dread

fills

my

chest

as She takes my hand

and leads me down a

long

corridor

with blinding darkness

and loud silence

i try

to stop

walking

but She continues to pull me along

the hallway gets

narrower

and

tighter

and the dread spreads throughout my whole body until it turns into panic and i start to shake

as the world outside the small tunnel gets more and more distant and muffled

and i can only focus on Her.

everything

is going

so

fast

and i can’t

breathe anymore

until i hear a calm but concerned voice from the outside world break through the walls.

“hey, are you okay?”

i snap out of my state of anxiety and meet the familiar eyes of my friend,

as my heart rate starts to go back to normal.

i pause as the friend’s words finally register in my mind.

“...yeah, just a little nervous.”

the friend takes my hand, the same way She did, but with a much kinder and warmer touch,

and gently

pulls me

off the ground

as Her voice

disappears

and is replaced by the familiar-sounding,

“come on, you’ll be fine.”