Chapter 29

Although some part of me dimly registered the various aches and pains assaulting my body, for some reason I felt secure. Safe. Warm. It was as if in the darkness of sleep I was holding onto something that was protecting and healing me. I didn't want to let go of this source of protection and warmth so I drew closer, holding it to me dearly. In this moment I thought that everything was right in the world. Tethered to my source of security and holding onto it tightly, I quickly fell deeper into the confines of a dreamless sleep. Some time passed before I felt the coldness begin to seep into my bones. I was no longer clinging to the heat source and I felt oddly empty and alone without it, although I did not know what had been the source of my security in the first place. Without it my body felt isolated and weak and the dull ache from my injuries began to return. As my mind awakened, I began to pull away from the impenetrable blackness in which I had slept. Part of my brain w