It was late at night, and the heavy clutches of sleep had begun to work their witchcraft on me, promising me that soon, I would be dragged into their dark realm of sleep. I continued to fight it, though. Despite the fact that there was an already-sleeping form enveloped in the covers next to me, completely hidden except for half his face and part of his wavy blonde hair, I myself wasn't quite ready for sleep yet.

There were no noises in the house, not a single creaking floorboard, nor the whistle of the wind against the house, for it seemed that the night was gentle, lulling all activity as if the world was smothered in a massive, dark blanket. Not a sound could be heard, not a single one. I straightened my nightshirt, yanking the neckline further down the slightest amount and folding the collar so I could breathe more easily, and rolled over onto my back, staring curiously, or as well as I could in the darkness, at the ceiling.

And then footsteps broke the silence. I could already guess whose they were, since they were soft and barely managed to be audible at all over the deafening quiet. I sat up, blinking into the night as I made out a tiny figure in the doorway. It was Matthew.

There was a small whimper. I found myself saying, although quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping form next to me, "My, my, well if it isn't my dear little Matthew. What on earth are you doing up at this hour?"

A stray thread of light moved across his eyes and I could see the bright purple irises, strangely shiny in the black. "D-Dad...? I-I... I had a b-bad dream..." came the small, timid voice, raw from recent tears. "I... I was g-gone... a-and I could still w-watch what was going on... a-and no one h-had even noticed... I-I had been completely f-forgotten... a-and n-no one c-cared..." His voice was barely more than a frightened, distraught whisper. I noticed more tears begin to streak down his face, the outlines of which only just visible when some wandering light found them, illuminating the edges with a paler hue and giving them a reflective quality, like liquid starshine.

I felt my facial features move into a sympathetic expression, and yet I said, "Yes, well, what do you want me to do about it? It was just a dream, after all."

There was more silence. And then, "W-would... would you l-let me sl-sleep in your b-bed tonight?" Matthew clutched his small, white, fluffy polar bear closer to himself, thick white fur pressed against his cheek as if for comfort, staring at me, pure, sinless eyes pleading and scared. I sighed.

"Well... I suppose, just for tonight..." I grumbled, running my hand through my hair, yawning as exhaustion finally caught up with me.

There came a noise of relief from the doorway, followed by the small patter of feet. I heard the shift of blankets and the small creaks and groans of the mattress under the newly added weight, and I glanced at the figure next to me with a twinge of anxiety, but he hadn't awoken. Then the small child crawled up between our two forms. Exhaling a short breath, a fond smile partially making its way onto my face, I moved and lifted the blanket so Matthew could crawl underneath, still holding onto the bear. He looked even smaller, dwarfed against the vast, white, adult-sized pillow, looking at me briefly before closing his eyes with a satisfied sound. After hesitating for a moment, I slowly moved my arm forward and around the child securely, moving him closer as if in an effort to protect him against further nightmares that might attempt to haunt his slumber.

And then I felt my eyes slowly slide closed, and at last I was asleep.