I was tired last night, very tired, and I passed out with the light on at around twelve-thirty-ish. Then, at around 1am, I woke up. At least, I think I woke up, I’m not really sure because it all went a bit strange.
I was definitely asleep, definitely, and sprawled across the bed as usual. Then, gradually, I came-to in that muzzy, uncertain state you fall into when your body wakes you for matters of necessity – you know what I mean, it’s that state of consciousness that propels you without direct input from you brain, like when you wake up in the morning and your glass of water is empty but you don’t recall drinking it – and remember thinking that I’d left my computer on because I could see Azureus ticking away, downloading.
A part of me was evidently sufficiently awake to want to turn off the Bat Computer and save our electricity bill because it proposed moving my arm. It was at around this point that the rest of my body helpfully pointed out that something was pressing down on every part of me and that movement wasn’t an option. Indeed, the only parts of my body able to move appeared to be eyelids, my fingers and, with some wiggling, my toes. My mouth wouldn’t even open because it felt like hands were holding it shut.
Curiously, I didn’t panic. I tried to move my arm again and, when that failed, I tried to roll over. Satisfied that I really couldn’t move I ran through what could be wrong with me. I felt ok, so ruled out paralysis or some medical complaint like a seizure; I supposed it could be a dream, albeit an odd one, but then I started to become more aware and something really didn’t feel right. I was in bed alone, in the same position that I went to sleep in, my door was still shut and my light was still on, but the room didn’t feel empty.
Does that make sense?
Anyway, I started to panic a little because, dreaming or not, I’d started putting pieces together and it was starting to feel like I was being held down by someone I couldn’t see (I sleep on my front) and couldn’t feel beyond a weight holding me down. It wasn’t nice. I could see my arm sticking out from under the covers but I couldn’t move it and, though nothing appeared to be holding it down, it felt for all the world as though someone were laying across it. To be honest, I fully expected to see – I don’t know – something, in my peripheral vision beyond the ceiling.
Years ago, I think I would have been terrified, last night I was just pissed off with all the fucking about whether it was a nightmare or not. I made a final attempt to move and when the pressure on top of me increased to the extent that it felt difficult to breathe I resorted to growling abuse.
Initially this had no effect but, after a minute or two, I found I could move freely again and the weight vanished. The room still didn’t feel empty however, and I resisted the urge to roll over on the off-chance that I’d see something I wouldn’t like.
Trippy.
jesus fucking christ, james, don’t do this to me.
i almost managed to go to sleep yesterday without the weird perceptions and feelings i always have, and now this.
Tell me you made that up. Please.
Nope, actually happened. Apparently, it’s nothing to worry about though. See here.
Phew, thank god that almost everything can be explained to have natural causes.
That doesn’t mean my hairs don’t stand up on end anytime i remember what you wrote, but hey, maybe in time i’ll convince myself that it’s ok..;]
Or I should stop reading the verdamte Dresden Files, so I won’t be living with ghosts and magic in my mind 24/7 .;]
Sleep easy tonight Jamesyboy…no funny business.
The Dresden Files! That’s what I’ve been meaning to read. Well reminded ^_^
And there’s nothing wrong with at bit of funny-business at night.
I was referring to your paralysis, not all that touching and romping stuff
Oh yes, James, i mention the Dresden Files quite on purpose.
If you haven’t read that yet, you are seriously missing out.
It’s definitely your kind of sharp-witted insanity.;]
I love it.
jez. Oh
Arien, book number one purchased today. I’ll let you know how I get on.
Book number one is entertaining, lots of foreshadowing, lots of bad puns, lots of star wars references and lots of action. But it was, still, written as a project for school, as far as i recall, so don’t be too hard on the writer.;]
What I love about Dresden Files is, that esentially, the books are detective stories.
And since I spent most of my adolescense reading book after book of Perry Mason, Ellery Queen, Dick Francis, etc, I tend to appreciate the simple puzzle solving manner in which the books of Dresden Files are assembled.
The books also get better and better.;] Especially book nm. 7, Dead Beat, has a lot of bad ass attitude which i love.;]
I bought the czech edition of Dresden Files 1 - Storm Front for my husband a couple days ago. I got to reading it yesterday in bed before i fell asleep, it was just conveniently at hand by the bed.
Curiously, the book wasn’t as good as I expected, and after some time I realized that it wasn’t a fault of the translation.
The actual physical form of the book was the problem.
It is a paperback, roughly an A6 in size. It’s small, much smaller than my usual e-book version of just about anything I read, on the laptop screen. The lines are about three times shorter than I’m used to, and there are several typographical mishaps [paragraph indentations, stuff like that], that just don’t make the book easy on the eye.
All in all, the whole set of the pages made me read it too fast, and the haste resulted in fairly diminished pleasure of the experience.
So, I hope you have a nice, big book with widely spaced lines, set by a person who knows his job and is not on a tight budget.
I cam dream..;]
Mine appears to be a standard UK copy, line spacing etc seems fine to me though I’m only a few pages in. I’ll keep you updated.
Please, do. ;]