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A little girl is tucked into bed. “Good night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” Mom repeats the same phrase night after night, drawing giggles to drown out the whimpers of imaginary fear. There are monsters in the closet, the little girl is sure. But Mommy is there to make them go away with bedtime stories and snuggles. Eventually the night stops being so scary and becomes a thing of comfort, a time for quiet reflection, a time for sharing and aloneness; a time for peace. Even if she’s sure the monsters are just in hiding.
Across time and distance my nightly childhood ritual echoes. Now, more than 10,000 km away and 25 years past, I still hear my mother’s voice whispering to me as I crawl into bed, prompting me to reflect upon the question: What is this darkness that grips us so hard as children? And how does it manage to continue its hold—however slight—far into our adult years?
In this month’s Crazy English Reader, we invite you to explore the night with us: The light and dark sides that exist simultaneously (Nyx—The Goddess of Night) and the contrast that it creates with the day (Night and Moonlight). We encourage you to explore it yourself (Stargazing at a Resort, in Comfort) and enjoy it while it’s still here, before our ever-changing world erases the darkness forever (The Quest for Dark Skies).
With years of bedtimes under my belt, I now look to the night with a mixture of trepidation and calm. Although I love it—the stars, the tranquility, the silence—I am not quite able to still my fear of things that go bump in the night. But maybe that’s okay. The night, after all, is the time for creation and mystery, the space is which dreams are made. Such a thing should not be taken lightly.
So good night. Sleep tight. And don’t let the bed bugs bite.
小女孩被哄着入睡。“晚安，好好睡觉，别让虫子咬！”妈妈每天晚上都会重复这句话，逗得小女孩咯咯笑，笑声淹没了臆想出来的暗夜恐惧。小女孩很肯定壁橱里有怪兽。但是，妈妈用睡前故事和温暖偎依把怪兽都赶跑了。最终，夜晚变得舒适，不再如此可怕，渐渐地成了沉思、分享、独处、平静的时刻；即便小女孩肯定怪兽就藏在暗夜的某个角落里。
时至今日，我对于童年时代这种晚间入睡前的惯例仍然记忆犹新。一万多公里的距离和25年的光阴也没有让我忘却在我爬上床后，妈妈在我耳边的低语。这使得我回想起这样一个问题：小时候，让我们神经紧绷的黑夜到底是怎样的呢？无论影响是多么的轻微，它又是怎样继续影响成年的我们的呢？
在这期的CR中，我们邀你一同探索黑夜：夜晚那光明和黑暗共存的一面，将在《司夜女神尼克斯》一文中展现；《月光之夜》一文则为你呈现夜晚和白天的迥异；我们鼓励大家亲自去探索黑夜，正如《度假胜地观星——惬意无比》一文提到的众多观星者一样。最后，《越夜越美丽》一文告诉我们，在千变万化的世界里，夜晚的黑暗极有可能被破坏掉，所以，趁着美丽的星空仍然存在时，好好享受吧。
将夜入寐，已体验经年，对于夜晚，如今的我是既战战兢兢又安然平静。虽然我热爱夜晚——它的星空、安宁和寂静；但是一想到夜里的鬼怪，我还是冷静不下来。不过，这有什么关系呢？夜晚，毕竟是创作的佳时，是神秘事物出现的时间，也是美梦萌发的时候。这一点不应小觑。
所以，晚安，好好睡觉，别让虫子咬。
Across time and distance my nightly childhood ritual echoes. Now, more than 10,000 km away and 25 years past, I still hear my mother’s voice whispering to me as I crawl into bed, prompting me to reflect upon the question: What is this darkness that grips us so hard as children? And how does it manage to continue its hold—however slight—far into our adult years?
In this month’s Crazy English Reader, we invite you to explore the night with us: The light and dark sides that exist simultaneously (Nyx—The Goddess of Night) and the contrast that it creates with the day (Night and Moonlight). We encourage you to explore it yourself (Stargazing at a Resort, in Comfort) and enjoy it while it’s still here, before our ever-changing world erases the darkness forever (The Quest for Dark Skies).
With years of bedtimes under my belt, I now look to the night with a mixture of trepidation and calm. Although I love it—the stars, the tranquility, the silence—I am not quite able to still my fear of things that go bump in the night. But maybe that’s okay. The night, after all, is the time for creation and mystery, the space is which dreams are made. Such a thing should not be taken lightly.
So good night. Sleep tight. And don’t let the bed bugs bite.
小女孩被哄着入睡。“晚安，好好睡觉，别让虫子咬！”妈妈每天晚上都会重复这句话，逗得小女孩咯咯笑，笑声淹没了臆想出来的暗夜恐惧。小女孩很肯定壁橱里有怪兽。但是，妈妈用睡前故事和温暖偎依把怪兽都赶跑了。最终，夜晚变得舒适，不再如此可怕，渐渐地成了沉思、分享、独处、平静的时刻；即便小女孩肯定怪兽就藏在暗夜的某个角落里。
时至今日，我对于童年时代这种晚间入睡前的惯例仍然记忆犹新。一万多公里的距离和25年的光阴也没有让我忘却在我爬上床后，妈妈在我耳边的低语。这使得我回想起这样一个问题：小时候，让我们神经紧绷的黑夜到底是怎样的呢？无论影响是多么的轻微，它又是怎样继续影响成年的我们的呢？
在这期的CR中，我们邀你一同探索黑夜：夜晚那光明和黑暗共存的一面，将在《司夜女神尼克斯》一文中展现；《月光之夜》一文则为你呈现夜晚和白天的迥异；我们鼓励大家亲自去探索黑夜，正如《度假胜地观星——惬意无比》一文提到的众多观星者一样。最后，《越夜越美丽》一文告诉我们，在千变万化的世界里，夜晚的黑暗极有可能被破坏掉，所以，趁着美丽的星空仍然存在时，好好享受吧。
将夜入寐，已体验经年，对于夜晚，如今的我是既战战兢兢又安然平静。虽然我热爱夜晚——它的星空、安宁和寂静；但是一想到夜里的鬼怪，我还是冷静不下来。不过，这有什么关系呢？夜晚，毕竟是创作的佳时，是神秘事物出现的时间，也是美梦萌发的时候。这一点不应小觑。
所以，晚安，好好睡觉，别让虫子咬。