You know that mysterious stranger at the bar? The one you can't help but keep sneaking looks at for reasons you can't really explain? For how mysterious they seem, you know that they can't possibly be that interesting. Every once in a while, as Bridget comes to find out, they are. Bridget had everything she wanted, and all at the young age of twenty-eight. At least, until she meets such a mysterious stranger at the bar one night, a man who seemingly has the power to disappear at will. All at once, she discovers that his past is just as mysterious as he is, having lived a life that spiraled from love to desolation and everywhere in between. But nothing can compare to the unbelievable secret he carries with him: he cannot escape the night. Entranced by this man who lives literally and figuratively in the darkness, she learns to question so many of the things left unthought about in life: the meaning of happiness, the strength of our desires, the weight of our hope, and what authentic love really means. But in doing so, she comes to question everything she has built around her. JOHN PAUL LIGOURI, the pen name used by Michael Wetzel, studied at Loyola University Chicago, where he was a scholarship athlete and student. He is happily retired from both in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife and child.