Growth

It had been a hard week, and he was looking forward to a good night's sleep. On his way home, some old guy offered to tell his fortune if he "crossed their palm with silver", but he told them he didn't believe in ignorant rubbish like that and waved him away. The old guy said he would curse him as an unbeliever, but he wanted to be home.

He got home, had a little supper, showered and then crawled into his bed, exhausted. The duvet enveloped him like a cocoon, and soon he was drifting into foggy realms of nothingness. This was what he had been waiting for all week, the peace of deep sleep.

He was in his bed, warm and comforted, secure in the warmth of his lovely duvet and sheets. Now dreaming but he felt as though he couldn't move, he assumed it was just his bedding. At first he was ok, but the longer it went on, he just wanted a little more freedom, but everything seemed tighter.

He knew sometimes he got tangled up in his bedding, but not like this. It was as though someone had tied him up with zip ties or duct tape. He felt panic seeping into him. he tried to push and kick, but to no apparent effect.

He needed to wake up, but he was still deep in this constrictive nightmare. Although he was tightly wrapped, he could still breathe, but he could not see. It was like he was totally immersed in his bedclothes.

He rested, hoping that would make things easier, maybe fool whatever was constricting him into thinking it had succeeded.

Then he tried to punch and kick, but to no effect, he was still in his secure cocoon.

He knew he would wke eventually, though he starte dthinking maybe the old man's curse was playing on his mind. He calmed down and waited.

The morning would come, he would wake and be out of this nightmare, but for now he was stuck in this distressing nightmare. He had no idea how long he had been here, or how the morning would be. He could no see anything, and had no watch or clock to indicate the passage of time. This must be what it feels like to be stuck in the colis of a boa constrictor was one of his thoughts.

Whatever was holding him implied some form of basic intelligence or life, but he was overthinking and needed to relax.

Then, unexpectedly, he woke, and he was not in his bed at all. He was insome whick bush or tree, held, by vines and tendrils that were tighteneing on his body, breaking into and puncturing his flesh. This plant, or whatever it was, was inserting barbed tendils into his flesh and then he felt and saw his blood being sucked from his body.

This must surely be the same nightmare, but he could hear people and cars. He was outside, in a park or a field, somehow he was no longer in his bed. He had not a clue how this had happened, now he was terrified.

He screamed "Help Me" but no one came and he felt his life being drained. More tendrils entered his body and he started to think he was going to subsumed into this vampiric plant. Blood in exchange for sap, was not good for his hopes of survival.

He thought he heard the old man and started wondering again was this the curse. Then he saw his face grinning through the leaves, he had cast his curse and this was the result.