What's flu with you?

I pulled the covers up under my chin, shivered, and tried desperately to ignore the sound of my own breathing. Each hollow exhalation was amplified, like the sound of dry hair trapped between a pillow and an ear.

The Tylenol finally began to push down on my eyelids and I slowly spiralled into thick, heavy darkness. My neck, back, arms, and head took turns sending dull pings into the murk of my dreams, insistent that I not forget the achy misery waiting for me when I regained consciousness.