Crashing Awake

Last night, coughing, I popped up in the dark; I remember sitting on the edge of the bed for a second -- or standing, I can't remember -- then, in an instant, I slammed to the ground, feeling distinctly like my head was being thumped, front and back, with wood -- or as if it were bouncing around in a box.

My eyes opened; I was on the floor next to my bed, hands and knees, and a memory was fading and undulating like a boat-wake behind me: a memory of falling, but more of crashing. That part -- the crashing part-- still hasn't faded: my body slamming to the wood floor; no attempt made to stop myself; just a flat, dead fall to the floor and hitting a few things on there way down.

I knelt there in the dark, literally shaking my head, trying to come around.