Searching, reaching, and yearning for something out of reach,
feeling suddenly as though I’m lost in dark shadows,
thrown into this frightening journey unprepared,unarmed.
As one complication is solved in my mind,
another comes in to replace it,
extracting from it the fear and anxiety to add to its own.

My mind sets the scene of my nightmare:
a dark, vacant parking lot past sundown,
a recent rainfall leaving puddles beneath my feet.
The sky is a black, impenetrable mask of trepidation,
mirroring the very thoughts running through my mind.
The scent of wet asphalt surrounds me,
but the sound of crickets is ominously absent.

I sprint through the dark,
screaming your name,
my voice ragged and sharp from the effort.
I glance about frantically,
squinting through the gloom,
anxious and edgy.
I fall to my knees and feel the tar rip open my skin,
and immediately the blood starts to pour down my leg.

Yet still I push forward,
all because this time, I want to be the hero.
I want to be the one to save you.