The 6:00 p.m. curfew made little difference in the town of Boac. Most people were early to bed and early to rise.
Like always, just before sleeping, I stood in front of the window, gazing outside with a cup of coffee in my hands. Caffeine had long since stopped being a stimulant for me. Instead, it had the opposite effect—it warmed me like milk and calmed my mind, slowly making me drowsy.
The plaza outside stood empty and silent, a sharp contrast to how lively it had been earlier in the afternoon. The only things moving and making sound were the stirring leaves of the acacia trees and the creaking, swaying lantern carried by a pair of patrolling soldiers.
Above, a thousand stars shone in their usual stations, too lofty to be touched by whatever ills and storms afflicted the world of men.
