[ WP ] An insomniac gets the best sleep he 's had in years , except the next day , he ca n't stop thinking about a dream he had ...

Conner ’ s room was dead quiet. The only sound was a light breathing, buried somewhere under a mess of blankets. The room was perfectly square in dimension, but the clothes and trash lying around made it appear more rectangular. The nightstand was once a deep black; however, after about 6 months the dust began to lighten the color. On the nightstand there was an alarm clock which read “ 8:00 am ”. 
 
 Blankets shot into the air like fireworks. A rush of adrenaline pumped through Conner within seconds of waking up and realizing he was late for work. 
 
 “ Late… ” 
 
 Conner looked around at his room, confused and trying to get a grip on reality. Then it clicked. 
 
 “ Late! Ha! ” He laughed. Conner laid back down laughing to himself hysterically. He hopped out of bed and ran over to his dresser. At one point the photos on the dresser were all very nice. They had polished frames and were taken by professionals. Conner picked up one that was still standing and had n't shattered, looked at his wife, smiled and kissed her picture. 
 
 “ I slept last night, my love. I slept so well that I actually woke up late for work today! ” he whispered. His voice began to quiver and his eyes teared up, “ I saw you in my dreams last night, I miss you so much. It… it was so real. I could actually feel your hand in mine, I could even smell your perfume! God I wish you were still here. ” Conner thought back to the day they got into an accident. He had been driving his wife and their two kids, Kate and Ryan, to the park when they were hit by another car. He looked to his left and saw the truck speeding through a red light, and it was over before he could say anything. It wasn ’ t fair. That was the last time he would get to be with any of them, and the last time he would get any sleep for years. Until last night. He couldn ’ t stop thinking about the dream as if it were a memory of his. He wandered around the messy box of a room, pacing back and forth. An idea snapped into his head and he jumped into the bed and squeezed his eyes shut, trying with everything in him to fall back asleep. 
 
 “ Please let me go back to my dream. Please, please, please… ” 
 
 Nothing happened. Conner sat up straight in frustrated defeat. He got out of bed and moseyed to the bathroom. A worn out, tired, malnourished man stared back at him with puffy bags under his eyes. Apparently one night of sleep doesn ’ t fix six years of insomnia. 
 
 “ Why am I even here? ” 
 
 Conner slowly walked back, figuring he had lost yet another dead end job, laid in bed and stared at the clock for endless hours thinking about his dream. 
 
 -- -- 
 Alexa rolled over in bed, half expecting her husband to be there. She instinctively reached over to pull him closer, only to find a pile of blankets. Such a disappointing way to start the day. How does that still happen after 6 years? “ I actually saw you in my dream last night, Conner. I wish it were real. ” 
 
 “ MOM! Kate keeps trying to eat my cereal! ” Ryan yelled from the kitchen. Alexa took a deep breath, said a little prayer, and rolled out of bed to face another day.
