Hour Before Dawn

Prologue

It's happening again.

I have that sinking feeling in my stomach again and that invisible glob that's blocking my throat. Although, as heavy as the rest of my body feels, my head feels extremely light. I start to feel extremely nauseous and lightheaded, beads of cold sweats starting to show up on my forehead as I begin seeing black dots in my vision field. I keep my hand glued on the bathroom countertop as I turn my back against it, only letting go as I slide down and sit on the floor. At this point, the dizziness has made it difficult for me to keep my eyes open and if I remain standing, I know for sure that I'm going to end up on the floor somehow. The black spots in front of me are growing bigger. I'm soaked with cold sweats now, my shirt completely wet and my face also cold and wet. I ball my fists as my breathing becomes more shallow and faster. I'm starting to see less light as I struggle to remain conscious. I could feel the world spinning around me, but it also feels like I'm swaying though I know I'm as steady as I can be.

The fight to stay conscious goes on for minutes and lasts longer than last time, but the lightheadedness and dizziness eventually begin resolving on their own. I sit in the bathroom for a little while longer until I have enough energy to make my way to my bedroom. I change out of my wet shirt and sit on my chair as I recover. This is extremely exhausting. I feel so groggy. Sometimes, I wonder if these episodes of me fighting to stay conscious is more tiring than just fainting all of a sudden.

I know I'm going to be in bed for the rest of the night, so I grab my phone to cancel our plan. As expected, it rang minutes later and I answer the call, keeping in mind the excuse I made up.