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Description
John was tired. Too tired to sleep. He’d never been sure how that worked; it just did. Yawning, he rolled over in his bed, putting his back to the cold wall to see if that helped. It didn’t, and after a few minutes more he rolled out of bed, rubbing his eyes and staring around.

It was this incessant buzzing sound, he’d decided, that was doing it; but nobody else in the house could actually hear it. Every night it kept him awake, and every morning he was told he just had insomnia. Even when he’d started taking sleeping pills it was still just the same, and he ended up even more tired the next morning.

Time to find out what the hell it is, he thought, slumping onto the soft carpet. The night time whispered at him, telling him not to go, but he pulled a dressing gown around him and grabbed a torch. Trying to follow the noise, he crept out of the bedroom, pushing the creaking door away from him. In the darkness, the torch beam filtered like a stick of fire through the dusty hallway. The stairs each welcomed him with their own creak, making the buzzing billow and shrink inside John’s mind. He could feel it in there, sitting on his brain with a pneumatic drill. He could barely think straight, let alone sleep.

The buzzing led him to the front door; taking a last glance back at the near-deserted house, he slipped on his trainers without any socks and walked out into the cool night air. It greeted him like a slap in the face, a typically freezing winter evening.

Straight away he realised that there wasn’t enough light pollution. The stars glared at him, too bright, too vibrant for the suburbs, especially with huge cities looming around on all sides. It was a new moon; he could just barely make out the blackened silhouette, black against black. It was like looking at a disc of charcoal on black paper.

And then his thoughts were interrupted. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz… Stop it! His mind screamed. The buzzing took a slight break, contemplated it, and continued again. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. But the sound no longer had any direction; it was out here, in the night air. Taking another step and locking the front door, he walked out into the silvery garden, trying to get a feel for the sound. It wasn’t any louder in the corner, or in the middle of the lawn; no louder in the flowerbeds, either. Sitting down on the garden bench, John leant back with his eyes scrunched up. The buzzing was growing louder, until it was too loud to bear. He stood up, throwing his torch to the grass, and shouted, “Shut up already! Leave me alone! Let me sleep!”

The words echoed through the streets. Silence. When the buzzing returned, it was quieter. More restrained. But still there.
“Oh, so you decided to be a little quiet?” John asked. The buzzing buzzed up, buzzed down. It was nodding?
Puzzled, John sat back down on the bench. The midnight breeze blew it off course.
“Who’s making this buzzing happen?”
The buzzing sound wavered. Unsure.
“How can I stop it?”
Again, the uncertain wavering.
“So I’m stuck with it forever?”
The buzzing nodded. John fell to sleep. No, not sleep. Just simple unconsciousness.

Description
John was tired. Too tired to sleep. He’d never been sure how that worked; it just did. Yawning, he rolled over in his bed, putting his back to the cold wall to see if that helped. It didn’t, and after a few minutes more he rolled out of bed, rubbing his eyes and staring around.

It was this incessant buzzing sound, he’d decided, that was doing it; but nobody else in the house could actually hear it. Every night it kept him awake, and every morning he was told he just had insomnia. Even when he’d started taking sleeping pills it was still just the same, and he ended up even more tired the next morning.

Time to find out what the hell it is, he thought, slumping onto the soft carpet. The night time whispered at him, telling him not to go, but he pulled a dressing gown around him and grabbed a torch. Trying to follow the noise, he crept out of the bedroom, pushing the creaking door away from him. In the darkness, the torch beam filtered like a stick of fire through the dusty hallway. The stairs each welcomed him with their own creak, making the buzzing billow and shrink inside John’s mind. He could feel it in there, sitting on his brain with a pneumatic drill. He could barely think straight, let alone sleep.

The buzzing led him to the front door; taking a last glance back at the near-deserted house, he slipped on his trainers without any socks and walked out into the cool night air. It greeted him like a slap in the face, a typically freezing winter evening.

Straight away he realised that there wasn’t enough light pollution. The stars glared at him, too bright, too vibrant for the suburbs, especially with huge cities looming around on all sides. It was a new moon; he could just barely make out the blackened silhouette, black against black. It was like looking at a disc of charcoal on black paper.

And then his thoughts were interrupted. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz… Stop it! His mind screamed. The buzzing took a slight break, contemplated it, and continued again. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. But the sound no longer had any direction; it was out here, in the night air. Taking another step and locking the front door, he walked out into the silvery garden, trying to get a feel for the sound. It wasn’t any louder in the corner, or in the middle of the lawn; no louder in the flowerbeds, either. Sitting down on the garden bench, John leant back with his eyes scrunched up. The buzzing was growing louder, until it was too loud to bear. He stood up, throwing his torch to the grass, and shouted, “Shut up already! Leave me alone! Let me sleep!”

The words echoed through the streets. Silence. When the buzzing returned, it was quieter. More restrained. But still there.
“Oh, so you decided to be a little quiet?” John asked. The buzzing buzzed up, buzzed down. It was nodding?
Puzzled, John sat back down on the bench. The midnight breeze blew it off course.
“Who’s making this buzzing happen?”
The buzzing sound wavered. Unsure.
“How can I stop it?”
Again, the uncertain wavering.
“So I’m stuck with it forever?”
The buzzing nodded. John fell to sleep. No, not sleep. Just simple unconsciousness.