13

I woke up with my heart about to burst out of my mouth, it was so racing. A thick layer of cold sweat covered my body. The fear that gripped me was so terrifying I could feel it in my bones, consuming me, splintering me and terrifying me.

On impulse, I ran to the switch and turned on the living room's bright light, looking around just to make sure I was really here, in my house and not in that terrifying stable. Realizing the reality around me, realizing that everything was just a bad dream, calmed me down a bit, although the panic was still there, making my body shake uncontrollably.

Trying to calm down, I sat down on the edge of the couch and buried my face in my hands, taking deep, slow breaths over and over again, forcing my erratic heartbeat to return to normal, until my system calmed down.

It had been a long time since I had a nightmare like that. They were distorted images of a past reality that tormented me for many years, which I was only able to get rid of after going to the