She moved through the day with a strange sense of both slowness and urgency, as though time itself couldn’t decide whether to race ahead or drag along. There seemed to be so little to do, yet so much left undone. Before she could catch her breath, the day had slipped away, ending before it had even truly begun.
Later, as midnight rain showered against the window, she watched her partner sleep peacefully beside her, his soft snores filling the quiet room. Yet, within her, a sudden emptiness swelled—hollow and cold. She sat at the edge of the bed, closed her eyes, and a dream washed over her—a dream of herself in a dimly lit room.
The room seemed to shrink as darkness crept in from all corners. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped her lips. Fear gripped her as the darkness thickened, and in a sudden panic, she jolted awake. Her eyes flew open, and she quickly checked the time—it was barely 10:30 PM. She sighed and closed her eyes again, hoping for peace.
This time, the dream took her elsewhere. She saw a woman walking quickly toward a distant light. She tried to follow, but suddenly, her legs refused to move. Pain shot through them, and her skin felt heavy, as though it were sinking into itself. She tried to scream, but her voice had vanished, leaving her in silent agony.
Desperate, she pushed forward, but the ground beneath her began to shift, swirling in circles. It dawned on her that she wasn’t walking in a straight line; she was trapped in a maze, its walls curving around her, pulling her deeper and deeper toward its core. Every step seemed futile, as if the maze itself were working against her, preventing her escape.
The maze tormented her with hollow images—distorted, vengeful figures that materialized out of the darkness. They mocked her, their laughter echoing in the silence, chaining her with invisible weights that made every movement a struggle. She stumbled and paused, looking closely at the figures. Slowly, she recognized them—they resembled people she knew.
And then she saw him. Her partner stood at a distance, holding one of the leashes that bound her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she cried out to him, but he barely glanced in her direction, his gaze fixed elsewhere, oblivious to her pain.
She cried and cried, but no one consoled her. Slowly, her tears stopped. When she realized there were no more tears left, she took a deep breath and looked at herself. She had become huge, barely able to move anymore.
All the leashes that had bound her earlier seemed to end in her own hands. She began dropping them, one by one, and the dark figures started shouting in protest.
In defiance, she plucked out her ears and threw them at those creatures. Just as she was about to let go of the final leash, she saw her partner walking toward her. But that’s when she realized it wasn’t really him—it was just one of the figures that resembled him.
She dropped the final leash and decided to try walking again. Her feet hurt less this time, and as she took her first steps.
And the maze stopped spinning! Now, a road stretched before her, leading toward the light.
With a sense of relief, she knew she could finally embrace the light. But just before she could reach it, she woke up.
She quickly realized that it was still midnight and glanced over at her partner, still snoring softly.
She somehow felt lighter this time and decided to lie down and go back to sleep.