“

I felt my chest cave in at the sight.

“

It felt like my intestines were moving with a mind of their own.

“

I am a sleep scientist, and I have to spend the night alone in the sleep lab. Tonight though, tonight, is different. Tonight, there’s no danger of me nodding off. I’m wide awake. And I’m terrified.

“

“This isn’t possible,” my wife stared at me while I reached for a towel.

“

My wife looked really concerned, which wasn’t helping me calm down any. I wanted some sort of reassurance from her, even if it was just a false sense of comfort.