Story Cubes 3: Up All Night

"Why can't I get to sleep?" Evan thought. He'd tried everything, even counting sheep. Ever since he'd broken his ankle, he'd mostly been confined to the house, and the restlessness this induced just wouldn't leave him. "Might as well get up," he thought, grabbing his cane from where it hung on the bedpost. He was vaguely hungry, so he hobbled downstairs to the refrigerator and found an apple to munch on while he built a pyramid of sugar cubes on the kitchen table. Then he went to the living room, settled on the couch and began to doodle an abstract figure on his sketch pad.

Just as he was beginning to nod off, there was a knock on the front door. "At this time of night?" he thought. He shuffled over to peer through the keyhole. It was his prodigal brother, no doubt needing a place to stay again. He'd have another tearful tale to tell him, and Evan would have to decide how much of it was true. There would probably be a dust-up. So, an exhausting night of turbulent emotion ahead. At least in the morning, with luck, he'd be able to sleep.