Where is he

Eric still couldn't sleep, but the cause was different now. For the first time since he could remember, Eric felt excited at what the next morning brought.

***

Eric's eyes opened in the darkness. That dream, that memory, still lingers. He suddenly felt like a little boy again, afraid of the dark, afraid of the unknown, and alone. It's strange how a dream can be so real. It can control a person's mind and arouse emotions, so much so that it affects the body. Eric felt a lump in his throat; he shouldn't be there, he hasn't been that scared boy for a long time, and yet he's still here. His heart was pounding in his chest and his palms were sweaty.

He told himself over and over again that it was all a dream, but the emotions clung to him like molasses. No matter how hard he tried to wipe them out of his thoughts, they were still there, shifting from side to side of his mind, wobbling between the joy of experiencing acceptance for the first time and the pain of knowing about the future.