The Collection

Sleep

I snapped my eyes open and looked up to my egg-shell white ceiling and could barely make out the periwinkle ceiling fan that is slowly making its way around and around, circulating the air around my room and sending a chill along my shoulders.

There it is again. That itch.

I felt it on my chin last night. Now it haunts my cheek.

But is it an itch? Or is it a radioactive spider?

Worse, it's a radioactive spider carrying a sack of a thousand baby radioactive spiders and if you smack it, they will explode onto your face and crawl in your ear and up your nose and in your eyes.

I quickly swiped at my face and flicked the spider behind my bed. I crawled to the end of my bed to get as much space between me and that thing.

I cannot believe I thought it was an itch last night. It was undoubtedly walking around my bedroom all day without me even knowing about it.

Disgusting.

But-

No.

There's something behind me.

It's standing right behind me, its hand reaching out.

Long, spindly, thin fingers.

What is it trying to grab?

Me.

It's going to grab me and take me into an underground bunker where I'll never be found. Lost.

Run.

I crawled back to the front of the bed and threw the covers over myself. A protective shield.

Thud, thud, thud.

What is that sound?

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

My heart.

Faster, faster, faster.

It keeps beating faster and faster. I can't catch my breath.

Thud, thud, thud. Breathe.

In and out.

Breathe.

I slowly pull the covers down below my eyes, being sure not to expose my ears or that weird guy from the other night will come back for them.

Nothing.

I see myself in the mirror mounted above my desk.

Scared.

I'm so scared.

The spider and then the hand. The other night it was the man out for my ears.

And the spider was on my face last night, too.

It was an itch.

Why?

Why, why, why, why, why?

Sleep.

Go to sleep and it will all be over. Sleep.

My eyelids feel heavy.

Heavy. Sleep.

I move to a laying position.

Sleep. It will all be over.

But how do I go back to sleep? The spider, the hand, the man out for my ears.

Sleep.

Find it.

Sleep.

********************

I wrote this one on April 27, 2021.

I'm not too sure what inspired it other than my own sleep paralysis demons.

I'm not sure it's exactly sleep paralysis, since I've never actually gotten it medically checked, so I say that with more humour than anything.

I do see silhouettes and things at night, though. It doesn't happen all the time but I guess it happend enough for me to write a short on it lol.

If this creeped you out, let me know because that was my goal! I hope your skin was crawling with fear at what this poor person experienced, MWAHAHAHAHA

...sorry, got a little carried away there

Have a nice day!

Madi