The light is off upstairs and the tenant is silent, motionless. I await the sound of soft footsteps or the dull glow of a nightlight. But there is only darkness and complete silence. I watch the walls for shadows, for some god given proof that this is reality. The heart beating in my chest, the air filling my lungs tell me this is real. The feeling of disconnection from my surroundings tells me this is fiction. This black room of darkness seems to swallow me whole, leaving no time for questions or concern. I must trust what I feel and what I believe to be true. The light is off upstairs and the tenant is quiet. I wish I could change this. Turn the light on, dance with the tenant on heavy feet. But the stairs quantity is far too great to climb, and the tenant must not be bothered. I sit at the foot of the stairs, unable to see the top. I feel two inches tall, and helpless. To see the tenant just once, to speak to the tenant once more, I would give anything. The light is off and the occupant is still. I believe upstairs the occupant is dancing, laughing but I’m just too far away to hear it. I’m sure the room is softly lit and magical yet my mortal eyes are just too weak to see it. I’m positive there is no pain upstairs, just freedom and joy. I want to believe there is comfort upstairs and that suffering and all other evils are far too weak to climb the stairs. That like me they are stuck in this darkness searching for the top of the stairs. I’ve heard that once we have waited our time in the darkness at the foot of the stairs, we are granted the strength to climb the stairs. There is darkness and silence from above. Slowly I back away from the stairs but my eyes can’t resist staring. I guess I’m just waiting for the tenant to descend the stairs, wrap me in their arms, and make me forget all about this. To switch on the lights, cross the room in booming bounds and rescue me from the darkness once again. But the door way remains dark, and my ears continue to burn in the silence. I must wait in this darkness till I may ascend the stairs, switch on the light, cross the room in booming bounds, and wrap my arms around the tenant. I don’t want the upstairs lights to be off, and the tenant to be silent anymore.