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I woke up suddenly. Shaking uncontrollably. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as if it would break free of my skin at any moment. I curled into a ball underneath my covers and tried to slow my breathing.

"In, out. In, out. Y-you c-can d-ddo it."

It wasn't working. Then the tears came. Slowly at first, like a beautiful, calm lake somewhere in the mountains. Then the floodgates opened, and the trickle turned into raging rapids, causing my eyes to drown in my own tears. There was nothing I could do to stop them...