I lied awake.
The consequences of that were typical. It meant I was probably tossing and turning, unable to find an optimal sleeping position. It meant that I was going to wake up feeling tired. It meant that I’d beging falling asleep in the middle of doing work tomorrow. (Or today, since it’ll technically be today) It meant that I was probably mentally fixated on something. It probably meant something was bothering me.
Yes, that seems right.
So I was faced with this dilemma: I could continue to attempt sleeping or I could remain thinking. I had been doing both, and that wasn’t working.
I looked around. My eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness, so I was blind to my surroundings. I could hear, but I was surprised by the quietude. I suddenly started imagining that I was encapsulated by a dark fog that swallowed all light and sound.
“Hello,” I whispered.
As quickly as I had made the sound, it disappeared. I failed to dissipate the quietude. That was disappointing. So I tried again, snapping my fingers. I heard the short snap under my sheets, but it was only a temporary break from the quiet.
Wait, why am I doing this?
I didn’t want to wake anyone up with my loud thoughts. Or perhaps I did. I sat up, feeling the cold carpet under my toes. I stood up. Surprisingly, the floor creaked with each step I made. I hadn’t noticed that before. It inspired me to tip toe out of the room, taking my time to open and close the door. I walked though the hallway and into the living room. There was a rectangle of yellow light on the floor, whose origin was the windows that faced the street. I sat down on a sofa and inspected this phenomenon, focusing on it and closing my eyes. I tried for a third option; clearing my mind.
After a while, it seemed, I heard a tapping approaching. The steady tapping closed in, ending right in front of me. I opened my eyes. The figure before me was breathing slowly. I turned around and saw that the yellow now lighted the figure’s face.
“Are you alright?” a familiar voice said, emmitting from the figure.
I looked at the voice, but I didn’t respond. I felt paralyzed. The thoughts that had plagued me all night left my mind, leaving only the negative feelings. I wanted to communicate at least this, but the words escaped me. The numbness had overtaken me.
“Come here,” the voice whispered.
I noticed that the figure had outstretched its arms. Though my mouth was unable to form words, the rest of my body was responsive. I stood up steadily. I let out a sigh, closing my eyes and leaning towards the figured.
Instead, I felt a hard force pushing against me. I opened my eyes. The familiarity had suddenly gone away. The room became dark. The surface I lied on as solid. A frigidity started to set in. The darkness seemed to go on for miles. I felt incredibly in this bleakness. There was a swooshing sound, but no wind to accompany it. I knew this feeling. It was fear. I felt my heart beat faster, faster, louder, stronger, cruder, farther, longer, swifter, deeper, quicker, tougher, and stop.
I awoke to find myself breathing rapidly. I turned to look up, noticing I was home. I took a deep breath and tried to collect myself. I looked out the window, noticing that it displayed the grey of the sky.
I remembered what had been bothering me.
