Whenever I fall asleep I feel its cold gaze on my motionless body. I don't know what it is. Deep down there's a primal feeling that it wouldn't hesitate to tear me into hundreds of pieces if I were to lay my eyes upon it. It's not human. I never hear the door creak, or the window slide open, just the breathing. That shaky, ragged breathing. Sometimes it gets close enough that I can feel its frigid breath down my neck. It makes me shudder.
I don't know where it comes from or where it goes. Maybe it manifests when I close my eyes, and disappear come dawn. It's given me many sleepless nights, and I'm not sure how much more I can take.
I want to open my eyes. I want to see the face of my tormentor before it tears the limbs from my body. Maybe the insomnia has turned me delirious, but I'd like to know what that thing looks like before I die. If there is a God, I hope he has mercy on me. I'd prefer to die on my own terms.
There's not much more I can take. One night it will break me. Perhaps it'll pry my eyes open with its sharp, twisted fingers, or crush my skull with its jagged teeth. Or maybe it has no physical form. Just a presence, watching and waiting, whenever I go to sleep.
