My nightmares keep returning. They take my nights from me, and with them the strength I never manage to restore.

What stays is the fear they plant — a shadow that follows me into the morning, making me feel as if they’re warning me of something dark ahead, and then meets me again when night falls.

I’m afraid of surrendering to sleep — and of what may greet me when I wake, a fear that leaves a small, steady ache in my chest every day.