Don't Close Your Eyes

Don't close your eyes. Don't close your eyes. Don't close your eyes.
She chanted the phrase obsessively through trembling lips. Her knuckles were white as she clutched the blanket to her chest. She couldn't fall asleep. She wouldn't fall asleep. They would get her. Of course she had no clear idea of who they were. Maybe they were the monsters lurking in the dark corners of her bedroom. Maybe they were the killers wandering the streets at night. Maybe it was simply death, waiting until she fell asleep to clasp his icy fingers around her throat. She wouldn't risk it, though. She never risked it. She hadn't had a decent night's sleep in ages. Her loved ones doted on her, they were afraid she was going mad. But she knew she was far from it. She was the opposite of it, really. She was perfectly sane.
“Nothing will hurt me if I don't close my eyes.” She whispered to herself, rationally.
Don't close your eyes. Don't close your eyes. Don't close your eyes.