Page 2 of My Sleep Paralysis Demon

“Sleep paralysis,” I corrected, glancing at the only other worker in the bakery. “It was more than abad dream.”

The worker, Stephanie, nodded. “That shit sucks. I get it here and there, but you get it every night?”

I nodded. “Every single night. And it feels like I am going to die. I can’t die in my sleep. I’m too young and just got my dream of Starlight Bakery.”

Starlight Bakery had only been open for a year, but soon after, the sleep paralysis started. I had visited sleep therapists, but nothing seemed to help. None of the medicines ever kept that shadow demon away from me.

“You won’t die, Seren,” Stephanie said sympathetically. “Lots of people have it.”

I shook my head. “It takes a toll on your body after a while. At one of the appointments, they had to wake me up because they thought I was going to have a heart attack.”

“What are you going to do?”

I pushed some of my pink curls back. I knew I didn’t look good with bags under my eyes, and the light that used to be there sucked away to nothing. “I sleep, but the moment I feel it coming, I wake myself up.”

“So, you never get good sleep? Never get to the REM part of sleep?” Bex asked.

“That’s when it happens, during the REM,” I said, looking at her. “You can come in early tomorrow, help me with prep, and I’ll take the rest of your shift.”

She nodded, a small smile on her lips. A soft phone alarm went off, telling us it was already closing time. Bex moved to the front of the store, turning off our pink neon open sign. Then, she unplugged all the twinkling fairy lights that we had around the pastel pink bakery.

With a sigh, I gloved up and packed the rest of the bakery stuff we had into a big, pink box. There wasn’t too much left, all fitting in my twenty-four-donut box, but it was enough. Themornings always cleared us out, leaving a few for the rest of the day.

I packed up the rest, taking the rouge red velvet cupcake in a small separate box for me.

“See you tomorrow, boss,” Bex called, hanging up her apron in the kitchen. “Be careful tonight.”

I nodded. “Always.”

Once everything was done, I locked up and left with the box. I drove down to the bridge's underpass and handed out the goodies to a group of homeless people. It wasn’t real food, though sometimes I gave them that, but sometimes sweets were a nice treat for them.

And no one ever complained to me, they just took the ones they wanted.

“Thank you, Seren,” one of the older guys I saw often said.Frank. He looked like he was doing good these days, staying away from drugs to get his life back in order.

“You’re welcome, Frank. Stay safe tonight.”

“You, too!” he said, lifting the donut as a cheer as he walked back to his cover.

After everyone was gone, I drove to my home in radio silence. It felt nice to be able to give them something and it made me realize I had so much, like a home to go to and a bed to sleep in, even if there wasn’t much sleeping done in it.

My headlights lit up my garage door as I pulled my car into my driveway. I stared at it for a moment, feeling grateful that I had a safe shelter to go home to. It felt like a luxury for which I was thankful for.

Some people like Frank had made mistakes. I was grateful I was never put in their situations because I wouldn’t be sure of where I’d be. Maybe I would be on the street, too, trying to stay warm.

I got out of my car, grabbed my cupcake, and headed inside. Bag over shoulder, I unlocked the door just to relock it.

My kitchen was off to my right-hand side. I placed my bag on the marble, white island in the middle of the room. Flicking on the lights, my new silver appliances lit up. From the cabinet fridge, I pulled out some leftover Chinese food and heated it up in the microwave.

Meowing, my cat jumped on the marble counters. I smiled softly, rubbing her mixed brown and black fur. “Did you have a good day, Toebean?”

She purred under my touch, lifting her head for more rubbings.I will take that as a “yes.”

Once my food was done, I leaned against the island, eating in silence. My home was usually quiet, but I didn’t mind it. It was a nice way to decompress after a day of non-stop customers. After my food, I dove into the red velvet cupcake, moaning at my creation. The red cake was still soft, while the cream cheese frosting just melted in my mouth. My recipes were pretty damn good, taking years to perfect.

“Fuck,” I muttered, eating the last bit.That was delicious.

I cleaned up my little mess, washed my dishes, and then moved upstairs. Turning to the right, I saw my bed in plain sight of the hall. It called to me, my body aching to give in to the sleep. But with a sigh, I moved into the bathroom straight ahead.

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