Sleep

'Why is it that I can't fall asleep?'

Juliet, a princess from a royal family, was lying in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Surprisingly, this was no rare occurrence, as it always happened when she had tried to fall asleep. She couldn't fall asleep for hours, ignoring her desire for sleeping. It was so common that it didn't even face her, she could only wonder.

*Yawn*

Juliet yawned in her bed.

Despite the countless yawnings', she couldn't fall asleep.

'What is it?'

The princess questioned herself.

'Why is it that I can still be awake, despite my sleepiness?'

'Is this my doing?'

'Do I unconsciously want to still stay awake and fight away the sleepiness?'

'But, why?'

'What is this feeling of fear?'

No matter how much she had wondered, she still couldn't find the answers.

'Does this has to do with the dark figure that I keep seeing?

'Why is 'it' so dark, even darker than the night's sky?'

'Why is he always so distant?'

"Yet, always so close."

It was the mourning, and as usual, she couldn't remember what had triggered her to finally be asleep. She was dizzy and her head was spinning.

After a few minutes of doing absolutely nothing besides sitting on her bed, she finally fully woke up and lit up the lamp, emanating brightness all around her room. She got up and went searching for the book she read to herself every day. And of course, today was no different. She found the book on her shelf and opened it to the first page.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess, and sh-"

*Knock* *Knock*

Surprised at the knock, she quickly hid the book.

"It's the mourning, mistress." Said the maid.

"Thank you for asking, I will get to the dinner table," Juliet replied.

She got up, put the book back on the shelf, and went to her closet to the outfit, the best fit for today.

It was after she had filled all of her quotas that she went outside for her usual walk. And there she saw again, the mysterious 'it'. Immediately, when 'it' had entered her field of vision, her entire body froze like a sculpture. Just the existence of 'it' was enough to paralyze her body.

"Just like the usual, huh."

The princess said in disappointment after she had realized, that her distance between 'it' hadn't changed from before.

'Wait,'

She said, sounding like she had a breakthrough.

'What if it was my fault all along?'

"Isn't it me, that always stops me from getting any closer?" She said, finally realizing that all it takes is a few steps to get closer and finally get a good look at 'it's appearance and break the cycle she feels like she's always trapped in, and sleep peacefully without any existential crisis', questioning her life.

'Isn't it me,'

'that keeps making me end up in the same place.'

'Let's start with the first step.'

She said as she lifted her right leg while lifting her dress with her hand.

"Just a little closer,"

'Finally, I get to see how it looks. Without the darkness, without anything that's keeping me from seeing your face.' She thought, as she finally put her right leg down to the floor, and breaking the cy-

She couldn't do it, breaking the cycle. She stopped herself and pulled her right leg backwards, right before she had put her leg down and gotten to look at 'it' closer than she had ever done before.

"Why is it?"

'Why couldn't I have broken the cycle, finally freeing myself.'

'Why was it fear that I felt?'

'I should've felt relieved, shouldn't I?'

'But then why is it fear when finally getting to see 'it', finally seeing how 'it' truly is?'

It was nighttime again.

At the time of sleeping, she expected to not fall asleep for hours to end, just like it had for the last night, and the night before that.

'I give up,'

She thought to herself.

"I give up."