The Saturday Late Shift

I sit staring at the clock on my work phone. In approximately 2 minutes the library will close. I always try to time in my head when the final announcement will be made.

There is a certain atmosphere created after all of the librarians lock up and leave.
The lights to all 5 floors are suddenly cut off, the librarians hand dropping from the one switch that controls it all.
It is a feast for my ears.
For a split second, the library reaches dead silence. If you listen closely, it sounds like the world stops spinning.
But almost immediately this silence gives way to the teeming activity of the after-hours. I hear the hundreds of fluorescent lights crackle and expand. The heat that once illuminated them is gone and they are forced to go back to their original reposed contortions.
In between the crackling I hear the night janitor begin his rounds on the first floor. The side door he comes in through slams and sends an echo through the open middle from the first floor to the top glass skylight. Sometimes I can even hear the many keys he holds brushing up against his leg.
My attention moves from these intricate noises to the bold orange sunset against the glass siding of the science building across campus. I get up and walk to the window, no shoes, half-eaten apple in hand and I take in the vibrance of the color.
I can't see the sunset but I can see its reflection. I stand admiring the image and the noises from the shuttering library walls. It reminds me once again that I'm not alone. The peace that is already in my heart is only reassured.

I got baptized today in to a Church where I have found true peace and happiness. This week made me realize that we can find joy in any situation put before us, good or bad. I think back to today, one of the best days of my life. My head about to go under the water, my eyes shut tight, the smiles of my family and friends sitting in front of the fount, Brother Lord preparing to say the blessing...a smile reached across my face and then I was under. I stand replaying the beautiful moments, the covenant I've made with my Savior, and the life I have ahead of me.

The reflection of a brilliant sunset slowly sets in the western sky.