I curl up in the blankets like a sick animal in a pile of dry leaves, hoping a predator doesn't come by. It is another beautiful hot summer day. It's in the upper eighties in the bedroom, and I alternate between sweating and shivering. Outside, the leaves rustle in the breeze. The dog wanders the perimeter of the property barking at anything that might dare breech the boarder. He doesn't know that a member of his flock is sick and barks with abandon.

If I had more of a headache, it might annoy me, but my headache is mild and the barking reassures me. I get a drink of water and roll over to sleep some more. It's been like this for twenty-four hours. Sleep. Wake up, drink some water and fall back asleep. The fever ebbs and flows based on the amount of ibuprofen in my system.

At times, I have enough energy to get up and check an email, but that's about it.

Now, it's time to go back to sleep.