Rats with wings

We live on the fifth floor of our apartment building. It is also the top floor. From the windows on the front side of our building we can look out over the piazza in front of us. There is a rectangular park that sits among the walls of apartment buildings. There are places for kids to play, benches and trees. The trees which are pretty tall are not higher than our apartment windows. Every once in awhile I look out to see the strange creatures flying over the tops of the trees in circular patterns. I have a love/hate relationship with these black winged creatures of the night. I enjoy watching them as they glide across the sky like competion skaters completing figure eights. I also enjoy the fact that they eat small bugs, especially mosquitos, for that I cheer them on. However, I would hate to find myself within a small confined space with them flying overhead. Or whizzing by my face screeching. Tonight though, before going to bed, I watched as a lone bat flew around and around our piazza, above and through the trees. Mesmerizing much like our fish tank. As I watched, my ears were opened to the sounds of the city once more. It is 1 in the morning and the city is still alive with sounds. First the chirping of the bat as he swoops, far in the distance a dog barks solitarily, a couple of cars drive by on the street in front of our piazza and music is stilled heard, albeit softly, from windows across the way. These are the echoes of life that tickle ones' senses and the remedy for insomnia. Fortunately, insomnia is not something I usually deal with, I am normally a night owl. I guess owls and bats go together.