Link to the contest:https://steemit.com/hive-108800/@solperez/concurso-de-arte-y-escritura-125-y-ganadores-de-la-edicion-124-art-and-writing-contest-125-y-ganadores-de-la-edicion-124

Do you know that feeling of heaviness in your chest that appears when you’re stressed? I feel it the most at night, just as I’m preparing to sleep. Back in the days of early humans, nighttime was filled with dangers. We could be attacked by animals and have less chance of survival due to limited visibility. That instinct of sensing danger and fear in the dark has stayed with us to this day. Our fears and demons awaken at night, disrupting our dreams or keeping us from sleeping altogether.

In my opinion, this painting portrays that idea quite literally. A demon, an incubus, sits on the woman’s chest. According to legend, the incubus would haunt sleeping women at night. Its presence caused a feeling of suffocation and sleep paralysis. The incubus has clearly had a negative impact on the woman it’s sitting on, as she looks as though she’s dying.

Observing the scene is a black horse, peering out from behind a curtain. The horse appears amused by the situation. It reminds me of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The horseman on the black horse symbolized famine—famine being suffering, a slow death. This leaves me with a question: did the woman dream her worst nightmare—death?

Invitations to @pearlfavy @naina9