@JLoberiza 15 June 2021 edited more from that month

Can you appreciate the Light without darkness?

"*God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness."* Genesis 1:4 God separated the light from the darkness, but can you appreciate the light without darkness? *Hello again, readers. I am John and this is my response to the 4th Writing Prompt of* @JonicaBradley *with the topic* ***Darkness****.* https://read.cash/@JonicaBradley/writing-prompt-4-darkness-dd2a7be4 **Is Darkness A Sign of Evil?** We often associate darkness with evil.  From the folktales of different countries to novels and movies, darkness is always synonymous with evil. **Darkness** in Movies. In most horror films, like the Underworld, Dracula (in all variations), Werewolf movies, all these 'evil' creatures come out in the night.  Except for zombies. They are often seen walking in broad daylight. And these movies were inspired by novels, and some of them were inspired by different folklore. Even in science fiction movies, the Dark side is always associated with evil. Remember this dark towering figure from the original Star Wars trilogy?

Photo: created using Arloopa AR app **Local Folklore** In the Philippines, we have a score of creatures of the night from the tales of our ancestors. **Aswang** - a ghoul, or something else. This one has different versions. Commonly depicted as a human by day but becomes a changeling who can turn into an animal at night. One version says that the term Aswang is a conjunction of the two words '**aso** -dog and '**katawan**' body.  It is said they go out at night to look for young children to eat. **Mananangal**- a variation or a different type of the aswang. This one would leave the lower half of its body on the ground, while the upper body will grow bat-like wings and fly. They hunt for pregnant women. And from the roof would let its elongated tongue suck the fetus from the belly of its victim. **Kapre** - a tree-dwelling giant often depicted to have dark skin, hairy and often smokes gigantic tobacco. **Tiyanak** - this creature of the night is said to be the vengeful spirits of unborn children who were victims of abortion.

My rendition of Tiyanak created using Medibang Paint These are just some of the creatures of the night from Philippine folklore. The thing is, there are still people who believe these creatures exist. **Most Crimes Happen at Night.**  "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into." Matthew 24:43 NIV **https://matthew.bible/matthew-24-43** This verse shows that even the Bible recognizes that thieves strike at night. And if you read or watch the news, most of the crimes happen at night. On one occasion, our house was invaded by a thief **Should** We Fear The Darkness? Are you afraid of the dark? Should we fear the darkness? Considering the things I mentioned above, we have reasons to fear the darkness. But should we?  This brings me to my main question: Can **you appreciate the light without darkness?** As a human beings, our bodies are active during day time. That's why most of us do our work by day and rest at night. However, can you imagine living in a place where the sun never sleeps?  I think it was @AwakenToLifee who posted in Noise-Cash a photo of a sunset at 2 AM in Iceland. That was also the sunrise at the same time. Studies show that our bodies rejuvenate better at night. That's why they always say that sleeping at night is different from sleeping during the day. **So, can you appreciate the light without darkness?** Let's approach this question from a different angle. The cities these days are filled with lights even at night time. It's a way to make people feel 'safe'.  But there was a time that there was a total blackout in our city. No artificial lights were on. I went out of the house to feel the cool breeze. With almost total darkness, I looked up to the moonless night sky. I never saw the stars as clearly as that night. They were beautiful. So, can you appreciate the light without darkness? **Thanks for reading.** But before I close, I invite you to join this week's writing prompt on darkness  The rules are simple: Write about darkness Write 100% original content Write at least 600 words Tag @JonicaBradley And I tag the following for this writing prompt. @MarSou @AwakenToLife @bbghitte @DayYoung @Eunoia Have

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