I have sleep paralysis, every night while falling asleep. The thought of it terrifies me, and I try to prolong how long I stay awake. It's 3 am now, and my eyes are starting to force themselves shut. As a war veteran, I have nothing to fear. I don't have PTSD or anything of the sort. But shortly after the war was over is when this all started.
My eyes finally shut, only to open once more. The room, which was once filled with light, was dark and empty. A single man stood over me. The figure moved closer to me. It was a man in a shawl, he raised his head to reveal a plague doctor mask looked to be grown out of his skin as well as the cloak. I could see the man's golden eyes from under the costume.
He just stared at me before other figures started to appear around him. I not only felt all their golden eyes piercing through me but the feeling as if they were dissecting me with stares. I wanted to move, to run, to hide, but I could do none of these things. Then nothing. Just black. What just happened? I suddenly woke up. It was the morning. I didn’t expect this. I decided to get up since going back to sleep was an unwise decision. I didn’t feel as tired. I grabbed my keys and started to head out to my car, a cheap black Mitsubishi Lancer. I wanted to go out for coffee for my coffee machine was short of a few lifetimes, and had long given up. 2017 was a strange time. I reached the cafe and stepped inside. People made me uncomfortable, with their judging stares. It was bad enough that I could barely get any work, everyone I personally knew thought I was helpless even after I got my prosthetic leg, I wasn’t. Why did everyone assume that? They knew it made me feel bad, I fought for my home and this is what I got, strange looks and disrespect. I can’t blame them, they only knew their home, their lives, not what I saw, not what I’ve done.-
“Excuse me sir? Are you okay?” The barista asked.
I had been standing there in front. “I’m fine, can I get a caramel latte?”
I looked like an idiot, being a 30 year old man with a prosthetic leg, drinking a caramel latte. What was I thinking, I should’ve ordered a black coffee and went home and used my caramel creamer in it.
