Nightmares

Five years have passed since Jean arrived at the Harts’ home. Bearing in mind her foster parents' peculiarities, it could be said that the child lead an extraordinarily ordinary life. She had all the proper advantages of being an only child, such as seeing her every whim satisfied and being the exclusive receiver of all the displays of affection. No neighbour knew for sure if she was the apple of her relatives’ eyes, or if she liked better Mr Hart’s parents than Mrs Hart’s, or if she had an aunt who spoilt her, because the only known family of the Harts’ was Jean.

Unlike Mr and Mrs Hart, Jean had proven to be surprisingly active and vivacious, even for a little girl. Every time her smile widened and her eyes shone more than usual, everyone took for granted that they were about to witness a mischief. The only quiet hours that her parents could enjoy were those that she destined to get some rest. And that, when it came to Jean, was a guaranteed peace because if anything was harder than getting her to stay put, that was waking her up.

Nonetheless, the morning of her seventh birthday, Jean interrupted the Harts' peaceful sleep with a heartrending cry. Hearts racing, both ran to their daughter's room, where they found her sitting on the bed, bulging eyes and sweaty face.

‘What's wrong, sweetie?’, Mrs Hart asked taking a seat next to the child and pressing her against her chest.

While Mr Hart stroked her hair, Jean recounted in great detail a nightmare in which a woman, who looked very similar to Mrs Hart, appeared along with a hefty man, with mahogany hair and beard. They were talking to her, smiling, and hugging her. More people appeared, a lot of people whom she did not know, and they gazed at her with equal warmth. None of this altered the Harts, who were hanging on every word and every silence, as what the girl told them afterwards: all those people had vanished as sudden as they had appeared when a terrible reptile-like creature with vibrant red scales, as if they were on fire, arrived. Jean had been left alone, facing the monster, and the last thing she saw before waking was smoke coming out of the nostrils of the beast followed by a blast of fire.

Exchanging worried glances, Mrs Hart wrapped Jean even tighter with her arms, and between her and her husband managed to console the girl.

For a whole month the nightmares repeated, until Jean got used to them and was no longer afraid. Far from taking her to a specialist, the Harts spent all their dedication and energy in strengthening the bond that hold them together. Even the least curious neighbour could sense that something was happening; but, in the case of the Harts, who could hope to learn something by asking questions?

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1. The Harts