At night,
when I close my eyes,
The Dream Workers come.

And in the morning,
when I open them,
The Dream Workers leave.

But one day,
they never left.

“2:36”
says the clock on the wall.
with  
every
passing
minute
time  
slows
and
my thoughts  
drift off
into
another world.
a sly pain
creeps up
the ridge of my nose
and trickles
down into  
my eyes  
i blink,
--once--
--twice—
a frail attempt to
push it back,
her eyes filled with
sincere concern.
she asks if i'm okay,
snapping me out of my daze,
i blurt out,  
yeah, i'm fine,
it’s just a headache.
offering her a  
small smile,
in an effort
to calm the dull ache
i press my cool fingers
over my eyes
and move my thumbs  
in tiny circles
along my temples
a rush of relief  
washes over me,
but it lasts  
only a few seconds.  
suddenly
waves of pain
flood the space between my temples
and course
down my neck,
piercing  
into my shoulders.
i nestle my head
into my arms
muffling
the shouts and roars  
around me.
slowly
i lift my head  
and peek
at the clock  
“2:41”
at last
my suffering is over,
for today.

but  

there is
always  
tomorrow.

-Tasnim Uddin