Scare Fest 2014

Today I went for Scare Fest 2014. Well obviously it was 2014. I don't know why I included that part. It was pretty damn good.

So we were told to come early and start queueing up or else we would only get to go in very late then we would have to go home at 2am. I don't even know. Being a first-year, my friends and I went up at 5pm. 2 hours before the event started. We went up to the booth and the Stage 52 people looked at us like we were absolutely crazy. They told us to come back in 2 hours. So what did we do? We strategically sat ourselves down in library such that we could see the booth (in case the line began to form because we are absolutely nuts like that) and then proceeded to discuss our history with wetting the bed and watching a girl simultaneously puke and have diarrhea. It was a movie. Obviously.

2 hours later, we found ourselves sitting on the floor. We were about 4 people away from the booth and there was still 15 minutes till it opened. Geez.

After watching a headless man and the guy from Vendetta walk round for a bit while complaining about their costumes, we finally were led up the stairs. We were met by 4 stony-faced butlers. Their faces were painted white and if it weren't for the fact that I could recognise them, they would have been pretty creepy. One of them, my friend and old classmate, smiled at me when I waved. So really they weren't that scary.

So we were led all around the building. It was a long walk that included us having to squeeze past the air conditioner things you usually have on the outside of your house or school. The big, chunky things that blow out hot air. I was honestly scared and the air conditioner units made me want to turn around immediately. Plus the creepy doll music was scaring me.

So we entered a door and we were met by a dark hotel like place. We were given some basic instructions and then we followed our butler around a corner. There was a butler sitting at the reception. His face was painted too and he was typing on a typewriter. He was also my friend. So we said hello. He was very good though. He didn't look up. Not even when we (loudly) mentioned how horrible it must be to sit there mindlessly pressing typewriter keys for hours.

We were then led through to 5 different rooms. Amira and I basically spent the whole time hugging each other and screaming. Shu Xian was right behind us and I could feel her hanging on to my bag at times which I actually was grateful for because the first time I felt a tug, I thought a killer clown had grabbed me.

So the rooms were scary. It was very dark and people kept jumping out and suddenly dashing at us and screaming in our faces. I felt my head start to ache after the first room actually. I have issues with loud noises and certainly that wasn't helped by people screaming and jumping at me. But it was very well constructed. Especially the room with the dancers.

My favourite room was the clown room. I don't know how but in that particular room I suddenly found myself at the back of the group. I was gripping Amira's hand and she was pulling me forward but there was a clown in my personal space and he was following me for some time which I found a bit constricting. We also had to go through this dark maze and clowns were jumping out at us randomly and grabbing at our feet. Now that I've written all that down I am starting to question why I thought it was my favourite room...

Finally it was over and I have to say that I enjoyed it. I'm so proud of my friends who were instrumental in this event. I could see how hard they worked and I really think they deserve endless praise. So well done Hannah, Haowei, Rish, Yee Kwan and all the rest!

Sleep

When I think of sleep, I think of a large body of water. Well, for me, I think mainly of the sea.

I imagine that when we lay down to sleep, we are floating on the surface. As we slowly fall asleep, we sink lower and lower into the water.

Finally, when we are in our deepest sleep, we find that we are underwater. 

As we wake up, we slowly rise to the surface and we finally break through and find that we are awake.

I had a nightmare last night and for the past few days, I have not been sleeping well. That's made me a little sick and I've been kind of out of it. I hate this feeling. It's like I can never sink deep enough even though I'm so tired. Somehow, I keep floating near the surface. Stuck in the middle.

Lately, my dreams and nightmares have been so vivid. I can actually remember small details from them. I don't know why. 

Last night especially was pretty bad. My nightmare started out good. It actually started very good. I could remember feeling so safe and happy. Then things started to go south. 

Next thing I knew, I was barefoot and running through the woods. I was being chased by a wolf and I was running alongside a train. I was trying to get on the train but it was too fast. There was someone else with me. She was screaming at me to run faster. 

One of the things I'm most afraid of is being chased. Well, that and loud noises. I don't know why. It's just that feeling of fear and panic I guess. Anyway, that was my dream. It was vivid and it scared me a lot. That may be why I'm feeling so tired but I don't know. 

I guess that's what made me feel the need to put everything into words. I love dreaming. Dreaming is a way to escape reality. But when that turns against you, sometimes, your peaceful descent can turn into you struggling in the water. Half in, half out. When you can't breathe or do anything but thrash around forming soundless screams. 

Or maybe I'm just being too dramatic. Oh well.