If I think about it, sleeping has now become a luxury to me. I got six hours of sleep yesterday, and it's been the most I've gotten since the 23rd. I'm scared, in a constant state that now lives with me in a more tangible way, because the thing I was so scared of ended up happening when I least expected it.
I haven't slept in my bedroom since Tuesday. I barely go in there. I spend every day between the living room and the hallway, always alert. I barely take off my shoes now.
The door to our place remains open, oh, so slightly, but it's there. I refuse to close it entirely, I'm worried enough as it is knowing the other one is closed.
Every little noise startles me. And I've realized the world is really noisy. I liked that before. I'm scared of it now, but I'm also scared of the silence. I keep looking up, trying to find cracks on the walls. I keep looking up at the sky, trying to find something I don't know I'm looking for (sometimes, the sky scares me as well). It rained yesterday. It was terrifying. I used to love the rain.
I want to move. But I want to stay.
I'm not aware of the magnitude of what just happened. I'm tired but moving forward, giving me a tiny bit of permission to almost cry here and there. I take deep breaths but they don't really help. And despite all of that, I know I'm fortunate, which is why I don't want to complain.
I think I'm not doing it, I'm just... Trying to vent.
I'm trying to take care of myself while looking around at all times, thinking of every scenario in which it happens again and I have to run with my parents. I keep a backpack with me at all times. For some reason, keep remembering the moment it all happened, try to make myself think, we did it once, we could potentially do it again. I keep checking the news, portals that inform me about the aftershocks. Knowing they're normal. Being scared of them as well.
I also realized the city I know and love so much, has changed. And I won't be able to enjoy it the way I used to, anymore. There's a grief process over that happening.
I don't look at the clock that much. Days are short, nights are endless. That never changes.
I texted a friend on Thursday. He hasn't replied yet. I think he's dead. I'm not brave enough to start looking for his name on lists.
And in spite of that, I feel like I shouldn't say a word, because so many people have it so much worse.
I want to go back to my life on the 23rd.