3 AM

Written by Anna Sondall

In my own home I couldn't breathe. Three a.m. and I can't sleep. The weight of a thousand bricks is sitting on my chest and I plead with heaven that the day it is lifted will come soon.

When I walk through the front door and step inside it feels as though you have left shards of glass for me to walk on. They are perfectly placed to stab me with every step. The surface of each piece is spotless and almost sparkles. You must take pride in every single piece for every angle seemed to be cut so precisely to ensure to inflict as much pain as possible with the lightest of touch.

I have made it through the living room and now stand before the hallway. I look ahead to view the path before me. At the end I see my bedroom door wide open and I can feel a cool breeze coming from the open window. Just a few more feet and I can breathe sanity. I take my first step and I hear an unfamiliar hiss. I looked down to see a dozen brightly colored snakes slithering around me. Their coloring is so beautiful you would never think that such beauty could be so deceiving. The blood from my feet is still dripping and I know that they can smell it. I can feel all of them just aching to devour the feist that is me. It's a shame for them this meal will only be an endless dream because I know that this feist of me is too much for them to achieve.

I enter my room and finally am allowed to breathe in. As air fills my lungs I can still hear hissing in the hall. Your shame you tried to bury me in, but when will you see that your sins are not mine to die for?