It's just a dream by Ashon Thadon (books to read for beginners TXT) 📕

“Stay awake! Stay awake!”

Lincoln Boyd kept telling himself that as he walked back and forth in his room. At the age of only 16, he looked like an old man of 40. He had bags under his eyes so deep that made wrinkles in his face. His eyes were bloodshot red for the lack of sleep he was depriving his body.

Prescription, over the counter and even some of his friend’s homemade pill containers cluttered his room as well as papers and clothes tossed all around.

“Stay awake! Just stay awake!”

Boyd’s friends thought he was crazy. They didn’t understand why Boyd could never close his eyes, not even for a minute. His parents had tried everything short of putting him in an insane asylum to help him with his insomnia. But the problem wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep, the problem was he didn’t want to sleep. He couldn’t sleep. Terrible things happened in his dreams. Terrible, terrible things happened. That wimpy monster under the bed had nothing on what his nightmares perceived.

He tried everything to try to get these night dreams out of his head. Recreational drugs made them worse and hypnosis made them nastier. He was on his own and sleep was his enemy.

His doctor suggested he go to some clinic where they treat this sort of behavior. But unless these quote on quote professional can help him get rid of his nightmares, it was pointless.

His condition had started affecting him at school until he couldn’t attend school at all. Lectures made him sleepy and that was a bad idea. He kept just shouting things to keep him awake disrupting the class until the principal thought it will be best if he left until he got his problem under control. But what that stupid principal didn’t know was that his problem wouldn’t be handled until he was dead. That’s what his nightmares wanted: his death.

Boyd could hear his parents outside his door. They never stayed too far from him scared he might commit suicide. His father was once discussing with his mother the option of the mental clinic. His mother was dead set against it because she didn’t think the clinic could help him either and at least home she can supervise him as long as she could. But even she was wearing thin. She had to take time off from work just to stay home and monitor him and it was taking a toll on her as well.

Boyd didn’t need his parents help, his doctor’s help or the help from the clinic professionals. He needed only thing, not to go to sleep, ever.

Or the nightmares would be there waiting for him. Patiently waiting for him to return.

Publication Date: 03-05-2014

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