Don't Sleep

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It's time to go to bed, but you doubt you will be able to fall asleep after [[the day you've had]]. You put away your half-finished assignments and highlighted study notes, and check your phone one last time before you notice your appereance in the dresser's mirror at the end of your bed. Dark circles decorate your [[eyes,]] frizzy hair fluffs around your head, crooked glasses sit on your nose, and a dark stain spots the collar of your shirt. You sigh, slide under your comforter, and turn off the lamp on your bedside table. [[Then you close your eyes]]

//Darkness surronds you [[It]] slithers beside you Beneath the cool sheets (that will soon turn damp) with its slimy tendrils covering your eyes Blocking your view of dreamland ahead Spirals of faint colours swirl on instead To a land of [[worries, fears, and anxiety]] Over past mistakes, present pains, and future accidents Of people who broke your heart, were too mean, or left you unattended Left you alone, in this dark room With a [[demon]] beside you To remind you that you're always surronded by [[darkness]] Even when you close your eyes.// [[Your eyes snap open]] <<audio "mainsong" loop play>>

You gasp. Your heart is pounding. Your forehead feels damp. It feels like someone is watching you. Maybe someone is standing beside you. But it's too dark to tell. You want to hide, you want to scream, but you can't seem to [[move.]] Maybe your mind is playing games with you, again. Maybe, if you distract yourself, you'll calm down eventually. Look at the [[time]] Look out the [[window]] <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "gasp" play>> <<audio "heartbeat" loop play>> <<audio "clock" stop>>

The sky is pitch black, speckled with a few [[stars]] shining brightly despite the intense street lamps. A few cars whiz by on the main road next to your house. You see the [[house]] on the corner of the street with each window lit and the soft chatter of a [[TV playing]]. A street lamp near a tree beside your window creates a [[pool of light]] at the bottom of your bed. <<audio "car" play>> <<audio "creepy" stop>> <<audio "whispers" stop>>

//These unwanted guests Never leave They bury a hole Hot blazing bright [[Inside my head->Then you close your eyes]] Right through logic and demand only that Which is dark and cruel They hurl my flaws Wherever it hurts And only care to see Tears on my face and In the mirror-- Just a broken face Highlighted by my demons.//

[[It's 11:00 p.m.->Your eyes snap open]] <<audio "clock" play>>

//Twinkle, twinkle, dying star How I wonder who you are? Climb above my head, so high A broken diamond, in the [[sky->window]] Twinkle, twinkle, dead star How I wonder why you're gone?// <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "creepy" play>> <<audio "whispers" stop>> <<audio "car" stop>>

A voice whispers //Come and look outside the [[window->window]] with me At this frozen grave White powdered glittering rooftops Glowing Christmas lights Left behind, long after reindeers roamed the skies Or the clock struck 12 for the new year Look at the slick streets and glassy stairs Waiting for an unheedful pair of footsteps (maybe your's) To devour In this frozen grave.// Suddenly, one of the lights in the window on the second floor turns [[off->pool of light]]. <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "creepy" play>> <<audio "whispers" volume 0 fadeto 0.25>> <<audio "car" stop>>

One by one, each light in the house turns off, until the [[only light]] comes from the street lamps. The street lamp beside your window shines into your room and creates a pool of light on the floor near the end of your bed. Using this light, you start looking around your [[room.]] <<audio "creepy" stop>> <<audio "whispers" stop>> <<audio "mainsong" play>> <<audio "car" stop>>

//There are these creepy crawly things in the middle of the night That whisk my [[dreams->Then you close your eyes]] Into nightmares.//

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''Please wear headphones for the full experience and adjust your volume to a comfortable level. [[Enjoy.->start]]''

//The Thoughts, They come at night When my eyes are shut to the ghosts around me But open to the ones inside my mind They grow, loud whispers Unnerving, they grasp at the light And feed off it, leaving behind the dark A sticky coat of fear that I can't escape from It grasps at my soul and pulls it under the sea of whispers, until it's all I hear. [[Each night,->Then you close your eyes]] the fear crawls in bed with me Sleep no longer brings peace.//

//My eyes ache As if I've been crying And crying But it's my heart that's bleeding And my mind that's running out of [[room->start]] To hide all my sins My mistakes And the monsters of my past.//

//I can't seem to get up Someone help, I think I'm stuck My mind keeps repeating the bad stuff I never wanted that, oh no It's a glitch, maybe A chocked up cassette Or a scratched CD it's like tar It sticks to me, each word and scream Each particle of pain It's attached to me and I can't get it off So I'm stuck here, I can't [[move on->Your eyes snap open]].//

//Sometimes, all it takes is a little bump Something that shakes me the wrong way That mixes my emotions, flips that smile over And it stays that way, as more bumps come along And then I fall down a hole, a never-ending abyss And I keep falling, everything breaks inside me It's terrifying at first, but then I give in Give in to the darkness, get used to the [[shadows->start]] They remain with me each second I fall And I embrace them until the end.//

//So many rows Of identical grey [[homes->window]] Invisible lives, hidden souls Are they happy or sad? No body will know.// <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "creepy" play>>

//How do I stop this darkness that hides under my bed--in my [[head->Then you close your eyes]] Right beside me, hugging my chest Till there's no light left to carry me Til morning.//

//There's something in the shadows of [[my room->pool of light]] A swirling wisp, a grey apparition Flicking its tail as it moves in a circle Hidden from the lamp's light Moving, undetectable, by my closet door It has no shape No face No voice But [[it's there->I'm here]]//. [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "here" stop>> <<audio "mainsong" play>>

//As you lie there in your bed And look around your room You notice that: Your [[door]] stands ajar, with a sketch taped on it The [[mirror]] on your dresser appears cracked (where a picture of your best [[friend]], who no longer speaks to you, attempts to hide this crack) and a [[teddy bear]] on its side, lying in front of it (but you can't see its reflection.) A [[keyboard]] stands pushed against a wall, collecting dust and the walls-- The walls are breathing Living things Listening to your every breath and silent screams They know your secrets Who you love and hate and they know your fears// //And then, next to the pool of light in the [[corner]] of your room you see something else ...// [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "mainsong" loop play>> <<audio "piano" stop>> <<audio "whispers" stop>> <<audio "female" stop>> <<audio "girl" stop>> <<audio "creepy" stop>>

//I hear footsteps outside my [[door->sketch]] Closer and closer and closer But no one ever opens it Yet the footsteps come back And they keep coming To get me, to ruin me But they never open the door Maybe, they're already here with me Inside my locked [[room->room.]] Waiting to take me Waiting for me to accept my fate And walk towards the doorway of my tomb.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]].

//Whisers echo through the silent hall of my mind. It screams But the words are never heard by anyone but me. One voice, two voices, three voices They grow With intensity, insecurities They tell me to hide Under a cloak of shame Over something no one but the voices can see I see They crawl out of [[my head->room.]] And point in the mirror To the flaws highlighted Only by me They tell me to stay quiet "Don't be stupid, Think before you speak ... And then don't"// [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "whispers" volume 0 fadeto 0.25>>

You don't remember how you got this teddy bear, but ballons and [[your dad]] come to mind.

//There is no sound More sorrow-filled More lonely (More horrifying) Than the quiet, croacking, soprano voice Battering off four [[blank walls->room.]] of someone singing Alone.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "piano" play>> <<audio "female" volume 0 fadeto 0.25>>

There is a sketch of a rose on your [[door->door]], taped crookedly, drawn by your ex. You've been meaning to remove it, crumple it, shred it, burn it ... but your [[heart]] doesn't let you. Because you feel [[lost]] without them. And you're afraid if you let go of the one last piece you have of them, you'll let go of yourself.

//Phantom fingers graze my soul and remind me of faded scars That you scratched with your words upon my flesh long ago They remain, and forever shall whenever I hear the echo of your words from others Each letter rolling off their tongue like shards of hail against [[my penetrable mind->sketch]] Cutting my thoughts into a thousand voices Until I hear nothing but screams of agony.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]].

//[[I'm here.->only light]]// <<audio "here" play>> <<audio "mainsong" stop>>

//Lost souls Cry at night But always smile In the morning light Lost souls Drift around Looking for happiness Among sins abound Lost souls Cry in the morning because time has faded Life is a blur Lost souls die [[alone->sketch]] But if that's true I'm already dead.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]].

//There comes a moment In life When you're no longer scared Of the dark corners of your [[room->room.]] Or what creature might be hiding Behind the closet door Or under the bed It is life you are more terrified of And the people it brings into your life Humans are the real demons.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]].

//I wake up to moonlight streaming in I see someone standing At the foot of my [[bed->room.]] "Come, my darling I want to play with you." Says Daddy But Daddy [[died]] a year ago.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "girl" loop play>> <<audio "creepy" stop>>

//You are a [[monster->room.]] And no one but I can see that Sometimes you're good Others, you're more than worse And all I'm left with Is fear and guilt So what do I do? Make you happy And let myself be destroyed Or save myself One last time?// [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "girl" stop>> <<audio "creepy" play>>

The voice returns. //There's a figure in the dark Look, it's ''you,'' standing in the corner-- Face, a blur of black. A smear of pain is drawn across your eyes, Hidden by a curtain of hair Thick with webs of despair You rock back and forth On cracked heels, broken and dry From running away from the shadows But you didn't [[run]] fast enough, You are a shadow now.// [[Turn on your lamp->start]]. <<audio "whispers" volume 0 fadeto 0.25>>

Your shadow looks at you. You peer down at it. You're both scared, and you want to get up and comfort it, tell it everything will be fine once morning comes. But you're not sure if everything will be alright. You're not sure when morning will come. You want to look at the time, but you're eyes are glued to your shadow. So you try to move your hand to [[turn on your lamp->start]] //oh no, [[it's]] not happy that you moved// <<audio "ghost" play>> <<audio "whispers" stop>>

//A crash in the dark It's on the move the door opens and closes Slams and creaks (the sketch falls off) the curtains billow But the window is closed A crash, a scream, a yell comes from underground The distant TV turns on and off and on and off The shadow looms in the corner It climbs up the ceiling With its twisted limbs Towards me and jumps down and [[engulfs me]] In its darkness.// <<audio "mainsong" stop>> <<audio "creepy" play>> <<audio "crash" play>> <<audio "door" loop play>> <<audio "ghost" stop>>

Your alarm rings. You jolt awake. The covers under you feel damp. You look at the time and see that it's 6:00 a.m. You realize you were dreaming. You get up, shake your head, rake your fingers through your hair, and yawn. You were just dreaming. You place your feet on the cold, wooden floor and stand up. And then you see the sketch on the floor. //You were [[dreaming]] ... right?// <<audio "creepy" stop>> <<audio "crash" stop>> <<audio "door" stop>> <<audio "gasp" play>> <<audio "alarm" volume 0.75 fadeout>>

''Thank you for playing.'' To play again, [[click here->intro]]. Who knows what else you may discover in your room ... ''Credits:'' Created by Amara Malik Poetry from @amaramalikpoetry on Instagram ''Music and sound effects from:'' purple-planet.com/ freesoundeffects.com soundbible.com zapsplat.com