A Parable About Longing

There once was a boy who fell in love with the night.
When the sun went down he would feel a pull at his heart.
He loved the comfort of the dark.
The caress of the shadow.
The warmth of the gloom.
The expanse of the black unknown.
But the night is elusive.
And the boy was a boy.
He would take long walks at dusk while the night gathered.
Until his mother would call him in for supper and bed.
He would stand at his window and stare out at the dimness.
But would soon weary and fall asleep.
Time past and the boy's heart began to ache.
He craved the ink of midnight and the silver touch of the moon.
He did not enjoy his food or the child's games he played at school.
He yearned.
One night he was awoken by the dry mutter of his curtains in the wind.
And as he looked out his open window desire and fear clashed within him.
Desire won.
The boy swung one leg and then another over the sill and gently leaped to the ground.
As the boy walked into the dark,
shadows fell around him,
and out of the gloom, a whisper:
"I have missed you so."