The Night Belongs To You

Prologue: Thread the Needle

"Something to confide in

Something to erase

Just look at where we're lying

An invisible space

We can spend the night in fascination

You could thread the needle

Time and time again"

- Thread the Needle by Sleep Token

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A man stood at the edge of his balcony, staring into the glistening midnight sky. His roommate had fallen asleep hours ago, which gave him plenty of time to himself. He stepped back and sat down against the wall before opening his notebook and clicking his pen.

Nights like these are the best times to write music, he thought to himself. But after touching the pen to the paper, his mind went blank. The words didn't just flow out as usual.

Lately, it had been difficult to find inspiration for his lyrics. After all, it seemed like he had already written songs about everything. He had poured everything out, and now he felt empty. But his music was all he had left.

The man had lost contact with his family long ago, as they didn't want anything to do with him. He had lost everything. His job, his soulmate, his motivation, everything. It had been months since he got proper sleep. It didn't seem like things could get much worse. He was close to giving up on everything. On love, on music, even on life.

To others around him, he was just a mysterious person who didn't look anyone in the eye. No one truly got to know him, except for his roommate. They met in college and bonded through music, and they eventually moved in together hoping to build a career with their passion. It didn't really feel worth it anymore though.

Slowly, his thoughts slowed as he felt himself dozing off. He tried to fight it, but it felt like weights were placed on his eyelids. Soon, he succumbed to his exhaustion.

Then he felt a hand slowly wrap around his neck.

. . .

A tingling sensation fills his entire body as the man opens his eyes and sees that he is in a forest. The canopy of branches from dead trees blocks out most of the light from the brightly lit night sky. A thick fog made it even harder to see in this mysterious place.

A chilling, disembodied voice echoed through the woods, in an unrecognizable language, but for some reason, the man understands every word.

"I know what you are."

Suddenly it almost feels like something is slowly growing throughout his mind, clouding every frantic, confused thought. Time passes increasingly slower.

"You are lost. Haunted by your past. You spend every day searching for something to give you hope. You want a reason to live." A silhouette slowly emerges from the shadows. The tall, dark figure starts to shift until it becomes the shape of a woman. When it steps out into the light, time seems to come to a full stop. The sight causes the man to become breathless.

Eden.

Without thinking, he begins desperately running toward her, reaching out to touch her, feel her soft skin, run his fingers through her long, dark hair. When he is just inches away, she disappears, leaving him alone. He falls to his knees, overcome with a wave of emotions. Tears fall down his cheeks as endless sobs escape him and he clenches the dry earth beneath him.

A hand gently touches him on the shoulder, and sudden relief spreads through him.

"What if I told you... I can make all of this disappear? I can erase your past. I can make you new."

The world around him suddenly changes to a dark apartment. His apartment, a year ago. He sees himself, on his knees, crying in front of the locked bathroom door. This was a scene he knew all too well. A scene that replayed in his mind no matter how hard he tried to drown it out.

"Please, just listen to me . . . I'll never do it again, I'll fix myself this time-"

His voice, raspy from crying, gets cut off by a voice from the other side of the bathroom door. "You always say that! You say it's gonna get better for us, and then nothin' changes. You never change. You'll always treat me the same."

"This time's different, okay? I love you so much, my precious Eden, I need you! I promise! Just believe me!"

"If you need me so bad, then treat me right! Stop controlling everything I do! Stop being so obsessive! Stop isolating me so you can have me all to yourself!" she chokes out between sobs.

"Just let me in, please . . . please . . ."

"You make me wish I could disappear!"

Time flashes forward. The scene in front of him now portrays himself attempting to break down the bathroom door. After a few attempts, he succeeds.

Eden lies on the bathroom floor, unconscious, and covered in blood.

And suddenly, he's back in the forest.

"You still haven't forgiven yourself, have you? You almost wish she wouldn't have survived so you didn't have to live knowing you continue to worsen her struggles. You can't escape your actions. Not without my help."

The man trembles, sniffling and clenching his chest. He frantically looks around, searching among the trees for this mysterious entity that keeps speaking to him, but it is nowhere to be found. It keeps talking.

"I know what you want from me. I can give you comfort, security, redemption, a new life, and I'll give it to you if you become . . . mine. I can make you new."

Then the forest disappears. The feelings of relief and comfort are gone, and the man is shaken to consciousness.

"Wake up, its freezin' out here! Are you alright? How long have you been out here? C'mon, I'd carry you in, but you're over half a foot taller than me," his roommate said, concerned.

The man hears the familiar voice in his head again.

"Give yourself to me, and you can thread the needle, time and time again."