Alina

"Are you a teddy bear?"

"My sons, your brothers..."

"Mommy..."

"...we'll always be with you no matter where you are."

"...never take this off..."

"I love you Daddy!"

"You're a Lombardi, never forget that."

My dreams are getting weirder and weirder every night.

Before I wake up, I always hear that line:
"You're a Lombardi, never forget that."

But I don't even know what a Lombardi is! I've never heard of it in my life.

I see 'the monsters' practically every time I close my eyes and drift off to sleep. Yet they don't feel like monsters at all. But that's what my brothers call them and I don't know why my brothers would tell me otherwise.

Whenever I see 'the monsters' in my dreams I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I don't think I can really say 'see' though cause their faces are all a blur to me.
My brothers say that's for the best.

Alexei and Dmitri just care a lot about me. I'm sure of it.
Even when they get angry and violent, I know it's only out of love in their own special way. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

When I listen to them I get yummy food and a warm bed so clearly they're just trying to make sure I learn from my mistakes so I'll always be a good girl.

"Good girls get food."
"Good girls get a blanket."
"Good girls get hugs."
"Good girls get love."

Now back to my dreams.

I say 'monsters' cause Alexei and Dmitri told me that they rescued me from some really bad people, 'monsters'. I don't remember it happening at all though. They also don't like to talk about it so I can't ask questions or they'll get angry.

I can't remember anything before my time in Russia. The earliest thing I can recall is waking up in my bedroom in tears screaming something about 'the monsters'.
That was when Alexei first started using that name for them so I just started using it too.

A small voice in my head tells me that the true monsters are really my brothers.
I get nightmares that feel all too real about them to ignore. Alexei and Dmitri hurt me in them.
I feel the pain and I wake up in tears every time. My brothers don't hear my cries though.

So it's either confusing dreams or painful nightmares. It's a mystery of which I'll get every night.

Just as I'm about to fall asleep, my locked bedroom door opens. It's probably my brothers. They like to check on me a lot. Sometimes they'll just sit in the chairs, watching me.

"Alexei and Dmitri are dead. It's over."

That's not my brothers and w-WHAT!?

Why don't I feel anything?

Because they hurt you.

No they didn't. They would never really hurt me. It's my fault, not theirs. They rescued me. They saved me.

Remember.

Remember what?

"Alina baby, wake up. Open your eyes princess." Someone says.

I do.

5 boys stand around my bed. There's a beautiful woman sitting on my left, and a man on my right. All 7 of them seem familiar somehow.

Remember.

"Alina, do you know who we are sweetheart?"

Remember.

I hesitate.

"B-brothers," I slowly point to the boys.
"Mommy," I grab her hand.
"Daddy," I reach for his, but I'm lifted off the ground instead and pulled into his warm embrace.
"And our little Allie."

This is my family.

-

"Wake up. Alina, wake up маленький ангел."

"We've arrived in Russia цветок."

"Welcome home, дочь."
*daughter

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I'm backkkkkkk!!!