Sometimes, I don't sleep very well. Too much on my mind, perhaps. Every now and then, the stress of life can really get to me and interrupt my sleep. I have been known to experience an anxiety attack or two in the middle of the night. You've been there? It's no fun, right?
Last night, I was having one of those nights. Restless. Tossing and turning...couldn't get comfortable. Covers pushed off, then pulled back on as I started to shiver in the frosty night air. I often like to have the window open just a crack to let the fresh air in, but last night it was pretty damn cold.
In that drowsy state between full consciousness and sleep, I knew I wanted to get up and shut the window. I opened my eyes and looking straight ahead, I was sure someone was standing in my bedroom. A very tall person, wearing a hat. Very broad-shouldered, and needless to say, very menacing. I shut my eyes and opened them again very quickly, thinking that act alone would make "him" disappear. Yet he remained. I felt my pulse race, I wanted to scream; I thought for a moment I was dreaming, but knew for a fact I was awake. And I was. I was awake. And there was an intruder standing in front of my bed.
And yet...this figure never moved. Never swayed. And interestingly enough, never made a sound--not a breath or a sigh emanted from him. And as sleep fled, and my rational mind took over, the terror I felt a moment earlier seemed to dissipate. And I was able to roll over and turn on the light. My 7 foot, broad shouldered visitor with the hat was my jacket hanging in the wardrobe that faces my bed. I turned the light off and he reappeared. Clicked the light back on, and there was my innocent jacket once again.
I will never underestimate the power of light and shadow, and my own imagination. If tonight brings the same agitated sleep, and once again the shadows fall in such a way to create a figure in the night, I will do my best to remain calm...know this "thing" means no harm...it's all just a figment of my wild, agitated thoughts.
Tell me...what do you see in the dark?
