My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as they pushed their way open. Pockets of sweat bubbled above my brow as I desperately searched for familiarity. It was then I realised I was trapped. Feeling helpless, hopeless, and clueless, I froze solid like a statue on the bed. Every part of my body wanted to move, but no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to move an inch. I tried to move my arm, I couldn’t. I tried to move my leg, I couldn’t. I tried to move my head, I couldn’t. All I could move were my eyes. I tried to say something, I tried to scream, I felt like I was screaming at the top of my voice, but not a single sound came out.

I was able to see around, look around, but alas, I wasn’t able to make any sort of movement. As I lay trapped, I couldn’t help but feel scared, feel terrified, like something was lurking around that I couldn’t see. I wanted to see, I wanted to look, I wanted to just get a glimpse so I could stop trembling with fear, and I could be assured that there’s nothing haunting me, that there’s no supernatural forces there that were causing me to lay awake without being able to move a finger, without being able to get up, without being able to make a sound.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and decided to give it my all to get out of that trap. I put every force of strength I could in my body to get up, but no matter how much I tried, how much I felt like I was moving, the reality was I couldn’t.

Tears started rolling down my cheek, realising I’m trapped and there was nothing I could do. All I could do was lie in wait, calm, fearless, & patience. Eventually, I was able to fall asleep and when I woke up, I was able to move again.

This is the story of Sleep Paralysis.