The long exasperated honking of a passing car woke her up. She had been in the middle of a sweet dream that would have carried her through the day. She looked up to the ceiling thinking about how she didn’t want to do this anymore. She had been happily asleep and now she was caught up in a vat of dread. Her pulse was erratic. She wanted to shut her mind off.

She wanted to not feel. But she wanted to know. Her dread was all-consuming. Even intoxicating. She stepped outside and knew the day was sunny and bright. But all she could see were thoughts waiting in the shadows.