I had been struggling with fevers and a heavy cough for days, working from home and failing, before I decided to give up on being productive for now and give sleeping off this misery a shot. My first attempt at sleep was shallow and fitful. With vivid dreams that would escape me the moment I jolted awake. Several times over, this happened. It was frustrating. Exhausting. Gradually, though, as fatigue ate away at my consciousness, I fell into a deeper sleep. Unbothered by the symptoms that wreaked havoc in my body for the first time in days. It was bliss.

So imagine my disappointment at waking up in the middle of the night from a heavy weight on my chest. My lungs ached to cough, and yet I was loath to. The pain around my ribs was enough to make me try to resist.

I opened my eyes, only to find it was the middle of the night. I tried to sit up, only to find I couldn't move.

I had read about sleep paralysis, but it had never happened to me before. There’s a first time for everything, though. I had barely slept the previous night and the night before that. Some parts of me ached with overuse, others ached with disuse. I was exhausted.

I had just started to count myself lucky mine didn't involve hallucinations, when the weight on my chest shifted and a pair of bright, piercing, lilac eyes gazed deeply into mine.

I would have shouted. Screamed, even, if my body had allowed me to. What came out was barely a whimper. The weight on my chest had been a creature, perched on my sternum.

The intelligent eyes and the head they resided in tilted slightly. There was an air of curiosity to them.

As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I began to see more of the creature. Its bright, purple eyes were set in a plump, youthful face, which was in turn framed by dark, curly hair that reached down its back in unkempt, stringy locks. I could tell the creature was trying very hard to look human, but had rarely seen one up close.

The creature bent down over me, having noticed I had woken up. Ribs and vertebrae jutted out of taut, ashen skin. Shoulders and hips canted awkwardly. Elbows and knees did things they were not supposed to do.

It gently reached its fist towards me, its clawed hand opening with creaky joints. I flinched as the sharp talons came close to my face. The sudden move in my chest, the hitch in my breath, tore a fit of coughs from me.

The creature made a soft hissing sound and the pads of its long, bony fingers touched my face, gently caressing my temple and thumbing away my tears before they could hit my pillow. It was hushing me. Comforting me.

I had been stuck in my room for over a week. I was allowed as little contact as humanly possible. The feeling of being touched after all this time… I sobbed. Sobbed as clawed fingers threaded through my hair. Wept as the creature’s forehead touched mine. Sniveled as I felt its warm breath against my skin.

It was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. I ached for the creature’s touch. Any touch. A caress, an embrace, fingers laced between mine.

Slowly, I felt the adrenaline leaving my system. All energy I had gained when I started awake, drained away. My eyelids fluttered shut. The last thing I felt before all consciousness left me, were soft lips against mine.

A promise to be back tomorrow.

A kiss goodnight.