My nightmare

I jolted and woke up from sleep. It was a nightmare that woke me up from my deep sleep. I sat up. I was sweating heavily. My heart was racing. I could feel it beating in my chest, as if it was pounding to escape the ribs. I checked my pulse - 107 beats per minute was the count. That definitely is too high.

I checked the time. It is 2:35 AM. My head feels heavy. My mouth is dry, I felt I needed to drink water. I tried to get up but I couldn't move. My left leg is numb. I massaged my leg to relieve the numbness. It started to get better gradually. Then I got pins and needles sensation in leg. I sat for two more minutes. I checked the pulse again - now 97 beats per minute. My palpitations are getting better but they are not yet normal.

Now the numbness in the leg is much better. I was able to stand. I checked the time again - it is 2:40 AM. I looked around in the room. My mother is sleeping peavefully on the bed, unaware that I am awake. Out of curiosity I looked out of the bedroom window. It is dark outside. There is nobody on the street. The streetlights are on. It is dark but not scary. "The busy city has its own character in the dark", I thought to myself. With little struggle I started walking to the kitchen. I was still limping because of the numbness in my leg.

I got out of the bedroom. In the dark I continued to walk towards the kitchen. I did not need a light to guide me, my legs knew where to go. In the kitchen I filled a glass with water and drank it in a jiffy. I never felt so relived after a glass of water. By now the sweating had gone better. The heart beats were back to normal. The leg though was still a little numb, but I was no longer worried about it.

I started walking back to the bedroom - navigating in the dark, not needing any guidance. I was back to yhe bedroom. I checked the time - it was 2:45 AM. I thought to myself "I have been awake for 10 minutes. It did not feel like 10 minutes. It felt more like 2 minutes. Have I lost the track of the time? Is something wrong with me?" I brushed off that thought completely.

I sat on the mattress. I now tried to remember - what the nightmare was all about? What made me so scared that I woke with in panic? What was so frightening about it? What did I see? I did not remember a bit. Nothing at all. I am no longer sure if it was even scary. Whatever it was I am still not ready to sleep. I think it is my gut that it telling me not to sleep and stay awake. Is it telling me about the upcoming danger? I don't know. But there is only one way to find out - by going back to sleep.