Stress and Worms

It's been raining here a lot. My minor fear has metamorphosed into a phobia.

the worms here are plentiful. they come out in full force when it rains. they can be huge. and several different species populate different areas of the city. for example, the lawns belonging to lawn-maintenance-obsessed people are populated by small, thin dull-gray ones that come out in swarms and cover every inch of available concrete, making it utterly impossible to get to school. then there are the medium-sized pink ones that lurk about parks, normal and neglected lawns and the college campuses. let's not forget the most hideous ones of all....the giant pink ones. these are the ones that make me want to pass out, scream, run around in circles, vomit, give me goosebumps, cry, etc....these little bastards are long and fat and long and fat and... due to their large size, they can venture out farther away from the soil than the other ones. this means that the streets are NOT safe. they even come out when it doesn't rain. these are also the ones you see floating around in parking lot puddles---and some of them even look like they're still moving! and they dry up and have a meaty, beef jerky-like texture when precipitation ceases and the sun shines. THEY CAN SENSE FEAR and they know how to climb onto my leg, curl up near my ankle bone and die for me to find later (it happened, i screamed and ran around in circles. i am still scared to wear sandals and shorts for fear that i will get another one on me). the ones i haven't seen are those that are tapered on both ends, small and yellow.

the past two weeks have been a constant panic attack. i have nightmares about them. it took me about an hour to walk to school, a task that usually only takes ten minutes, and it took me ten minutes to walk two blocks because there was a giant pink one crossing the sidewalk to the street. this ended with me contemplating whether or not i should skip class and go home for the day. i've also had people drive to collect me from places. when i walk down the street, i look crazy. i walk like a drunk guy, swearing and throw my hands up in the air. i also give myself pep-talks. "it's okay, anna, only a few more blocks... "