Warning!
This is a book for the open-minded only!
If you feel that you already know all about the mysteries of our existence, your view of life is set and you would like to keep it this way, then this book is not meant for you. Don't bother reading...
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I believe in living today. Not in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.
- Loretta Young
"My doctor diagnosed me with gastritis. I can barely eat and it hurts." Samantha sighed. She propped her head up on her hands, her elbows resting on the smooth, artificial surface of the desk before her.
"I have been suffering from a chesty cough for the last two weeks," Marlies groaned, a sudden coughing fit confirming her statement.
"I have headaches every day, practically." Sandra, a brown-haired girl piped up, while passing by to get to her seat in the row in front of me.
"Me, too! I have to swallow an aspirin a day to survive," Tanja next to me complained, her features contorted into a painful grimace.
Wherever I looked – or rather: whoever I listened to – practically all my classmates were fighting with various ailments, due to the pressure of the end-of-term-five-weeks-in-hell-examination-time that was already upon us.
As far as I could tell, I was the only one who had managed to survive the WFA up to that point, without suffering from more or less serious physical problems. Thanks to my successful attitude of 'living in the here and now'.
I myself did feel a little tired that day, but for a completely different reason: during the night, I had had a surprise visit from my hay fever.
Don't laugh! I know it sounds strange, but this was exactly what the incident in the night had felt like.
Sometimes, during our sleep, we become conscious of our surroundings without waking up fully. Or rather: without wanting to wake up fully. Has it ever happened to you that you needed to visit the bathroom, but were somehow unable to summon the will to do so (until it got really, really urgent or you went back to sleep and had dreams of rushing water)? This is what I am talking about.
In my case, I had found myself exactly in this stage in between sleep and wakefulness, when - very gradually - my throat had started to become more and more itchy. Not able to muster enough energy to resist, I had drowsily responded by rubbing my tongue against my throat to get rid of the very unpleasant sensation. Which, of course, had been rather counterproductive.
Belatedly realizing what was happening, I had wanted to fight the allergy with the already well-tried technique of relaxing my system. Only, I had not been awake enough to focus. Some part of me just hadn't wanted to be bothered and as a consequence, the allergy had gradually got worse.
Until it had finally dawned on me that I had been under attack!
Summoning every bit of willpower I had been able to get hold of in my semi-aware state, I had forced myself to wake up fully. Which had still taken a few minutes.
In the end, I had needed to sit up, to be able to properly concentrate on fighting the allergy. But as a reward, I had succeeded!
Lying back down after having restored peace in my system once again, I had wondered just where that attack had really come from. The way it had occurred, had almost appeared to be. . . purposeful. . .
