Short Excerpts from THY NEIGHBOR

“There was movement: threatening, deliberate, terrifying. I no longer felt my own body, but I knew I was running. My breathing was sporadic and rushed, but the sound was muffled as if coming from another room. The beating of my heart, however, was deafening and painful, but it was proof that I was still alive.”

“… Rage that had been sleeping for so long began to flow through my veins. The numbness I had perfected after all of these years was slowly beginning to recede and in its place, I could feel the rise of anger, hurt, and intense pain. My head became dizzy and my thoughts were scrambling, as if multiple radio stations were competing for the same frequency. I closed my eyes and fell against a tree in the grassy area between university buildings. I could hear voices and see flashes of images and shadows, but I could not distinguish a single one. In fact, the only thing I could decipher was the severity of my fear. I was breathing heavily, and for a moment I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. I slid down the tree and slumped to the ground with my knees tucked tightly to my chest. The beating of my pulse was excruciating, and I found myself fighting to regain some sort of control over the situation.”