Darkness of Dreams

Roman let out a sigh of comfort. He was in a rocking chair on the back porch of his cottage in Patch. He looked up from his book to see his young daughter Sienna playing with their dog Drei in the yard. He smiled at seeing her so happy. It warmed his heart to know that he changed his life to be able to give her the life she deserves.

It was late morning so the temperature was comfortably cool with a small breeze blowing. The flowers of late spring were displaying their beauty to the world and added pleasant aromas to the wind. The birds were chirping and there was a particular aura that the land gave off that made him feel a sense of belonging, that he was where he was supposed to be.

The scene of peace and tranquility was brutally shattered with the ringing of the scroll in his pocket. Grudgingly, he set down his book and pulled out his scroll to see it was Junior calling. He sighed and then got up from his chair to go inside to answer. Just before he did so he asked his wife Ruby who was tending to her rose bushes "Hey, Ruby I need to take a call. Do you think you can watch Sienna for me?"

"Not a problem at all."

With that he went inside and walked to Ruby and his bedroom to lie down while he took the call. Answering he said "Talk to me."

"Hey Roman it's been a long time since we last talked," said the scruffy voice of his former associate, Junior.

"Too long old friend. So what did you need to say? Since you actually made contact with me after all this time then I assume it's important. What is it?"

"Straight to the point then. Look, with you gone the government has gotten really lazy at patrolling and monitoring our activities. I've heard of this big shipment of-"

"No," Roman immediately said in a serious tone.

"Come on, Roman. One last heist to end it all. We'll make a fortu-"

"I don't care. I left that life a long time ago and I'm not coming back no matter what you say. I don't care if it's for all the money in the world I already have what I need to be happy. I have a lovely wife and daughter and I don't need anything else so you can take this offer and shove it up your-"

Roman was interrupted by the sound of a bloodcurdling scream coming from the backyard. His blood turned to ice as he dropped his scroll and ran out as fast as physically possible. Picking his cane up along the way he made it just past the door to the backyard to see it happen.

Sienna was crawling away from a Grimm and the dead body of Drei. The Grimm wasn't a kind he had ever seen before and was spider like with eight legs as sharp as blades. Just before the spider lunged at Sienna with a leg, Ruby jumped in the way. The leg slit through Ruby's chest and came out the other end covered in blood.

This all happened in a microsecond and gave Roman no time to respond. When the Grimm realized that it hit a different target it began to withdraw its leg from Ruby's chest, just at the point that Roman charged forward. He fired every round he had at the beast and even long after it was dead he beat its remains with a hatred that would've concerned the devil himself.

When the Grimm finally evaporated he returned his attention to the next matter of importance. He ran over to check Sienna and only found a couple of bumps and bruises. When he was sure that she was safe he turned around slowly to examine Ruby.

When he got to where she lay he fell to his knees by her side. There was nothing he could do and knowing this his sanity began to tear. Tears rose to his eyes as he let out a sorrowful wail while he cradled her body in his arms.

Sienna, being no older than five, didn't understand the sacrifice her mother made for her and so she walked over towards her mother and father questioningly. "Daddy, is Mommy sleeping?" She asked.

Roman through his shallow breaths could only stutter "Y… Y-Yes… M-Mommy's sleep-ping…"

Sienna just tilted her head to the side. "Then when's she going to wake up?"

Roman could only shake his head side to side, unable to say the brutal words of reality.

Sienna then walked closer and started shoving Ruby lightly saying "Mommy… Mommy… Please wake up Mommy… Wake up… Please… Mommy wake up… Mommy… Mommy… MOMMY-"

Immediately Roman sat up in his bed screaming and hyperventilating.

"Roman what's wrong?!"

He turned to his side to see Ruby sitting up in her pajamas of a tank top and shorts with eyes of concern clearly visible even in the dark. Before she could say another word he closed the distance between them and held her tighter than he had anything before. He hid his face in her shoulder as he tried to push away his tears while calming his breathing.

Ruby returned his embrace and lovingly kissed his neck a couple of times while rubbing her hand up and down his back. When he seemed like he had calmed enough to speak she asked "Was it a dream?"

"It-It felt so r-real," he stuttered.

In a soothing voice she reassured him saying "But it wasn't. Whatever it was it was just a dream."

"I-I wasn't a-able to save you. You died in my-y arms."

"Hey, look at me," she said while cupping his face and guiding it so his eyes were looking into hers. He drowned himself in the relief of seeing her silver eyes and hearing her wonderful voice. "It was just a dream. I'm not gone and I don't plan on going anywhere. I'm right here and will never leave."

After a quick kiss they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Ruby said.

The door cracked open a peak and then a little more as Sienna slowly stepped in. "Is Daddy alright? I heard him yell," she asked.

Roman felt like crying from relief that everything was alright. A little choked up he said "Yes honey, I'm alright. I just had a really bad nightmare."

She nodded her head slightly understanding. "Well, whenever I get nightmares Mommy gives me a big hug and sleeps with me and then everything's better. You just need a big hug too."

Sienna ran forward and Roman graciously accepted the welcoming hug. Afterwards he said "Thank you but you don't need to spend the night here."

"Nope I'm gonna."

"Really I-"

"Nope I'm gonna," she said with a little more force.

Ruby laughed and said "She's as bullheaded as you are Roman. You can spend the night here if you want sweetie."

"Yay!" Sienna cheered.

Sienna then jumped up on the bed and rested in between the two of them underneath the covers. Roman scooted over so that he could hug both his wife and daughter while he tried to drift off to sleep once more.

While he laid there he thought over how fragile life was. Of course he used to be surrounded by death back in his younger days, which probably explained his night terrors, but then Ruby came along. He abandoned all his nefarious pursuits to start life over again with her and he'd never been happier. Now after so long he was forced to grasp the harsh reality that every day could be their last.

He hugged his two favorite people in the world even tighter and made silent promises to them. To live every day to the fullest. To love them unconditionally. But most importantly, to appreciate them every day of his life. He never deserved to be so lucky but he would never allow himself to take that luck for granted.

He kissed each of their heads and watched over them while they slept, making these promises and so many more that he planned on carrying out until his very last breath.


Appreciate family