Sick

I should exercise frequently, not occasionally, due to particular needs of my own body. Comparing to others, mine is less flexible, in which leads to strict habits – exercising daily and putting in work more times than others.

It starts with a slow burn—an invisible heat crawling under the skin. My body aches in places I didn’t know could hurt, like I’ve been running in a dream where every step sinks deeper. My head pulses, heavy and fogged, as if wrapped in thick wool. The cold air brushes against my arms, but I’m sweating. Hot. Cold. Then hot again. My eyes sting, and light feels too loud. Even thinking feels like wading through warm molasses. I’m here, but distant—floating somewhere between sleep and waking, waiting for the storm to pass.

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up. My body didn’t feel like mine—it was heavy, slow, like I was trapped inside it. I pulled the blanket tighter around me, even though my forehead was burning. I was shivering, but sweating. Freezing, but on fire. It made no sense, and everything about it felt wrong.

My head pounded like a drum—steady, relentless. It hurt to open my eyes. Even the soft light coming through the window felt like a flashlight shining directly at me. My thoughts were fuzzy, like someone had stuffed cotton inside my skull. I tried to think straight, but my brain just kept floating away.

Every part of me ached. Not just sore—aching, deep and constant, like I’d been lying in the same position for too long, or like I’d run a marathon in my sleep. Even my skin felt weird—too sensitive. The blanket scratched, my pillow felt wrong, and nothing I did made me comfortable.

Time stopped making sense. Minutes dragged. I kept checking the clock, expecting an hour to pass, but it had only been five minutes. I drifted in and out of sleep, not sure if I was dreaming or just hallucinating. Sometimes I felt okay for a moment, but it never lasted. The fever always came back stronger, like it was waiting for me to let my guard down.

And underneath it all, I just felt… off. Distant. Like the world was happening somewhere else, and I was stuck behind a foggy window, watching everything pass by.