By Hannah Kim

Thump thump thump ...

It's dark. I try hard to open my eyes but I can't see anything. All I can hear is the constant pounding of my heart.

One, two, three, stop. Thump thump thump ...

My heart beats irrationally. I don't know why but I feel so cold. Yet, my body is speaking the opposite. Icy sweat drips down the sides of my face. Hot like molten shards of metal or glass. In the darkness I can picture my hands moving but in reality they are immobile. My frozen hands still trying to wipe the hot-cold mixture of sweat off my face.

Somewhere far away I can hear the clock ticking second by second. While the world moves at a normal pace, I am begging and praying for time to slow down. For time to stop for me and only me. I try to move my hands again but they aren't moving. I try to move my feet but they're also frozen in place.

My head is spinning with thousands of thoughts running around, around, and around. I try to take control of my mind to force my body to move. Like a robot I'm looking for the remote control buried deep inside my head. Nothing seems to be working now. I want to give up.

No!

Lets try one more time.

I try opening my eyes again.

This time I'm met with a mixture of rainbow colors.