Paralysis

I’ve experienced the darker side of sleep, a place where few have wandered—a place I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. For decades, I have been plagued by a rare condition, sleep paralysis, and hypnogogic hallucinations on a nightly basis. It keeps me teetering on the edge of a dreamscape—stuck between two states of consciousness, with no escaping the impending doom gripping my heart. A place where, neither fully awake nor fully asleep, the nightmares claw at me in a sinister ferocity. The first encounter was peaceful. After putting my nine-year-old daughter to bed and falling into a deep sleep, I awoke in a trance-like state. Something flew above me, giving me a deep sense of peace and tranquility. A male