Part of my Holiday Hazards Mini Series
Nightmare
She was walking but no one saw her.
She was talking but no one heard her.
She would run, and run, and run after him, but she couldn't find him.
Where was her father?
Where was he?
They ignored her. She would scream but no one would hear. She would knock things over and no one knew she did.
She was alone. Entirely alone. Just a sobbing, distraught girl in a place full of broken dreams, unfinished melodies, discontinued stories.
All alone. Even the Ignored paid her little mind.
A crushing darkness was her only friend. She could close her eyes and see what the doll saw, but no one saw her. No one heard her. They heard the doll that was living her life.
Alone.
Invisible.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. Because the worst thing in the world had finally happened.
He didn't see her.
He didn't see, or hear, her. It was worse than with her father, because she cared for him. His green eyes just slid over her, she cried out his name but he didn't answer.
She was alone.
Alone without him.
"Ari! Ari! Ari!"
Marlene thrashed wildly in her covers, almost falling off the bed. She was aware suddenly of someone gently grabbing her, but she kept shouting his name, tears running down her face.
This was the nightmare she feared the most.
Suddenly she knew who was holding her. She buried her face in his chest and cried. He hugged her tightly, rocking gently, trying to soothe her, running his fingers through her hair.
"Marlene?" He asked in his quiet voice. "What's wrong?"
"A nightmare." She gasped, hugging him tight. It wasn't a dream, he was here. She hugged him like he was in danger of vanishing at anytime. "But what are you doing here?"
She heard the smile in his voice. "You called."
Marlene finally calmed down. The nightmares of her time in Triste, when no one and everyone completely ignored her besides calling her "that sobbing distraught girl" were the worst years of her life. But she was going to be okay, because he was here.
"Ari…Ari…" She whispered. An echo of the many times she had called his name in Triste.
She felt the vibration in his chest when he hummed. "Hmm?"
"Don't go."
Ari released her, smiling gently. "I'm right here."
She hugged him again, and she felt his fingers running through her hair. She heard a clicking noise, and the music box began to play.
The melody was bittersweet, and it filled the air of the room. It was almost like a living thing, caressing her mind with its familiar, slow tune.
"What are your nightmares about?" He asked after several minutes of silence between them.
"When-when no one…acknowledged me."
Ari nodded. "I didn't like it either. It was a terrible thing. But it's over now, it can't happen anymore. Classification is dead."
"All because of you."
Ari smiled. "And Stan. And Rosalyn. And everyone else."
"Did you…?"
"Kill your dad?"
She was afraid of the answer. Was she in love with her father's murderer?
"No. He turned around and vanished. He's still looking for you."
Marlene lifted her face to look at him. "He's alive?" She said in disbelief.
"The question I ask myself is, do I want him to find you?" Ari said mostly to himself, his eyes slid toward the ceiling.
Marlene nodded, understanding what he was thinking about. "I could see through the eyes of the doll."
"I know. A girl in Triste told me."
Marlene wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up. "You think if my father gets mad he'll do the same to me as he did to the doll?"
"Your father was really unpredictable. I don't know what I'll do if he comes. But no one is going to hurt you, just watching the doll was bad enough…" The pain in his voice was audible.
"You think you failed?" Marlene asked.
Ari nodded slowly. "I feel like I should have attacked him the moment I saw what he was doing to the doll."
Marlene was puzzled. "But that wasn't me."
"Did I know that?"
"No…"
Silence, except for the music box.
Ari broke the silence one last time. "No one is going to hurt you while I still breathe."He smiled then, closing his eyes.
And they both fell asleep.
***
I feel a serious Okage fan fiction had to be done, at least at some point in the series.