ESL Blogs

Chapter one : Morning Sleep 

When people are busy chasing their dreams, I am busy escaping mine. Take it literally, please. It is a common thing to have a dream while sleeping, the uncommon one is getting trapped in it.

It was a morning in Ramadhan, I decided to get back sleep after pray fajr. I turned off all the lamp except the dim one near the door, the light was dark yellow, a bit like orange, but darker. Officially, my room had no door, just a rectangle hole with a curtain over it.

I was totally stuffed with the food I had eaten when sahoor, that’s why easily fall asleep. I knew for sure I was sleeping but awoke. That was a strange feeling, everybody might have it. I once heard that we need to pass four stages before we  close our eyes until enter the  total sleep, called normal sleep, while sleep paralyses jump from first stage into forth stage slightly without even passing the second and third level. The effect was awaken mind in a drop body, feel alive but can’t control our rigid body. This condition occurred to the tired people. In my case, I was stuffed not tired, is that possible that I got tired because my body was busy in digesting my foods, anyway I admitted that sleeping after eating is not good at all.

In my awareness, I was laying and my eyes into the curtain, that blue silk turned brown by the little light. Suddenly I feel wind inside my room, fast and cold, then it went faster that I thought there was a storm, the lamp which is hanging on the wall shaking and so did the curtain, it made a wave. Then I got shocked, not because of the movement but the shadow on it. It formed a tall body belong to a man. I could think it was someone standing back on my curtain, but it came closer and closer slowly. For seeing that, I tried to scream but my mouth feels like tapped by silo tape. A shadow walked toward me and I could see it laying upside me, burdened me with extraordinary weight. There was nothing I could do, I was no more master of my body or else, was no more in my body. I recognize the ache on my tummy due to too much food I ate. But there was not any sense of sickness in others part of my body. This burden I felt is not upon my body but my inside, my soul, my spirit, I didn’t know.  

The shadow was gone but not the burden, it pushed me down. I barely collected my consciousness, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, I almost gave up and I did. I didn’t know where it came from but I suddenly stopped to move as I heard someone said on my ears “why not give it a try” a shrieking girl voice belong to me but spoke by other person. Then I lost my grip, I have no idea what grip I hold on to but I let it go, then I felt like drowning rather than fall as there was a steam underneath my bed. I had imagined a better place, but dark and suffocating place I didn’t even know whether I was standing or laying.

Well, I might in outer space, no gravity, no air. I made a sudden move and it brought me back to reality, my right foot kicked air and made a sound while it landed into bed. I sensed the sound woke my mum up as I heard her asking “what happen?” so loud. My eyes opened this time for real. I was breathing fast, sweated badly and my mouth dry as desert. Thank God, I got back to this world.