That nightmare of not being able to run — that’s my reality

It’s called Cataplexy and it’s helll

Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

When I was 15 I entered the large, empty events hall at my school. We had a dancing lesson as part of our physical development class.

One of my friends, Will, happened to enter the empty hall at the same time, from the other end.

“Will!” I yelled, flinging my arms.

“Nikki!” He yelled back.

And we slow-motion ran towards each other, and through some unsaid agreement, he tried to jump into my arms.

I laughed so hard that my legs melted, my arms didn’t even lift enough to catch him.

He landed on my foot. And as I melted to the ground in hysterics, I could feel I was going to wet myself.

But I couldn’t move.

I was confused, but it was benign back then, I thought nothing of it.