Sleep paralysis

 i woke up this morning.

couldn’t move.
couldn’t speak.
my chest felt heavy, like gravity had picked a side.

the walls were breathing. slow. steady. familiar.

then i noticed it.

at the foot of the bed.

it didn’t have a real shape. just a person-sized shadow where a person shouldn’t be. no edges. no detail. like the absence of light decided to stand upright.

except for the eyes.

two of them. open. watching.

they weren’t glowing. they weren’t bright.
just visible enough to know they were there.
just clear enough to know they were looking at me.

it didn’t move.
it didn’t touch me.

it didn’t have to.

the pressure on my chest got worse when i looked at it.
like it noticed i noticed.

the walls kept breathing.
in time with it.
like the room was holding me in place for it.

i tried to look away. couldn’t.
tried to focus on anything else. couldn’t.

time stopped working.
my fingers twitched first. then my hand.
when i could finally move my head, it was gone.

no footsteps. no sound.
just the wall, settling back into stillness.

i didn’t sleep after that.

i know what sleep paralysis is.
i know what people say about shadow figures and stress and the brain filling in gaps.

but i also know this—

it wasn’t curious.
it wasn’t hostile.

it was waiting.

I’m meeting NoPiglet or “Cody” for coffee later, turns out he’s only two hours from where I live, so I won’t post for a while. 

— edwin

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