When I See You Again

Chapter 2: The Nightmare

What happened?"

"You fell asleep."

"I did?"

"Oh, don't worry. It was just a little catnap. The night is still young."

"Wait... I remember something. My dad! When I was asleep I could've sworn I heard him calling for me... It must've been a dream."

"Well, how can you be sure?"

"Because... because my dad is dead."

"I'm sorry, Henry. It makes sense for us to dream about the things we've lost and the things we hope for. Like your father being alive and your mother coming to find you. But eventually you will find new things to dream about. And when you do... they'll start to come true."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's what I did and now you're here. Neverland used to be a place where new dreams were born. You can bring that magic back, Henry, and we can be your family."

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Henry lay very still in his bed, staring into the darkness, tracing the shadows cast by the sliver of light coming from the gap in his curtain. He hadn't made any move to record the dream since he'd awoken. He had only remained still, trying to calm his heart, thundering in his chest.

For several months now he had been writing things in his dream journal. Each night he had hoped that he would dream about Regina and perhaps gain more clues about who she might be and how he could find her. He had felt certain that she was in fact a real person, even if he couldn't understand her connection to him and his mom.

After dreaming of the three of them having dinner together, Henry had tried to casually bring her up to Emma. Maybe she was a friend or someone they knew in Boston and he just couldn't remember her. He'd brought it up at breakfast that Saturday morning.

"Hey, Kid. You slept late this morning. Another dream?" Emma slid a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her son.

"I did have a dream but it didn't keep me awake too long. I'm a teenager now, Mom. We're supposed to sleep late. It's in the handbook they gave me at orientation on my birthday," Henry said around a forkful of eggs.

"My, aren't we a comedian today?" Emma chuckled as she turned her attention to the cocoa. "I'll never know where all this sass came from. You certainly didn't get it from me." Emma had her back to him, sprinkling some cinnamon onto his cocoa and grimaced at her own words. She tried to avoid mentioning his father at all costs. It wasn't a fun talk for either of them when it came up.

"Yeah, yeah," Henry winked at her as she turned to him, silently saying her indirect mention of his father was okay. Taking a deep breath, he tried to bring up the visitor in his dreams as nonchalantly as possible. "Hey, Mom? Do we know anyone named Regina?"

"Regina? Hmm, I don't think so," Emma had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was trying to call up a face for a name and coming up empty handed. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I guess. I just had that name pop up and I wondered. So, nobody comes to mind?" Henry gently pushed a little further, hoping not to stir her curiosity too much.

"Nobody comes to mind," Emma said, a frown of concentration wrinkling her forehead.

"Oh, ok," Henry shrugged. "So, what's the plan today?"

The rest of breakfast had been small talk about the bills and laundry and homework that lay ahead of them that day. Henry cleared the dishes and as he closed the dishwasher his blonde mother spoke. "I thought of someone! There was a Regina in Boston but I'm not sure you would remember her. She worked at Thompson's Cleaners where I took my suits. Did you ever go in there with me?"