There was a time when I didn't mind driving at night. Evening roads, city lights, that quiet feeling of movement in the dark — it had something romantic about it. That was a long time ago when I was young.
Now I'm just tired.
Part of my route home goes through what is basically a forest road. No street lights, no markings you can actually see, just trees on both sides and whatever my headlights manage to catch. I drive almost blind, straining my eyes, trying to read the road before it appears. By the time I get through that stretch I'm more exhausted than after a full day of work.
So when I have to stay late, I'm not happy about it.
But sometimes the city offers something in return.
I was leaving later than usual, already mentally calculating how long that dark forest road would take, when I looked up and saw this. Kyiv's wide avenue stretching ahead, buildings framing the sky on both sides, and between them — gold. Proper, unreasonable, beautiful gold right at the horizon, with purple clouds.
I grabbed my phone and shot it through the windshield. Not perfect, but honest.
Five minutes later it was gone. Just a regular dark evening again, and me back to counting the kilometres through the unlit forest road home.
But for those five minutes — worth it.
Have a nice evening, dear friends ❤️