Roar

Beads of sweat drip down my forehead. My breath labors. My heart beats faster and faster and faster. “Everything will be okay,” I whisper to myself before panic sets in. “It’s only a few few minutes and then the charade is over.”

But I know better. The experience will be chiseled into my memory. A voice inside challenges me. I shouldn’t be here. I must be here. I can’t go on. I must go on.