Phobia

My eyes shot open, and I darted my eyes around the dark surroundings. My forehead was damp with sweat, yet I was shivering. I desperately looked for some sort of light. Suddenly, a bright flash appeared in front of me. I shielded my eyes as I got accustomed to the new glare. After a while, I could make out the shape of a TV. It portrayed a simple message: ‘Welcome to Hell.’ I laughed, realizing I just fell asleep in front of my TV. I decided to get up and go to bed. But I hit my head on some sort of ceiling, hard. I cursed loudly, and put my hands above me. I felt a barrier, and after moving my hands to the sides, I felt barriers again. I was surrounded by walls.

I frantically began pounding the walls, screaming for help. Then the TV changed. It displayed a bunch of different rooms, all with people crying for help. My eyes, full of tears, couldn’t make out the writing on the walls of the rooms. After wiping away the tears, I saw words such as ‘agoraphobia,’ ‘aichmophobia,’ and ‘acrophobia.’ I stared, confused as to what the words meant. Then, the screen changed. It changed to a singular image of a man inside a coffin. I squinted, trying to make out the familiar face.

Then, I realized the person was me. I was inside a coffin. And the walls surrounding me had ‘claustrophobia’ on them. The fear of closed spaces.

The screen changed back to the rooms, and I saw people dangling off buildings, people surrounded by clowns, and people bitten by snakes.

I began pounding again on the coffin lid, crying for someone to help me. Yet my cry was only a whisper among the millions of voices begging for some sort of aid.

I really was in Hell.

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Credits