Mad Sleep

Unable to ignore Chaka’s restless flip-flopping, Akete sighed loudly, letting him know that she too was awake.

            “Sorry, I’m trying to get comfortable.”

Without bothering to respond, Akete turned her back to him, burying her head under the duvet and tucking the oversized body pillow between them. Chaka tried to be still, but no position gave him comfort.  Differences, disagreements and her unwillingness to forgive him wedged them further and further apart. He reached for her only to find a stiff rebuff meeting his touch. The tension, and now the pillow, between them sapped all of the warmth and softness that once welcomed him.  He knew that he couldn’t erase his actions but desperately tried to convince her that he had learned from his mistakes and had genuinely changed. Chaka wanted to soothe her pain. Akete slept on, dreaming of a world without disappointment.