I have no idea what this. And it's probably terrible but it was in my head and I just spat it out onto the page. Children are hard to write and while this is supposed to be entirely from Shirley's POV, it doesn't always stay that way (basically, once I learn the complicated way, I can't do the simple way) so half of what I wrote would you rarely find in a six year old's thought process but we're just gonna roll with it.
I hope you like this pile of rubbish that is my writing.
She wakes in a shake. Her little heart beating against her chest as her eyes fight to adjust to the darkness.
She sees figures all around. Shadows melding to abnormal shapes from corner to corner about the room.
Shirley looks over to Steve, who sleeps soundly away at the other side. She whispers his name, once, twice, yet she gets nothing from him.
The little girl cowers back into her bedding, eyes nervously darting all around the room at the shadows- people- and items- monsters- that hang on the wall.
Her nightmare was still clear in her mind; rooms with red doors and cups decorated with stars. People who linger in the background, watching them. Shirley's dreams had never been as vivid before. They'd never felt so…real.
Even shared with Steven, her room felt too lonely and too scary to stay in. It's barely three seconds of deciding before she's pushing back her bedcovers and clambering out of bed.
Bare feet tap against the cold hard floor as Shirley scurries from the door to the bed. Her hand reaches out to pat Mommy who she can barely see the darkness of the room, internally sorry for having to wake her up but knowing she doesn't want to sleep in her own room.
"Mommy," Shirley whispers, patting her once more. "Mommy, I had a nightmare."
Mommy stirs, mumbling, "What did you see?"
"A red door," Shirley says, shivering against the coldness. Or the terror. "And a cup with stars on it but it was all broken on the floor."
Olivia exhales, her eyes opening and adjusting to the darkness, searching for her daughter's own brown eyes.
"It was just a dream, sweetie." She says, sitting up.
Shirley shakes her head furiously. "No, it felt real," she stresses, a little louder than before. "And you…you were in it to." She furrows her brows, trying to remember the dream that had been so clear minutes ago. "It was bad, Mommy." Shirley finally says, eyes finding her mother's again. Her hands fidget with each other, trying so desperately not to cry at the feelings that overcome her. "Can I sleep here?"
Spoken with such purity and innocence, it's not so much a question as it is a statement.
"Won't you miss your brother?"
Shirl shakes her head once more, "He'll be okay. He's bigger. Nightmares don't scare him."
Olivia smiles, eliciting the same smile from Shirley as well.
"You'll be surprised," she says, secret-like.
Shirley giggles as Mommy makes space for her on the bed. It's a bit of a struggle but Shirley manages to climb up, pushing away Olivia's hand as she goes to help. She's a big girl now, she can do things on her own.
She snuggles down into the quits and sheets, shuffling closer towards Olivia as Mommy's arm folds over her.
Save within the embrace, Shirley's eyes fall closed, all thoughts of red rooms and cups of stars gone from her mind completely.