LIGHT 35
I pried my eyes open, despite the light stabbing my retinas, and attempted to lift my hand. As every muscle ached with intensity, a soft groan murmured past my lips, and before I’d even moved a few inches, the temptation to sink back under beckoned to me. When tested, my legs refused to move. In the hope of coaxing a more encouraging response, I clenched my toes, thankful for their compliance, before flexing my feet at the ankles.
Reaching up a hand to block the light, I tried to relax my body while tuning into sounds around me. My breaths puffed out a shallow tune. At the softness of other breaths, I listened for heartbeats, detecting two additional rhythms. One beat slow and steady, no anxiety to the pace, whereas the second slowly increased.
I inhaled, but wished I hadn’t wh
