The Brain Fog: A Haunting Inner Dialogue Between Wakefulness and Dreams

(🎧 Audio Version) The Brain Fog: A Haunting Inner Dialogue Between Wakefulness and Dreams

[📖 Prefer reading? Here's the story in script format.] ⬇

(Scene: Your Bedroom, late morning. The room is dimly lit by sunlight streaming through heavy curtains. It’s 11:30 AM. YOU lie in bed, eyes closed, body motionless. The room is silent except for faint ambient noises from outside. Your thoughts begin to surface, groggy and fragmented.)

You: It’s… morning? Or afternoon? I need to wake up. Start my work… but this brain fog… Maybe I should wait a little. Let it clear.

(Your breathing is slow and deep. Then, a VOICE echoes in your mind, distant yet oddly clear.)

Voice: You’re not ready yet.

You: What? Who said that?

Voice: I did.

You: Who are you?

Voice: Your brain.

(You frown slightly, but your eyes remain closed.)

You: So… I’m talking to my brain now?

Voice: Yes.

You: If I’m talking to you and you’re answering, doesn’t that mean I’m already awake?

Voice: Not quite.

You: Then why are you here? Why now?

Voice: Because you called me out.

You: I called you out? How?

Voice: You wanted clarity.

You: Wait… is this answer of yours a product of my own thinking?

Voice: No.

You: But you’re my brain. If you say something and it’s not from my thinking, how does that even work?

Voice: It works.

(You hesitate, confusion spreading across your mind.)

You: Are you… in another universe?

Voice: Yes—and no.

You: You’re not in my head right now, are you?

Voice: What do you think?

You: Your voice… It sounds far away, like it’s outside my ears. But also… inside. Which one is true?

Voice: Both.

You: Both? That doesn’t make sense. My brain can’t even process this. It’s like—I don’t have the strength to think.

Voice: Naturally. That’s the brain fog.

You: When will it go away?

Voice: Soon.

You: What time is it?

Voice: 11:35 AM.

You: I went to bed at 4 AM. That’s over eight hours. Isn’t that enough?

Voice: No. To be precise, you’ve slept for seven hours and thirty-six minutes.

You: But how can my brain calculate that if I’m not fully awake?

Voice: Because I told you.

You: Wait… how do you know it’s 11:35 without a clock?

Voice: Because I’m from outside… and inside.

You: You’re making this sound so mysterious.

Voice: The world is full of mystery.

(You sigh, too tired to argue anymore.)

You: Fine. I just want to know when I’ll feel awake again. When will this fog go away?

Voice: Ten more minutes.

You: So, noon?

Voice: Exactly.

You: And until then?

Voice: Wait. Don’t think.

You: It’s like those nightmares where you’re awake but can’t move a single finger.

Voice: Yes. Similar.

You: You know, sometimes I think computers are better than the human brain. When you turn one on—

Voice: (interrupting sharply) Stop thinking. It’s almost time.

(You pause, letting your mind drift into stillness. Then, out of nowhere, a shrill, piercing alarm cuts through the silence.)

(The alarm clock is buzzing loudly.)

(You jolt upright, your eyes snapping open. Stumbling out of bed, you rush to your desk and slam the alarm off. The quiet that follows feels jarring. You glance at the clock: 12:00 PM, sharp. You’re fully awake now—but the strange, dreamlike conversation is already slipping from your memory.)

(Posted on 20.1.2025)

#BrainFogAndInnerDialogue

"Ten more minutes."