What Do You Fear?

I’m in a small room. The silence. It is deafening. My mind races. I slowly open a door. It leads to a dimly lit hallway. Doors on each side. Paranoia kicks in.

Do I open one of the doors? Do I walk to the other side? Do I take a risk?

Lights begin to flicker. As if they are strobe lights. They continue to flicker quickly. I begin to see a dark figure. It is standing at the other side of the hallway. Each flicker of light it gets closer. I hear this cackling. Moaning. As if it is trying to speak. It is now halfway to me.

I begin to see it is a woman. Jet black hair that is long and down to her waist. It sways slowly as she contortions herself as she approaches closer to me. Within a moment, her face begins to show. It is white. Pale as can be. The only thing that does not move are her eyes.

They stare. Intimidate me. Expressing anger, disgust, and sadness. The moaning and rattling get louder. She is about five feet from me. Reaching her lanky, skinny fingers out to my face. She is in a plastic trash bag with a white long gown. Blood covers the outfit.

My fear rises and goosebumps begin to appear. I am frozen in fear. I cannot look away. Her stare and sounds continue. I have nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. I can look down at the ground, but I can still hear the ear piercing sounds she makes.

I have to face her. My mind races with everything I fear.

• Failure
• Insecurities
• Termination

The list goes on.

I open my eyes. I am awake in my own bed. Reminiscing on what had just occurred. I am back in what I thought was only a dream. I realized where I just was. My nightmare. I can still hear those sounds. I am fearful to turn on the light. She is still fresh in my mind. I am afraid to see what I cannot see. Fear of the unknown.

“ It is our light, not our darkness which most frightens us.” -Marianne Williamson