Imagine Dragons

"Ready or not, here I come," the dragon growled, its claws raking across the walls of my mind.

Each scratch echoed, sending waves of dread through me. I could feel its hot breath suffocating my thoughts, clouding my judgment as it slithered closer, devouring my fears and coiling around my emotions.

"I'm right here if you need me," I whispered to myself, clinging to faint hope. But the dragon came crashing down, relentless. Every attempt to shut it out only fuelled its hunger. By the end, I was hollowed out, clawed and broken, lying in the dark, powerless beneath the crushing weight of my anxiety.

Days passed, and time began to heal the wounds. I could breathe again. The moment I did, though, I knew I had summoned it once more. The dragon stirred, sensing my relief.

But this time, I wasn’t alone. I hadn’t languished in the days between attacks—I sought help. I unsheathed a sword, forged from the thoughtful advice of a well-wisher. Before the dragon could rear its head, I raised my sword and declared, "I want you to meet my friend."

Silence. The dragon hesitated. I watched as its once-terrifying claws withdrew, its spiked tail dragging with angry reluctance—the same tail that had once thrashed me back and forth, plunging me into confusion. Its charging steps slowed, retreating into the darkness from which it came. From the shadows, two bloodshot eyes glared, and a fuming breath echoed from the caverns of my fears, waiting to call me out on my bluff.

"Ready or not, here I come," I muttered, the words scraping from my throat, faking a strength I wasn’t sure I possessed—but I had no choice. I gripped the sword of my resilience, its weight heavy with doubt, and marched forward into the abyss. I knew, with an eerie certainty, that if I faltered for even a breath, it would smell my fear, melt my sword with the flames of terror, and regain the confidence I had starved it of, rising once more to crush me under its darkness.

These days, the battle is fought daily. I don’t win enough to slay it for good. But what matters now is that I no longer back down from the fight.