Jacob tossed the shovel aside, it landing right next to the tombstone, weathered by countless rains to the point of illegibility. He hopped down six feet into the cold earth, landing hollowly on the ancient, buried coffin. Rubbing his hands together, he bent down and opened the box. It creakingly opened, the odor from the old resting place emitting out in a puff of ancient breath. It was somewhat earthy, less putrid than one might expect. Exhuming the remains, Jacob tossed the bones on top of the pile of freshly dug earth, and then laid down himself.

            He shut the lid, letting the pitch blackness overtake his body and mind. For years he had been a haunted insomniac, until he fully realized the cause for his condition. He had worked graveyard for most of his life; sweating the nights away while trying to lull himself to sleep in the brightness of welcoming day. Unfortunately, he never could get an ounce of sleep. Then, realizing that he needed a deep, dark hole to escape into, a light bulb popped into his head while watching some cheesy 80’s movie. A grave: the perfect resting place for himself.

            Closing his eyes, he let the shadows of sleep overtake him for the first time in months. This activity didn’t come without exposure, and he needed to be careful lest he be caught. That would be the end of him. He knew that in jail, there would never be a moments rest. And that’s all he really wanted.

            He dreamed peaceful thoughts, and awoke after what felt like centuries. It was energizing, a breath of life in his delirious grind. He yawned and stretched, then pushed up on the lid to emerge like some zombified corpse. Only, the lid didn’t budge. He was indeed granted freedom from his restless waking life; He now had eternal sleep.