For the first time in the longest, I hadn’t screamed, cried or thrashed on the bed. Instead, I jolted up straight, only breathing heavily while looking sideways and ensuring the man wasn’t inside the bedroom still. I waited for a few minutes but his voice didn’t appear in my head and nor did anything else happen.
Grabbing a few tissue papers from the side table, I patted the sweat away from my forehead and walked into the washroom to splatter water over my face.
Still in shock, I couldn’t believe what had happened. I remembered everything from the dream. The man’s face and even his face. It was no longer strange, though it still felt strange.
Thousands of questions rushed into my head and I continued to wonder why that man appeared in my dreams and nightmares constantly. He wanted something from me, I could tell it by looking into his golden eyes but I couldn’t what he wanted.
It was three in the morning. I had been dreaming for hours even though it only felt like minutes since I was in the forest alongside the man. He had nearly kissed me. It was better than him chasing me around and terrifying me.
I took a deep breath and went downstairs to see my Dad who must’ve been home by now.
The house wasn’t as quiet as it was usually. The TV was switched on, the volume lowered to the least but the sound of the move playing still made it to my ears.
“Dad?” I whispered, stepping into the room where the TV was.
He turned his head around and gave me a wide smile before standing up and grabbing me into his embrace. “Oh, I missed you, baby.” He crushed me against his chest and said in a low voice.
I assumed my Mom was sleeping, therefore the lights of the house were switched off. It was dark and only the light from the TV could be seen.
“I missed you too, Dad.” I closed my eyes and melted in his hold. I had always missed him whenever he left town and these days, it was happening too much. I barely saw him around but whenever I did, I made sure I spent my time with him wisely.
When he parted away, I looked into his eyes and found tension growing within them, “I spoke to your mother and she told me that the nights have been harder than usual. Are you okay?” He questioned.
I nodded my head, “It will be okay, Dad.” It was the first time I had said that to anyone. Usually, I always told everyone that it was never going to get better and that I needed to live with it for the rest of my life.
But after the encounter with that man in the forest, I felt a bit relieved and relaxed. Maybe he wasn’t that bad as I imagined him to. While there was still confusion, I was sure that he didn’t want to hurt me—as he told me.
“Come. Let’s watch some movie together. How long were you sleeping for? I was waiting for you to wake up.” He draped his arm over my shoulder and pull me to the couch, forcing me to sit right beside him.
“I don’t know. I was doing my homework and I suddenly fell asleep,” I pressed my head against his chest while he grabbed the remote and played the movie running on the screen. “What about you, Dad? How long are you going to stay? I miss you a lot when you’re gone.” I told him with honesty.
“I know, baby. Just for some while and then I had to go for the meeting Prague. Hopefully, I’ll have the winter holidays off so then I can spend all my time with you.” He pressed his lips against my forehead and grabbed me closer to himself.
I giggled and wrapped my arms around his body. “I can’t wait to spend every day with you, Dad. Mom is just being so—” I lowered my voice and tried to find a term for her but I couldn’t.
“Boring?” He looked down at me and asked.
“Yes!”
“Don’t worry, I’m always here for you.”
He returned his attention back on the TV screen and so did I. We spent the rest of the night watching an old movie that we had already seen a hundred times. Mom was asleep the entire time, she woke up late in the morning, just when I was about to leave for school.
I strapped on my shoes and grabbed the bag from the floor while reaching for the door.
“Miranda!” My mother spoke behind me. I turned around to her as she walked out of her room in a silk robe. “You’re leaving for school?”
I turned aside from the door and walked over to her. “Good morning, Mom and yeah. Dad’s going to drop me. I didn’t want to disturb you. You were sleeping. I hope it’s okay.” I smiled at her.
“Yes. But how did you sleep last night?” She folded her arms across her chest and asked. It was usual of her to ask me every morning whether I had seen any dreams or nightmares.
My lips lined straight and I replied, “It was good. I—I didn’t see anything.”
“Oh, that’s better. Go on, enjoy your day and come back fast.” She pulled her robe tighter to her chest and waved her hand.
I waved back at her and stepped out of the door, leaving the house and entering my Dad’s car that was parked beside Mom’s. I had learned to drive but no one allowed me to do it. Mom didn’t trust my driving skills and neither did I.
I was rather quite excited to go to school today because I wanted to talk to Josie about everything I had seen, from the man’s voice I had heard and till the part where he had held my hand.
When Dad dropped me off to school, I sprinted in and searched for my friend. I had been questioning it all for months and months but last night something entirely different had happened and I no longer knew what to believe or think.
After a few good minutes of searching Josie, I couldn’t find her anywhere inside the school. The classes had already began and the hallways were clearing out yet Josie was nowhere to be seen.
I sighed and grabbed my books from the locker before heading to my first class.
Just as I began walking, I heard noises from the chemistry lab at the end of the hallway. I froze my steps and turned around. The creaking sound returned into my ears and I furrowed my brows together before heading to the chemistry lab.
Upon opening the door, I gasped and nearly screamed at what was in front me.
Josie, naked, and another boy.