The Abyssal Lullaby

The phobia of falling is in your fantasies, not reality.

A little, unassuming bedroom in Hollowbrook, a dimly lit town at the edge of an ancient forest, concealed a sinister secret. Emily, a young woman with nightmares since childhood, had this bedroom.

Emily's nightmares were not like most people's nightmares, her nightmares were unusual. They were vivid and disturbing, with weird animals and evil environments. Her most persistent dread was heights. She had persistent nightmares of standing on the verge of an unimaginably tall abyss, teetering on a bottomless gap.

Emily endured these dreams for years, and they got worse every night. Her therapist tried meditation and medicine, but nothing worked. Emily lived in perpetual terror. She was stuck in a loop of fear that would never end.

Emily woke up sweating from her latest nightmare at midnight. Her heart raced, and she realized she couldn't take this pain anymore. She thought it was time to face her fear straight on.

She got out of bed and went to the window, with her hands shaking. The moon produced long, frightening shadows in her room with its gleaming brightness. Emily breathed deeply and opened the window to the cold night air. She looked below, resolved to face her dread.

But what she saw made her feel cold all over. The small town she lived in was next to a forest, but this wasn't just any ordinary forest. Grotesque trees stretched for the sky like skeleton fingers in the nightmare scene. The abyss gaped in the middle.

Emily felt her heart rush as she realized she was standing at the edge of her dreams' abyss. Although she was terrified, she couldn't run away. She had to permanently overcome this phobia for good.

As she looked into the abyss, she heard a phantom choir singing a lullaby. She felt the music was calling her, drawing her close the edge. Emily's mind went crazy, torn between fear and curiosity.

She stepped forward and then another with quivering legs till she was on the precipice. Emily felt drawn farther into the abyss, which seemed to throb with evil.

She was about to fall in the abyss, when she heard a voice say, "Emily, this is your nightmare. Conquer it, triumph over your worries."

When the night falls and your soul is gripped by a fear of heights, the abyss of nightmares awaits.

Emily closed her eyes and jumped into the abyss with all her strength.

The feeling was different from anything she had ever felt. It felt like her body had no weight and her mind was racing as if she were falling through a never-ending void.

She woke up in her bedroom, secure and sound. Her height phobia and dreams disappeared. Emily triumphed over her worst worries.

After that night, Hollowbrook, a village where horror stories were told around campfires, called her the bravest. Emily believed that horror could be defeated, even in our nightmares.

This story is a work of fiction and all characters are made up names obviously. This story completely resonates with me in real life though - me having acrophobia. I am yet to over this fear and face the reality but in someway my fictitious character faced her fears, hopefully someday I will too.

Thank you so much for reading my story. It means a world to me. I am just getting started on this platform and your support will be very much appreciated if you can click the heart and leave your comments.