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I couldn’t sleep- not because the night was loud, but because it listened. Each time I closed my eyes, something answered. A dream- no, not a dream, because I was still there, still breathing, still trapped in the waking. Reality bent in silence, stitched itself behind my eyelids. And there- I saw it. Myself. Not whole. Not steady. A reflection unraveling- confused, afraid, drowning in thoughts with no edges. I was lost in a village that didn’t exist, streets folding into themselves, doors leading nowhere, every path whispering: stay. I opened my eyes- escaped, or thought I did. I reached for something soft, something warm- a memory, a lie, a place where waves breathe for you. But comfort wouldn’t come. So I tried again- closed my eyes, begged the dark for a beach, for light, for anything but me. Nothing answered. Only the echo of myself, waiting. I opened my eyes- too fast, too late. My lungs forgot their purpose. Air turned to glass. Each breath shattered inside me. I clawed at the invisible, choking on nothing, on everything, on the weight of being awake when I shouldn’t have been. The night pressed closer. Watched. I never slept after that. And whatever found me there- between sight and dream, between breath and silence- it hasn’t left.
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Mar 21
Mar 21, 2026 at 9:07 AM UTC
The thing that waits behind closed eyes
I couldn’t sleep- not because the night was loud, but because it listened. Each time I closed my eyes, something answered. A dream- no, not a dream, because I was still there, still breathing, still trapped in the waking. Reality bent in silence, stitched itself behind my eyelids. And there- I saw it. Myself. Not whole. Not steady. A reflection unraveling- confused, afraid, drowning in thoughts with no edges. I was lost in a village that didn’t exist, streets folding into themselves, doors leading nowhere, every path whispering: stay. I opened my eyes- escaped, or thought I did. I reached for something soft, something warm- a memory, a lie, a place where waves breathe for you. But comfort wouldn’t come. So I tried again- closed my eyes, begged the dark for a beach, for light, for anything but me. Nothing answered. Only the echo of myself, waiting. I opened my eyes- too fast, too late. My lungs forgot their purpose. Air turned to glass. Each breath shattered inside me. I clawed at the invisible, choking on nothing, on everything, on the weight of being awake when I shouldn’t have been. The night pressed closer. Watched. I never slept after that. And whatever found me there- between sight and dream, between breath and silence- it hasn’t left.
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Mar 21
Mar 21, 2026 at 9:07 AM UTC
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