The Monster in My Sleep

“Our wedding invitations were chosen, promising a beautiful future with Mike, my college sweetheart of eight years. Then, Mike arrived, face ashen, eyes haunted. He thrust an envelope at me: "I can't do this, Sarah." Pure terror consumed his face as he fled. That was just the first loop. Friends whispered about "what they saw" and abandoned me. I lost my job to "disturbing incidents." My beloved cat mysteriously died, then my mother collapsed, eyes wide with paralyzing fear. My father, seeing something monstrous in me, whispered, "It's better this way," as he smothered me. Each time, I woke on "breakup day" again, trapped in a horrifying cycle. Everyone I loved vanished, terrified of *me*, yet I had no idea why. What was I? What was happening when I slept that drove them to such profound fear? Desperate, I wired my apartment with hidden cameras. The footage I played back shattered my world: *I* was the monster. Crawling on all fours, vacant eyes, unnatural speed, guttural sounds – it was utterly terrifying.”