She awoke with a gasp. Startled and shivering. The dream was still lingering around her, cold and confining. Throwing off the blankets, getting out of bed seemed an impossible task. Her arms ached as if she lifted weights all night. She prayed for release from the nightmare.

As the day progressed the physical effects of her nightime terror lessened but she knew she’d have to return to her bed, and the dream when night fell. Her prayers accomplished nothing. The dream would return to her as she lay vulnerable in her bed.

The doctor had prescribed pills, her therapist had listened and advised, but she was on her own each evening as the clocked ticked off the minutes towards bedtime.

For months she had endured the dream. She would do so no longer. A warm bath, a razor… eternal dreamless sleep. She awoke with a gasp.