"Aaliyah. Aaliyah calm down!" Ezme's voice was strong and desperate. Why was she so upset? And who was screaming?
"Aaliyah. Please stop!"
She almost choked on her own tounge as she realized that she was the one screaming.
"Aaliyah, listen to me!" She was shouting herself. Was she still sccreaming. "You're fine! You're safe! There's nothing to be scared of!"
"Aaly calm down."
She was crying now. Hard. What was wrong with her?!
"Daddy?"
"Yes Aaly. I'm here." They collapsed into a hug.
"It's alright Aaly, it's alright."
"Daddy..." She was calming down now. There's nothing to be afraid of. Ezme was long gone now
"Daddy, he... he took me! And you tried to get me back but you couldn't, and..."
"It's alright Aaly. It was just a dream. No need to be scared."
"But it felt so real Daddy, it felt so, so real."
"Shhh... You don't have to be scared. It's all over now."
"But... but what if-" A sob interuppted her midsentence, "what if he comes back... like..." a fresh stream of tears cut her off leaving the last word hanging, unspoken, in the air. Like Mom.
It took all night to calm her down. They kept telling her the same things: It was only a dream. It's over now. There's nothing to worry about.
But she could still feel the edge of his knife on her throat. Still here her father's voice, "Give her here."
It had felt so real.
That's what scared her. The last time she had a dream like that...
Last time her mother died.
YOU ARE READING
The Marble Tower
RandomShe had been locked in her little tower for eleven years. Confound to bed because of the mysterious disease that plagues her every breath. Though she doesn't remember much about her life beforehand she does remember one thing: the death of her mot...
