As Simon and I walked along the road, the cool night breeze blew on my sweat-covered forehead. It felt refreshing to me, way better than the hot atmosphere that was in the church.

I looked at Simon, trudging along beside me. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair a mess, and his body language spoke volumes. “It started with just the nightmares. They gradually kept getting worse and worse, until one particular morning I struggled to even get out of bed. That’s when it appeared. The monster.”

I shuddered, as I pictured the monster I saw in Simon’s subconscious. “Even I admit that monster looked menacing. It’s razor-sharp claws, jagged teeth, and red glowing eyes. Has it ever managed to catch you?”

Simon shook his head, a solemn expression on his face. “No, the closest it gets is when I try to wake from the dream. Even then, I am powerless, like I am being held down by an invisible force.”

“What was the dream about?” I asked with curiosity. I figured that his nightmares triggered his sleep paralysis and somehow manifested the monster.

Simon remained silent, refusing to answer my question. I could tell that I had struck a nerve. There was something personal, maybe even traumatic that he was hiding.

I then proceeded to ask, “You’ve gone to the doctor, right? They keep telling you it’s a hallucination?”

“I know this isn’t a hallucination,” he declared, his voice growing louder. “I’ve felt its weight on my chest, the sharpness of its teeth gnawing on my arm. I can still see the red bite marks.”

“That’s one thing I can agree on”, I remarked, “that monster is real. You made it real.”

Simon raised his left eyebrow and stared at me, confusion written all over his face. “What do you mean, I made it real?”

“Your mind,” I clarified. “Sometimes, our brains tend to create strange things…and most of the time, these things stem from our emotions or experiences. Some feed off of our fears, our regrets, things we have committed in the past.”

Simon lowered his head, his eyes glued to the ground. We both walked towards a well-lit house, the one where he stayed. He took out the keys from his pocket, then opened the door.

“You live here on your own?” I asked.

“No, I stay with my brother ever since I…,” he hushed up again. Whatever happened to him must’ve messed him up in a big way. He then disrupted the awkward and uncomfortable silence, “He’s doing the night shift tonight at his workplace. He’s the one who suggested that I seek help from the church.”

As I entered the house, Simon quizzed me on what I was going to do to help him, “So, what now? Are you going to lay your hands on me or something?”.

“Err, something like that,” I replied. My methods weren’t exactly what my father would implement in this scenario. “Let’s go to your bedroom, shall we?”.

“My bedroom? Is that where you plan to get rid of this thing?”, he asked.

I nodded. “Pretty much”.

Simon took me to his bedroom. There was a single lamp lit in the drawer next to the bed, with books stacked on it. On top of the books, were a bunch of pills. To help with his sleep, I assumed. His bed was neatly made, a stark contrast to his disheveled looks.

I closed the door behind me. “Get into your bed,” I instructed him. Simon, with a puzzled look on his face, did as I said.

“What I’m about to show you stay between the two of us, okay?”, I told him. “This is a secret that I haven’t even told my father”. I started to unbutton my shirt. “The thing is, I’m going to spend the night with you.”

Simon gave me a dirty look, “Are you trying to sleep with me?”.

I stopped unbuttoning for a moment and realized that I had freaked him out with my last statement. “What? No! I’m going to enter into your dreamverse using my powers and get rid of that creature once and for all.”