[ WP ] a man funds out that , due to an unknown medical condition , he will die if he ever falls asleep .

The metal-framed bed was so stiff; stiff enough that each breathe, a little more labored, put a great aching pressure on his heart, where the damned virus had about eaten right through. A mechanic beep or a quick turn of newspaper set the distant rhythm of the room. He was elsewhere – alone and in a misty forest, the chirps and clicks of small wild beasts in the leaves above setting its very own soundscape. He pushed back the low, thin limbs of the southern oak and the tall grass gave way to a pebble beach – sand crunched underneath and the ground bubbled with his steps. The black creek water lapped at his toes and filled in his footsteps as he walked along the shore, eyeing the other side. 
 
 It wasn ’ t far across, but one breathe would never cover it. He considered, took in his past and decided himself a good man, a gardener who grew a family from sand and buried the promise of another. 
 
 One breathe would not suffice, but he took one anyway, long and deep and greedy as a young man would, and gingerly stepped in. He walked and the light filled his eyes as water rose to his knees, then his chest, and then just to the base of his lips. He puckered up to the surface and savored the water, sweet and cool, before taking one more step. 
 
 And when finally he closed his eyes, and the long awaited sleep settled in, he saw at once that he had never really been awake at all. 

