Deprived & Paralysed

I laid on my bed to sleep, waiting till slumber hits, at last, to be welcome back to my palace. To dream and feel the blissful wonders of rest. As I rested on my bed, with eyes closed. I was relaxed and ready. Waiting for sleep to come and take me away. But it didn’t. I rolled around, and tried all I can to feel comfortable, but nothing. As day rose and the world was waking up, I was already up with them. I tried again, figured a plan and began anew to return to sleep. All distractions were away, the bed was comfortably ready and tried again to feel the grasp of sleep take me. Except for the lights, noises and all manner of things did not let me go peacefully away to my dreams.

My second night was wasted and ruined by the very rambunctious manner of the world itself. So I made room, to make sure nothing will enter, no ray of light will spit at my eye or shred of sound to pull at my ears. By the third night, I got to bed, nothing but tranquillity and peace all around as I laid to rest once more in this new quiet dark pocket I made. For a moment this was it, I can finally rest. At long last, sleep was going to take me. But suddenly my body felt sore, I blinked in the dark as my whole body ached, feeling muscles strain and joints pop. I did not understand, but as I went to get out of this man-made hole of darkness, it was daylight outside. Time in a matter of a few blinks and minutes skipped from night-time to day-time. I looked back to my bedroom trying to understand, it felt like a sudden flash as now day came to be.

This night I figured all I could to ensure that I would sleep. To finally sleep, as I took medicines, concoctions, teas, and meditations clear the mind and numb the body. Prepping myself for sleep to just take me away. And it was working… my body relaxed, everything about me was falling to sleep. I did it, I did it, I did it! I practically wept in relief that I was falling asleep. Laying down, my body was truly ready, finally, I can dream and be knocked into unconsciousness at last. So I closed my eyes and relaxed. Could feel it tickle and take me away. But it didn’t. It didn’t. I couldn’t move but my mind wanders. I couldn’t even open my mouth, to scream in frustration. I wanted to just rest, just one night to rest and wake up to feel refreshed. But it was denied… In this state, for even though my body laid there unable to move, my mind opened certain doors.

I heard something in the dark of my room. I could look at my periphery, but nothing else, I could feel that something was here. That even in the darkness I could see an outline, of something even darker there. Creeping in. I watched it. I wanted to scream, to roar and banish it. I wanted to whimper and beg not to do anything to me. I wanted now so desperately to move, to run out, to push it away, to defend myself. Yet here I lay, to be taken by this thing. It then just sat on top of me. Feeling its weight on me press down, heavy at my chest, feeling myself get harder and harder to breathe. I cried and screamed in anguish, but nothing came out. It sat and I could feel it stare me down, looming over me. I don’t know for how long I was like this… as this thing laid sitting on top of me. The moment I knew the night has passed is the sudden gasp for air, the release and sudden flailing of limbs. The rays of sunshine smacked at me as I collapsed outside of my bedroom. I took lungfuls of air, to breathe.

The day spiralled away from me… I feared the night. I feared that sleep won’t ever take me back. That as night came, I spiralled, fearing that sleep will never come, I need to rest, anything and everything to just sleep. Not even my bedroom was safe. My mind felt dizzy, my own body nauseous as the six nights without rest. My body was at its very limit. Frantically I looked around, to keep myself awake, to watch out for it, and I tried. I tried… I left the lights on, showered in cold water, ate all the sweets and drank as much coffee as I could. It lasted… And I saw them… Waiting at the edge. Right at my periphery… I felt the crash coming close… my body just going limp. My eyes going heavy. They approached… I could see them getting closer… I held on as best that I could. As it got nearer and nearer, its face close to mine. I wanted to scream, but I had no energy for it. Before anything happened to me, they vanished, I could see the peek of the sun rising. At that moment my body collectively passes out.

It sleeps, dreamless, and for a moment it feels peaceful. Tranquil… Yet it feels hard to breathe, no dreams, just the darkness… Feeling pinned down. My eyes flutter open, and I see it. See that thing sitting on me, its face looming over me. I stare at it, seeing a red spiral as my mind falls into it. Paralysed, I couldn’t fight back. Deprived, I didn’t have the energy to fight back. So I was lost, to a dreamless and eternal rest.

#horror #flashfiction #fiction #inspiration