She wakes up slowly,

lazily,

a stray band of light dances across her eyelids, sharp against the enveloping darkness of her mind.

Her breath is soft.

She feels

and listens

to the rise and fall of her ribs

on the hard mattress.

She’s curling like a ball.

Tight.

Her back aches.

She presses her cheek against the silken sheet and pillow,

Counts waves break in the distance.

An ocean. Close.

A gentle heat presses against her damp skin.

She doesn’t want to wake up.

Something tells her the moment she does,

the sinister lurking underneath the ethereal

will grip her in its fangs.