I opened my eyes. Was it day or night? I couldn’t tell. My skin was tingling. My muscles were twitching. But it didn’t hurt. I waited a few more minutes, until it went away. Everything was still. I took a deep breath, and somehow, it felt gratuitous. Suddenly, I understood that it was dark in the room, almost pitch black, but I could see perfectly. I was laying on a couch, in what appeared to be an average living room. I felt soft fingers tenderly brush my arm, and a form knelt beside me.

“Are you ok? I was worried that you wouldn’t wake up.” Her voice was like a gentle breeze.
I smiled. It felt so thrilling to have someone actually care. She leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

“My stomach. . .it feels sick,” I whispered. I felt reluctant to break the spell of silence. I turned my head to see her. The moon broke from behind the clouds, and its cold blue light glowed around her silhouette.

“Don’t worry about that. It’s normal. And I’m right here. We’ll get through this.” She reached down and squeezed my hand. I squeezed back. “Do you feel good enough to sit up?”

I nodded. With a grunt, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. I felt the cushion shift as she sat down beside me.

“Take it easy, you need to go slow.”

I rubbed my temples. It wasn’t going to be easy to get used to this. I wiped my sweaty palms on my bare legs. I paused. I looked down.

She giggled. I felt my cheeks burn and I belatedly covered myself. I swallowed and my head started to reel and I felt my stomach clenching and convulsing. I tumbled off the couch to my knees and began to heave violently. Some cold, extremely bitter bile came up, but I kept dry heaving. I saw stars explode before my eyes and my stomach kept convulsing. I coughed, my fingers digging into the carpet, as the clenching tore my insides. I spit again. My throat spasmed once and I kept my vision focused on the delicate weave of the rug, trying to find some stability. I realized that she was kneeling next to me, her soft fingers tracing my back.

Then, another realization struck me. One that threatened to tear my stomach again. One that terrified me.

I was hungry.