I woke convinced something dangerous was pressed against my back.
In the darkness, every heartbeat made the strange pressure feel more threatening, and even daylight brought no relief when my family gathered around the bed, unable to explain what they were seeing.
Then one ordinary discovery exposed the truth behind a night that had left me frozen in terr…
For hours, I barely dared to move. A sharp, unfamiliar sensation had pulled me from sleep, and my half-awake imagination supplied every frightening explanation it could find. Something crawling. Something biting. Something I should not disturb. By morning, I was anxious enough to call my family into the room. Their puzzled expressions offered little comfort. They took pictures and exchanged theories while the rough object remained an unsettling mystery against my skin.