I snuggle into my spot and Mike finds his position, our feet intertwine as we both slip into our dreams.

Just as I begin to settle, my body becomes frozen in a paralysis of confusion. I know that I am half-way awake because I am aware of the sounds outside, the ticking of the big clock facing me and the warmth of Mike’s legs.

Even with my awareness, I’m still stuck in this paralysis. As I wrap my head around

not being able to move or speak, I hear this gut wrenching loud pitch ringing through my head. I clench my jaw and literally feel like I am having a seizure, due to what feels like electric shock to my brain.

As I clench my jaw I think to myself.

“Otivia this HAS to be a dream, just count to three and wake yourself up”.

Right as I finish my thought, the sound blares again, but 10 times louder. My ears start to tingle with this numbing pain.

I start to panic and simultaneously think,

“What the hell is going on, why am I in pain if this is only a nightmare”?

Like clockwork when I finished my thought, my ears rang again even LOUDER.

At this point, it is no longer a drill, this is clearly the real deal and someone or something is being extremely wicked.

I just remember saying to myself,

“No way will God let me die like this, no way can I go out this way”

Right as the thought finished, I heard the loudest ringing sound ever, to the point I
thought my ears would pop and boom I woke up.

Out of breath, tears in eyes, hand on my chest, I shook Mike awake.

I was met with the coldest eyes ever imagined. I tried to explain the nightmare but it seemed the more I explained the more annoyed he got.

I did what any sane, technology savvy person would do, I asked google. I typed in,

sleep paralysis, high pitched sound in head

Once I saw how many responses there were, I immediately began doing my research and sure enough, I was not the ONLY one this has happened to. Just like me, others experienced the same thing down to the T. What rubbed me the wrong way, were all the responses about evil spirits and paranormal activity.

Finally I came across a response with more understanding which introduced me to,

Exploding Head Syndrome  

Still scared and in shock, I texted my A.O.E to see if she was up and she responded. I explained to her what had just happened, thinking I would be met with the same hesitation that Mike gave but she was so understanding. She reminded me about the spiritual conversation we had earlier that day and finished by saying,

“The way the enemy is set up, he will thwart you on what he knows. You have to keep praying”

After I expressed how scared I was she validated my feelings and then sent me Psalms 23 to read.

Still physically shaken, I proceeded to call my dad. When I didn’t get a response I texted him,

“Dad call me back, I need you”

Mike sat up on the bed and without knowing what I texted my dad said,

“What do you need”?

At first I was scared because it looked as if he was challenging me .

At that moment I had nothing to lose, so I was honest and explained that his demeanor was scaring me and I wanted to turn on the light.

He asked if that’s what I really wanted and with a soft barely there voice, I whispered,

“Yes please”

He got up immediately with a hard sigh and turned on the light.

I took a second to see if I recognized the face and I did but his soul was different, I felt it.

He sat there with his chest puffed out.

I found myself wanting to cower like a child and breakdown but the very opposite happened. At that very moment, like a spark, I looked at him and I just starred right back. Both looking at each other not blinking.  I felt this sudden rush over me and I sprung up.

With my head high and with purpose I got on my feet, went into our walk through closet, opened the door to my office which led to our living room and immediately went to retrieve my twin sisters 3D Crystal photograph along with a prayer that I wrote for her and some charged crystals that I received  for my 28th birthday.

I forgot to mention that during this journey with my head held high I was giving the devil a piece of my well educated mind.

“You think you’re going to come into MY HOUSE and scare me”?

“You think you are going to use my husband to deter me. The most loving caring man ever”?.

“Mike never responds to me like this, Ever!”

“Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is, both human and spiritual!”

“Are you crazy!!!”

I never felt so fearless before in my life.

I was shaking and scared to go back to sleep yet I didn’t let that fear stop me. I chose faith over fear.

There is a comedian that I follow on Instagram @thebsimone2 

As I walked back through our living room, into my office, through our walk-through closet, back into our bedroom, I was met with confused eyes. Not caring confused from that of a husband but more so confused and slightly defeated eyes, those of an opponent.

I was winning! Oooo yes rumble young man rumble!

I walked in still on my rant, because at this point in my mind, I have him on the floor in a full Nelson. At this point he just met his match.

I put the prayer on top of Mike’s ps4 along with the 3D crystal photo of my twin sister and line up my charged crystals.

I began thinking,

“If you thought I would cower and run, you must be bugging. Now that I know it’s just a dream I’m ready”.

I put Vaseline on my face and chapstick on my lips before turning off the light and returning to bed. I was in for the fight of my life.

Mike was confused as hell at this point.

I texted my A.O.E and told her that I was good. Told her I’d text her in the morning but just know that I had this.

Now I’m still shaking but at the same time I was so calm. More calm than ever.

Mike started asking questions in galore. At this point I’m responding to him as if he is my opponent.

Mike: “So are you ok now”?

Me: “Yep trust me I’m good I’m covered”

Mike: Yep I got you, don’t worry

Me: No you don’t need to have me. I’m good, you go to sleep

Mike: You need me though, I’m your husband

Me: Use whatever name you want but NO sweety I have everything I need thank you

Mike: What are you talking about, you need your husband

Me: Again, I don’t NEED anything. Everything I NEED I already have in abundance

At this point I know this sounds bat sh** crazy.  Part of me know’s how bizarre it was but I also thought, IF this was a real spiritual encounter, I couldn’t let it defeat me or Mike, so I just poured myself into this bad a** character with no fear ONLY faith.

Every time Mike asked a question I’d respond so confidently and assure him that I would be ready for whatever he had next.

Then out of no where, he asked to lay closer to my chest. As if to get closer to my heart.

Without even blinking I brought him close and in my mind I just started praying for the both of us. Psalms 23, the same scripture that my A.O.E had sent.

Can you believe I started to smile and stop shaking.

Then I remembered what I said in my dream to make me actually wake up, (something I can’t repeat now because it was very vulgar and offensive).

Me: Mike I know you are up, so let me tell you how I ended up waking up from my nightmare. I proceed to repeat what I had said to him with conviction.

Immediately he says,

“I don’t want to play this game anymore and started laughing slightly”.

I didn’t respond.

Then he said,

“and I want to move, my arm is hurting”

I start laughing and in my mind I said,

“Check mate”

He then proceeded to say,

“damn, what you think I’m the devil or something”?

Yoooooo I can’t make this up. If I thought I was bugging before, that right there showed me I wasn’t.

So I calmly responded

“That would be absurd, the devil knows he is not welcome here. Go to sleep mike I love you”.

He paused and said,

“Nah babe, don’t do that, you really think I’m the devil”?

At this point, I am just in my glory watching this guy try to pull me into a conversation when Mike never ever speaks of anything like this. God, Spirits, devil, nothing. So for him to be so intrigued, baffled me and further showed me what was going on.

4:45 am.

Mike’s alarm for work goes off and he sits up, looks at me and tries to come in for a hug. Which he literally never EVER does. Kiss on my shoulder or my forehead maybe but not a hug. I immediately go in for the kiss on the cheek and lay back down.

He starts to insist that I give him a hug.

Me: Mike, you have to get ready for work and you are getting annoyed that I won’t hug you, don’t you think that’s odd?

He paused and then says,

“What if this is actually a test for me because you woke me up, now I’m annoyed and I take it out on people in the street”

Or

“What if someone needs help and I don’t help them because I’m so in my head about not getting my sleep and not knowing if you are okay “

On my first date with Mike, he literally stopped his car in a diagonal on Linden blvd because we witnessed a driver run into a truck on the service road by Gersh Park. Mike jumped out of his car, ran and pulled a guy, twice his height and weight out of a vehicle, not even afraid it would blow up.

Mind you, my foolish self is on the phone with an old friend telling her what was happening. Her response of how I should show my “appreciation” for his heroism is too inappropriate for this forum. But, 4 years and a whole marriage later I’m sure you could guess what she told me to do lol .

I said that to show how much of a caring spirit Mike is. The funny thing about me actually witnessing that heroic kindness was, prior to that, he told me about other people he saved which I thought was just “game” honestly.

Even further into our relationship we witnessed a guy tormenting his girlfriend. Before I could even say anything, Mike said,

“babe I know what you’re going to say, mind my business, but if he puts his hands on her I’m going to go off”.

All I could do was sigh.

Just like clockwork the guy started speaking to the girl literally inches from her face, rubbing her neck up and down then in a split second he was choking her body lifeless. Mike punched the guy in the face. In a shock the guy got up and ran across the street.

This guy was so tall and I’m sure had the longest reach, yet he allowed Mike to punch him in the face and then ran like a coward. Mike got in the car and the guy screamed,

“I’ma see you N****”

Mike got out the car and responded

“I’m here right now, come try and choke a man like you were choking that girl.

The guy looked at Mike, I saw his whole body just crush in defeat and he jogged his jolly green giant a** away.

This past Labor Day, on our way home we saw another guy, punching his girlfriend in the face while driving down Eastern Parkway. Again, the hero “Mike T’Challa, aka Brownsville Lightening”  made a heroic yet illegal U-turn on EASTERN PARKWAY AND SCHENECTADY, got out the car and beat the BRICKS off the guy. This time as he beat bricks he was giving the guy, who had to be in his early 20’s, a damn heart to heart lesson.

” You want to be a women beater, that’s what you want to be?”

” You want to go to jail for hitting on a girl half your size?”

Mike Vanzant literally had a conversation while beating this kids a** in hopes that the girl would run away, which she didn’t by the way. She waited for her boyfriend to get embarrassed then when police came to break it up, walked with him away from the scene. Poor girl I pray for her well being.

Crazy thing is, in all of those scenarios there were other capable humans that could have intervened but they chose not to. From day 1, Mike has ALWAYS chose to help and protect people, not for recognition or for “appreciation” but because it’s just in him. At this point in our life and relationship I may not know my husband 100%, which I am perfectly fine with because God willing, we have a lifetime to get to know each other but I do know his heart and the person that laid next to me with the defeated, confused look was not him and I refused to give up, so I just kept my confidence and didn’t cower.

With a sigh, Mike finally backed off and began to get ready for work with what seemed to be an attitude.

I took out my phone and starting recording my thoughts in hopes that I could tell my story and have someone who NEEDS this, RECEIVE this.

I downloaded a bible app (yass technologyyasss 2018) and I read the verse of the day. It filled me with exactly what I needed.

Mike finished getting ready, kissed my FOREHEAD and walked out the door.

I was no longer scared, I was no longer anxious. My mind was clear and I finished writing this blog in 15 minutes flat.

To whom it my concern,

For a while I felt empty inside because I missed my Twin sister, I literally felt something was missing and I think I was filling those voids the wrong way. Today, you tried to enter that “void” but was met with the true warriors who defend my heart and my soul. I may not have people around me in human form but BABY my spiritual family is so strong. My grandfathers, my grandmother, my great grandmother, my twin sister, my aunt Annie and countless more. I have humans that pray for me more than anyone can gossip or speak badly of my name. Mike is my person, my guy, my husband, my friend, and I am so secure with us, that I was not deterred at all. If anything, it made me pray harder. It even made me proud to know, that without the two strongest people in my life ( my dad and mike) I was still able to overcome and make it through. I, Otivia Leonie Headley-Cook am covered. So you can take this and run tell that.

– Love will always win ,

You have been a BLESSED crowd. Get home safely,

-Odessa’s Sister