Where is this place? Sasuke thought, his tiny heart beating rapidly in his chest. Have I been here before?
Sweat dripped over his hot forehead as he gazed dazedly around. Something wasn't right…he had to get out of here and fast.
The darkness pressed in on him as he tried to move but found he was glued to the spot, restrained from moving anything but his eyes.
Now he was really scared, he wasn't sure if it was fear that paralyzed him to the spot or some other force but a few seconds later, or it could have been minutes; it was hard to tell how long he stood there, a bright light burst up and illuminated the area around him.
To his great surprise, Sasuke found himself standing in his own living room, his scared, white face reflected in the opposite mirror but there was something strange about the reflection.
It did not stay still but wavered and curled as if he were underwater but knew this was ludicrous.
He dared try and take a step towards the reflection and found to his relief that he could move again.
Up against the mirror he peered in and touched the surface, running his fingers over the cold glass.
In one corner he met a terrible sight…
His mother, father and brother sprawled out on the floor in a pool of their own crimson blood, their eyes closed and an expression of fear etched so clearly on their faces. He yet out a scream and spun around.
He woke suddenly in a cold sweat and sat up fast, jerking his head so that is accidentally crashed into the shelf above. He yelped in pain, sitting on the edge of his bed, shaking violently.
"It was just a bad dream…" he murmured under his breath "Just another bad dream."
Sasuke, like many children his age, suffered from nightmare phases. The five-year-old had been receiving them frequently for the last few nights but this had been the worse yet.
He rocked to and fro, wondering if the motion would soothe him, the sensation of wanting to cry washed over him. His family were ok weren't they? It was just a bad dream?
That was the scariest thing for Sasuke Uchiha after a nightmare, the unknowing of if it had just been a scary dream.
Sasuke hadn't told anyone of these nightmares, he didn't want it to seem like a little kid who couldn't cope with a few seconds of terror, he was sure that's what his father would think if he knew.
His mother would help him but soon enough her husband would catch on and tell her to stop babying him. He was a growing boy who would one day be a Shinobi needed to toughen up.
That left his older brother Itachi, but Itachi was five years older than Sasuke and he recently had become a chunnin; he had enough on his plate to deal with for the time being.
No…he had to keep quiet.
"Another bad dream Sasuke?"
Sasuke jumped and wheeled around on the bed, clutching his blanket to his chest.
Itachi stood in the doorway, wearing the old t-shirt and shorts he wore to bed. He had let his long black hair out from its regular ponytail. It fell gracefully down his back and over his broad shoulders. The child was only ten but he already had the look of a man and powerful Shinobi in his face.
"Brother?" Sasuke whispered into the darkness. Quickly wiping the forming tears from his eyes.
Itachi gave a sympathetic smile and stepped through the door.
"Have you had another bad dream?" he repeated, sitting down beside his little brother, gently wiping one of the tears away with his sleeve.
"Uh…hm yeah, but how do you know about them?" Sasuke sniffed.
"Our rooms are right next to each other and you talk in your sleep a lot…" Itachi explained "I hear you through the wall sometimes, you just mutter and moan nonsense and sometimes cry out. You only used to do that as a baby when you had a nightmare,"
"Aw man…" Sasuke muttered "I have to grow up…"
Itachi gave a brief laugh and wrapped one arm around Sasuke.
"If you didn't cry out, I wouldn't have known, but I think this is one time to many…now what these nightmares about hm? Are they recurring dreams or have a different plot each time?"
"Uh…different I guess…" Sasuke replied, feeling a shiver down his spine thinking of the night terrors. Feeling his shudders, Itachi drew Sasuke into a tighter hug. Grateful, Sasuke continued: "Normally I'm being chased or something but the last dream I had…somebody killed you all…"
"Well just remember, it was just a dream," Itachi reassured "Mother and father and me, we could fight off anybody who tried to hurt us. We're all still alive and together baby brother,"
"Why'd you still call me that?" Sasuke sighed "I'm nearly six Itachi…"
"You'll always be baby brother to me," Itachi smiled "And I'll let you in on a little secret, I suffered from nightmares too but I didn't have an older brother to talk to so I had to learn to banish them on my own."
"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked, inquisitively.
"I made myself a dream catcher,"
"What's that?"
"It's this little wooden circle with string that resembles a spider's web, normally with feathers on the end; it's supposed to catch bad dreams,"
"How does it do that?" Sasuke asked intrigued, feeling his body relax slightly.
"It catches them in the web, like a spider's web catches flies."
"Oh…Oniichan can you please help me make one if it helped you?"
"Maybe tomorrow Sasuke, now isn't it time you got back off to sleep?"
"I don't think I can…I…"
"Yes?" Itachi asked.
"I…" Sasuke repeated, trying to think how to put it. He sighed and looked down at his feet.
"I'm scared of the nightmares…I'm scared they'll come back, I know there only silly dreams but I'm still scared…"
Glad that his brother was finally opening up about his fear, Itachi got to his feet "Just think happy things don't dwell on the bad…and just tell me next time if you get one, if you don't want to tell mother or father."
Sasuke closed his eyes and groaned "Please…can I sleep in your bed…just for tonight, in case they come back?"
Itachi thought for a second then nodded "Ok, just don't kick me out like last time,"
Sasuke, filled with new hope, slid of the bed and grabbed his brother's arm. With Itachi, the young boy felt like he had a haven of safety.
Two minutes later, Sasuke found himself huddled in the bed next to his brother. It was comfy in Itachi's bed. In no time at all, Sasuke's eyelids had closed and he was falling back into his dreamland.
When he was sure that Sasuke was asleep, Itachi reached out behind him and took something off the bedside table in his fingers. He reached for his brother's hand underneath the sheets and slipped the old dream catcher into it. Let this help him sleep in peace he thought. Let this catch all the bad dreams so he has to worry no more.