The gun was delivered right to her door.

As she came up the sidewalk of her garden apartment, she saw the package leaning against the wall under the mailbox. It was a typical brown cardboard box with black letters, bearing the name of the manufacturer. Yet, most folks wouldn’t know what it was.

She picked up the box and carried it upstairs. She had waited two weeks for it to arrive.  She felt excited, but still, she wondered if she had the nerve to use it.  She set the box on the coffee table then sat down on the sofa and looked at it.  Her hands trembled as she opened the box.

It was a beautiful weapon with a cherrywood stock and handguard, the barrel was black, cold and sleek. It looked a bit like the old wild west cowboy guns. It gave a sense of strength and power. Something you could use to set the world back on its proper course.

She lifted the baby out of the box and held it to her shoulder. She peered down the length of the gun through the sight. She placed her finger on the trigger. She needed to put some bullets into the chamber.  She looked into the box. Yes! Everything you needed. That’s what the gun-lovers magazine promised. There in a small box in the corner were the bullets. She loaded the chamber. Now it was ready for the task she had in mind. She would wait for night-fall.

For several weeks, she had found it difficult to cope with changes that had occurred in her neighborhood. It just wasn’t the place she had known and loved over the decades. Too many changes were making her crazy.  It wasn’t her fault. But there seemed no other way to convince people what needed to be done. They just wouldn’t listen.

She leaned back on the sofa. She felt tired. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks. In her younger days, she could never sleep when the sun was shining. It was too bright, but now it seemed, she could never get to sleep at night.  What was happening? Maybe she could take a nap this afternoon. This way she’d be rested and ready. She curled up on the sofa, leaving the gun in its box on the table.

When she woke, she looked at the clock on the television. It indicated that it was now mid-night. She couldn’t believe she had slept so long. How long had it been? Five hours since she had sat down on the sofa?  She thought about this strange outcome. For several nights previous to this, she had suffered from insomnia. It seemed like sharp needles of light penetrated her mind from hundreds of different angles. A bright light poked into her bedroom from the living room beyond.  When she rolled over, another gleaming finger of light poked at her from under the bedroom blinds. When she moved on to her back, she saw more light dancing across the ceiling. How were car lights getting into this room?  Light came to tease her weary eyes and exhausted mind like an army of maniacal trolls determined to keep her from sleeping.

Then she remembered the box that had been delivered. She now had the means to put an end to the insanity.

She sat up and looked around. She was still dressed in the clothes she had put on that morning. All she needed was a light jacket and her shoes. She donned them quickly then picked up the gun. It was time to correct the situation.

When she stepped out the door of her garden apartment the night was….it was not night! Porchlights glowed from every door. Street lights glowed in the silvery mist. Cars rolled down the streets with headlights aimed right at her.  Not a dark corner was to be found. Not a shadow to hide in. It was the middle of the night and yet it seemed more like dawn or dusk.

She looked up at the sky. It was black, but the artificial light in her eyes made it impossible to see any stars. Who had destroyed the night? Who had robbed her of the peace of darkness and rest? She lifted the gun and fired it at the corner street light. That street light had managed to jab its finger of blinding light right through her bedroom blinds.  She hated it.

She heard the BB pellet hit the wooden fence. It made her angry. That was not her target. She tried again to shoot out the street light. Again and again, she lifted the gun and fired the trigger. It was so frustrating. Her anger grew into a rage.  She walked over to the corner street light as if confronting a tyrannical old boss from years ago. She held the gun steady and fired straight up into the bulb.

Bam! A hit! Glass shattered and fell to the ground. A piece of it landed at her feet. The light was gone. She felt thrilled. She was victorious.

Now for the others!     

She turned in the damp night air and walked the sidewalk along her building, aiming at each yellow porch light. Bam, bam. The bullets hit the brick walls. No, try again! Bam, bam.  One after the other, she made herself focus on each yellow burning bulb. Stay calm, pull the trigger. She saw each light shatter. Finally, they were out.

But there was a very bright light in the parking lot at the end of the building. She needed to get that one too. She picked up her pace and headed to where the cars were lined up.  Fortunately, for them, their headlights were off. Yes, those were a nuisance, but she needed to get that big bright parking lot light.  

She lifted the gun and fired. Out it went. With just one try!

A thick blanket of darkness wrapped around her.  A glorious somber peace engulfed her. Yet beyond her part of the world, there were other street lights and porchlights that taunted her.

Well, what could she do?  This was good enough for now.  Her apartment building was surrounded by the rich ebony of night.  She turned and carefully made her way along the dismal passage that she had created. When she reached her door, she took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.  Two very bright stars and the moon could now be seen.  She stood in the silence and enjoyed the cool undefined opaqueness of a true night.  She was lucky no one had heard the explosions of the lights that she had destroyed. She had accomplished her task.  Finally, after all that was needed and completed, it would be a very good night!