myself in the balmy summer air that had cooled considerably after sunset. I was lost, as many lose many things in the twilight hours, but to be found again was the last thing I wanted. An escape is what I wanted and sought so desperately that night, and I think I found it. The buzz of insects and a light breeze rustling the leaves of an ancient tree only added to the lonely melody the earth played for me. A large scar where lightning had struck the tree had left part of the trunk burned to a vivid black, yet it showed no signs of dying anytime soon. But too soon I was pulled from my daydreams by the lighted window, casting its mechanical glow onto the sidewalk near the ...