Insomnia was insidious in nature and something he never struggled with before in his entire life... until now.

For the past six days, the thought of never being able to sleep again dominated Dario’s mind. It worried him constantly as he had always heard about the negative effects of a lack of sleep, and it made him sympathize with those who fell under its pressure. He actually knew of some people who suffered from insomnia, but he’d never experienced it nor had he ever hoped to.

Was this what it was like?

Dario hummed as he walked along the smooth cobbled streets of the city square, pondering his dilemma. It was the dead of night during summer, with the moon high up in the sky, so there was nobody around to bother him while he aimlessly wandered about. The streets were silent save for a few stray cats and some other wild animals. To all appearances, it seemed that everyone was fast asleep in their beds.

Everyone but him.

Dario kicked a pebble off the street, cursing under his breath. A nearby cat hissed at the noise, its back arched and matted fur standing on end. It glared at him for a short moment before scurrying away to hide behind one of the many stone buildings around them. The young man was too engrossed with his thoughts to pay it any real attention.

Why was it that he couldn’t fall asleep? Sure, he had stayed up all night once or twice before, but staying awake for a whole week non-stop?

It was mind boggling, and downright freaky if he was being honest.

The part he found most strange was how he never felt tired or weak. People who never slept were supposed to feel lethargic or have lapses in judgement, but he was perfectly fine. In fact, he felt better than fine. It had actually reached the point where it was beginning to scare him. His body constantly thrummed with a restless energy and he couldn't help but keep moving.

Dario threw a few punches in the air and a few kicks before enthusiastically hopping up and down. He then twirled and jumped in an attempted spin kick, but due to overeagerness, misjudged his speed and failed miserably, nearly flopping to the ground. Fortunately, he was able to catch himself and stop his fall at the last second.

He looked around the silent streets and was glad there was no one awake. He had probably looked ridiculous just then, but he couldn’t help it. To him, it felt like he had only woken up a couple hours ago instead of the full seven days he’d actually been awake for.

On the first night he stayed up awake, he hadn’t noticed anything and thought it was just one of those days where he wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep. However, as the day went on, he noticed that his energy levels hadn’t gone down at all. His first thought was that perhaps it was just good food and healthy eating habits that gave him the energy he needed throughout the day. It seemed to him that everything was perfectly fine.

The second night worried him, but he still wasn’t too concerned. It was strange, however, and very annoying. Sleep was one of his favorite pastimes, and he was definitely not a morning person. Back then, he was convinced that he would fall asleep at any moment.

Well, look at him now a whole week later.

Dario sighed as he turned a corner into a nearby alley leading to another district. He figured that if he couldn’t fall asleep naturally, then he would simply have to force it. After walking for several minutes, he finally reached the pristine form of his destination. It was a three-storey building with a stone base and smooth wooden walls that held overhanging rooms. A few of its windows were wide open, streaming with light.

It was the Cultured Cove.

The establishment was apparently one of the few places in the entire city that would still be up and running late at night. It served as an inn, but was more well known for its tavern on the ground floor. They served some of the strongest ales around, as far as he was told, and he was determined to make use of that fact.

Dario pulled the cloak tighter around his brown tunic before striding forward to open the building’s broad wooden doors.

Warm air welcomed him as soon as he walked in, along with the strong smell of various meats and vegetables. He glanced around, noticing the few patrons and tall bartender looking his way before slowly turning back to whatever they were doing. Around this time of night, no one bothered anyone else unless they were actively looking for a fight. It was the perfect place for him to accomplish what he set out to do.

Dario approached the bartender and asked, “Hey, how much is it for two night’s stay in one of your rooms?”

The man behind the counter examined him from head to toe before putting away the pouches of coin he’d been inspecting.

“Do you want just a single room or a double, and do you want food services included?” the bartender asked with a surprisingly refined voice for someone who looked so rough.

“Just a single room please, it’ll be just me,” Dario said. “I’ll take the food service as well.”

“That’ll be eight silver.”

The corner of his eye twitched upon hearing the pricey cost. It was a bit more expensive than he thought it would be, but the Cultured Cove was a higher quality inn after all. If he was able to achieve what he set out to do, then it was well worth it in the end.

“Here’s one gold, and the extra is for a hot meal and as much of your strongest ale that the rest affords me,” Dario requested as he slid a gold coin onto the counter. “I want to get really wasted. And I mean really, really wasted.”

“You sure you’re even allowed to drink?” the bartender asked skeptically. “How old are you?”

“I turned seventeen last month,” he annoyingly replied.

Dario was at least as tall as most adults and would even say he was above average in height among fully grown men. He was just about eye level with the bartender, so how could he possibly be considered a kid? Did he have a baby face or something? No, that couldn’t be right. He may not have any facial hair, but that didn’t mean he was underage!

“Eh, good enough.” The bartender shrugged and swiped the coin off the counter before heading to the kitchen in the back. “Go take a seat.”

Dario looked around and spotted many free tables, but the one by the stairs caught his eye.

If he were to get drunk enough to feel drowsy, then he’d want to be able to get to his room as soon as possible. If he were to pass out on a table, well, he wouldn’t want to burden anyone who carried him by having them walk further than they have to. It would be funny to see, but fairly unnecessary.

With his mind made up, he took a seat at the table and awaited his order.

His plan was quite simple. He would either stuff himself with food and induce a food coma, or drink himself to the point of collapsing. Hopefully, the combination of both would, along with it being nighttime, somehow be enough to finally cause him to sleep.

Soon enough the bartender approached his table with a plate of food on one hand and a tray with several pints of ale on the other.

“Good luck with all that,” the bartender said after dropping off the food and drinks. “Your room is 204.” He placed a key on the table before heading back to the counter.

Dario pocketed the key and stared at his plate. It wasn’t often he got to taste regular food, so he savored the moment. Back at his home, his mother generally served the same exotic meals, rarely giving him the cheap food served to the rest of the city.

He leaned back in his seat and wondered what his mother thought he was doing right now. Before he left, he’d told her about his issues with insomnia, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, and she was a busy woman anyways. She figured that maybe he was stressed about something, or had some kind of teenage angst that kept him up at night, so she’d told him to take a week off and go enjoy himself out in the city. She knew he was street-smart and could take care of himself after all.

He had gratefully obliged as his home could be a bit overbearing at times with all the others who lived there. Plus, being alone meant that he could work on his insomnia problem in peace, the solution of which happened to be spread out on the table in front of him.

With great vigor, he leaned forward to devour his food and pints of strong ale. There was enough food and alcohol on the table to take out a large horse, most likely. He was certain he would fall asleep in no time, and it was pretty much guaranteed with all the measures he’d taken.

There was absolutely no way this wouldn’t work... right?