The plane's engine around him was like a dull roar reverberating across all of existence. His hand flapped around as he came to and breathed in, hard. He stood up sharply. The other passengers were sleeping, making it a clean stumble to the lavatory. He snapped the door shut behind him and clutched his head, sitting down heavily on the closed toilet seat. One hand flew to his chest and the other smacked the surface of the sink repeatedly. He was still one foot in his nightmare, unable to focus on anything around him. “Nightmare,” he said to himself slowly. “Just a dream. I'm just-- agh.” He turned on the sink, putting his hand under the water and burying his head against his shoulder. He babbled to himself while he slowly returned to lucidity. Very gradually, his breathing returned to normal. It was another few minutes before his heart rate was anything resembling calm again.He stood up hesitantly, turning around and unzipping his pants to relieve his bladder. The image of his mother's face returned to him.
