It was past midnight and the world outside my window was too silent The kind of silence that makes your ears ring, that makes you feel like something is waiting just beyond the veil of darkness.
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I had been lying in bed half asleep, drifting in and out of thoughts when I heard it A deep, guttural growl,bIt wasn’t the wind It wasn’t the creaking of an old door This sound had weight, It sent a shiver through my spine jolting me awake, My first instinct was to hold my breath as if breathing too loudly might invite whatever was out there to come closer I reached for my phone but the light from the screen felt like a beacon in the dark I turned it off Whatever it was it was real It wasn’t my imagination It was out there prowling in the night And then it hit me That familiar paralyzing force The kind that makes you hesitate that tells you to stay in your comfort zone that whispers in your ear Don’t move Don’t risk it. But in that moment as my heart pounded against my ribs I realized something, This growl this unseen force in the dark was just like every fear I had ever faced in life, The fear of failing, of not being good enough, of stepping outside my comfort zone It was loud, menacing and it made me want to hide But just because something is loud doesn’t mean it’s stronger than me I sat up I embraced the fear let it course through me without letting it control me The growl came again but this time, it didn’t hold the same power Whether it was a wild animal the sound of distant thunder or just my mind playing tricks it no longer mattered I realized that fear, like that growl in the night only has as much power as we give it And sometimes the best thing we can do is face it head on.
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