By KEVIN KAUMANS
I’ve never been scared of the dark. Even when I was a kid, I can’t really recall a time I was uncomfortable when the lights got turned off. Whenever a blackout happened, I would just go to bed and sleep until the power came back on. Now that I think about it, I never had any nightmares about the dark either.
As a matter of fact, I used to prefer the nighttime to the daytime. I had been jogging for the last ten years up to this point. I find it a lot more peaceful to run in the dead of night than the morning. For one thing, there’s a lot less strangers walking around. Second, there’s also less noise. It felt nice, being able to get my steps in without dealing with crazy drivers or other joggers trying to talk to you while you’re trying to clear your head.
I probably sound like a mean bastard, don’t I? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as mean. I don’t hate people, not at all. It’s always fun meeting new people that interest me. But I have my limits, you know? Sometimes, I like to feel like I can breathe again, even if it is just an hour.
I lived on campus, so whenever I was bored and felt the need to move, I would just throw on a coat and jog around the college for a couple of laps. I considered myself a good runner at the time. I was by no means an olympic athlete, but I would like to think I made some progress over the years.
The college I went to was small, so I never had to worry about getting mugged or jumped since the crime rate was so low. The town it was in was very rural, so the people who lived there were mostly friendly. The only problem I had really when I was out running late was this staircase that led to my dorm building.
The staircase was a red, spray-painted metal walkway that was a good bit off the ground. The lights around it had this habit of flickering off every few hours. This wouldn’t be an issue, if not for the fact the steps were separated so far apart that your legs could easily fall through the openings if you are not watching where you’re going.
As far as I was aware at the time, no one had ever seriously injured taking the stairs at night.