Sofia's Nightmare
"Dad, where are you, Dad?" Shouted the girl as she ran through a deep and dark forest full of fog. "Can anyone hear me? ANYONE?"
"Sofia" said a voice from afar
"Wh-who's there?" said Sofia, terrified by the somehow unfamiliar voice calling her name.
"Wandering in the woods?" The voice chuckled. "What a terrible choice you've made, child."
The fog grew thicker by the minute.
"Whoever you are, I'm not afraid of you!" Sofia shouted, trying to conceal the fact that she was truly is afraid of the voice that knew her name.
The voice laughed.
"You say you're not afraid of me, yet your trembling body says the opposite…" The voice declared. "Do not be afraid, child. I am your friend."
"If you are my friend, then show yourself." sofia gasped. "Please help me... please I beg you"
"My, my, what happened, dear?" The voice asked. "For such a young girl like you to be lost at such a place like this, I bet your father left you here to die."
"That's not true, that's not true!" Sofia yelled. "My father would never do that!"
"Then tell me child, why did he leave the forest just when you fell asleep?" The voice laughed mockingly. "I bet he doesn't need you, nor does he love you."
"You take that back!" Sofia yelled hoarsely.
"Such a feisty little girl you are, and yet very vulnerable." The voice laughed. "I can see why the other students bully you at your school, child."
As the fog grew thicker, the voice seemed to be getting closer.
"No that's not true." Sofia whispered, clutching her small frame from the cold that filled the air as she tried to keep herself together, repeating to herself all over again that the voice was wrong and she was right… Yet she was beginning to believe it.
"Then where are they, child?" The voice asked, getting even closer. "Tell me, where's the loving father that left you here in the woods, where are your friends that bully you at school, where are they?"
"No, stay away from me, STAY AWAY!" Sofia yelled frantically, running away from the voice.
"You can't run away from me child, I will find you, hahahhhahhaha!" said the voice as it disappeared into the shadows.
"No, no, noooooooooooo!" Sofia shrieked at the top of her lungs, causing the entire royal household to wake up and rush to her sleeping chamber in a most unroyal manner…
James and Amber came to Sofia's chamber first since her room was just near their's. As they entered, they noticed that she was sweating and kept tossing and turning from left to right, obviously having a nightmare.
"Sofia, wake up!" James yelled, as Amber turned the lights on.
"It's not working." Amber declared. "What should we do?
"Stay with Sofia." James instructed. "I'll get her a towel."
As Jamie's left the room, Roland and Miranda came in.
"Another nightmare?" Miranda sit nxt to Sofia. " Sofia, please wake up. You're at home, with us. Please wake up."
Sofia heard her mother's voice in her dream. She stopped tossing and turning , opened her eyes.
"Mom." Sofia said, hugging her Mother.
"You were having a nightmare." Miranda soothed her. "Now, what's wrong sweetheart?"
James returned with a wet towel.
"Thanks, James." Roland smiled "Okay Sofia, lay back please."
Sofia obeyed, and Roland placed the towel on her head.
"Mom, dad, I don't want to be with my real dad by myself." Sofia declared. "Not after what he did to me when I was little."
"He seems like a really cool dad to me." James shrugged.
"Maybe with all of you here." Sofia declared. "But once he takes me back to his place he'll turn mean and he will leave me in the forest alone. I just know he will."
"Sofia, that's ridiculous." Miranda told her. "He was never that bad."
"But..." Sofia protested.
"Don't worry, Sofia." Roland smiled. "If he so much as lays a finger on you, I'll have him thrown into the dungeon, okay?"
"Okay, dad." Sofia smiled.
The next day, Alex came to pick up Sofia.
"Ready to go, sweetheart?" Alex asked..
"Yeah..." Sofia said warily.
As Alex led her out, Sofia was scared. The feeling held as they entered his house.
"How about some apple pie?" Alex asked.
"Sure." Sofia shrugged.
Alex got the pie and gave some to Sofia. It was delicious.
"You still like to play catch?" Alex asked.
"I guess." Sofia nodded.
"Then let's go outside and play." Alex smiled.
The thought of going outside worried Sofia, but she soon realized her fears were groundless. They played all afternoon, and not once did Alex try to do anything bad to her. Her nightmare was wrong. Alex was no longer the abusive parent he once was. Sofia happily realized that he would never leave her in a forest, and she felt better for it. When the time came for her to leave, she hugged Alex tightly.
"Thanks for all the fun, dad." She smiled.
"Any time, sweetheart." Alex hugged her back.
That night, Sofia was being tucked in by Miranda
"So, it wasn't so bad at your father's after all?" Miranda asked.
"Nope." Sofia smiled. "I didn't ned to worry after all."
"Maybe now, you can have a good night's sleep." Miranda grinned.
"I'm sure I will." Sofia chuckled.
Miranda gave Sofia a good night kiss, then left the room, turning out the lights as she did. Sofia went to sleep soon after, slumbering the entire night away, without suffering any nightmares.
The End.