Poetry and Short Stories

S | Paralysed

It is the sudden silence around me that scares me. When I turn around, the red door behind me is still visible. But besides the door, there is nothing. Nothing at all. The space I am standing in is dark, I cannot see the horizon, nor can I see anything within this space. It's like I entered a whole new dimension after I stepped through the red door.

I take a few steps forward. Nothing, no sound, not even my own breathing is audible. I mouth the word 'hello', but it's like the sound I produce is being sucked into a black hole. I turn around again. Fear is clawing its way up my back, trying to slip into my mind and make me hysterical. I try to suppress it, but the darkness and the silence only enhance its strength.

I try screaming, but again there is no sound. Quickly, I run back to the red door. I need to get out of here. As I want to grab the door handle, the door disappears and reappears a few meters away from me. My mouth drops open and my anxiousness grows. I run towards the door and try to grab the door handle again. But just like the first time, the door disappears and reappears a few meters away from me. I run again, try to grab it again, and have to run again.

It doesn't stop, it keeps going. Have I been trapped inside a nightmare?

I run, and I run. Until, until I touch the door. My eyes enlarge when I feel the rough wooden door handle in my hand. I hold my breath as I pull open the door and step through it.

Covered in sweat and panting, I wake up in my bed. My eyes are wide open, and I stare at the ceiling. A nightmare, it was a freaking nightmare. The clock on my wall tells me it's six o'clock. My mom will get up and come over to my room at any moment.

I try to get my breathing back to normal. My heart is pounding in my chest and can hear the blood being pumped through my arteries. There is a knock on my door and not long after that, my mom steps in. "Morning Jules!" she sings. She sits on the side of my bed and as soon as she looks at me, her face turns worried. "Did you have a nightmare?" She smiles with care and I watch as she places a hand on my chest. "Well, whatever nightmare you had, you're awake now. So, don't worry, okay?" She gets up and walks towards my wheelchair. She takes it and rides it towards the side of my bed. "Let's get you ready now."