After hesitating for a good five minutes or so, I tried to open my eyes again. Pain danced throughout my body, being especially heavy around the left eye. It felt as if I was beaten to a pulp and beyond. Before I knew it, I shut my eyes even tighter than before, as I dared not even twitch.

No, this is an even worse one. But this dream has to end someday. Yeah, I just have to keep waiting for it. Trying my best to comfort myself was like trying to convince a cat to swim. It did as well as pouring a cup of water in a burning forest to quench the fires.

My body tensed up as my mind went blank. Feeling that the world around me kept spinning grew stronger by the moment. The thumping in my chest never ceased to stop as my body lost any remaining feeling I once held. My chest kept heaving up and down, but it did no good to ease my breathlessness.

With my consciousness growing hazier, I blacked out before I knew.

Feeling something stinging my eye, I woke up while trying to get up. Taking a minute to adjust to the light falling on my face, I began opening my eyes.

Pain coursed through my head like I hit my head on a spike, causing my drowsiness to vanish in an instant. My body felt heavy, as if pressed beneath boulders, still unresponsive because of the numbness. My memory of previous events gradually returned as my heart sank.

This isn’t a dream, is it? I thought to myself as powerlessness and dread took a hold of me.

It’s all really happening to me. I really can’t move or see, can I? It’ll always stay like this, won’t it? Why me… what did I do to deserve this? Why am I still here? Just to suffer? Why can’t I just get up and walk like a normal human?

I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry my heart out… But my body won’t listen.

I could hear a thumping in my ears while all I could think of became limited to thoughts of pain and frustration. Blood rushed to my head as muscles in my arm turned taut.

Ouch! That really hurts… Ouch my hand…

Registering the feeling, my eyes went wide.

My body trembled because of the pricks of pain assaulting my right hand. My hand… it just… did it? Really? Not wanting to believe in myself, I tried to move it a little.

And it moved! Though not a lot.

Is this one of those ‘too good to be true’ dreams?

Being unable to believe that I wasn’t dreaming, I kept trying. Although every movement brought bouts of pain, I couldn’t care less. Elation kept dripping from my heart. I could feel my fingers rubbing against each other as they moved around ever so slightly.

No, calm down. Don’t get over-excited. A thought drifted through my head. Following an involuntary gulp, which reminded me how dry my throat was, I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Okay! I can move! Although painful, I can move! Though not a lot. My heart went cold, as if showered by a bucket-full of icy water.

But, it’s better than nothing. Right? It’s a good start! But… but what about my eye? I tried to uplift myself, only to end up worse. Despair clutched my chest once again, dampening my excitement further. I couldn’t help but get inspired by a bout of optimism as I thought, What if my eye too is okay and I need to exert a lot more effort?

No, don’t get ahead of yourself, me, I scolded myself. Be happy that you can at least move, even though just a little, and think about what to do next. Thus, I started thinking long and hard, trying to come up with a plan of action.

I should find out where I am, why am I here, what happened to me and is there anyone here to help me. Let’s start with looking for people who may help me.

Hastily opening my mouth, I tried to utter some words, only to feel my throat being gouged out. Breaking into inaudible coughs, each cough felt like a stab through my throat, intending to draw blood.

Okay, speaking would be a better start. Haha… Who am I kidding?

Suppressing the turmoil bubbling within me, I did my best to hold on to my clarity. Lifting my arm after countless tries while fighting the pain and voice in my head telling me to give up, I tried feeling what happened to my left eye.

It felt somewhat rough and not like how the skin above and below felt. I tried to press down a little on what my arm touched in order to find more. However, with a stinging sensation from my eye, coupled with the sensations from my arm, I couldn’t hold on.

My arm bounced up and down against whatever I lay on a few times before settling. A liquid was flowing atop my arm, like sweat, but a lot more thick. It caused me to develop a sudden urge to scratch my arm. At the same time, panic filled my thoughts as I didn’t know what was flowing on my arm.

Gritting my teeth, I clenched my fingers together in a fist, trying to use pain to hold back my panic.

And it had a measure of success. Though, it still hurt the same, if not more than before. Gritting my teeth, I did the only thing I could — endure the pain and wait for it to subside.

Using the fleeting clarity brought by the pain, I began thinking over everything which had happened.