It was the stars; the stars that she always dreamed of. Not always good dreams, although she won't admit that. She'd never tell anyone of the things she'd seen. It was hard, but she knew it was for the best. After all, who would believe her?
It was even harder after her daughter was born. Instead of her young child having nightmares, it was her. They weren't just nightmares though, they were memories; and that's what made them scary.
Not surprisingly, her daughter grew an interest in space, the unexplained. She would tell the child stories every night before bed. "Made up"; but not quite. Stories from the past (her past), but only the good ones. Never the bad. Nothing to scare the child, but only to help her grow without crushing her interest.
She had stopped seeing the therapist she was recommended to at least eleven years ago. One year before her daughter was born. She was told that telling people about what had happened would make things better for her. Would make the nightmares go away. Who would she tell though? Who would sit and listen? To the madness, to the stories, to the craziness that even she didn't believe. Or what she used to not believe. Who would listen to her now? Now that the only one person who ever really believed was gone.
Ten years old and already as curious as her mother's old friend. The one in all the stories. He was like a father to her, even though they had never met. He never even had a chance to watch his old friend turn into a mother. He would've gotten along with her daughter quite nicely.
Her and her daughter lay on the grass in their backyard, staring up at the sky. It was dark, a time of night that still made her uneasy, when her daughter asked her a question that both terrified and pained her;
"Mom, do you believe that there's something out there. Something beyond this earth?"
She paused for a moment, carefully thinking of her response. She'd seen so many things in her lifetime. So many things, so many secrets, and they'd go down with her to the grave. Hesitating, she replied;
"No."