A scream. A terrified scream was what woke the five year old girl from her slumber. She had been dreaming about flying in the sky like the little birds when the scream had resonated. The next moment found herself sitting upright in her bed. The scream had come from down the hallway, towards her parents' bedroom. It had sounded high-pitched, so it must've been mama.
"Another bad dream." thought the little girl sadly. Her parents have had nightmares on many nights for as long as she could remember, even though her mother had them more frequently then her father. She remembered one night mama had screamed so loud, she had called for papa for help because she was sure some bad people had gotten into the house. Thankfully, it hadn't been the case and papa had sent her back to bed.
Looking at the star-shaped clock on her desk, she saw that the little hand was pointing at 11. Since it was dark outside, it meant that it was late 11 o'clock. The little girl went to get out of her bed, but hesitated for a bit. She wanted to go look at her parents' bedroom to see if mama was okay, but she didn't want to be scolded. Once, mama had found her eating brownies late at night when she should've been in bed. Scolding wasn't fun.
She then looked down at the toy she held in her arms. It was an Aceman plush toy that belonged to mama before she gave it to her. The little girl remembered a line the super-hero had said during an episode of the cartoon.
"When you see someone who is in need of help, do not hesitate and go help that person."
Puffing out her chest, the little girl made her decision. Her mama needed help and she was going to help her! And so, holding her plush toy in her arms, she jumped down from her bed and exited the room.
The little girl's and her parents' bedrooms were located in the hallway of the second floor, which was where the five year old was now. Looking down the hallway, she could see light coming from the room at the far end. There was her destination! And she started to walk towards her parents' bedroom, making sure to produce as little noise as she could.
As the child walked down the hallway, pictures hanging from the walls could be seen. Some were showing the little girl's parents in their teen years, others were of trips the two went on together as lovers, but of course, there were family pictures as well. One of them was a group photo that dated before the little girl's birth.
This "family picture" was that of a party that was taking place inside of an apartment. It showed the parents of the little girl as teens along three men and three women, which were the child's aunts and uncles. None of them were bound by blood, but for this family, being bound by the heart was way stronger. One of them, an old man, didn't live long enough to witness the little girl's birth.
Another picture showed the little girl with her parents on her second birthday. It is from her mother that the girl got the most traits, for they were quite... unique traits. Just like her mother, her hair and skin both had the colour of the snow and her eyes were as red as rubies. Her father was an ordinary looking man with raven black hair and steel grey eyes. One of his most unique traits, however, was the rather thick lock of hair resting at the top of his head that would remind someone of a candle's flame. From him, the little girl got the eyebrows.
At long last, the five year old child had reached her parents' bedroom. She was right next to the door frame and she could hear papa whispering things to mama. Just a little peak; a quick look to be sure that she was okay and then she'll go back to bed. So, she cranked her neck inside the doorway to see what was happening.
She saw her papa holding mama in his arms, who had a look of distress on her face. She hated saying mama like that, she wanted her to only be happy! She could also hear them talk to each other.
"Feeling better now?" asked papa as he held mama close.
"Yes." she replied, but still trembled. "It's just... they're as terrifying as when they first began."
"I know it's hard, Snowflake," replied papa as he used his favorite nickname for mama, "but we're facing them together. That's what's important, right?"
"Of course, but... It's been twenty years and the nightmares are still coming." Suddenly, her gaze seemed to have caught something in the... doorway... Uh-oh.
"Azami?" said mama, making papa turn his head to look in the same direction as her. The little girl- Azami -immediately brought her head back and clung her back to the wall, hoping they hadn't seen her.
"We know you're here, young lady. We can see your shadow." said her father with an authoritarian tone. Azami looked down and saw that her shadow was indeed visible in the light of the doorway. Shoot.
"Come out now, Azami." called mama. Resigned, the little girl walked into her parents' room, standing in front of their bed with her head downcast.
"Azami." said her father as he got up from the bed to pick up his daughter and walk back to it. "What did we tell you about being out of your room this late at night?" He said it in the "You know you shouldn't do that." tone, but when you knew the person meant well.
"Only if it's to go to the toilet." replied the girl as she kept looking down, earning an approving nod from her father and a giggle from her mother. "But... I wanted to see if mama was okay." she added sadly.
"Oh, honey." her mother said, taking Azami in her arms and planting a kiss on her pale forehead. "We know you meant well, really we do. But, it's something that grown-ups can handle. Papa and mama can take care of it, don't worry." she said with a smile.
"But, you always sound so scared when you scream and you looked so sad just now! I don't like it when you're sad! I... I wanna help you like Aceman." Azami concluded, tears of frustration now in her eyes.
"Sweetie." Azami turned to look at her father, who dried her tears and cupped her left cheek. "Those nightmares me and your mother have... they're about really scary things that are way too much for someone as young as you to handle. And since we've both experienced them, then we know how to console each other the best." he said, unfortunately making his five year old daughter look down sadly. Suddenly smiling, he added: "But you know, you're also helping us in your own way." This made the little girl look back up at him.
"Really? How?" asked Azami, eager to know how she helped her mama and papa.
"Because you're here." Azami quirked an eyebrow at that, but let her father continue. "Even if we have those nightmares, we know that when we'll wake up, you'll always be there to makes us feel all better. You, with your kindness and cheerfulness. Our precious little angel." concluded her father as he engulfed his daughter and his wife in a group hug. Azami had a delighted smile at that. She absolutely loved family group hugs.
"Say, how about we go to the park and buy some ice cream tomorrow? You feel like it, Snowball?" asked her father with a mischievous smile. Azami blinked before hammering her tiny fists on her father.
"Don't call me Snowball! You know I hate it when uncle Senji calls me that!" Her parents could only laugh at their daughter's action.
Twenty years have passed since the destruction of Deadman Wonderland and Ganta and Shiro Igarashi couldn't be more happier.