A new life for Sofia

Chapter seventeen

It's the first day of May. Sofia has been with Maya and Carina for seven and a half weeks now. She has adjusted to life in the US very well. She seemed like a very happy child. But, once in a while, Carina and Maya are reminded about the trauma Sofia has experienced. One of those times was last night.

[POV: Maya]

I wake up around 3:15. Something doesn't feel right. I look over to Carina, and she is in a deep sleep. I kiss her forehead and get out of bed, trying to shake this weird feeling off. As I'm walking to the bathroom, I hear sounds coming from Sofia's room.

I walk up to her door. I can hear Sofia talking in Dutch. It sounds like she's panicking. I open the door and walk over to her bed. I can't understand what she's saying, but there are tears streaming down her cheeks.

''Sofia, you're having a nightmare, bubs. You need to wake up.'' Shaking her so she wakes up is not working.

''Come on, bubs.''

''Open your eyes, Sofia.''

Then, she finally wakes up. She looks completely distraught and is still panicking. I climb into her bed and sit behind her.

''Follow my breathing baby girl.'' I exaggerate my own breathing. She tries to follow, but she can't seem to calm down completely.

''Feel my heartbeat Soof.'' I put her head on my chest, so she can her my heartbeat. After a few minutes, she calms down. I just hold her for a couple of minutes.

''What was the nightmare about, bubs?'' She doesn't answer me.

''Do you want to sleep in our bed tonight?'' She nods, so I carry her to our bed. She falls asleep between Carina and me after five minutes, but I'm wide awake. Seeing her so upset scared me. I grab my phone and go to my notes. I click on my list with things to do before the babies arrive and start coming up with more things we have to do. Eventually, I fall asleep as well.

[POV: Carina]

I wake up at about 7. I feel like I'm about to throw up, so I go to the bathroom to empty my stomach. As I return to our room, I realize Sofia was in our bed. I go back to bed, and watch both Maya and Sofia sleep for a few more minutes. They look so peaceful. At 7:20, Maya's alarm sounds and they both wake up.

We stay in bed cuddling for a few more minutes. Sofia is quiet, which is odd. She's normally pretty talkative throughout the whole day, but maybe she's just waking up.

Sofia leaves the room to go grab her clothes and get ready for the day. Maya and I stay in bed for a few more minutes.

''Bella, how come Sofia was in our bed this morning?'' I ask. This is the first time Sofia has spent the night with us. I don't mind, but I do want to know what happened.

''I woke up around 3:15.'' She begins. ''I heard noise coming from Sofia's room. She was panicking and speaking Dutch, so I woke her up and calmed her down. She didn't want to tell me what the nightmare was about, so I asked her if she wanted to sleep in our bed and she said yes. So, I carried her to our bed, and she slept here.'' Maya explained.

''Oh, mio dio. Maybe she'll talk about it at breakfast.'' I spoke. We cuddle for a couple more minutes, until we decide to get ready for the day. When we go downstairs to eat breakfast, Sofia is already there.

[POV: Sofia]

I had another nightmare last night. Ever since I moved in with Maya and Carina, it's usually the same one. It's a flashback from the night of the crash. I hate to talk about my feelings, so I won't tell them what happened. Instead, I'm now making some eggs on toast, and I will try to continue with my day as usual.