Today I woke up. I say it in my head like it is an achievement. I woke up, like it was possible that I would have not but I did. I woke up today and decided I wanted to go back to sleep. The morning glow pierces through the patchy curtains, so I cut out the illumination of colors on my face with a towel and try to return to dwell in my dreams. But sleep will not come. I am washed upon the brink of consciousness – drowsiness lapping at feet. I will not succumb. I lash about pulling my deep blue blankets closer around my being and above my head. I close my eyes. But the stuffiness of the blankets envelopes me like a shroud and I breathe in the stale salty air till I can no longer and return to the surface to breathe. Fresh air. I try the towel again, turning to face the air conditioner’s hum. The lull brings my heartbeat to a slow steady pulse and I feel myself adrift back to unconsciousness. But then just as it had begun, my brain snaps back on full alert. I fight it. I toss toward the other side and block the light with a pillow. But sleep has deserted me and retreated back to its abyss. I fling off my blankets and rub my eyes. Today I woke up.
