Deep Night

The dream explodes and I am left alone floating in blackness. My mind is struggling to make contact with my rationale, trying to distinguish reality from illusion. My breaths are sharp, my heartbeat erratic as I slowly surface into a nervous wakefulness.

The house vibrates as a low rumble builds from afar, the restless growl rolling closer, getting angrier. For an instant, the darkness morphs into a milky spotlight, illuminating my bedroom causing objects to look contorted and throwing deformed shadows along the walls before flashing back into the darkness. Violently, a monstrous bellow shakes the house as the wind begins to freight train through the trees, snapping limbs and roaring passed the windows.

Each jolt of thunder, each gut-punching wind blast feels as if the big bad wolf is going to bash the house down. I am exhausted and try chasing glimpses of sleep, only to be roughly shaken awake, tumbling in a circle between confusion and horror.

The terror is ravenous. I realize just how small I am compared to the beast that is slamming its rage against my refuge. The electricity to the neighborhood is lost and I exist in a barrage of flickering ghostly light that is quickly swallowed by the booming blackness that is so deep and thick it makes the dark feel heavy. In between flashes it is hard to tell if my eyes are closed or open. I have a feeling that something is watching me in the dark.

Eventually the Night Goblin moved onward. As the clamor decreases and the house tremors fade, a wall of comforting rain pours from the sky, soothing the spirit and whispering that the nightmare is gone, now there are only miracles outside of my door.

I realize that I am safe now and the tension drains from my body into my pillow-top mattress. My eyes close and I am taken by fatigue.

I sleep as if I were a child who hears the stars gently singing through the silky night…I slumber protected…never knowing the monsters’ roar.

Take Care.