Chapter
74 A Child’s Nightmare
All we ever see of stars are their
old photographs – Alan Moore
When she was three Marie had a
nightmare. It was the first one she
could recall, and its memory stayed with her for the rest of her life. She was in the empty basement of the house
they had just moved into, her parents and her sister, Karen. A large suburban home, a Colonial, with a
full basement. In one corner of the
basement set the heater and hot water heater.
She felt a sense of fear at something evil and menacing might one day
come from behind the heater unit. She
had no reason to suspect such a thing, but did nonetheless.
Her father and sister were down in the
basement along with Marie. They were
watching Marie ride around in her little pedal-powered metal constructed fire
truck. She was happy, but whenever she
would drive by the heater a worry would take hold of her.
And then she saw her…a woman dressed in
gold…stepped out from behind the heater.
At once Marie recognized her as the Devil’s Helper. She just recently having learned of the
Devil’s existence. But, at a glance,
within the dream…she knew that’s who the strange woman was.
She cried out to warn her father and her
sister, but it was too late, the golden woman touched each of them, and they
turned to statues of solid gold. She
just recently having heard the story of King Minas, and having been filled with
terror over it. Young Marie screamed
again as the golden Devil’s Helper turned towards her. But Marie’s screams had attracted her
mother’s attention and brought her downstairs to investigate. The Devil’s helper turned her attention from
Marie to her mother, and with a simple touch, her mother was frozen as a gold
statue as well.
Tears streamed down Marie’s face, as the
Devil’s helper came towards her. She
slipped past the golden garbed woman and dashed up the basement steps as fast
as her little legs could carry her. The
front door was open when she got upstairs and the child bolted for it. A glance behind her assured her that her
pursuer was still behind her, gaining on her due to her greater stride. Marie ran down the front lawn and was in the
middle of the street, running down the hill, when the woman caught up to her. She felt her icy touch and awoke.
A lightening storm had knocked out the
power, so the light which was kept on in Marie’s room was out. She had a fear of the dark, and the light was the natural solution, but
with it out, her fear of the darkness and from her nightmare was intense. She saw a woman standing in her doorway, and
at first she was sure it was her mother, as there was a great resemblance, but
has her eyes began to grow accustomed to the lack of light, she started in
horror. The female figure was wearing a
gold garment. It was the Devil’s helper
from her nightmare! She stepped closer,
entering her room.
How adult Marie had come here she did not
know. She had crossed the veils only to
find herself in pitch blackness. Slowly
her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She
was in her old bedroom, in her childhood home.
She saw herself as a young child sleeping in her bed. When she realized the lights were out, she
grew worried for the child, as she recalled her fear of the darkness. Still, the look of innocence held her gaze on
the child. She saw young Marie begin to
jerk about in her sleep. A nightmare no
doubt. And then she saw the child sit up
in fear. And they she realized what
exactly was happening.
She saw young Marie look upon her, first
with a happiness and then with a growing horror. She knew what was going to happen. She stepped into the room so as not to block
the doorway. The child quickly sprang
from the bed and dashed into her parents’ bedroom, where Marie knew she would
spend the rest of the night in the safety that only mommy and daddy could
provide.
And Marie’s yoke suit glowed and she was
gone.
copyright 2017 Diana Hignutt
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