Sao woke up to a rarity: colliding with his front door and landing flat on his back.

He winced and for a moment wondered if he had blinded himself, it was so dark. But no, blurring in and out of focus above him was the ceiling lamp, the side table, and of course, the door. Gathering his bearings, he set his hands against the icy tiles and sat up. The sky outside the living room window was black, but sequined with stars so bright they made the city seem dim. He realized it was because the office towers and skyscrapers had turned their lights off for the night - it was very late. 

Sao was quite sure he’d started off in bed. Yes, he was in pajamas and his face was unmade. He was still warm from being under the covers. Somehow he'd made his way past the living room and onto the floor.

The phone began to ring furiously - a call from the landline, another rarity. A very strange dream this was. Strange, yet realistic.

“What the fuck is this? I just watched you spend ten minutes trying to walk through the locked door with your eyes closed.” The acid hiss of Hro the landlord came tearing down the line, scything apart any dreamlike veneer. “You know the thing won’t open without an optical scan. And you may have to touch the doorknob at some point, hm?"

"Hm," was all he could think to respond with

"Were you - you're kidding me - sleepwalking?”

Of all the oddities suggested that night, this was the most extreme. When Sao slept, walking - and any other mode of exercise - was off the table. It defeated the purpose, the luxury and security that the realm of sleep held for him. Sao shook himself fully awake, scratching his eyelids. “I- I’m sorry to have got you up so late. What exactly was I doing...?”

“There were two alerts that someone was trying to ram the locks so I checked in. And lo and behold, sleeping beauty is trying to brain himself on the front door.”

Sao glanced up at the notch in the ceiling where he knew Hro was (or could be - there were other cameras) watching his midnight shenanigans. “Sleepwalking... It’s never happened before, but I guess that’s the only explanation.”

“Great. And what are you going to do about it?”

It was far too late in the day (or early, he was afraid to check) to be pondering self-reformation. Even at peak mental clarity, he doubted anything he said would satisfy Hro, who was director and majority shareholder of Chimera, and found even the country’s top financial advisors consistently disappointing. The only thing Hro liked, as far as Sao knew, was belittling people. He hadn’t made this personal call to ensure his tenant’s wellbeing. 

Sao yawned. His forehead ached. “I think I’ll tie myself to the bedframe and go back to sleep.”

Hro huffed and swore in the same breath, which indicated enough of his time had been wasted. Sao dropped the phone back into its receiver and slouched his way back to the bedroom.