A Faceless Morning

I have noticed a change in my sleep routine since I got back from school. In school, if I slept late, I’d wake up late the next day. That was my sleep routine, and pray, I was comfortable with it. But now, no matter what time I go to bed, I always wake up early. No matter what time I go to bed, somehow, I always wake up before the morning birds. “Aghhhhh! I’m going crazy. Not again.” my old self would probably say this to the new me. Nevertheless, the new me has accepted my new sleep routine. Now, I go by the name “Justfavour, the early riser.” or better put, “Justfavour, the one who sleeps late.” But, that’s not what I want to discuss in this post. I have more pressing issues than my sleep routine. Something scary that is weirdly tickling my brain.

Today was no different. As expected, I woke up early despite sleeping late. As I slowly crept out of the sweet slumber, my body felt weighed down by last night’s short sleep. Slowly, with my eyes still shut, I rolled with my sides and reached the edge of the bed. Grudgingly, I stood up and immediately, my eyes darted towards the wall clock. Its ugly eyes stared back at me. Yes, it had eyes. The clock’s hands were slower this morning. Slower than they had ever been. Our eyes locked for seconds. “Tick-tock,” it sounded, mocking me. I wanted to jump and hit it with every fiber of my being. “Your chutzpah has gotten to its vertex,” I said as I walked out of the room, leaving the clock to soliloquize my harsh words.

Slowly, yet firmly, I walked to the bathroom, still trying to fend off the sleep demon that was trying so hard to take control of my body. I bent in front of the mirror and immediately I looked up, I saw a different face. The stranger in my skin had the same eyes as me, but the lips were different. I knew that for sure. I could recognize my lips even with my eyes closed. The stranger in my skin smiled when I didn't and frowned when I did. Just when I was about to scream my lungs out, I noticed the mirror was foggy, so I cleaned it off with my cold hands. Boom! My reflection returned to normal. “Now, this is me, Justfavour,” I said to myself as I let out a long and soothing sigh.

The aroma of fried eggs filled the house and I just knew it was my mom performing the magic. “Justfavour, your food is ready o” she announced from the kitchen. Her voice echoed twice. No, three times. Well, I think it was four times, with the last one sounding as low as a bedroom whisper. Quickly, I rushed back to the bathroom to brush my teeth. This time, there was no reflection, no stranger in my skin. Boyyyy, I would've preferred to see the stranger than see nothing at all. I rushed back and joined my mom at the dining table.

It was just us- me and my mom. “I prepared yam and egg today, your favorite,” she said. “Yam and egg? My favorite?” I asked. My mom knows I don’t have a favorite food. The plate in front of me was a totally different meal. “Ah! Yam and egg?” I asked again. The scrambled eggs looked delicious, but where was the yam? There was no yam. Instead, I saw a weird-looking food that I had never seen in my entire life. It looked nothing like yam. It looked like solid vegetables mashed with bread and little stains of blood sprinkled all over it. I looked at my mom and realized she had been staring at me. “Dig in, Favour, before your food gets too cold.” She said, smiling sheepishly. “Dig in? More like Dig Out,” I thought to myself.

When I couldn't take the sight of the weird food in front anymore, I pushed the chair back and rushed off to my room without asking for my mom’s permission. Heck, to hell with manners! I needed to escape. As I entered my room, I caught the sight of the wall clock staring at me with what seemed like evil eyes. I felt dizzy and crashed onto the bed. “Favour! Favour,” I heard my mom’s voice. Slowly, I opened my eyes and realized I was still in bed. “Phew! It was just a dream,” I said to myself and let out a sigh. Immediately, my mom walked into my room with a sheepish smile on her face. “Yam and egg is ready,” she said.

“Maybe I should have gone to bed early yesterday, instead of staying up all night chatting with Cat,” I said.

All images in this post are mine, otherwise stated.
Note: I designed the thumbnail using MetaAi.

Thanks for reading.