Sunday, February 1, 2009
Confession of an Achluophobic
Confession of an Achluophobic
I believe everyone has fears, be it one or many. Likewise, I have fears too. I’m afraid of the dark. I don’t know the reason myself too. Hence, I will never step into a place that is pitch-dark. But, I’ll still sleep with lights off. Beams of light from the corridor would flood in from the window into my bedroom. That’s how I sleep at night.
I remember once, I was at my mother’s hometown, a part of China. It was a village. I was there for during the school vacation. When it reaches around seven, it would be very dark. As there wasn’t any lamp post or any light, we had to carry torchlight if we were to go out. I dare not step out of the house then. But of course, there were lights in the house.
When we turned in at night, I told my mother to turn on the light while I sleep. She agreed. I had a nightmare. I broke into cold sweat when I woke up. To my surprise, I found myself in complete darkness. I felt as though I was blind! My eyes were wide open yet I couldn’t see a single thing! I started sobbing. My heart was throbbing in fear. With tears strangling my voice, I called out for my mother. She was awakened by my cries. She heard me and switched on the light. She calmed me down and told me everything was fine. I felt at ease when there was light again. It took a load off my chest. Somehow, the fear was gone. Wiped the tears off my cheeks and slept in peace.
Till now, darkness means fear to me. This year, I went back too, didn’t stayed there though. Went to visit relatives and stayed for dinner. It was late at night and we had to go back to uncle’s house. The torchlight was needed to show us the way through the dark. I walked in haste for fear of the dark. I didn’t shed a single tear, but I know very well myself, I was petrified. Sometimes I wonder, how do I live without lights.
(359 words)
I believe everyone has fears, be it one or many. Likewise, I have fears too. I’m afraid of the dark. I don’t know the reason myself too. Hence, I will never step into a place that is pitch-dark. But, I’ll still sleep with lights off. Beams of light from the corridor would flood in from the window into my bedroom. That’s how I sleep at night.
I remember once, I was at my mother’s hometown, a part of China. It was a village. I was there for during the school vacation. When it reaches around seven, it would be very dark. As there wasn’t any lamp post or any light, we had to carry torchlight if we were to go out. I dare not step out of the house then. But of course, there were lights in the house.
When we turned in at night, I told my mother to turn on the light while I sleep. She agreed. I had a nightmare. I broke into cold sweat when I woke up. To my surprise, I found myself in complete darkness. I felt as though I was blind! My eyes were wide open yet I couldn’t see a single thing! I started sobbing. My heart was throbbing in fear. With tears strangling my voice, I called out for my mother. She was awakened by my cries. She heard me and switched on the light. She calmed me down and told me everything was fine. I felt at ease when there was light again. It took a load off my chest. Somehow, the fear was gone. Wiped the tears off my cheeks and slept in peace.
Till now, darkness means fear to me. This year, I went back too, didn’t stayed there though. Went to visit relatives and stayed for dinner. It was late at night and we had to go back to uncle’s house. The torchlight was needed to show us the way through the dark. I walked in haste for fear of the dark. I didn’t shed a single tear, but I know very well myself, I was petrified. Sometimes I wonder, how do I live without lights.
(359 words)