The Internal Inferno

My religion taught me to live in fear. Fear of demons in the shadows, tempting me to stray from the straight and narrow path. Fear of sin that could curse me to Hell’s eternal flames.

Every night I pray for forgiveness of all my sins, known and unknown, lest I miss one and be forever damned with the lost. But I never really know for sure.

Tonight, as I brush my teeth, I gaze at my reflection in the mirror and see a shadowy, hooded figure creep up behind me. It whispers, “Give up, you are already lost.” 

My heart pounds and head spins; I stagger backwards onto the bed. The figure pounces, cape outspread, covering me with his body, strangling me with impossibly large hands that encircle my throat. I can’t breathe, I can’t scream, I struggle for air, but there is none. I think I’m going to die. This is the end. The devil has come for my soul. 

Everything goes black.

I see the distant light of flames and hear the faint screams of torment of the lost. With no effort of my own, an invisible force propels my body forward. The flames get closer; the screams get louder; I feel the heat and terror in the air. I must be in Hell. 

“No!” I shout. “It’s not fair!” I thrash violently and flail with all my might to escape the fire, but my feet are stuck, and I can’t move. Satan and his minions hiss and laugh and mock me. 

The flames lick my feet and up my legs, engulfing me, burning me, and I know I am doomed to burn forever. But why? I say my prayers every night. What did I do to deserve this wretched fate?

Voices shout and hands reach, grabbing me, pulling me into the fire. Is it one of the lost? A demon? The devil himself? 

I open my eyes with a start and gasp. I’m surrounded by my burning house, flames on every side, the timbers crackling and roaring like the screams of hell. I cough in the thick smoke, and my eyes water and burn. A fireman lifts me from my bed, cradles me, and carries me away from the inferno to the safety of the outdoors.

I am safe. It was only a dream, but what a terrible dream indeed! Hell is a real place, if only in my mind. At least this time.

I’d better remember to say my prayers.