C*ack

‘…o.’ The same voice, at the same time every night, rouses me from sleep. It’s that hazy boundary where my drowsy consciousness drifts against the sharp edge of an insomnia-laden subconscious. ‘…ont.’ I don’t know. Whose voice is it? Who is he? Whether it’s a hallucination, a memory, or a nightmare—he wakes me every night at the same time. ‘Don’t fall asleep!’ …! At his command, I wake, drenched in cold sweat, struggling to peel back my hair clinging to my face like wet seaweed. The time is 12:03 a.m., exactly 180 seconds past midnight. In the dense darkness, where it’s impossible to tell whether my eyes are open or shut, the only thing I can do is count the sound of the ticking se...