(2) Lurking Darkness

This is a story about the paralyzing fear of speaking - when words slip from memory, thoughts blur, and uncertainty tempts you to retreat into the familiar darkness of doubt.

I swallow with difficulty. The sentences I had just been repeating in my mind blur in my memory like a mirage. Was it really me who dared to make a sound, naively believing I could start, continue, and finish my speech?

It’s too stifling. Too stifling to think, to organize my thoughts. The air burns with dryness. Uncertain, I glance to the side, searching for that one faithful pair of eyes. There. My old friend. She reaches out to me - lurking darkness.