Black-hole

I woke up with a sweat, and stared suspiciously into the darkness - there seemed to be something wrong. Something had woken me up. Sensation slowly returned to my numb brain. In a few moments, I realised I was safely tucked in my bed, that I was sweating profusely, that my body was sore and I could hardly move.

I lay there for a few minutes, trying to flex my heavy, rusty limbs, and started to monitor my surroundings. It was suffocating and hot, which was strange because I could distinctly remember switching on the air-conditioner in the kitchen. What could be the problem? I turned and checked that the door connecting the kitchen and my bedroom was open.

I swallowed hard and tried to revive myself. Perhaps I should go to the washroom and splash my face with some cool water. That ought to make me feel alive again. With the energy that I had, all that I could do was sit up in bed. My head was swimming and I felt sick. I removed the stupid blanket and gingerly got out of bed. Very slowly, one step at a time, I reached the bathroom.

The splash of water really did me good and I decided to investigate why the air-conditioner wasn't doing its job. I went into the kitchen. It was dark. The air-conditioner seemed to be working fine. The switch was on. Cool air was blowing out of the duct. Hmm. I looked to check that the windows were closed. Where could the cool air be escaping? Why wasn't it reaching my bedroom?

Then I saw that the connecting bathroom door was open. Strange. This bathroom isn't functional. My heart started to pound. How come the door was open? I took a cautious step forward and peered into the darkness. The farthest corner of the bathroom was the darkest. The pot sat there sinister-like. It looked wasted, discarded, irritable. Like one of life's forgotten, spooky alleys. One of those dark, painful black-holes in your heart you keep under lock and key so it doesn't suck the happiness out of everything else.

I caught my breath. This door should remain closed. Its sucking the cool air out of the rest of my happy home.