From Bad To Worse

3. Rest

I couldn't help but play her words over in my head, like a song in repeat. She said she saw me find the hole in the wall in a dream. It could be true, she clearly wasn't in the room when I was digging through the quilts. On the other hand, if she was in the room then it would make a lot more sense, but why would she lie to me if that's the case?

"Look, mummy! We did it!" I was yanked out of my thoughts by April proudly announcing the finishing touches to her den. "The cushion castle in officially finished!" I couldn't help but laugh at her remark. She had put so much thought in to something as pointless as a little den, I admired her energy.

"That's lovely, dear." I was still half lost in thought so I couldn't look at her without reconsidering every possibility to how she could've known about me seeing the hole in the wall before it even happened. It baffled me.

"Sweetie, can I ask you a question?" I said, managing to make eye contact with her and pushing all the theories to the back of my mind. She looked at me and nodded subtly as if she was almost concerned. "Can you see whatever you want to in a dream? Or do they just happen?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes I can change my dreams to make them happen how I want them to." I studied her facial expression, she was serious about this. "Sometimes it doesn't work, though. I knew daddy would leave, I a saw it when I was sleeping and I tried to change it so he stayed but..."

I watched as tears began to well up in her eyes, I placed my hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"It didn't work." She said wiping the tears from her cheeks as they fell. I flashed her a concerned look and I asked her something that she had to do.

"April, I need you to go to sleep." My tone was stern and my words were direct, she knew that this was something I needed. If she could tell the future, maybe there was something she could tell me about myself or if our life would be better or worse from now on.

"Mummy, I can't." She said. I looked at her in disbelief. Was she lying to me after all? "I can only do it when she's there" she continued.

She? Who was she?

"Who do you mean?" I was blunt, but she knew I was serious.

"My friend, Diana, we met her in the woods that time and I said she could live with us, don't you remember?" My mind flew back to that day at the woods and I struggled to remember the event.

Was this all for real?

***

"Mummy! Daddy! Over here!" April giggled as I uncovered my eyes.

"You win again, love!" Jason said, the two of them laughed. April was becoming a real professional at hide-and-seek.

"Why don't you go and find some sticks and we'll make a little raft to sail down the river?" I suggested, the twinkle in her eye gave me the answer and she ran off to collect the supplies. Jason laughed at my creativity, I always had the craziest ideas which April always seemed to love.

"Mummy!" I heard a cry for help from my daughter and Jason jogged over to where she was sat. I looked down to see her knee covered in doc leaves, I looked around but there were no doc plants around. I was puzzled but I focused on her bleeding knee which was clearly a priority.

"Where did you get those leaves, hun?" Jason took the words right out of my mouth. She shrugged as if hesitant to tell us. She knew something.

"Diana gave them to me, she's really nice." She said quickly. "Could she come to our house to play?"

I remained silent for a minute, there were no other children around and I pondered on the idea that it was an imaginary friend.

I heard Jason's childish laugh behind me. "Of course she can! I'll make you both some star-shaped cucumber sandwiches." I admired his quick thinking as it slowly began to rain.

The small liquid crystals fell on my face, causing me to squint in surprise. I grabbed her hand and she held 'Diana's' as my confusion continued to grow.

***

"I thought she was your friend?"

"She is, mummy!"

"I mean your imaginary friend."

"But you saw her... Didn't you?"

I shrugged in concern. Maybe she was ill, although I remembered having many imaginary friends as a child.

"No, sweetie" I said, but to my surprise she shushed me promptly. I was about to chew her out and remind her that, as her mother, I had the right to be respected. However, there was nothing that could've prepared me for what she whispered next.

"Shhh, mummy! She's coming..."