My Phobia Man

13. His Story

It was impossible to sleep.

How could I sleep when lying so close to a stranger in my bed? When the room wasn't dark because of the bedside lamp? When his coconut shampoo filled my bed?

"I am sorry."

"Hmm?" I asked, half turning my head to Talay whom I thought was sleeping.

"I couldn't take you out for a coffee today," he explained while his bead-like eyes shone brightly with the help of the yellow light of the lamp.

"It is okay, it's not that I agreed to go out," I reminded him curtly.

"Still, on my next day off, I will take you to the backyard for coffee," he challenged me, but I kept my silence.

"I am sorry."

"Now for what?" I asked, irritated.

"For needing the light to sleep and occupying half of your bed."

"It is okay as I told you before, now sleep," I said authoritatively and finally he shut up after saying good night.

Rolling to my side, I tried to sleep again and after counting up to eighty words jumping over the clouds, I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

If you have been with me from the beginning, you should know what follows next after I sleep. What? Waking up with a start because of Talay, you say? Bingo!

As expected yet unfortunately, that night wasn't an exception. I woke up with a shake as Talay was clenching on my t-shirt as if his life depended on me. Getting better and better each night, I calmed my mind and pulled him into my arms to mitigate him.

However, that night, it didn't work...

Instead of getting lulled into a peaceful sleep, he got trapped into his nightmare. His small body was convulsing restlessly while he was gasping for air. As I couldn't soothe him, I decided to wake him up. I kept patting his cheek with enough force while calling out his name to take him out of his own mind's prison.

At least, this time it worked.

With a heart-wrenching scream, Talay opened his bloodshot eyes and looked at me with his glassy gaze. One of his clenching hands left my arm and found its way to my cheek. Caressing it lightly, he said "it's you... thank you... sorry..."

Before I could process what happened, his hand fell from my cheek and his eyes closed again, so I shook him hard to wake him up again.

"Talay, wake up, come on," I called out to him again and he opened his eyes again.

"Veera?" he asked with confusion, then jolted as he remembered what happened.

"It is okay, it was a nightmare," I reassured him as I hugged him tight. Talay returned the hug and buried his face on my chest.

"It was so terrifying," he whispered and I felt some wetness on my t-shirt as he started to cry over the fret he got.

"It is okay, you are safe," I kept repeating and rubbed his back. He felt so small and vulnerable in my arms that I had the urge to protect him from everything bad in this cruel world.

As I expected, it took a good amount of time for Talay to calm down. However, even after he was back to his senses, he was too afraid to sleep again. In the end, we ended up drinking herbal tea on the bed with all the lights on.

"You should get some sleep, I am fine," he tried to reassure me as if it was possible with those puffy eyes.

"I don't feel like sleeping," I lied blatantly and took a sip from my mug, "do you remember what you saw in your nightmare?"