Last night, I had a dream that I was on fire.

I was lying on my side with my face pressed into the mattress, half awake, medicated, sick, when I felt a figure sit next to me. I opened my eyes but there was nothing to see, yet I felt the weight of a body next to me, peering over me, turning my bones to solid steel and making me slip into sleep. I soon felt a hand on me, I don't remember where it had touched me, but with a small flicker of consciousness, I was out of the awake state of being and falling rapidly into sleep, literally. Flames blazed up from all around me, covering every inch of skin imaginable. Such powerful arms of fire rose up and flapped in the air, as my body became heavier, sinking, pulling me down, down, down into this abyss. It didn't burn nor hurt, but the sensation of breaking through mass at such force was alarming. I tried to wake myself up, but failed multiple times; wake up! I tried to twitch but my body was unresponsive, giving in to the rush of flames. Wake up! With an effort, I opened my eyes. Oh, heavy leaded eyes! -and it was gone. Everything. The rush, the being, the weight, and the flames. I looked around the room for something but my eyes only showed me what once was before I slept.

I sat up afraid to fall into sleep again, so soon. I did not want to feel that presence again. I did not want to burn, silently, again. So I kept myself awake lying on my back staring at the ceiling. Sleep crept up on me unaware and soon I was sprawled out like a running man, but this time he left me alone.